THE DISTINCTION
BETWEEN
AND
BRIEFLY CONSIDERED.
Bv R. F. Kingscoat.
Part 2 - THE LORD’S SUPPER CONNECTED WITH THE GROUND OF GATHERING
THE LORD’S SUPPER
AND
THE GROUND OF GATHERING,
I Cor. xi. 17-34.
LAST week we were speaking of the Lord’s table, and the chief thought in the subject which is set out in chapter x. was found in Verse 21 : the partaking of he Lord’s table, which is an absolute fact, true of every Christian ; it is the participation in all the value of the death of Christ before God, and this is expressed in the breaking of bread, when we actually break the bread and drink the cup. It is we who break the bread in chapter x.; here in chapter xi. it is the Lord Himself who does it: ” The Lord Jesus . . . took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake . . . he took the cup, when he had supped.”
When we actually take the bread, we eat and assimilate it, and it becomes part of ourselves. This is a figure of what we do in the breaking of bread ; we are identified before God in all the value of Christ once offered. Whenever we have the expression, ” the body of Christ,” the complete end of ourselves as men in the flesh is contemplated, as we clearly saw last week. What, then, is the practical result ? One is almost afraid to speak of it. We are always partakers of the Lord’s table. How happy it would be then, if we allowed nothing on ourselves and associations that the death of Christ delivered us from, and put away from us all that characerises the old man in consistency with the truth of ” the bread which we break”—and the same with that of the cup. Oh, may it be so with us. And it is blessed to know that it is not a question of what we are in ourselves, but of what we are before God in all the infinite value of the sacrifice of Christ, and accepted in all the sweet savour of what Christ is to God.
Chapter x. shows how the righteous love of God can come out to us, a :d we respond in praise and worship to Him. If consistent with this, we should allow nothing from which His death has delivered us, whether natural, worldly, or religious. It is a tremendous thing, when you think of it.
In chapter x., our assembling together, though involved, is not the principal thought; but in the case of the Lord’s supper, it is. The frequent occurrence of the words, ” come together,” proves this; in verses 17, 18, 20, 33 and 34, we have them. The assembly comes together on three different occasions in this epistle : in chapter v., in order to maintain the holiness of God’s house by putting away a wicked person ; here, to eat the Lord’s supper ; and in chapter xiv., in a more general way, for edification.
It will not be amiss to consider the assembling together, because it is a great thing for us all to see its importance, seeing it is the divinely appointed way that all Christians should thus come together.
First of all, “come together in assembly” (verse 18, N.T.) gives the character of the assembling ; ” in one place ” (verse 20) indicates the locality. I ask those who are wont so to meet, Have you ever thought what coming together in assembly involves ? It is of the very highest importance to see what scripture says on the subject, and I will now just state what I think it embraces and then turn you to scripture to prove it.
First, what it is not: it is not a gathering to hear an address, or a gospel preaching, where one exercises his gift in dependence on the Lord in fellowship with one’s brethren, neither would a reading meeting be coming together in assembly, where we usually know before what we are going to read, and where we read the scriptures and talk about them together, counting on God for His blessing. Here it is—” in assembly.”
First, we come together as members of the body of Christ, ” For we, being many, are one bread, one body: for we are all partakers of that one loaf” (chapter x. 17). It would be impossible to apply this literally and think of every Christian in every part of the world gathered into one place, and partaking of one actual loaf. But we come together as members of the body of Christ, taking account of all the members. In this verse ” we are all partakers” means all Christians. We come together, then, thus ; and surely, it is desirable that all should have a right sense of being members of Christ’s body.
Further, we recognise, when thus gathered, that wonderful truth that the Holy Ghost has come down to dwell on earth after the glorification of Jesus, that the church is the dwelling place of God by the Spirit. Another thing, when we are gaithered together, God, by the Spirit is acting there to order and direct all that is to be done.
This is a most important truth, although many have little sense of it ; but how important it is that all should be able to see from scripture the ground on which God would have His saints come together. Suppose someone said to you : ” I came to your room the other morning and it was quite different to anything I had been to before ; there were long pauses, and no one seemed to take the lead, but all was very solemn and impressive; I have never seen an) thing like it before. Could you explain why you meet in this way ? was it the invention of some man ?” What, answer would you give ? Could you produce scriptural warrant for this ? Some take it for granted that it is right, and, indeed, have a distinct sense that it is according to God, but we want to get it from scripture and know the power of it. For instance, do you really believe God Himself is actually there, when we come together in the assembly of the saints ? Would not the sense of this produce fitting behaviour and proper reverence with us ? When we, as children, went to church, we had to behave properly, show due reverence, take off our hats and so on, because we were told it was the house of God. How much more reverence becomes those who are in the presence of God in the assembly of His saints ! In chapter xiv. 24, 25 an unconverted man owns God’s presence there. What a wonderful reality it must be!
