TYPES OF MEETING
II. THE BREAD-BREAKING MEETING
In 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 the Bible speaks of two things concerning the bread-breaking meeting. When Paul speaks of the bread in 11:24, he refers to the Lord’s physical body, saying, “And having given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is given for you; this do unto the remembrance of Me.” Christ’s body was given up for us. Through this our sins were forgiven, and we obtained life. The basic thought in this verse is to remember the Lord. First Corinthians 10:17 provides another view, saying, “Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.” The bread in chapter eleven denotes the Lord’s physical body, while the bread in chapter ten denotes us. In other words, chapter eleven emphasizes our remembrance of the Lord, while chapter ten emphasizes our fellowship among God’s children.
Hence, we see two significant aspects of the bread-breaking meeting. One is upward towards heaven; we remember the Lord. Another is centered on the bread on the table, which signifies us, the children of God, having fellowship with each other. Each one of us has a part in this bread. We are all part of this one bread. You have received the Lord and so have I. This entitles us to the same fellowship in the Lord. Hence, the breaking of bread signifies our coming to the Lord to fellowship with Him, as well as our coming together in fellowship with the children of God.
Every bread-breaking meeting should have two sections, because there are two parts to our salvation. In the first part of our salvation, we discovered that we were sinners, destined for judgment and death. But the Lord had mercy on us. He came to this earth and died for us. The Lord saved us and shed His blood to forgive us. Our sins were forgiven once we accepted the Lord Jesus’ blood. This is the first part of our salvation. But salvation does not stop here. After we are saved, the Lord Jesus becomes ours and we belong to Him. He brings us before God and makes His Father our Father. The Holy Spirit within also teaches us to cry, “Abba, Father!” (Rom. 8:14-16). This is the second part of salvation. In other words, the first section of salvation has to do with the Lord, and the second section has to do with the Father. In the first section we are forgiven. In the second section we are accepted by God. When we are saved, we become related to the Lord; this is the first part of the story. In the second part we become related to God. We approach the Lord from the position of being a sinner, and through Him we come to the Father. First we meet the Lord, and then we meet the Father. This is why the Bible says, “Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23). Salvation has to do with the Son; it is something to do with the Lord. Salvation also has to do with the Father; this is something that has to do with God. No one can come to the Father except through the Son. First we have to come to the Lord. First we must come to the cross to receive forgiveness, to have the righteous One take the place of the unrighteous, before we can be brought by the Lord to the Father. Hence, we do not come to the Father to receive salvation. Rather, we come to the Son to obtain salvation. Then we come to the Father. First we are forgiven, then we are accepted. We must see this clearly.
The bread-breaking meeting is for remembering the Lord. Since the Lord’s salvation consists of two parts, the bread-breaking meeting should also have two parts. Before breaking the bread, we remember the Son. After breaking the bread, we turn our attention to the Father. The part before breaking the bread is for the Lord, and the part after breaking the bread is for God.
When we come to the Lord, we find out that we were sinners. We were sons of disobedience, sons of wrath under God’s judgment. We had no way to save ourselves. But because the Lord Jesus shed His blood for our redemption, we can come before the Lord to receive His life. When we were sinners, we came to the Lord. When we saw how our sins were forgiven, we also came to Him. Hence, during the first part of the bread-breaking meeting, all our hymns, thanksgiving, and praises should be directed toward the Lord.
When we come to the Lord, we should offer thanksgiving and praises to Him. Strictly speaking, we should not do anything other than offer thanksgiving and praises. It is improper to petition for anything in this meeting. We cannot ask the Lord to shed His blood for us. This has already been accomplished; there is no longer any need to ask for this. We just have to praise and give thanks. Whether it is through praying or singing, we should only thank and praise Him. Thanksgiving is directed at the Lord’s work, while praise is directed at the Lord Himself. We give thanks for what He has done, and we praise Him for what He is. At the beginning there is more thanksgiving. But gradually we turn to praise. As we give thanks we also praise. We see what a wonderful work He has done for us, and we also see what a wonderful Savior He is. After we have offered up enough thanksgiving, we should begin to praise. When our praise reaches the peak, then is the time for us to break bread.
