Three Pictures of the Table
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.
Introduction:
This morning as we prepare to enter into Lent, I want us to turn our attention to the Eucharist.
Remember it is our commitment here at All Saints that if we are going to be a sacramental church (one that celebrates the Eucharist weekly) then we need to make sure we understand what we are doing and why God has called us to do it.
Therefore, to help us in this endeavor, I want us to look at three biblical pictures of the Lord’s Table. That is, I want us to look at three concrete images that Scripture provides to help us understand something of the significance of the Lord’s Table for our daily lives.
I. The Lord’s Table as a Meal
A] The first picture that we see as we look at the Lord’s Table is that of a meal. Why? God intends His Table to nourish you throughout your life. In other words, the Table underscores the fact that the grace that Christ accomplished for you on the Cross, the very grace that will one day fully and finally complete you, is already at work in the details of your life.
Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
B] Notice the result: each week as you come to the Table, you come in the very midst of life. That is, you come with current needs, new situations, and specific sins. As you partake of the Table by faith, God assures you that Christ is with you in the very midst of your present circumstance and that His grace is already at work in the very details of your life.
II. The Table as the New Testament Holy of Holies
A] Next, notice the second picture we see as we look at the Lord’s Table is of the Heavenly Holy of holies. In other words, as we step back, what we begin to recognize is that the scene we see represented to us in outward signs is a depiction of the very reality that Scripture tells us our heavenly Father sees before Him in the true heavenly Holy of holies- Christ our all sufficient sacrifice (Note: our Salvation and thus the Table require Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension FN#1)
Revelation 5:6 And I saw a Lamb, as if slain, standing between the throne (of God) and the elders (the Church)
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;
Notice the point: whenever God turns to attend to one of His children, to answer prayers, or forgive our sins, He does so on the basis of Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice. In other words, God approaches us in the very manner that He commands us to approach His Table- in remembrance of me. Importance: at the Table we are participating in the very dynamic that defines the Heavenly Holy of Holies FN#2.
B] Simply put: each week when you come to the Table, you stand on Holy/sacred ground. As you do so your faith is fixed on the single source of your salvation and security (Jesus), with the assurance that to partake of the Sacrament by faith is to participate in the very fellowship, grace, and salvation that define the heavenly court FN#3.
III. The Table as the Garden Sanctuary of God- The third picture we see as we look at the Table is of God’s Garden Sanctuary
A] From the beginning God intended the whole of creation to be a garden sanctuary fit for His fellowship with man (Gen 1:28). Notice then, throughout Scripture God’s purpose and goal for man and creation remain the same.
Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the direct knowledge of the glory of the LORD (i.e. the Shekinah glory of God’s presence), as the waters cover the sea.
B] Problem: Adam failed to subdue the earth and make it a sanctuary. Instead, Adam sinned and so brought death into creation. However, God did not abandon man nor did He cast off creation. Instead, God promised to send Jesus as the second Adam to redeem man and to realize God’s plan for creation.
1 Corinthians 15:24 then comes the end, when He (Christ) delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father,
C] How does this fit into our study? Prior to the Messiah’s arrival God preserved His Garden presence on earth and His promise that all creation would be His Garden Sanctuary in the Old Testament Holy of holies. Notice then we find that garden imagery is central to the Holy of Holies
1 Kings 6:32 So Solomon made two doors for the entrance of the inner sanctuary out of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers (c.f. 1Kg 6:27/II Ch 3:10-13/Gen 3:24).
D] Importance: when Scripture describes the Lord’s Table as the New Testament Holy of Holies, it once again identifies God’s garden presence on earth. In fact, the very first thing that happens after salvation is completed, is the veil in the Temple is torn in two.
Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two
Importance: Christ has come to redeem/reclaim every aspect of Creation. Thus, every week as the Eucharist is celebrated in God’s House, on God’s earth, with God’s people throughout the world we see the fulfillment of God’s plan for creation and history unfolding before our very eyes. How? Every week, God’s garden sanctuary fills the earth (though the earth is not yet fully God’s garden sanctuary). Not only that, God is already remaking a people fit for fellowship with Him in that sanctuary FN#4.
2 Peter 3:13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Bottom line: notice the three concrete pictures set before us at the Table:
Footnotes
1] Though the Cross is an essential aspect of the Table (it’s the single source of our Salvation without which there is no Table), we cannot stop there. Instead, the salvation that the Old Testament promised and that the New Testament specifically says that Christ fulfilled has three essential parts: a sacrifice is made, deemed acceptable, and then presented. In other words, the completed salvation that God promised and that Christ fulfilled has three essential parts: the Cross (the single source of our salvation), the Resurrection (the comprehensive content of salvation- i.e. the New Life that Christ accomplished and brought forth with Him from the tomb), and the Ascension (the presentation, reception, and application of this completed salvation/new life). Notice then:
1 Corinthians 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away (i.e. ascend to the Father); for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Importance: remember the Holy Spirit is the one who applies to you all that Christ accomplished for you. Without the Ascension along with its presentation, reception, and application the Cross and empty tomb have no personal significance.
Simply put, all three aspects of the salvation that the Old Testament promised and which Christ accomplished must be included at the Table of the New Covenant for it to speak to the salvation that God provided. And were do we see all three factors? We see all three factors seated at the right hand of God in the Heavenly Holy of holies. The result is that our partaking of the Table by faith is a participation in the very spiritual reality that defines God’s court.
2] Importance: the picture of the Throne Room of God presented by the Table reminds us that the whole of our salvation, the guarantee of our acceptance, and the certainty of our future/outcome has been received by God and irrevocably seated at His right hand.
Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
3] Notice the Sacramental language that Scripture intentionally uses to describe the believer’s entrance into the Heavenly Court. We have entrance behind the veil through the body and blood of Jesus (the very reality set before us at the Table).
Hebrews 10:19 Since therefore, brethren, 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,
4] What we now see in part at the Table through outward signs will one day be ours in full.
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea (i.e. no longer any separation and division among mankind). 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be God with them (Immanuel).
5] Notice then how all this fits together: we are workers on our Father’s estate. Each week we are called from the fields to our Father’s house, to the very throne room of God in the Holy of holies. We are then invited to sit at the family Table and enjoy a family meal. As we partake, we are renewed by God’s grace, refreshed by God’s love and presence, and strengthened for the workweek ahead. As the meal ends, we are sent back out onto our Father’s estate to shape the present according to God’s garden plans for the future.