Between the Lord’s two comings with their two goals, there is a long span of time. This span of time is the church age. The Lord’s all-inclusive redemption has produced something unique—the church. In John 12:24 the Lord Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Here the Lord Jesus seems to be saying, “I am the unique grain of wheat. If I do not fall into the earth and die, I shall remain alone. But My intention is to be sown into the earth and die. Then I shall rise up in resurrection to produce many grains.” This is exactly what took place through the Lord’s death and resurrection. He has produced many grains, and these grains are to be formed into one loaf, which is the church. Therefore, the church is the unique product of the Lord’s all-inclusive death. The death of Christ has produced the church, and the church will bring in the kingdom.
In his early ministry Brother Nee emphasized that the New Testament teaches three important matters: the cross, the church, and the kingdom. He told us clearly that the cross produces the church, and that the church brings in the kingdom. Through the church the kingdom as God’s administration will be brought to earth. The cross was the issue of the Lord’s first coming, and the kingdom will be related to His second coming. But between these two comings there is the church produced by His first coming. The church will bring in the kingdom with Christ’s second coming. Now we must see that in verse 26 to declare the Lord’s death until He comes is equal to declaring the existence of the church for the bringing in of the kingdom.
In 11:29 Paul goes on to the matter of discerning the body. Those who do not discern the body eat and drink judgment to themselves. To fail to discern the body indicates a failure to take care of the matter of the church. It is utterly wrong to come to the Lord’s supper without taking adequate care of the church. The church today is Christ’s mystical Body, and Christ Himself is the Head. In His ascension Christ was made the Head over the entire universe. The church produced by His death is now the mystical Body of this Head.
Because as human beings we have a physical body, we are able to do many things. If we did not have a body, we could not carry on certain activities. In the same principle, the mystical Body of Christ, the church, is for Christ’s move on earth. Yes, the Head has gone away, but the Body remains on earth. The Head is now operating God’s administration through the Body.
It is a fact of history that the Body has been divided and paralyzed. Even at the time Paul wrote this Epistle, the expression of the Body in Corinth had been divided. This is the reason in chapter eleven he speaks of divisions and parties (vv. 18-19). This indicates that the Body had become ill. Some among the Corinthian believers had become sick and others had died, simply because the Body had been divided (v. 30). They had failed to discern the Body. They did not take care of the Body adequately. From this we must learn the need to take care of the Body, the church. Furthermore, the church bridges the gap between the Lord’s first coming and His second coming. This bridge is also a highway from Christ’s death to God’s kingdom. Without this bridge with the highway, there would be no way to go from one side of the gap, Christ’s death, to the other side, God’s kingdom. The unique connection is the church as the bridge. Therefore, we must discern the body. This means that we should never damage the bridge. However, many of today’s Christians neglect the bridge, and others have damaged it.
Now we must go on further to see why we need to eat the Lord’s supper. In this message we have emphasized that we should partake of the Lord’s supper unto the remembrance of Him; that is, with the result of having the remembrance of the Lord. We should come to the Lord’s supper with the expectation that a certain result will issue forth. Our eating of the Lord’s supper must result in the remembrance of the Lord in His two comings. We should remember Him in His first coming to accomplish the all-inclusive redemption to produce the church, and also in His second coming to bring in the kingdom so that both God and we may have a way to carry on the recovery. Apart from the kingdom, there is no way for the Lord’s recovery to be carried onward. Therefore, we eat the Lord’s supper with a view to remembering Him in both His first coming and in His second coming.
To remember the Lord in this way actually is to satisfy Him. The Lord has come and has died on the cross to produce the church. He is very happy with what He has accomplished and what He has produced. Now He is in the heavens carrying on His heavenly ministry so that he may come back to earth with the kingdom of His Father. But who are the people on earth who can cooperate with Him? Who can respond to Christ’s operation in the heavens? Only the church can cooperate with Him and respond to Him. If the Lord did not have the church, He would probably be sorrowful there in the heavens, for there would be no one on earth to cooperate with Him and to carry out what He is ministering.
Truly the church is Christ’s satisfaction. Whenever we come to eat the Lord’s supper, we declare His death. We announce to the whole universe that the Lord Jesus has come, that He has died on the cross to accomplish an all-inclusive redemption, and that His death has produced the church. Now we are the church, His Body, responding to His ministry in the heavens and cooperating with Him. To eat His supper on the first day of every week is to make such a declaration. As long as there is a people on earth responding to Christ in His heavenly ministry, there is a way for Him to bring God’s kingdom to earth. This is what satisfies the Lord and makes Him happy.
The Lord’s supper should serve as a reminder that we are living on the earth for the Lord’s satisfaction. Yes, the supper is for us to eat, but it is not for our satisfaction. We eat the supper not for our satisfaction, but for the Lord’s satisfaction. Eating the supper reminds us to have a life in the church to bring in the kingdom for the satisfaction of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, this supper is a satisfaction to the Lord in relation to the kingdom, the administration of God.
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