The second part begins after we break bread. The Lord does not want us to stop once we have come to Him. We must receive the Lord, but it does not stop there. It is wonderful that the Father received us when we received the Lord. We have to be clear about this. Through the gospel, we receive the Lord, not the Father. The Bible does not say that we should receive the Father. It always says that we should receive the Son. Nevertheless, we ourselves are received by the Father. Because we receive the Son, the Father considers us acceptable. To receive the Son is the first half of salvation. When the Father receives us, salvation is complete. The Son is the One we receive; this is the first half. God is the One who receives us; this completes the other half. Hence, after breaking the bread, we go to the Father. We have received and met the Lord. Now He brings us to the Father. This is the second part of our bread-breaking meeting. We should go to God and praise Him in this part of the meeting.
Psalm 22 has two sections. The first section is from verse 1 through verse 21, which speaks of how the Lord bore our shame, how He suffered pain, and how He was forsaken by the Father. This section refers to the Lord’s death for us on the cross. The second section begins from verse 22 and continues until the end. This section speaks of the Lord leading His many “brothers” in their praise to God in the midst of the assembly. In other words, the first section is our remembrance of the Lord, and the second section is the Lord bringing us to the Father to praise Him.
On the day the Lord Jesus resurrected, He said to Mary, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). In earlier chapters in the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus addressed the Father as “My Father” or just “Father.” But here He says, “My Father and your Father.” When we receive the Lord’s death and resurrection into us, His Father becomes our Father. The three parables in Luke 15 show us the good Shepherd and then the loving Father. The good Shepherd comes to seek us, whereas the loving Father waits for us at home. The good Shepherd left His home to seek the lost sheep, but the loving Father accepts us at home. We have met the good Shepherd. Now we are going to meet the Father. Therefore, during the second part of the meeting, all hymns and prayers should be directed toward the Father. We meet the Son during the first part of the bread-breaking meeting. During the second part, the Lord brings us to the Father. The Holy Spirit is the One who conducts the meeting, and He always conducts us this way in this meeting. The leading of the Holy Spirit will not go against the principle of salvation. We need to learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. If we give Him the freedom, He will lead us in such a way.
Hebrews 2 shows us that the Lord Jesus is bringing many sons into glory. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was the only begotten Son of God; He was the only One. But He died and resurrected. Now we have received Him and have become God’s sons. The Lord Jesus is the firstborn Son, and we are the many sons. Verse 12 says, “In the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.” The meeting spoken of in Hebrews 2 is the meeting of the firstborn Son with the many sons singing praises to the Father. The second part of the bread-breaking meeting is precisely this meeting of the firstborn Son with the many sons. We should learn to raise our spirit to the peak in this part of the meeting. The second part of the bread-breaking meeting is the best time on earth for us to sing praises to the Father. We need to learn to raise our spirits to the height in this section of the meeting.
God is enthroned “upon the praises of Israel” (Psa. 22:3). The more the church of God praises, the more it touches the throne. The more a person praises, the more he knows the throne. Let us read together one stanza of a hymn:
Father, to Thee a joyful song we raise With all Thine own; And in Thy presence sound a note of praise To Thee alone; Bro’t nigh, bro’t home to Thee—O wondrous grace, That gives us now with Thine own Son our place. (Hymns, #52)
This is a very good hymn. It touches the sentiment of the Son leading many sons to the praise of the Father. It is difficult to find another song like this one.
The meeting spoken of in Hebrews 2 is the best meeting. Today we are learning a little. One day, when we are in The New Jerusalem, we will meet to our delight and satisfaction. But before we enter into glory, we should experience the firstborn Son leading many sons to praise the Father and experience praising the Father in the midst of the church. This is the highest peak that a church meeting can ever reach. It is something very glorious.
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