In 10:16 Paul comes to another important point: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a fellowship of the body of Christ?” First Corinthians 1:9 speaks of the fellowship of the Son, but 10:16 speaks of the fellowship of the body and blood of Christ. The fellowship in 10:16 is more practical than that in 1:9, for in 10:16 Christ’s blood is separate from His body, indicating that it is possible for us to feast on Him. However, in 1:9 Christ as the Son of God is not yet ready for us to partake of by eating Him.
The practicality of the fellowship in 10:16 may be illustrated by the way a chicken is processed for eating. Years ago in China sisters in the church often gave my family a chicken. Their intention was that this chicken be used for our nourishment. A chicken was a genuine gift. However, it was not yet practical for eating. Before a chicken can nourish us, it must be killed, cooked, and then served on the dining table. In like manner, in order to become our feast, Christ, the Son of God, had to be processed. In 10:16 we see that His blood and His body are now on the table, a place of feasting. This points to the fact that Christ has been incarnated and crucified. The blood separate from the body indicates crucifixion. Nevertheless, the fact that Christ is on the table points to His resurrection. Therefore, on the table we see Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.
If Christ had not been incarnated, He could not have blood and a body. If He had not been crucified, His blood could not be separated from His body. If He had not been resurrected, He could not be on the table as our food. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table and see the bread and cup, we should say, “Lord, how I worship You! You are the incarnated One, the crucified One, and the resurrected One. I thank You, Lord, that through incarnation You put on a human body with blood and flesh. I also thank You that through crucifixion Your blood was separated from Your body. Now, in resurrection, You are served to us on the table. O Lord, I praise You!”
In chapter ten the wonderful One into whose fellowship we have been called becomes very practical to us. Now we can take Him into us by eating Him. As we shall see in a later message, the table with the body and blood of Christ is the reality of Christ as the good land. Christ not only has blood and a body, but He is also the table, and this table is the good land.
In 1 Corinthians Paul does not deal with the problems among the believers in a religious way or in a natural, human way. On the contrary, his way of dealing with problems is altogether related to the enjoyment of Christ. Paul knew that problems among Christians are caused by a shortage of the enjoyment of Christ. If a brother and his wife are having problems, this proves that they are short of Christ. They lack the proper enjoyment of Christ. Likewise, if there are problems among the elders, or in a local church, or among the saints, this also is a sign of the shortage of the enjoyment of Christ.
Because Paul realized that the problems among the Corinthians were due to the lack of the enjoyment of Christ, he dealt with their problems by pointing to Christ as their portion for their enjoyment. In this Epistle it seems as if Paul is telling the Corinthians, “You need to realize that Christ alone is your portion. You should not find your portion in wisdom or philosophy. God has called you into the fellowship of Christ as your portion. Today this portion is the Spirit, and you are one spirit with Him. Furthermore, Christ, the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected One, is now presented to you on the table as a feast for your nourishment and enjoyment. You are invited to enjoy this One served to you on the table. If you enjoy Him as the table and also as the good land, you will be nourished. Then there will be no problems in the church.”
The reason we have problems in certain matters is that we are short of the enjoyment of Christ. If we have problems in the church life or in our family life, it is because we lack the adequate enjoyment of Christ. What we need is not a doctrinal Christ in our mentality, but a Christ in our spirit whom we can enjoy and experience in a practical way. If we see that the all-inclusive Christ who indwells our spirit as the life-giving Spirit is our unique portion for our enjoyment, and if we exercise our spirit to call on Him day by day, our married life and church life will be filled with Christ. As a result, we shall not be disturbed by anything in our married life or church life. We shall care only for Christ, and we shall not have the taste or the appetite for anything other than Christ. We shall desire Christ and Christ alone, and we shall feast on Him at the Lord’s table. This is the revelation found in the book of 1 Corinthians.