OUTLINE TWO

THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE LORD

(2)

Scripture Reading: John 6:33-35, 48; Psa. 16:5; 23:5; 116:13; Rev. 14:10; Luke 22:19-20; Heb. 8:6-13; 9:16-17

6. The significances of the bread and the cup, both of which are symbols:
   1. The bread signifies the Lord's physical body that He gave for us on the cross in order to impart His life into us.
   2. The bread also signifies the Lord's mystical Body constituted of many members regenerated through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, having been enlivened with the Triune God's life and brought into an organic union with the Triune God.
   3. The cup signifies the blood that He shed for us on the cross in order to redeem us so that our sins might be forgiven.
   4. What is the meaning of the bread?
      1. Bread in the Scriptures signifies life.
         1. In John 6:33-35 Christ said that He is the bread of life that gives life to the world.
         2. In John 6:48 Christ said again, "I am the bread of life"; the bread of life refers to the nature of the bread, which is life.
         3. When we see or receive the bread that we break, we should consider how the Lord became flesh for us, how He died for us in the flesh, and how His body was broken for us and given to us that we may have His life.
         4. This is the meaning related to eating the Lord's supper; the Lord's body being broken to be given as bread to us means that He gave His body for us that we may have His life.
      2. Bread in the Scriptures also signifies corporateness.
         1. In 1 Corinthians 10:17 the bread is a symbol of an organic composition—a corporate body: "For we who are many are one bread, one Body."
         2. The bread in this aspect signifies something that issued from the Lord in resurrection.
            1. 1) Before His death, the Lord Jesus was a single grain of wheat—John 12:24.
            2. 2) But what issued out of His death in resurrection was much fruit, a corporate entity, a loaf, the bread, a corporate Body—1 Cor. 10:17.
         3. All the believers, the grains (John 12:24), are ground into fine flour and then blended together to form one loaf (1 Cor. 10:17).
         4. In the one loaf, we see that all the children of God are one.
         5. On the one hand, we remember the Lord and enjoy Him by receiving the body which He gave for us on the cross in His death; on the other hand, we enjoy the mystical Body which He produced through His resurrection from the dead by fellowshipping with all the saints in this mystical Body and by testifying of the oneness of this mystical Body.
         6. This is the meaning related to attending the Lord's table; the bread refers to the Lord's corporate Body, which He constituted with all the regenerated saints through His resurrection from the dead.
   5. What is the meaning of the cup?
      1. In the Scriptures the wine is called the cup.
         1. The bread, however, is not called the plate.
         2. Why then does the Bible call the wine by its container?
      2. The cup in the Scriptures signifies the "portion."
         1. Psalm 16:5 says, "The Lord is the portion of...my cup."
         2. Psalm 23:5 says, "My cup runneth over."
         3. In Psalm 116:13 we have the cup of salvation; this is God's portion allotted to His people.
         4. In Revelation 14:10 we have the cup of God's wrath; this is God's portion allotted to those who deny Him.
            1. 1) The portion of a sinner's cup is the "cup of His wrath," full of the "wine of the fury of God."
            2. 2) Christ drank this cup for us—John 18:11.
         When Christ drank the cup of wrath, His blood was poured out, and this brought salvation to us, bringing us a new cup.
         1. 1) In the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 10:16, this new cup is called the cup of blessing.
         2. 2) In the Old Testament, in Psalm 116:13, this cup was called the cup of salvation.
         5. In the Lord's table meeting, we should consider the Lord and what He did for us not only when we see or receive the bread, which we break, but also when we see or receive the cup, which we drink.
   6. What is the cup of blessing?
      1. The blood of Christ is signified by the fruit of the vine within the cup (Matt. 26:29), but the portion is not the blood.
         1. The blood is the essence of Christ, but the Lord is the portion of the cup.
         2. The blood did two things for us.
            1. 1) It washed away our sins.
            2. 2) It brought God Himself to us.
      2. Whenever we drink of the cup, we should consider how the Lord partook of flesh and blood for us (Heb. 2:14), how He shed His blood for us, and how He bore our sins, was made sin for us, and was judged and cursed for us; all this was accomplished that we might have the topmost blessing, that is, to be delivered from sin and obtain God and all that is of Him as our cup of blessing.
      3. When we receive the cup, we should also consider how we have been redeemed, forgiven, sanctified, justified, reconciled, and accepted by God through the Lord's blood; how it now cleanses us from our sins and washes our conscience so that we may come to God with boldness; how it speaks better things before God; and how it resists the attacks from the evil spirits for us so that we may overcome the devil who accuses us.
      4. In Luke 22:20 the cup is the new covenant or title deed which was enacted by the blood of Christ and testifies of the portion we receive from God.
         1. His blood instituted a new covenant, a better covenant (Heb. 8:6-13), which became the new testament after His resurrection (Heb. 9:16-17).
         2. The blood Christ shed on the cross has become a covenant, and this covenant has become a cup, a portion, which is God Himself as a blessing for our enjoyment; God is allotted to us in this cup.
            1. 1) This new covenant became the base for God to become one with His redeemed and regenerated people in the dispensation of grace.
            2. 2) In this covenant, God gives us forgiveness, life, salvation and every heavenly, divine, and spiritual blessing.
            3. 3) When this new covenant is given to us, it is a cup (Luke 22:20); in this cup are all the blessings of God and even God Himself as our portion.
      5. The Lord shed the blood, God established the covenant, and we enjoy the cup in which God and all that is of Him are our eternal, blessed portion.
   7. Thus, the bread signifies our participation in life and the fellowship of the Body of Christ, and the cup signifies our enjoyment of the Triune God Himself as our unique portion and blessing (Num. 6:23-27; 2 Cor. 13:14).