I. The Manner of Christ’s
Presence at the Table
A] First, we must remember that
a Sacrament is not just a divinely sanctioned worship service but rather it is
a sign and seal of the covenant itself. As such, it rests at the very heart of
God’s relationship to His people. At the Lord’s Table Christ is spiritually
present in much the same way that He was present in the
Note: when we say that, “Christ
has identified himself with the Sacrament in a unique way” and when we say
that, “He has made His name to dwell there”, what we are describing is God’s covenantal presence. It is this
covenantal presence that places the sacrament at the heart of God’s
relationship with His people and sets it off from all other worship services.
God’s covenantal presence has two fundamental
characteristics that distinguish it and make it unique:
- First,
God’s covenantal presence is corporate.
That is, God meets with His people as a people. Remember, the most comprehensive
expression of our relationship with God and the salvation He has given us
is corporate. (Christ did not die for us piecemeal. Rather He died for us
as a people once for all. When we are saved we are incorporated into
Christ’s body. Our individuality is seen most profoundly in its right
relation to other believers. Our hope and future are bound together with
the hope and future of God’s people.) Therefore, it is not surprising to
find that the fullest manifestation of God’s presence with His people is
likewise corporate. The first trait of God’s covenantal presence is that
it marks God meeting with His people as
a people.
- Second,
God’s covenantal presence is administrative.
That is, God meats with His people to administer His covenant relationship
with them. Notice then, just as God administered His relationship with His
Old Testament people at the Temple, through the many sacrifices, so too,
He now administers this relationship at the Table through Christ’s onetime
sacrifice.
Thus, Christ’s spiritual
presence is a covenantal presence at the heart of our relationship with God. It
is at the Table that Christ meets with His people as a people and administers
His relationship with them. All other aspects of the faith proceed from and
return to this point. In other words, the covenant relationship, expounded by
Scripture and enjoyed in its various capacities by God’s people, is partaken of
in its most comprehensive manner at the Table.
B] Second, we must remember that
the bread and wine do not contain or become Christ. Christ is not in the meal but at the meal. In other words, Christ’s presence is not limited to or
localized in the corporality of the signs but is uniquely and specially
identified with the service as a whole. Thus the account of the Last Supper in
Scripture provides not only the institution of the Sacrament but also a picture
of the manner in which Christ meets with His people. He meets with them in
fellowship at the table.
Bottom line: Christ is
spiritually present at the Lord’s
Supper in a unique and objective manner. His presence may be described as a covenantal presence. This presence is
apprehended by faith.
II. The Nature and Function of the Elements
The bread and wine signify Christ
and the work He accomplished for His people. That is they portray Christ in the
fullest terms. They present Him both in terms of His incarnation and in terms
of the significance of that incarnation. Two points:
First, the elements cannot be
abstracted from Christ. Christ is the new covenant. His body and blood, life
and death are the merits by which the believer is nourished. The elements then
do not represent a theological notion, they signify Christ our Savior. As such,
it is through these signs that Christ’s spiritual and covenantal presence is
both apprehended and guaranteed. Thus, when we perceive these outward signs by
faith we are assured of the very spiritual reality they signify. In other
words, as actually and truly as the elements are present, so too is Christ
spiritually present. To see the one, is to be assured
of the other.
Second, the elements are the
meal that Christ gives His people to nourish them. That is, the elements are
signs and seals of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood. As signs the elements tell us what
we receive. They represent the body and blood of Christ’s one time sacrifice.
Thus, to partake of the Sacrament by faith is to receive the full blessing and
benefit of Christ’s saving work. As seals,
the elements guarantee our full and
personal reception of these blessings at the time of the meal. Thus, to receive
the signs by faith is to receive the very spiritual reality they signify.
Bottom line: Christ is
spiritually present at the Table to nourish His people. His spiritual presence
is apprehended by faith through the signs of the Sacrament that represent Him.
At the Table, Christ is the host and the elements are the meal that Christ
gives His people to feed them. The meal that Christ provides is the full merit
and grace of His one time sacrifice.
III.
The Liturgy as Active
Christ has sanctioned His table
as the focal point of His fellowship with His people and His people with each
other. As such, we come to the Lord’s Table with joy and thanksgiving to
actively commune with our Savior and His Church. Here then is the heart of
Covenant fellowship. Christ’s unique presence at the table is a time when the
spiritual union between the believer and his Lord is presented to the eyes of
faith in a concentrated manner. At the table, Christ receives us to Himself and
we in turn receive Him into ourselves by faith as we eat and drink the signs of
His body and blood. As such, Christ has set apart the Sacrament as a special
and sacred time for He and His people to enjoy the
mystic union that forever binds them.
Second, as the heart of
fellowship, the Eucharist is relational in its essence. Therefore, the believer
is not merely a passive recipient.
Rather, he is an active participant.
As such, we offer our worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God for the gift of
His Son. Second, we offer all that we are, have, and do in service and
obedience to God, knowing that God has redeemed the whole of life. However, it
is important to remember that we do not make these offerings by way of original
merit. Rather, we offer them on the basis of Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice.
Notice then that during the Eucharist, each party brings to the Table what is
his to offer. You bring God your specific struggles, sins, and needs. Christ
brings the grace that forgives and heals those specifics. As grace begins to
heal you, you begin to serve God more and more throughout the week with the
renewed area of your life. Finally, you return to the Lord’s Table on Sunday to
offer God the fruit of that grace in praise and thanksgiving. Such then is the
true and full meaning of liturgy as the work of God’s people. It is the whole
life renewed by grace and given in service to God.
Thus, the Lord’s Supper is a
time of true fellowship at the heart of a true relationship. Each party comes rejoicing in his love for the other and bringing to
the table what is his to give.
Finally, the act or performance
of the Eucharist is the fulfillment of the particular liturgy of each order
(laity/deaconate/priest). The particular function of each order and their
mutual dependence underscore the unity and corporate nature of the body of
Christ. Without this unity and love, the Church cannot not
rightly worship God nor can she successfully accomplish His mission to
proclaim the Gospel to the world. The act of the Eucharist then is the supreme
expression of life in Christ. It brings to full expression our fellowship with
God, our active part in this fellowship, and our dependence on one another.
