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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 12:24-25; 2 Cor. 4:7; 5:16; Phil. 2:3; Isa. 58:9b-12; Gal. 5:15
The significance of bread-breaking has two aspects. One aspect is that we remember the Lord and enjoy Him. The other aspect is that we fellowship with all the saints and enjoy them. The bread we break signifies the body of the Lord Jesus given up for us on the cross. The bread also signifies the Lord’s mystical Body, the church, which He obtained through regenerating us with His resurrection life. Hence, when we see the bread, we remember that the Lord Jesus gave Himself up on the cross for us. When we receive the bread, we declare that we are receiving and enjoying the Lord. Our remembrance of the Lord concerns our relationship with the Lord. Not only so, every time we take the bread, we remember that the bread is made of many grains that were blended together. All those who are saved, who belong to the Lord, and who are members of His Body are in this bread. When we take the bread, we have fellowship with all those who belong to the Lord, and we declare that we enjoy all the saints. This aspect concerns our relationship with all the saints.
However, when we remember the Lord, we often remember only the first aspect of the table. We remember and contact the Lord, but we neglect the aspect of our fellowship with all the saints. No one can break the bread by himself. If the breaking of bread had only the aspect of remembering the Lord but not the aspect of fellowshipping with all the saints, a person could break bread and remember the Lord by himself. However, according to the Bible, God does not desire that we remember the Lord individually. As long as there are saints to break bread in remembrance of the Lord, we must break bread corporately. An individual does not have the qualification, ground, or standing to remember the Lord in this way. If we desire to remember the Lord, we must do so with all the saints, because remembering the Lord is not only for us to touch the Lord, but even more, it is for us to have mutual fellowship.
Furthermore, the bread-breaking meeting is a declaration of the Christian life. On the first day of every week, we come to the Lord’s table to declare the way that we will live for the upcoming week. One week is one course of our journey, and the next week is another course. Each week is a course and has its beginning. The course of our journey begins on the Lord’s Day, which is the first day of the week. The beginning of a week is the beginning of a course of our journey. In this universe we are all declaring that we are ones who have received the Lord as our life and that in the Lord’s life we have become one Body. Having been redeemed by the precious blood and having received the life of God, we are not like those in the world who live by their own life, by their intelligence, or by their ability. As saved ones who have received the Lord as our life, we live by eating, drinking, and taking Him as our life.
The first day of every week is the beginning of a new course of our Christian journey. We come together to declare that we live by the Lord. At the same time, we also declare that as those who have the Lord’s life and live by this life, we have become one Body. We have a life relationship not only with the Lord but also with all the saints. This can be compared to the various members in our physical body. The members have a relationship not only with the head but also with the other members of our body. In the Lord and in His life we are members one of another and have become one Body. We have received the Lord as our life, and we have a corporate living with all the other members.
The life we have received is Christ, and the corporate living we have is the church. Christ is our life within, and the church is our outward living. The life we have within is the Lord, and the church life that we live out is the mutual coordination of all the members. Week after week we live such a life by experiencing the life journey course by course. Hence, at the beginning of every week, which is the start of a new course of our journey, we come together to make a declaration. Through the fact of our breaking the bread, we declare that we have a life relationship with the Lord and that we also have a life relationship with all the brothers and sisters. Hence, whenever we take the bread, we declare that we receive the Lord as our life. We also declare that we are members one of another, having become one Body.
On the one hand, we enjoy the Lord through the bread. On the other hand, we enjoy the saints through the bread. The bread signifies the Lord and all the saints. When we receive the bread, we not only enjoy and receive the Lord; we also receive all the saints. In receiving the bread, we declare that we enjoy not only the Lord but also all the saved ones. In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul says, “The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ?” (v. 16). In this verse Paul is not referring to the physical body of the Lord Jesus that hung on the cross for us but to the mystical Body that the Lord Jesus obtained in resurrection. We see this in the next verse, which says, “Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread” (v. 17). Though we are many, we are still one bread, one Body. The one bread that we share signifies this one Body, which includes us, the many believers. We share the one bread and declare that we receive and enjoy all our brothers and sisters.
