An Interview with the author, Jonathan Black
Do you see a connection between worship and sharing the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is right at the very heart of Christian worship. In worship, we lift our eyes and our hearts to Jesus himself. And that’s exactly what’s going on in the Supper too. We can’t separate the Lord’s Supper from worship or worship from the Supper, because (whether or not we come to the table every week) all our worship is really leading us there. In worship we bow our hearts in adoration before the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and at the table we behold him. When the early church met on Sunday to worship, the Bible tells us the purpose of their meeting together was ‘to break bread’ (Acts 20:7). All of their worship was centred in the Lord’s Supper, and that’s still the case today. For with the Supper at the centre of our worship, Christ and his death and resurrection for us will always be at the centre.
In Hebrews 12:22-24 we get a breathtaking description of true worship. We come into the presence of the living God and innumerable angels. And right at the centre is Jesus the mediator and his sprinkled blood. And that’s exactly what’s happening in the Lord’s Supper. We worship in God’s presence, surrounded by the hosts of heaven, bowing in wonder and love before Jesus our saviour, as we drink the cup of the new covenant in his blood. In the Lord’s Supper we are drawing near into the very throne room of God. As we worship at the Lord’s table, heaven meets earth.
How does the Lord’s Supper bring us into intimacy with Jesus?
Jesus promises to meet with us in the Lord’s Supper. That might not always be the way we think of Communion, but it’s true. We sometimes get so focused on our remembering what Jesus has done when we take Communion that we forget to talk about his promise to meet with us. But the Bible has more to say about Christ’s presence with us in the Supper than about our remembrance of him. Although we might not fully understand how he does it, he does promise to meet with us in the Supper in his body and blood. Paul reminds us of this promise in different words when he tells us that in ‘the cup of blessing which we bless’ and ‘the bread which we break’, we ‘participate’ in (or have ‘communion’ in) the blood and body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16). We can easily get distracted over debates about how that can be, but we don’t want to miss the wonder of Christ’s promise.
And Jesus promises that he abides in whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood, and we abide in him. Charles Spurgeon rejoiced in this reality at the Lord’s Supper, saying that here ‘we enter the holy of holies, and come to the most sacred meeting-place between our souls and God.’ This, Spurgeon said, is the place of ‘closest intimacy’ with Jesus.
In the Lord’s Supper, we behold our saviour in his saving glory. And there we know the joy of his deep love for us. Jesus promises to meet us at this table. And where he is, there is fullness of joy. Sometimes in the Supper we’ll be swept up in the experience of communion with Christ. Other times, we’ll see only by faith. But it will always be the same Jesus who meets us in the Supper, in all his glory, power and grace.
What is the difference between union with Christ and communion with Christ? Why are both important?
Jesus offers us both union with him and communion with him, and although the two words might sound very similar, they aren’t the same thing. Both are vital, but the difference between them is vital too. When God raises us from our sins to new life in Christ, he unites us to Christ by the Holy Spirit. That’s not a process. You can’t be more united to him some days and less united others. We’re either ‘in Christ’ or we’re not. Our union with Christ doesn’t ebb or flow. It’s a living connection to a living person. And because we’re united to Jesus through faith, whatever strengthens and builds up our faith in Jesus is sustaining our union with him. That’s one of the ways the Lord uses the Supper in our lives.
But the Lord also uses the Supper to invite us into deeper communion with him. You can’t have true communion with Christ unless you’re in union with Christ. But unlike union, communion can grow. Because communion is a relationship, not a fixed state. Our union with Christ depends entirely on what God has done for us in Jesus and in us by the Holy Spirit. But our communion with Christ is a two-way relationship, as Jesus abides in us and we abide in him. As we grow in love for Jesus and delight in Jesus, our communion with him is growing. And the Lord’s Supper is a feast of love and delight in Christ. That means it’s a feast of increasing communion with him. At the Lord’s table, we have a glimpse of the eternal feast we’ll enjoy with our saviour in the age to come. So eating and drinking with Jesus now in the Supper is a glimpse of heaven here on earth. Here we really can taste and see that the Lord is good.
Jesus promises life to those who eat his flesh and drink his blood. What kind of life is Jesus promising?
When Jesus promises life, it’s always the best kind of life. In John 6 he promises that whoever ‘feeds on me will live because of me’ (John 6:57). This life with Jesus isn’t just life with him in heaven after death. No. Life in Jesus begins here and now. The eternal life he gives isn’t just unending life – it’s an abundant life in loving fellowship with the triune God. This is a life indwelt by Jesus. It’s a life of knowing the Father and the Son in the Spirit.
So, as Jesus feeds us with himself in the Supper, he’s nourishing us with his own life. As we feed on him, we are filled with him and so the life with which we’re filled is his life — Christ living in us. That’s why Jesus came, to give us life and life ‘more abundantly’ (John 10:10). He doesn’t offer us a life of meagre lack. He offers us a truly abundant life, a life overflowing with his goodness and mercy.
Sometimes that means that Jesus blesses us in truly life-giving ways as he meets with us in the Lord’s Supper. Many people have been healed at the Communion table over the years. Others have found the Lord’s incredible strength and comfort there in the valley of the shadow of death.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, doesn’t intend for us to limp along alone through the deathly valleys, the barren deserts and the dangerous, enemy-filled forests of life. He wants us to come to him and find the abundance of his life. He is with us and he wants to meet us and feed us and fill us with more of him and of his life at his table. He wants us to know more and more of a life filled with his love and intimate communion with the triune God.
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