In chapter ten Paul does not say anything about participating in the Lord’s table until He comes. But in 11:26 he says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes.” The Lord’s coming will bring in God’s kingdom for His administration. His first coming was for our redemption, but His second coming will be for God’s administration. When we take of the Lord’s table, we care for our enjoyment. But when we take of the Lord’s supper, we care for His remembrance and God’s administration. The Lord’s table is for our enjoyment. However, the Lord’s supper is for His enjoyment and satisfaction. Furthermore, His satisfaction is dependent on God’s administration carried out by Him. Do you intend to give the Lord the best remembrance? If you do, then you must take care of the mystical Body, the means for Him to carry out God’s administration on earth. We must remember Him in this way until He comes. We do this to carry out His administration until He comes back and brings His kingdom to earth.
We have emphasized the fact that when we take the Lord’s table we enjoy Him, and when we eat the Lord’s supper we satisfy Him by remembering Him and caring for God’s administration. But in what way do we take care of this administration? It is by discerning the Body. Many Christians have no idea what it means to discern the Body.
To discern the Body is first to realize that Christ has only one mystical Body. But look at the situation among Christians today. How many divisions there are! Each denomination and group has its own bread. Some even go so far as to insist that if you have not been baptized by them in their water, you will not be allowed to participate in their bread. When we come to the Lord’s supper, we must discern the Body to determine whether the bread on the table represents the unique mystical Body of Christ. This is a matter of great importance.
The unique mystical Body of Christ is the means for God to carry out His administration. God’s eternal purpose is to have a group of saved, redeemed, and regenerated people who have become one to be an organic Body to carry out His administration. But Satan’s subtle device is to cut the Body into pieces. This frustrates God’s administration. As long as we are in a division, we are through with God’s administration. For this reason, today’s Christianity has become useless as far as the carrying out of the divine administration is concerned. Christians may preach the gospel to save souls or teach the Bible to help others know the Word. But this is absolutely not adequate to carry out God’s administration. The carrying out of the divine administration needs the unique Body, the mystical Body. Because we realize this, we hate division and are absolutely opposed to it.
Divisions damage the mystical Body of Christ with respect to the carrying out of God’s administration. Although Christians can preach the gospel and teach the Bible, there are few who care for the mystical Body of Christ for the carrying out of God’s administration on earth. Suppose all Christians would care for this. How marvelous this situation would be! What an administration God could have on earth! But the divisions among Christians not only paralyze the Body of Christ; they even cause the Body to be cut in pieces. This makes it extremely difficult for God to accomplish anything on earth for the carrying out of His administration. For centuries God has not been able to carry out His administration because the unique means for this—the mystical Body of Christ—has been cut into pieces through division.
Throughout the years we have been deeply impressed with the significance of the Lord’s table. We know that Jesus’ physical body was given for the accomplishment of our redemption so that we may enjoy Him in fellowship. Therefore, we often pray, “Lord, thank You for Your redeeming blood. Thank You for redeeming us by shedding Your blood. Lord, we also thank You that you have given Your body on the cross to bear our sins, to die for us, and to terminate the old creation. Lord, now we are here enjoying Your table. You gave Yourself through death and now, in resurrection, You are on the table for our enjoyment.” Now we must also be impressed that to eat the Lord’s supper is to satisfy Him. It is to give Him our remembrance. This implies that we are here for the carrying out of God’s administration. In order that God’s administration may be carried out, we must care for the oneness of the unique mystical Body of Christ. Having such a concern will preserve us in the Body and keep us from any division. If we have this understanding of the Lord’s supper, we shall not be divided by anything. Rather, we shall remain in the unique mystical Body, the means for Christ to carry out His heavenly ministry for the accomplishment of the divine administration.