Such, then, is what I believe “coming together in assembly” means, but let us turn to a few scriptures. First, it is of importance to see the fact of the Holy Ghost being a Divine Person and of His presence here; it is a very real thing to know the presence on this earth of a Divine Person since the day of Pentecost. For example, in the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts v.,what does Peter say ? “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost? . . . Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” The Holy Ghost is God, but we are apt to think of Him as a mere influence. Again, in Acts x., when Peter was musing on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, ” Get thee down, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.” Does not this show the Personality, if I may so put it, of the Spirit ? So the church on earth is the dwelling-place of God by the Spirit (Eph. ii. 22). Solomon was quite astounded at the idea: ” But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth ?•” he asked at the dedication of the Temple (2 Chron. vi. 18). Yet this is true, it is a fact since Pentecost.
Next, what authority have we for saying, that when we are thus gathered, the Holy Ghost actually guides and directs ? Look at chapter xiv. 23, where we have a similar expression to chapter xi. 20 : ” When ye come together into one place “; and here we have ” The whole assembly came together into one place.” What does this assembly consist of? (See verse 33.) God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all assemblies of the saints. It is not a mixed company of saved and unsaved, but an assembly of the saints, although an unbeliever might come into the place where the assembly was gathered; and if all prophesied, he would fall down on his face and worship God, and report that ” God is in you of a truth ” (verses 24, 25).
It is very beautiful, this company composed of saints only. God (by the Spirit) in all assemblies of the saints. God is there guiding and directing as to what is to be done in the assembly of the saints. And this chapter shows the liberty when we come together for every brother to take part, as led by the Spirit of God. Many skip over this chapter and read chapter xiii. and go straight on to chapter xv. and yet, so far as I know, this is the only chapter in the Bible that gives the internal working of the assembly, when assembled together. Hence its importance.
Let us look at one or two points. In verse 15, we read : ” I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” They prayed and sang in the assembly as led by the Spirit. In verse 19, we have teaching in the assembly; and in verse 23, prophesying. Prophets in the New Testament are those who communicate the mind of God for the moment to His saints, so as to reach the conscience. Hence the exhortation : ” Despise not prophesyings “•—not teaching ; and we must be careful not to push aside as inapplicable to ourselves, or as meriting little attention, these God-given prophecies. In verse 24, the conscience is reached and the person brought into the presence of God through the prophesyings of all, and he admits that God is in them of a truth. There have been meetings at which there was such a sense of the presence of God, that it would have been an intrusion for anyone to get up to minister or teach. It is important that all should get a sense of the actual presence of God when the saints are assembled, and the children taught to behave properly in consequence.
Verse 26. The apostle does not find fault with their having a revelation or a doctrine; what he does say, is : Mind, if you take part ‘ in the assembly, let it be for edification. For it does not follow that what I may be enjoying personally is for general edification ; it is a question of the Spirit’s leading. The tongues were gifts then, but they have ceased now: “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all assemblies of the saints.” That, then, is the scripture authority that God, by the Spirit, is in the assembly of the saints to order and direct.
We may notice, by the way, ver es 34 and 35. Women have their place in the Lord’s service as well as men, and often can serve in a way that men cannot. How beautifully the service of women is brought in, in the Gospels ! “They ministered unto Him of their substance.” What higher service could Mary and Joanna and the rest have performed than ministering to Jesus the things He needed ? Look how prominent, too, women are at the cross and at the sepulchre. Then we have Phebe (Rom. xvi. i) and in Acts, Priscilla, who worked with her husband Aqurla. They got Apollos right; told him all the truth of Christianity on the lines of Heb. vi. i : Christ risen and glorified, and the Holy Ghost come down ; for before he knew only the baptism of John.
” If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord ” (i Cor. xiv. 37). This verse is very strongly put. The coming together in the way described in this chapter is the commandment of the Lord. It is not left to us to come together as we think fit, but we have Divine directions in this chapter as to the assembling of the saints.
Supposing an assembly composed of unconverted people came together in this way, what confusion there would be without a leader and without any pre-arranged organisation ; but here we come together, not knowing at all what is going to be done or who will take part, but all is harmony, for the Holy Ghost guides and directs all, and the result is peace and edification. And not only those who actually take part, but everyone present, sisters as well as brothers wait on the Lord. For why do we have pauses in our assembly ? Is it not that we are sitting in the presence of God and looking for the Holy Ghost to lead and direct ? Now the apostle tells the Corinthians, ” If any one takes the place of declaring God’s mind, or of being spiritual, let him acknowledge, etc.” If any be ignorant let him take the place of being so, that he may learn. Acting upon the truth of what was set up in the beginning and carrying put these commandments of the Lord, is what should distinguish us, but we need to be reminded of it and to have it brought home to us in power and reality.
What led us to this diversion from chapter xi., was the expressions ” come together in assembly,” and ” into one place.” The apostle had to tell the Corinthians that when they came together, it was not to eat the Lord’s supper. There is a very beautiful expression in Acts xx. 7: “The disciples came together to break bread.” Very simple, but involving a vast deal. We come together on the first day of the week to break bread. What does the breaking of bread set forth ? It brings before us the Lord Himself in all His love, and then, as directed by the Spirit, we pour out our worship and praise to Him. But it is not that we come together to hear a lecture, to hold a meeting, or even to worship; we come together to break bread. This the Corinthians did not.
The expression, ” come together to eat tie Lord’s supper” involves more than the breaking of bread itself I think; it implies entrance into the truth of what the Lord’s supper really means. The Corinthians, though eating the bread and drinking the cup, did not realise the meaning of the supper.