According to the New Testament, there are different categories of the gathering. These categories include the gathering for the Lord’s table, the gathering for prayer, the gathering for edification by exercising the spiritual gifts, the gathering for reading the Word of God, the gathering for listening to messages, the gathering for preaching the gospel, and the gathering for fellowship regarding God’s move.
The first category of the gathering is the gathering for the Lord’s table. Acts 20:7 says, “On the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bread.” To break bread is to eat the Lord’s supper, to participate in the Lord’s table, remembering the Lord who died for us (1 Cor. 11:20, 23-25). This should be the first kind of regular meeting for us who have been redeemed by the Lord’s death.
The first day of the week was the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10). On the first day of the week the believers gathered together to break bread in remembrance of the Lord. This indicates that at that time the apostle and the church considered the first day of the week a day to meet together for the Lord, gathering for the Lord’s table. The first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, is the day of the Lord’s resurrection and the beginning of a new week, signifying that the old things have passed away and that a new life has begun. Therefore, it is most appropriate to break bread to remember the Lord on this day.
In 1 Corinthians 10:21 Paul uses the term “the table of the Lord,” and in 11:20 he uses the term “the Lord’s supper.” There is an important difference between the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s table refers to the enjoyment of the Lord in fellowship. Hence, the significance of the Lord’s table is enjoyment for participation, enjoyment for fellowship. When we say that we take the Lord’s table, we mean that we enjoy the Lord in the fellowship of Him. This is for our enjoyment and satisfaction. The Lord’s supper, however, is for His satisfaction. It is for the remembrance of Him.
Regarding the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper, there is mutuality. The Lord’s table is for our enjoyment, but the Lord’s supper is for His enjoyment. Sometimes we may say, “Lord, we come to Your table and partake of it.” This indicates that we are enjoying the Lord. At other times we may say, “Lord, we thank You that we can have Your supper.” This indicates that we are remembering the Lord for His enjoyment and satisfaction.
The gathering for the Lord’s table is first to remember the Lord. Luke 22:19 says, “Having taken a loaf, when He had given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this unto the remembrance of Me.” First Corinthians 11:25 tells us, “Similarly also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; this do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me.” The gathering for the Lord’s table is not for anything other than remembering the Lord, with the remembrance of the Lord as its center for the Lord’s enjoyment. Everything in this meeting, whether hymn singing, prayer, Bible reading, or words of inspiration, should take the Lord as the center, speaking either concerning His person and work, His love and virtues, His living or suffering on earth, or His honor and glory in heaven, that others may consider these things in order to remember the Lord Himself. In such a meeting we should think of the Lord in our hearts and behold the Lord in our spirit that we may be inspired concerning Him. Then we shall express our inspiration through songs, prayers, reading of the Bible, or words, so that the feeling of the meeting will be directed to the Lord and that all will remember Him.
At the Lord’s table we remember the Lord by eating the bread, which signifies His body given for His believers (1 Cor. 11:24), and by drinking the cup, which signifies His blood shed for their sins (Matt. 26:28). The bread denotes life (John 6:35), the life of God, the eternal life, and the cup denotes blessing (1 Cor. 10:16), which is God Himself as our portion. As sinners, our portion should have been the cup of God’s wrath (Rev. 14:10). But the Lord Jesus drank that cup for us (John 18:11), and His salvation has become our portion, the cup of salvation (Psa. 116:13) that runs over (Psa. 23:5), the content of which is God as our all-inclusive blessing. Such bread and such a cup are the constituents of the Lord’s supper, which is a table, a feast, set up by Him so that we may remember Him by enjoying Him as such a feast. Thus we testify of His rich and marvelous salvation to the entire universe and display His redeeming and life-imparting death (1 Cor. 11:26).
By attending the Lord’s table we receive proper nourishment for our growth in life. Yes, we come to the Lord’s table to remember the Lord. Nevertheless, we need to realize that participating in the Lord’s table is the best way for us to be spiritually nourished. In no other meeting do we emphasize eating and drinking as we do in the Lord’s table meeting. At the Lord’s table we eat and drink. Nourishment comes into us through this eating and drinking. When we eat the Lord’s body and drink His blood, we not only receive nourishment but also enjoy the Lord Himself and all that He has accomplished for us by giving His body and shedding His blood. To receive and enjoy the Lord in this way is to remember Him. It is when we eat, drink, and enjoy the Lord that we truly remember Him.
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