God has called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you have a proper understanding of the fellowship of God’s Son? As we have pointed out, fellowship involves participation. Now I wish to say that fellowship includes enjoyment. It is correct to interpret 1:9 in this way: “By Whom you have been called into the enjoyment of His Son.” To enter into the fellowship of the Son is to come into the enjoyment of Him.
In 10:16 Paul again refers to fellowship: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a fellowship of the body of Christ?” In 1:9 the fellowship is the fellowship of a Person. Here in 10:16 the fellowship is of that Person’s blood and body. When the Lord Jesus ate with His disciples and established the table, He “took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body” (Matt. 26:26). Then taking the cup and giving thanks, “He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you” (v. 27). Today the Lord invites us to His table and says of the bread and the cup, “This is My body; take and eat.… This is My blood; take and drink.” However, we may take these matters for granted, not realizing that by speaking in this way concerning His body and blood, the Lord is presenting Himself to us for our enjoyment. He gives Himself to us as our food supply so that we may enjoy Him. Oh, may the Lord open our eyes! He, the all-inclusive One, has given His body for us to eat and His blood for us to drink. He has given us Himself so that we may partake of Him and enjoy Him by eating and drinking Him.
As the all-inclusive One who presents Himself to us for our enjoyment, Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is the very God incarnate, the One who lived on earth as a man for thirty-three and a half years, who died on the cross to terminate the old creation, who was resurrected physically and spiritually, and who became through resurrection the life-giving Spirit. Today the One who presents His body and blood to us is Christ as the life-giving Spirit. This wonderful Christ is everything to us for our enjoyment. All that He is, is for our participation and enjoyment.
Whenever we come to the Lord’s table to enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive One, in our experience we are in the good land enjoying the riches of the land. This means that the good land has become a table, a feast, for our enjoyment. At this table, this feast, we are satisfied, and God is satisfied also. If we see this, we shall realize that to enter into the good land is to come to the Lord’s table. This is a most encouraging word. Praise the Lord that when we come to the table, we enter into the good land!
Our understanding of the Lord’s table has been limited by the influence of our religious background and also by our natural concepts. Because of this influence, we may think that to come to the Lord’s table is merely to attend a meeting centered around a table with a loaf and a cup. We may not have any realization in our spirit that by coming to the table and enjoying it, we are enjoying Christ as the all-inclusive land.
Do you know how the children of Israel established the kingdom of God on earth and how they built the temple of God? They did this through the enjoyment of the riches of the good land. Because the children of Israel enjoyed these riches, they could defeat their enemies. The riches of the land not only enabled the people to live; they also equipped them to fight and bring in the kingdom of God. Furthermore, the riches of the land supplied them with what they needed to build God’s temple. Therefore, both the kingdom of God and the temple come into being through the enjoyment of the riches of the good land. The riches of the land were the source of the living of the children of Israel. These riches were also the supply for them to defeat the enemy, establish the kingdom of God, and build the temple of God. One day the glory of God descended and filled this temple. That was the consummate result of the enjoyment of the riches of the good land.
The experience of the children of Israel in the good land typifies our enjoyment of Christ today. Christ is our good land, and the various aspects of the riches of Christ are typified by the produce of the land. If we enjoy the rich supply of Christ, we shall be able to live Christ. We shall also be empowered to defeat the enemies. The enemies are always defeated when we enjoy Christ. Furthermore, through the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, the kingdom of God is established in the church, and the temple is built for God’s dwelling place. All these matters—living the Christian life, defeating the enemies, establishing the kingdom of God, and building the house of God—issue out from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ.
Now we must see that these riches are displayed on the Lord’s table. Therefore, the table is a feast for our enjoyment. Many of us have been attending the Lord’s table for years, but we have never had this understanding of the table. It is crucial for us to understand that to come to the table is to enjoy Christ as the good land.
© Living Stream Ministry All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.