A Table for the Delay
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
Introduction
This morning I want us to return to the Lord’s Table. And I want us to do so in order to complete (add the final chapter to) our study on Holy Saturday.
Now remember over the course of that study we learned that Christ’s burial established the very context of your whole existence on this earth. In other words, between the completion of your salvation (the Cross) and the reception of its full blessings (your own resurrection) there is a delay. During this delay the Church is sent out into the world as lights and heralds, enduring the world’s conditions and even its death; yet not under God’s judgment but under God’s promise;
Not only that, we also learned that this promise, under which we endure our delay is not ambiguous or vague. Instead, Christ’s reign, Christ being seated at God’s right hand is the concrete, comprehensive content of that promise (Christ’s reign encapsulates that promise). How? When Christ ascended He presented Himself and His completed salvation to God on our behalf. In response, God seated Christ at His right hand. That is, God received and enthroned our Savior, our salvation, and all who belong to Christ in His presence for all eternity FN#1.
So what’s the point? How does this tie into the Table: our thesis this morning is that the Lord’s Table is the meal that God has instituted/given for this very delay. In other words, it is a meal specifically designed for our delay FN#2. As such, it is at the Table that we are grounded on, assured of, and are nourished by the very promise/reality that undergirds our delay.
However, to understand this we must first be clear on the picture that Scripture and the Table set before our eyes. And that picture is this: the Lord’s Table depicts and is a participation in the New Testament Holy of Holies, the very Throne Room of God, where your promise, your security, and your Savior is seated and reigns.
Let’s build our case
I. The Table as the New Testament Holy of Holies
A] To help us understand this, I want to start with something familiar. During our service each week as we prepare to partake of the Table, the liturgy prompts us to pray the following FN#3:
we, thy humble servants, do celebrate and make here before thy Divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension
Question: Looking at the Table where do we see each of these:
1 Corinthians 15:17 if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
John 16:5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Simply put: for the Table or the salvation it celebrates to have any bearing on us, all three aspects of the salvation that Christ accomplished must be present (a Sacrifice is made, accepted, and presented/applied) FN#5
B] Notice the result: the very picture that God presents to us at the Table is the same picture that Scripture provides of the throne room of God, the true heavenly Holy of holies.
Revelation 5:6 And I saw a Lamb, as if slain, standing between the throne [of God] and the elders [i.e. the Church] FN#6
Importance: each week as God’s people gather around the Table (like the 24 elders), we are entering/participating in the very scene that Scripture presents. Notice then the very manner in which God commands you to approach Him (in remembrance of me) is the very manner in which Scripture shows God approaching you (in remembrance of/on the basis of Christ our all sufficient sacrifice- the Lamb who stands between)
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
Bottom line: the very scene that is set before our eyes at the Table in outward signs (and in which we participate by faith) is the very actuality that is before our Heavenly Father in His Heavenly court. Simply put, each week as you come to the Table, you are entering into the very reality and the very spiritual presence of God that define the heavenly Holy of holies FN#7.
II. The Table and our Delay
In our series on Holy Saturday we learned that Christ’s burial established a delay for His people between the completion of salvation (the Cross) and the reception of its full measure (our own resurrection). During this delay the believer experiences the full conditions of this fallen world, even its death yet not under the world’s judgment or separation but under God’s promise.
Not only that, we also learned that Christ’s reign, (Christ being seated at God’s right hand) is the concrete, exhaustive content of that promise. In other words, when God seated Christ at His right hand, He received and enthroned our Savior, our salvation, and all who belong to Christ in His presence for all eternity FN#8. As such, it is this reign which established the very terms of your whole existence on this earth (both the how and the why of your daily experience).
Notice then the point: each week as we partake of the Lord’s Table, as we enter the very Throne Room of God (where Christ is seated before God for us), we participate by faith in the reality of Christ’s reign in the most comprehensive sense this side of His return FN#9/10. Notice then, at the Table we are assured of and nourished by all the factors which constitute Christ’s reign, and which now define the believer’s entire earthly existence:
Bottom line: as we partake of the Lord’s Table each week, we enter the very Throne Room of God to be assured of and nourished by the realities of Christ’s reign. Not only that, it is the believer’s actual participation in every aspect of Christ’s reign (the Kingdom, Salvation, and Reconciliation) that is the promise (are the terms) that define our entire walk with God and the very details of our life while on earth. In other words, Christ instituted the Table to ground us amid our delay on what is most true about our walk, world, and life.
Footnotes:
1] Notice the idea that when God seated Christ He received all who Christ represents/carries with Him is a direct fulfillment of what we see promised and depicted in the heart of the Old Testament sacrificial system
Exodus 28:29 “And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
2] Think about it, Scripture tells us that the Table is specifically given to us to celebrate over the course of this delay.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
In other words, once Christ returns, we will no longer need outward signs to alert us to the reality of His grace and reign. Instead, we will see Him face to face and will know the fullness of that reality firsthand.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Simply put: the Lord’s Table is a meal, the purpose, theology, and manner of which have been designed and given specifically for our delay. It is the very assurance that we endure the conditions of this fallen world under the promise that God’s presence, grace, and purpose are already ours; Not only that, it is the assurance that God’s presence with us, His grace already at work in us, and His Kingdom purpose/mission for us are what determine our future and outcome (not the world or its conditions, not our setbacks or weaknesses).
3] There are two ways we can go about demonstrating the notion that the Lord’s Table depicts the very throne room of God. The one that I have chosen for our sermon is more antidotal. It draws on our liturgy and the understanding of the Table held by the Church down through the ages. The second way, which I have included in this footnote, is more theologically rigorous and thus a bit more tedious. It begins with the biblical principle of distinguishing the holy.
