An Inside LOOK into Daily Organic Church Life: The Expression of the Lord Jesus Christ at the table of Brotherhood

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us [the same way] so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” Jesus Christ (John 17:21-23)

Today most of us will be sitting at a table — with those whom we know, and those whom we don’t — on Thanksgiving Day sharing a meal together. (And for those who may read this later, it will be when you celebrate this holiday next) Many times, this senario ocurrs: we enjoy the food, begin to feel much more comfortable, and then some of us do the worst thing possible…we open our mouths and speak when we should have just inserted a drumstick, or cake, or even our own foot. Words are said that cannot be taken back, debates and controversies arise, and now the event that was just moments before so festive and harmonious, has turned into all-out war. Loosely borrowing from a song from the 70′s, now “everyone is ku-fu fighting!”

Sadly, this scene also can occur all too frequently when the saints gather together for fellowship. When Christ is shared, arguments arise on some major conflict of interpretations, and soon debates and bickering taint the time of one-anothering like leven that spoils the whole lump. What started out so very sweet, now has every one puckering from the sour taste of it all. The problem was not in the meeting, but in the lack of understanding what this gathering is REALLY for — the expression of the Lord Jesus Christ in and among His body.

The Eternal Purpose of God involves a Table

God’s eternal purpose, uniquely hidden in Christ Jesus before the foundations of the earth and the very joy set before Him, is realized, and comes into reality, at ONLY ONE PLACE…and perhaps the most unlikely location and setting of all time: The table of brotherhood where the brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters in Him, gather together to share His Life together.  Here, at this often overlooked and misundertood place, all of eternity meets the present hour and make’s it’s grand entrance.

It’s as if all the stars are in alignment and everything created by Him and for Him stands to its feet all together in joyful anticipation, with a common purpose and focus, to magnify and glorify Christ the SON. At this gala event, which is really a glimpse into eternity and a peering into the SON of His LOVE, heaven and earth connect and converge in perfect unity…in Him.

We are transformed and become broken at the table of Brotherhood

As Christ expands before our very eyes, and this vision of Him who is ALL, and in all, begins to first challenge, then change us — in our minds, and in our hearts, in our knowing of Him, we end up finding that what we once used in futile attmepts to contain Him so we could figure Him out, the box we tried to keep Him in, now lies broken and discarded at our feet. He cannot be contained, or kept. He’s simply just…well, TOO BIG for that!

This scene is nearly identical to what occurred during a time of fellowship in Bethany two milleniums ago when the aroma of the precious ointment filled the room, spilling out from a broken box, and the meeting there shfited into a divine paradigm where everyone, amazingly, had turned their attention back to where it truly belonged and to the ONE truly worthy of it all — HE who sat among them.

Likewise, it is here where the focus is always shifted from the things of Christ back to Christ Himself, who is the sum of them. Christ Jesus, the best kept secret of God’s heart hidden by Him throughout the ages, is revealed in full dimension, before our eyes, when we as the brethren of the Lord, and members of His own body, love one another, spontaneously and joyfully, drawing the LIFE from our indwelling Lord and sharing and living His LIFE together.

Here, at the table of brotherhood, seated next to our brother (or sister), face-to-face, at the very same eye level of him (or her) where no one is higher or lower than the other, we discover the most central focus and mission of the ekklesia of God according to God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus as we take and share together the Lord Jesus Christ as our very Bread of LIFE, and truly love one another in how we treat, respect and generally care for one another.

The cross of Christ and the table of Brotherhood are one in the same

This is where the cross of Christ is most evident, in the inner working of our lives, now working in us as we gather together. Here is where all debates end, where controversies are discarded, and everything that comes from something about Christ like a doctrine, a revelation, that has brought division because we held it over one another now is thrown down at our feet so that we may partake of Christ who is All.

It is here we discover together the unsearchable riches of Christ and His immeasurable love, and find that it does not happen just when the saints gather to meet (even when there are discussions on topics of preaching the gospel, making disciples, teaching, evangelism, prayer, worship, giving, administration, miracles, healing, and a slew of other popular themes) but HOW they meet where Christ is most fully expressed through brothers and sisters loving one another in a myriad of ways.

As we learn to live from the indwelling Life of Christ, we view our very own brother (or sister) in Christ, as He sees him (or her), and see the glorious reality of him(or her) in Christ and Christ in him (or her) instead of focusing on any of his (or her) faults or sins. And as we grow in sharing His Life together, we find how God has intended us to relate to one another, to speak to one another, to listen to one another, to esteem one another, to mutually submit to one another, and to generally serve and care for one another, and we practice that whenever we gather together.

There are three ways Christ is expressed at the Table of Brotherhood:

So let’s begin this journey together now into the vastness of our Lord Jesus Christ, and discover together in fresh new ways the height, and depth, and length and width of the immeasurable love of God residing in us, so that we may truly love one another as Christ loves His very own body. And perhaps, afterwards, though this journey really never ends, we can look our brother (or sister) in the eye and see Christ living triumphantly in him (or her) and rejoice and experience the joy of Christ, the joy set before Him as He is expressed through the brethren in oneness, and unconditional love for one another.

1. ONE Bread, ONE Body

We are the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, we are ONE Bread — not several pieces of it somehow trying to merge itself together. The bread spoken of here is unleavened bread. It is a flat bread which speaks figuratively of every one being on the same plane, so to speak in Christ, and no one being higher or lower than his brother or sister in Christ.  In addition to the flatness of the bread, the table where the disciples of Christ sat to break bread together also displayed this idea of unity and equality, where everyone would sit forward leaning upon their elbows so that they could look at one another all at the same eye level.

