1. “The Lord Jesus...took bread...broke it and said... this do unto the remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:23-24).
When we come together to break bread, it is not for the purpose of praying to receive grace or to hear a message to be edified; rather, it is to remember the Lord. Thus, the nature of the bread-breaking meeting is different from any other meeting. Other meetings, which have prayer, messages, exhortation, and testimonies as their center, are for us to obtain something. In contrast, our remembrance of the Lord is the center of the bread-breaking meeting, and it is for the Lord to obtain something. Therefore, in the bread-breaking meeting all the hymns, the prayers of thanksgiving and praise, the reading of Scripture, or the spiritual speaking should center on the Lord and declare the Lord’s person, work, grace, virtues, life and suffering on earth, or honor and glory in the heavens in order that all would remember the Lord Himself. In the bread-breaking meeting, our actions should bring the hearts and minds of everyone to the Lord, causing them to see Him and to offer thanksgiving, praise, worship, and love to Him. In this meeting we should not do anything that would disrupt our thoughts and hearts, causing us to be inwardly unable to turn to the Lord or to focus our thoughts and hearts on Him. In this meeting we should focus on the Lord and behold Him so that we are filled with spiritual feelings about Him, which we can outwardly express in hymns, prayers, Scripture readings, or prophesying, in order to keep the entire attention of the meeting on the Lord Himself and to enable everyone to sense the Lord or some aspect concerning Him in remembrance of Him.
In the bread-breaking meeting, when we see or receive the bread, we should consider how the Lord was incarnated for us, how He died for us in the flesh, and how His body was broken for us and dispensed to us, giving us His life. When we see the bread or receive the bread, we should consider how the bread is made from wheat, which passed through wind and sun, which was ground and baked to become a loaf that could be broken, and which was broken to become the portion that we enjoy. This speaks of the experiences that the Lord passed through for His life to become our enjoyment. Based on the meaning of these symbols, we should consider the sufferings that the Lord experienced on our behalf as our remembrance of the Lord Himself. Before the bread, we should think only of the Lord and all that His love has accomplished for us; we should not think of ourselves or anything concerning ourselves, because we are in a meeting to remember the Lord.
2. “Similarly also the cup...saying...this do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:25).
In the bread-breaking meeting we should not only think of the Lord and all that He has done for us when we look at the bread and receive it, we should also remember Him when we look at the cup and receive it. When we see the cup and receive it to drink, we should consider how the Lord partook of flesh and blood for us (Heb. 2:14), how He gave up His body for us to obtain His life, and how He shed His blood for us so that we could obtain the highest blessing of being freed from sin and gaining God and all that He is and has. As we drink the cup, we should consider how the grapes went through the process of being crushed in order for their juice to flow out. From the meaning of this symbol, we should consider how the Lord was pressed by God, how He bore our sins and became sin for us, how He was judged in our place, became a curse, and shed His blood to become our cup of blessing as our portion. We should consider how we have redemption, forgiveness of sins, sanctification, justification, reconciliation to God, and acceptance by God through the Lord’s blood. We should consider how the blood washes us of our sins, cleanses our conscience, and stops our conscience from condemning us, enabling us to boldly approach God without fear. We should consider how it argues before God on our behalf, speaks better words for us, defends us against the attack of evil spirits, and causes us to overcome our accuser Satan. We should think only of His love, His sufferings, and His accomplishments in the shedding of His blood for us. We should not think of our sins and offenses when we see the cup, which symbolizes the Lord’s blood. The cup that we drink should cause us to remember the Lord and to think of His accomplishments in the shedding of His blood for us; its purpose is not related to the remembrance of our sins, offenses, and trespasses.
1. “Jesus took bread...and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat”; “This is My body which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me”; “And He took a cup...and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood”; “Which is being poured out for you”; “This do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me” (Matt. 26:26; Luke 22:19; Matt. 26:27-28; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25).
Although the center of the bread-breaking meeting is our remembrance of the Lord, our remembrance is not merely to think about the Lord and all that He accomplished for us but also to enjoy the Lord and all that He accomplished for us. The Lord said that eating the bread and drinking the cup are a remembrance of Him. The bread and the cup symbolize His body and His blood. Thus, eating the bread and drinking the cup symbolize our eating of His body and our drinking of His blood. His body and blood, which were given for us, are the means by which He accomplished everything for us. However, eating and drinking involve more than just receiving; there is also enjoyment. When we eat the Lord’s body and drink the Lord’s blood, we are not only receiving but also enjoying Him and all that He accomplished by giving His body and shedding His blood for us. This is our remembrance of Him. Our remembrance of Him through the breaking of bread is not only objective; it is not a remembrance of someone who is outside of us and far away from us but a subjective remembrance of the Lord whom we have received into us as our enjoyment.
When people in the world remember someone, they can only think about a person, including his kindness, good deeds, and notable achievements. But when we remember the Lord, we do not merely think about the Lord’s grace, love, virtues, honor, glory, and marvelous works; we actually receive and enjoy Him and all that He is and has. People in the world can only remember those who are far away; they cannot receive the ones whom they remember into themselves as their enjoyment. But we can do more than simply remember a person who is no longer with us; we can receive the Lord into us as our life supply and as the enjoyment of our heart.
Whenever we break bread to remember the Lord, we should not just quietly think about the Lord’s person and work; we should offer up praises and thanksgiving, opening our spirits to receive the Lord and all that He is and has as our inward enjoyment. The more we enjoy the Lord, the more we remember Him. The true meaning of remembering the Lord is enjoyment. When we break bread, we inwardly receive the Lord and all that He is and has as our enjoyment. This is our true remembrance of Him.