However, when we break bread, we may sense only that we are receiving the Lord and enjoying Him. We may not have much feeling toward our receiving the saints and enjoying them. Please remember that the proper way to break the bread is to enjoy the Lord and at the same time to enjoy the saints. In a physical body each member enjoys the supply from the head and at the same time enjoys the supply from all the other members. No member can have an exclusive relationship with the head, and no member can receive and enjoy an exclusive supply from the head by itself. If any member becomes isolated, it loses the supply not only from all the other members but also from the head. In order to maintain a relationship with the head, a member must maintain a relationship with all the other members. It is this relationship that we declare when we break the bread. On the one hand, we receive the Lord, but our receiving of the Lord is in all the saints. On the other hand, we enjoy the Lord, but our enjoyment of the Lord is through our enjoying all the saints. We are members in the Body, and we have a proper relationship with all the saints in the Body through which we maintain our relationship with the Head.
Hence, when we break bread, we remember and enjoy the Lord, and we also fellowship with all the saints and enjoy them. This is not something that we do only on the Lord’s Day, but even more, it is a declaration of our daily living. We declare that this is the way we live every day. Every day we have fellowship with our Lord, and we have fellowship with our brothers and sisters. Every day we enjoy the Lord, and we enjoy the brothers and sisters. Every day we receive the supply from the Head, and we receive the supply from other members of the Body. Every day we live by the Lord, and we also live by the brothers and sisters.
Today many children of God may know what it means to live by God and to enjoy the Lord. However, not many children of God know what it means to live by the other members or to enjoy the other members. We should enjoy not only the Lord but also the brothers and sisters. We should enjoy not only Christ as the Head but also the Body of Christ. We should receive the supply not only from the Head but also from all the members. In order to be a proper, strong, vital, watering, and supplying member, we must maintain our enjoyment of these two aspects: enjoying the Lord and enjoying all the saints.
If we consider the Lord to be the only source of our supply, we will miss a blessing because we will neglect the fact that the saints are an even greater source of supply. The saints can be a greater supply to us because ninety percent of the supply that the Lord gives us is through the saints (Eph. 4:16). Some may say that they always receive their supply from the Lord and do not feel that they receive much supply from the brothers and sisters. If this is the case, the supply that they receive must be very little. If we desire to have a rich supply, we must learn to enjoy the Lord as well as the brothers and sisters. If we are willing to enjoy the Lord and the saints, the supply that we receive directly from the Lord will decrease proportionally while the supply from the Lord through the brothers and sisters will increase.
Some saints have said to me, “It is surely right to receive the supply from all the saints. However, the brothers and sisters in our locality are not good enough, and there are not many who can supply others. When we go to a brother, it seems as if he does not have much with which to supply us, and he has many problems. The sisters also have problems.” Concerning the co-workers, elders, and deacons, some saints say, “The co-workers in our locality are in a poor condition. What kind of supply can we receive from them? Our elders are not any better, so what kind of supply can they give us? The deacons are even worse, so what kind of help can we receive from them? Not only so, the condition of the brothers and sisters is poorer still. Therefore, what kind of supply can we get from the Body?” Sometimes it seems that I am affected by what they say. Their speaking is like a cloud of smoke that at times has even befuddled me to the point that their words do not seem unreasonable.
However, as soon as I am calm, I am clear within, because I realize that even a weak saint has a portion of Christ. If a saint does not have a portion of Christ, he must not be saved. I have therefore asked those who complain, “Are the saints whom you are referring to saved, and do you admit that the Lord is living in them?” When they agree, I would ask, “The elders, deacons, and co-workers whom you feel are weak and have problems, are they also saved?” They would say, “Of course they are.” Then I would say, “You speak of the weakness of the brothers and sisters as well as the shortcomings of the co-workers, elders, and deacons. You also admit that Christ is in them. Now I would like to ask: In the past have you seen something of the Lord’s life coming forth from the saints? Have you seen something in them that is for the Lord?” Whenever I spoke with them in this way, all the saints who had complained would agree with me.