This equal plane of meeting also illustrates where there is an intimate knowing of Christ that serves as the ground of the gathering together, not a puffed up knowledge about Him based on one’s interpretations through certain doctrines, or popular teachings about Christ and His body. This simple doctrine of Christ Himself, and not something of Christ, is seen when we are breaking bread together and sharing His Life together.

The apostle’s doctrines in the first century church (Acts 2:42) was not some complicated subjects of thought and reason, but the simple testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ that was displayed in the most simple fashion. They broke bread and recognized themselves living a common Life together in Christ Jesus, and met together to share that Life, not only the eating of a meal, but the laying down of their own lives in loving one another. It is very probable that the doctrine they shared while they were breaking bread together was based on the bread representing Christ’s own body.

This bread which has holes in it also describes the unity of the body of Christ. This speak of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ who was rejected and hated by men, beaten and killed and hung on a cross. Also, it refers to the love of Christ in us that leads us to suffer long with one another in every way of offense. When one would disrespect others in sharing what he or she thinks is the only way to see Christ, the rest can choose to either get offended and pull away, or endure with the brother seeing Christ in Him is more important than his  presentation, anyways.

The One Bread of the body of Christ represents our true identity in Him, not a group of people, individually, but ONE PERSON corporately. Christ is expressed through a variety of people with different backgrounds and personalities. Uniformity where everyone has to speak the same words and act the same way would strangle the Life of Christ we share together, so we endure with one another in love as we agree on Christ, most specifically Christ in you the Hope of Glory. It is not my brother, or my sister, but Christ in my brother, and in my sister.

In Christ, we are relating on the ground of Oneness. As we take the time to recognize this fact, that the relationships here are of the spirit, not of the flesh where flesh yearns to be connected to other flesh, that we are yoked together, already,  like this One Bread —  not having to do anything that would bring us closer together– then we are able to find great joy in this union of fellowship, knowing that this joy we experience is the very joy of Christ, the joy set before Him.

2. ONE Cup, ONE Life we share together

While the bread is symbolic of the container of life, the cup is the holder of the blood which is the life itself. So, properly handling of the cup, like with the bread, is another way we will be able to share His Life together. When we drink from it, we are drinking and partaking of the same Life, the Life of Christ, and we share that cup and the Life in it, with one another.

The cup has a long history, first being used in ancient times as a container for the blood of the sacrifice. The ancient threshold was the place of altar for the family residence, and also the cornerstone of their homes, and in this stone itself there was a hole made where the cup was placed. Likewise, in living from the indwelling Life of Christ and sharing His Life together, we drink from Christ, who is our Cup, the Life of Christ Jesus living in us, and also in His body. We as living stones have been built upon the Cornerstone, who has laid down His Life for all men.  So the partaking of His Life and the sharing of Him with others is paramount.

This is seen in the myriad of ways of loving one another and serving one another, honoring one another and submitting to one another out of a joyful heart. The cup was a silver one in the ancient times, so likewise with us we have the cup of silver, speaking of Christ’s redemptive love, and we both drink of it and pour it out in our love and service to one another. Like Nehemiah, who was both a cup-bearer to the king, and a re-builder, we can also build one another up in Christ Jesus as we partake of His Life and share His life together.

3. ONE Mind, ONE Mentality – Loving one another deeply and genuinely from a renewed heart

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Cor. 1:10

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can blame you or criticize you.” Phil 1:1-3,5,14

Agreeing with one another in Christ, is not like some natural agreement when people agree on ideas, or plans, or concepts,ect… REAL organic church life is dependent upon the supernatural agreeing on Christ, not on the topics about Him. Though there may be a sharing that can shift from the true testimony of knowing Him to merely discussing Christ from knowledge about Him, we must remember that Christ in us is not a point to prove, but an ever-present REALITY.

Even when others may be straying away from the Main Thing and speaking on so many topics that seem to distract everyone, we must be patient and treat them with honor and respect, as we are treating Christ Himself. Christ is the way, the truth and the Life. And when we spend most of the time thinking of and discussing the way and the truth without being wholly immersed in the LIFE, that is when disagreements, and debates arise. We must remember that any one of us can do this at any time. So let us remember love that covers a multitude of sins.

The agreement with one another is not a suggestion, but a command of Christ. He commands us to agree with one another, not on the topics we are passionate about, but on Christ who is living in us, and through us. We have to remember this just when we are about to share our latest view on bible prophecy, or the doctrine that we are so passionate about, or a revelation concerning the practice of doing something in Christ. Because more often than not, when we replace Christ living within and among His own, with the hot topic, it never ends up very well — with people scattering in all directions, and others trying to maintain peace. And, it is hard when some get offended and cut themselves off because they feel rejected. Loving that person and seeing him as Christ sees him is how we agree on Christ the most.

And, so in sharing the Life of Christ together, we must do so  in the mind of Christ. Paul the apostle exhorted the brethren to not to impress others, nor to think of oneself better than others, but to do everything without complaining and arguing, agreeing wholeheartedly with one another, loving one another, and working with one another in one mind and purpose. God’s eternal purpose is realized in this way as we gather at the table of brotherhood in Christ Jesus and we put on the mind of Christ, agreeing with one another in Christ, not on topics, but on Christ Himself who lives in us all, humbling ourselves, and loving and serving one another as we put another one’s interests above our own.

Like with the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr., Christ also has a dream, and that is for His body to sit together at the table of Brotherhood, as the brethren of the body of Christ, as brothers and sisters, not trying to see something the same way, because that is impossible, but to see Christ in every member of His body, to partake of His Life in all, and to share His Life together. This is the joy that led Him to the cross — the joy that we can have as well when we love our brother or sister more than our own unique interpretation of the Word of God.

So let us love one another in sharing His Life together, seeing Christ shine gloriously in each member, and enjoy with Christ Himself, the beautiful expression of Christ in His own body, His church.