BREAD-BREAKING MEETING
To Declare the Lord’s Death
There is another significance to the Lord’s supper. First Corinthians 11:26 says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes.” When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we are declaring the Lord’s death. The word declare can also be translated “proclaim.” It means to proclaim the Lord’s death to others. In charging us to take His supper, the Lord is asking us not just to remember Him but also to proclaim His death.
Why do the bread and the cup declare the Lord’s death? Originally, the blood is in the flesh. When the blood is separated from the flesh, it means death has occurred. When we see the wine in the cup, we see the blood, and when we see the bread on the table, we see the flesh. The Lord’s blood is on one side, and His flesh is on the other side. The blood is separated from the flesh. This is a declaration of the Lord’s death. In this meeting there is no need for us to tell others, “Our Lord has died for you.” They know that death has occurred when they see that the blood is separated from the flesh.
What is the bread? It is wheat ground into powder. What is inside the cup? It is grapes that have been pressed. When you see the bread, you are reminded of ground wheat, and when you see the cup, you are reminded of pressed grapes. This clearly reminds us of death. A grain of wheat is only one grain; it cannot become bread unless it is first ground. Likewise, a cluster of grapes cannot become wine unless it is first pressed. If a grain of wheat tries to save itself, there will be no bread. Likewise, if a cluster of grapes tries to save itself, there will be no wine. Here the Lord spoke through Paul, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes.” We eat the grains that have been ground, and we drink the grapes that have been pressed. This is to declare the Lord’s death.
Perhaps your parents, children, or other relatives do not know the Lord. If you take them to the meeting and they see the bread, they will ask, “What is this? What is the meaning of this breaking of the bread? What is the meaning of the cup?” You can respond, “The cup signifies the blood and the bread signifies the flesh. These two things are apart. What does this show you?” They will answer, “This means death has occurred.” The blood is on one side and the flesh on the other. The blood and the flesh are separate, and this implies death. We can demonstrate to all men that the Lord’s death is displayed here. We should preach the gospel not only with our mouth, in the meeting hall, or with our gifts but also with the Lord’s supper. This is one way of preaching the gospel. It would be a great thing in the universe if men would realize that taking the Lord’s supper is not a ritual. We are declaring His death when we take the Lord’s supper. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, has died. This is a tremendous fact displayed before us.
In men’s eyes, the Lord Jesus is no longer on the earth. But the symbols of the cross—the bread and the cup—are still here. Whenever we see the bread and the cup, we are reminded of the death of the Lord on the cross. This symbol of the cross reminds us of the constant need to remember the Lord’s death for us.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes.” The Lord will surely come back again; this is a great comfort to us. It is particularly meaningful when we associate this coming with the Lord’s supper. Do you not enjoy a good evening meal? Supper is the last meal of the day. Every week we partake of this supper of the Lord. The church has been partaking of the same supper week after week for nearly two thousand years. This supper still has not passed away. We continue to eat this supper. We wait and wait until the day the Lord comes back. When He comes back, we will no longer eat this supper. When we meet our Lord face to face, this supper will be no more. When we see Him again, we no longer will need to remember Him in this way.
Hence, the Lord’s supper is for remembering Him and for declaring His death until He comes. The Lord’s supper is for remembering Him. We hope that the brothers and sisters will focus their eyes on Him from the very start. When a person remembers the Lord Himself, spontaneously he remembers His death, and when he remembers His death, his eyes will spontaneously be set on the kingdom—the Lord will come again one day and receive us to Himself. The cross always leads to His coming; it always leads to glory. When we remember the Lord, we must lift up our heads and say, “Lord, I want to see Your face; when I see Your face, everything else will fade away.” The Lord wants us to remember Him. He wants us to declare His death continually and proclaim His death till He comes.
The Meaning of the Lords Table
First Corinthians 10 has another expression for the bread-breaking meeting. It does not call it a supper but a table. As a supper, which He instituted on the last night before His death, this meeting is for remembering Him and declaring His death till He comes. But this is only one aspect of the bread-breaking meeting. There is another aspect to the church’s breaking of bread, which is signified by the Lord’s table (v. 21). The meaning of the Lord’s table is clearly defined in verses 16 and 17, which say, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.” Two things are signified here: fellowship and oneness.
Fellowship
The first thing signified by the Lord’s table is fellowship. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ?” Do we not share the Lord’s cup when we meet? This is fellowship. First Corinthians 11 talks about the relationship between the disciples and the Lord, but chapter ten talks about the relationship between the saints. The supper is for us to remember the Lord, and the table is for us to have mutual fellowship one with another. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ?” The emphasis here is not just the drinking of the blood of Christ but a joint participation in this blood. This joint participation is the fellowship.
“The cup of blessing which we bless”—here the word cup is singular. The cup spoken of in Matthew 26:27 is also singular. According to the original text, the translation can be rendered, “And, taking the cup and giving thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you.” This is why we do not agree with using many cups, because once there is more than one cup, the meaning is changed. The cup which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? We receive of the same cup. The significance of having the same cup is fellowship. If we are not that intimate, we surely cannot drink out of one cup, each taking a sip out of it. God’s children drink out of one cup. Everyone drinks from the same cup. One takes a sip, and someone else takes another sip. We have many, yet we drink out of the same cup. This signifies fellowship.
Hallelujah Fellowsippers