Some saints have replied, “There is no doubt that the saints are saved and that they all have the Lord’s life in them. Co-worker So-and-so gave up the world for the Lord, and this can be seen in him. When some of the other co-workers were put in a difficult situation, they would not say a word. We appreciate their experience of the cross.” Sometimes I only needed to ask a few questions in order to turn all the negative speaking into something positive. None could deny that the saints they had complained about have a portion of the Lord and are for the Lord.
We all must admit that every saved one has Christ in him. But what kind of vessel contains this precious Christ? One day Mary broke an alabaster flask and poured the ointment on the Lord. The ointment was contained in the alabaster flask. The Lord as the treasure is contained in us, but what kind of container are we? Are we an alabaster flask or a different kind of vessel? Some saints might say that we are all earthen vessels and that the treasure is in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). If this is the case, we must see that all the co-workers, whether they are brothers or sisters, are earthen vessels. The elders are earthen vessels, the deacons are earthen vessels, every brother is an earthen vessel, and every sister is an earthen vessel. However, there is a treasure in these earthen vessels. Surely, the vessels cannot compare to the treasure. Nevertheless, the treasure has been put into the vessels.
The treasure is contained in earthen vessels, not in alabaster flasks or golden boxes. The co-workers, elders, deacons, and brothers and sisters have this treasure in them, but they are still earthen vessels. Therefore, we must be clear that we have the Lord in us and that the Lord is our treasure. We are vessels that contain this treasure. All those who are around us — the co-workers, elders, deacons, and brothers and sisters — are earthen vessels. What kind of vessel are we? Are we a golden vessel, a silver vessel, or some other kind of precious vessel? We must humble ourselves and admit that we are all earthen vessels. You are an earthen vessel, and I am also an earthen vessel; we all are earthen vessels. Nevertheless, a treasure is contained in these earthen vessels. The co-workers, elders, deacons, and brothers and sisters all have weaknesses because they are earthen vessels. How can earthen vessels not have weaknesses? Are we not earthen vessels? Do we not have weaknesses? We must admit that we all have the same problem, and we all need the Lord’s mercy.
We are all God’s sheep. The church is God’s flock, and every believer is a sheep. Every sheep has faults and defects. I will never deny that I am full of problems, because I am an earthen vessel in Adam. However, please do not forget that we all have many problems, because we are all earthen vessels in Adam.
We all have defects, and we all are earthen vessels. However, we thank the Lord that He is the treasure in us, the earthen vessels. When we enjoy the saints, we do not look at the earthen vessels; rather, we enjoy and appreciate Christ, who is the treasure in the earthen vessels. No matter how weak a believer is, how many shortcomings or failures he has, or how insignificant he seems to be, we must admit that he has a portion of Christ and that his portion is precious. If we look at the saints from this point of view, we will immediately see that they have a portion of Christ for us to enjoy. There may be a brother who is confused and weak, who does not have our insight, ability, intelligence, or boldness. He may seem very timid and incapable. However, this brother may have a broken and humble spirit. We may desire to adjust his “weaknesses,” but we sense his humility and brokenness. This is the treasure in an earthen vessel. He may be a brother without much ability, but he has a spirit that is broken, mourning, and humble. There is a portion of Christ in him. When we touch this portion, we will be supplied.
Another brother may seem to be very proud. He is stiff-necked, bold, and unyielding. It seems as though he does not know the meaning of humility. Although we may feel to condemn this brother, we also sense that he has a portion of Christ. He loves and treasures the Lord, and he feels that the Lord is worthy of everything. He is willing to give up everything for the Lord’s sake. He may not know what humility is, but he knows what it means to give up everything. As soon as we speak with him concerning the preciousness of Christ, we sense that the fragrance of Christ is coming forth from within him. Therefore, even though we might say that this brother is proud, we cannot deny that he has the fragrance of Christ. He truly considers the Lord to be precious and sweet, and he is willing to give things up for the Lord’s sake. We cannot but acknowledge that the treasure is in him. Indeed, the treasure is in an earthen vessel.