Over and again Scripture teaches us that there are degrees in which God’s presence is manifested. These degrees are clearly maintained in both the Old and New Testaments.
Jeremiah 23:24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?“. (Acts 17:26-28)
Leviticus 26:12 ‘I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. (Matthew 28:20)
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Deuteronomy 12:11)
Exodus 25:21 “And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you. 22 “And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.
For simplicity sake, we shall call this manner of God’s presence His covenantal presence. Notice then, when we examine God’s covenantal presence, we find that it has two fundamental characteristics that distinguish it and make it unique:
B] But where do we find God’s covenantal presence in the New Testament? Answer: God’s unique and covenantal presence in the Old Testament is seen again in the New Testament at the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Table is the New Testament Holy of Holies
Notice then, just as God administered His relationship with His Old Testament people at the Ark of the Covenant, on the basis of the many sacrifices, so too, He now administers this relationship at the Table of the Covenant on the basis of Christ’s onetime sacrifice.
1 Corinthians 11:25 This cup is the new covenant in My blood;
It is at the Table that Christ meets with His people as a people and administers His relationship with them.
In the end, regardless of what path we take (Antidotal or Distinguishing the holy) both lead us to the same exact conclusion. The Lord’s Table is the New Testament Holy of holies. It is the already-not yet participation in the very divine throne room presence that defines the essence of the new life. It is no surprise then that each week, we are prompted to join our voices with those of the heavenly court. In other words, the liturgy locates our celebration of the Table in the very Throne Room of God
THEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God of, hosts,
4] Remember how essential to our salvation the Ascension is. On Easer Sunday, the very day of the Resurrection, Jesus tells Mary Magdalen not to cling to Him and try to keep Him there. For He must ascend to the Father.
John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father;
Earlier Jesus explains to the Disciples,
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
This is vitally important. Remember, it is the Holy Spirit who applies to us all that Christ accomplished for us. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the bridge between you and the Resurrection life.
5] Jesus, in fulfillment of the pattern/picture of salvation that the Old Testament provides, enters the heavenly Holy of holies and presents His perfect, accepted, and all sufficient sacrifice to God. As a result, God applies its merits to His people.
Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (c.f. Lev 16:15)
Notice then the full picture of salvation that Scripture provides: a sacrifice is made (the Cross), it is deemed acceptable (Resurrection), and it is then presented/applied (Ascension).
6] Notice at once, when John shows us this image of the 24 thrones around the throne of God, it is the fulfillment of an image that we have seen before and one which he expects us to recognize.
Numbers 2:1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the tent of meeting at a distance.
In other words, the image depicts God’s central promise throughout Scripture
Leviticus 26:11 ‘Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. 12 ‘I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. (c.f. Rev 21:3)
7] Each week as you come to the Table, you are entering into the very reality and spiritual presence of God that defines the heavenly Holy of holies. Notice then the case made by Scripture:
Mark 15:37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Hebrews 10:19 We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
Leviticus 16:1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. 2 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
In the same way, Paul says that when we partake of the Lord’s Table unworthily (i.e. when we enter the New Testament Holy of holies in an unworthy manner) many are weak, sick, and have even died
1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord….. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
Why? In both cases (Old and New) we are coming into God’s unique and covenantal presence clothed in our own sins rather than the Lamb’s blood. In other words, how you come is important because of where you come.
8] Notice the idea that when God seated Christ He received all who Christ represents/carries with Him is a direct fulfillment of what we see promised and depicted in the heart of the Old Testament sacrificial system
Exodus 28:29 “And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
9] We partake of the Table with the Lord’s people, on the Lord’s Day, in the Lord’s house, located on the Lord’s redeemed earth. Thus all the aspects of New Life are set before our eyes in the most comprehensive sense. Notice then, Scripture instructs us to celebrate the meal often until Christ returns.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
In other words, the Eucharist (at least in its present configuration) is something given for this life/delay. It is not something we will celebrate after Christ’s return. Why? When Christ returns we will have the very reality depicted by the outward signs in full and in person.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
The point is that the Table is the most complete manifestation of the reality that is already ours. However, this current manifestation will one day be replaced when the fullness of that reality arrives. Thus, at the Table we share in the grace and fellowship that are already unfolding the fullness of our future
10] Each week you participate in the very reality that is remaking all creation. God calls you out of the nations, out of the neighborhoods, market places, and communities of the world; and He brings you to His Holy Mountain, to His house, on His day (the Day of the Lord) that you may dine with Him and His people. At the Table God assures you that His ongoing presence and unfailing grace are at work in the very details of your life. He then sends you back out into His vineyard strengthened, renewed, and refocused to continue your share in His Kingdom labor
Micah 4:1 And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. FN#4
In fact, at the Table we see the fulfillment of Micah 4:1 already underway- and not just see it, we are actual participants in this divine current of grace
11] Everything Christ does in His human nature He does as our representative and on our behalf. Therefore, we don’t just passively benefit from what Christ has done, we actively share in it (be it the salvation of the Cross or the Resurrection of the body- we directly partake of and participate in what Christ has done as our mediator). Christ’s reign is no exception. Christ does not just reign over us and for us; we actively participate in that reign. In other words, the work that grace is doing in you and through you (along with the spiritual gifts and ministry that God has given each one of us) are some of the chief means that Christ uses to accomplish the work of His reign. Notice then, throughout Scripture we see the believer assisting Christ at every stage of His reign
1) Your work participates in the present work of Christ’s reign
Matthew 6:33 “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness;
Matthew 6:10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
2) Your work participates in the future work of Christ’s reign
1 Corinthians 6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels?
3) Your work participates in the fullness of Christ’s reign
Revelation 5:10 “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Bottom line: your work shares in Christ’s reign. That is, you have been given an active part in the work that Christ is doing.
III. How then do I come?