Finally, we have to mention two or three things. In particular, we have to take care of one matter in the bread-breaking meeting: As those who are cleansed by the Lord’s blood, we do not come to ask for the cleansing of His blood. As those who have received the Lord’s life, we do not come to ask for His life. Therefore, we should have only words of blessing in this meeting. “The cup of blessing which we bless.” Actually, we bless what the Lord has already blessed. On the night that He was betrayed, the Lord “took bread and blessed it, and He took a cup and gave thanks” (Matt. 26:26-27). There the Lord only blessed and gave thanks. After the Lord broke the bread, He and the disciples came out singing (v. 30). The proper tone for this meeting is blessing and praise. In this meeting, we do not plead or preach. It may be all right to speak something directly related to the Lord. It may not even be necessary to do this. But definitely any other kind of preaching is unsuitable. (Paul’s word in a bread-breaking meeting in Troas in Acts 20 was an exception.) We should restrict ourselves to only thanksgiving and praise in this meeting.
We break bread once a week. When the Lord instituted the supper, He said, “This do, as often as...” (1 Cor. 11:25). The early church broke bread on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Our Lord not only died but also resurrected. We remember the Lord in resurrection. The first day of the week is the day of the Lord’s resurrection. The most important thing on the first day of the week is to remember the Lord. I hope that all the brothers and sisters would not forget this.
We must also be counted “worthy” when we remember the Lord. First Corinthians 11:27-29 says, “So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and in this way let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not discern the body.” The most important thing to remember when we come to the table is to be counted worthy. This does not refer to whether or not the person is worthy but whether or not his attitude is worthy. If a person belongs to the Lord, he can partake of the bread. If he does not belong to the Lord, he cannot partake of the bread. Thus, it is not a question of whether the person is worthy. It is a question of the attitude. It is wrong for us to be careless and not discern the body when we partake of it. This is why the Lord wants us to discern. Although there is no problem with our person, we must realize that we are partaking of the Lord’s body while we are eating. We should not be careless, sloppy, despising, or loose in attitude. We must take it in a manner worthy of the Lord’s body. The Lord has given us His blood and His flesh. We should receive them and remember the Lord in a godly way.