If we consider the saints in this way, we will see that there is not one brother or sister who does not have the treasure in him, and we must learn to recognize this treasure. We may meet a sister who is unclear, unruly, and has many rough edges. Everyone may consider her to be a coarse earthen vessel. However, when we contact her, we can touch a fear for the Lord. She fears the Lord and feels that the Lord loves her so much that she cannot be careless or commit sins. She has a reverential love for the Lord, and we cannot but sense this sweetness in her. This is another example of the treasure in an earthen vessel. If we look only at her natural man, her earthen vessel, we will say that she is rough and coarse. Although she is an earthen vessel, there is a portion of Christ in her that is precious and sweet.
If we look at every saint in this way, we will say that there is a treasure in his or her earthen vessel. We will also say that the treasure is even in an earthen vessel that seems to be ugly. The Lord wants us to enjoy the treasure and not look at the earthen vessel. This can be likened to drinking water from a bottle. We should focus on the water, not the bottle that contains the water. We all must see that every believer is an earthen vessel with weaknesses, but he also contains Christ, the treasure.
Who does not have weaknesses? Only our Lord Jesus did not have any weaknesses. When He was living in the flesh, He did not have any weaknesses or wrongdoings, but the flesh He put on was a lowly and weak body. In Him was the treasure — the glory of God; nevertheless, He was in the flesh. The Jews did not recognize the treasure in Him. They knew Him according to the flesh and said, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?” (Mark 6:3; cf. Matt. 21:11; John 7:41; 6:42). As a result, they did not know the treasure in Him.
In John 8:15-19 and 28 through 29 the Lord Jesus seemed to say, “You know people according to their appearance, their flesh. However, you must know that there is a treasure in Me. What I speak to you, I do not speak out of Myself, but the treasure in Me does His works. My living and My speaking are not according to Myself. Outwardly, I look like a poor and rejected Nazarene from Galilee, but within Me is the glorious and precious God. I do not do things according to Myself but according to Him. Hence, you should know Me no longer according to My appearance, My flesh, but according to the treasure in Me.”
The apostle Paul says, “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer” (2 Cor. 5:16). Before Paul was saved, he was Saul. Saul thought that Jesus was a man from Nazareth, the son of a carpenter, and that He was insignificant. Paul was determined to persecute those who believed in Jesus, because he knew Christ according to the flesh; he did not know the treasure in Christ. Then one day on the road to Damascus the Lord came to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Immediately Saul asked, “Who are You, Lord?” and the Lord Jesus said, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute” (v. 5). The Lord seemed to be saying, “I am the Jesus whom you despise as the humble man in the flesh. I am now in glory in the heavens, and I am speaking to you from heaven.” From that day onward, Paul knew the Lord, not outwardly according to the flesh but inwardly according to the spirit. For this reason Paul wrote, “So then we, from now on, know no one according to the flesh” (2 Cor. 5:16).
In the church we should not know others according to appearance or according to the flesh. Perhaps someone is farsighted, capable, and able to manage things. We would say that such a person is very good. However, this may be the flesh and not Christ. This person is merely an earthen vessel. An earthen vessel may look nice, but it is nevertheless an earthen vessel; it is not Christ.
