For nearly 1500 years, from the time of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt to the time of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion, God desired that his people would keep the feast of the Passover in remembrance of their salvation (Exo. 12:14).  In accordance with this, the Lord Jesus also had the desire to gather together with His disciples and eat the Passover feast on the night of His arrest (Luke 22:14).  However, upon finishing this time-honored feast, the Lord initiated a new feast, a feast for the believer’s remembrance of Him as the fulfillment of the Passover.  This feast is called the Lord’s table (1 Cor. 10:21b).

 

The Lord’s table consists of two elements:  the bread and the wine.  The bread on the table signifies the Lord’s physical body (Matt. 26:26), which was broken for us on the cross.  This breaking on the cross released His divine life so that people could be born of God and become members of Christ’s Body (1 Cor 12:27), which is also portrayed by the bread of the Lord’s table (1 Cor 10:17).  Hence, by partaking of the bread at the Lord’s table we have the fellowship of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 10:16).

 

The product of the vine within the cup of the Lord’s table is also a symbol, signifying the Lord’s blood shed on the cross for our sins.  His blood was required by God’s righteousness for the forgiveness of our sins (Heb. 9:22).  As sinners, we should have partaken of the cup of God’s wrath (Rev 14:10).  Instead the Lord Jesus drank that cup for us (John 18:11), and His salvation has become our portion as the cup of salvation (Psa. 116:13) and the cup of blessing (1 Cor. 10:16) which runs over (Psa 23:5).

 

The bread and the cup constitute the Lord’s supper, which is a table set up by Him so that all His believers may remember Him as such a feast.  God’s people are no longer required to keep the Passover of the Old Testament, but rather the feast of the Lord’s Table.  The church in Boise follows the Lord’s command that we “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19) and the apostle Paul’s encouragement that we “display His death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). This is the new covenant God has made with us (Luke 22:20), this is the feast that all the New Testament believers should enjoy (1 Cor 5:7-8), and this feast should be our future blessing (Rev 19:9).

 

 

The Prophesying Meeting

   

 

The greatest promise in the Bible is in Matthew 16:18, where the Lord
Jesus promised that He would build His church.  The apostle Paul

strengthened this word in 1 Corinthians 3:9, saying that we (the believers)

are God’s building, while the apostle Peter also referred to this building

in his writings (1 Pet 2:5).  No doubt, the building of the church is a central

matter in the New Testament and in our present Christian experience.

 

While there aren’t many portions in the Scriptures that direct the believers
how to meet, one clear portion is outlined in 1 Corinthians chapter 14.  In

verse 26 Paul points out that whenever the believers come together to meet,

each one has a portion to contribute, and that portion accomplishes a most

crucial task – the building up of the church. In this chapter, it is prophesying

which builds up the church (1 Cor 14:26, 4, 12).

 

To prophesy here is to speak for the Lord and primarily to speak forth the Lord (that is, to minister Christ into people).  This is the main element in the church meetings.  The emphasis by the apostle Paul implies that the prophesying in the church meetings does not mean foretelling (which can include negative elements) but, rather, the ministering of Christ (which always builds up and encourages the believers, even giving grace to those who hear) (vs. 4, 12, 26, 31; Eph. 4:29).

 

The speaking and fellowshipping in the church meetings is not relegated to one member, but rather to all members (1 Cor 14:24, 26, 31).  In the prophesying meeting of the church in Boise, all can prophesy one by one.  This is according to the word and this is our practice.  As members of Christ's Body (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12) we should endeavor to build up one another in love (Eph. 4:16) for our growth and maturity in Christ (Eph. 2:21-22, 4:12; 1 Thes. 5:11; Rom. 14:19).