Immersed in a Meal That Shapes Us
A quiet table set with bread and cup, reminding us of the story we enter every time we remember Him.
Study Insights Credit: Grace and Truth Study Bible
Photo Credit: Unsplash
The Lord’s Supper has always been one of the most astonishing gifts Jesus has given His people. It is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, yet it reaches far enough to hold the entire story of redemption. When Paul revisits this sacred meal in 1 Corinthians 11:23 through 26, he is not merely correcting a behavior problem. He is calling the church back to the heart of the gospel by reminding them what this table truly is.
The Corinthian church had forgotten the meaning of the meal. They were using it as an opportunity to highlight divisions, social status, and personal advantage. Their behavior said something about Jesus that contradicted what His Supper proclaims. You cannot celebrate the crucified Christ while humiliating the ones for whom He died. The table becomes distorted when our hearts drift into the old way of living in Adam, grasping and posturing instead of yielding and receiving.
Paul brings them back by quoting Jesus’ own words from the night of Passover. When Jesus took the bread and said, “This is My body,” He was not turning the bread into a new substance. When He lifted the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant,” He was not repeating His sacrifice. He was giving symbols, reminders, and covenant markers. The bread and cup do not justify us or save us. They point us to the One who already did. They press the gospel into our senses. They remind us that Jesus’ sacrificial death is enough, and that His presence among His people is real.
This meal is not only a memorial. It is a covenant renewal. Just as the Passover reminded Israel of their liberation from Egypt and the covenant God made with them at Sinai, the Lord’s Supper reminds the church of our liberation from sin and the new covenant Jesus inaugurated with His own blood. He is our Passover Lamb. His blood speaks of a new exodus. His resurrection ushers us into a new world where grace reigns through righteousness. We do not take the Supper to make ourselves worthy. We take it because none of us were worthy, and Jesus has become our life.
Paul then tells the church to examine themselves, not so that they can prove their worthiness, but so they can ensure that nothing in their relationships contradicts the gospel the Supper proclaims. Division, bitterness, neglect, pride, and relational coldness are the very things Jesus died to heal. To come to the table while clinging to those things is to speak falsely about His sacrifice. The call to self-examination is a call to unity, humility, and restored fellowship.
The Grace and Truth Study Bible offers a beautiful framework for how a Christian approaches the table. Paul’s teaching invites us to look in six directions.
We look within, ensuring our hearts are not harboring relational fractures with His people.
We look back, remembering the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus and rejoicing in the forgiveness secured for us.
We look up, celebrating our union with Christ, who is spiritually present with His people as they break bread.
We look around, embracing our unity with every member of His body, no matter how different our stories may be.
We look outward, proclaiming the gospel to those who watch, reminding them that the same grace offered to us is offered to them.
We look forward, anticipating the day when this simple meal gives way to the marriage supper of the Lamb, where Jesus will be fully present and all His people will feast in the fullness of joy.
The table of the Lord is not a ritual to complete. It is a story to enter. A gift to receive. A reminder that our life is not sourced from Adam but from Jesus Himself. In the Supper, we meet the One who gave His body and shed His blood, and we proclaim that His death is our life until He returns.