We must not know or judge others according to their appearance, their flesh, or their outer man. We must know them according to the Christ in them. Perhaps a brother has a coarse earthen vessel that has never been dealt with, ground, or polished. However, Christ, the treasure, is in him. Let us consider the experience of the apostle Paul. After he wrote his first Epistle to the Corinthians, some of the believers in Corinth said that Paul’s letters were “weighty and strong” (2 Cor. 10:10). The Corinthians felt that Paul’s letter to them was the speaking of God and was rather severe. However, they also said that Paul’s “bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible” (v. 10). From this verse most readers of the Bible speculate that Paul must have been small in stature. It must have been difficult for the believers who judged by appearance to believe that Paul, who was small in stature and contemptible in speech, was an apostle, even the top apostle. He did not even look like Saul in the Old Testament, who was tall in stature (1 Sam. 9:2). Paul did not have the appearance of someone who was capable, nor was he eloquent. According to man’s natural concept, only a capable and eloquent person is qualified to be an apostle.
However, Paul was not such a person. Paul was not good looking; he was weak, had poor eyesight (Gal. 4:15), and his speech was contemptible. To judge him according to his appearance was wrong. Those who judge people according to the flesh are in society, not in the church. In the church we must see the Christ who is in the saints.
Our enjoyment of the saints is not based on what they are outwardly but on the Christ who is in them, that is, the treasure in the earthen vessels. This is the way that we consider others to be more excellent than ourselves (Phil. 2:3). Otherwise, we cannot consider them to be more excellent than ourselves. If we compare ourselves with others, we are comparing one earthen vessel with another, and we will think that our earthen vessel is better. Everyone considers his earthen vessel to be the best. Even if there is a man whom we all acknowledge to be intelligent, we may not necessarily submit to him. In contrast, whenever we look at ourselves, we always feel that our earthen vessel is precious. The more we look at ourselves, the more we treasure our earthen vessel. It is amazing that we find it difficult to appreciate the strong points of other people, even though these strong points are only part of their earthen vessel.
The Bible, however, says that we should consider others more excellent than ourselves. When we consider others, we should not consider their strong or weak points; we should consider only the portion of Christ in them. If we look at the Christ in the saints, we will realize that their portion is more excellent than ours. One brother has a love for Christ that causes him to give up the world, but we do not have this portion. Another brother’s relationship with the Lord has brought him to a point of being broken by God, but we do not have this portion. Still another brother expresses the humility of Christ, but we do not have this portion. A sister has a love for the Lord and a heart for the Lord, which we also do not possess. When we see this, we will treasure the saints from the depths of our being.
When we can look at the saints and appreciate the Christ in them, we will see the treasure in them and consider them more excellent than ourselves. We will be able to love the saints, respect them, treasure them, and enjoy them. This is how they become a source of supply to us, signified by the bread we break at the table meeting. Then not only will the Lord Jesus be our food, but also the brothers and sisters will be our food. We will receive a supply from every brother and sister.
When we look at the earthen vessels instead of Christ, we feel that the saints are full of problems, and as a result, we dislike them, are bothered by them, criticize them, and judge them. In the end we have nothing to enjoy and are full of criticism. We are accusing the brothers and sisters when we criticize them for this or that reason. If we look at the earthen vessels but do not look at Christ, the treasure, we will always be pointing a finger at others and speaking wickedness. As a result, words of death will spread among us and will infest the church.
The book of Isaiah says, “If you remove... / The pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness... / Then your light will rise in the darkness, / And your gloom will be like midday” (58:9b-10). In other words, the pointing of a finger, the finding of fault, the speaking of wickedness, and the spreading of death are done in darkness. You should check to see whether you feel bright within after you criticize the saints. You may think that you are bright within when you consider that others are wrong but that you are right. However, truthfully, whenever we criticize others, we become darkened within. When we consider others more excellent than ourselves by treasuring the portion of Christ in them, our inner being becomes bright.
Many times, when we point a finger at others, our inner being becomes not only darkened but also dry. We become unsatisfied and dry, like a garden that is not watered (cf. v. 11). You must check with yourself as to whether this is true: the more you criticize God’s children — the church, the elders, the deacons, and the saints — the more your inner being becomes dry and dark. Not only so, you become a destroyer, not a builder. However, if you stop criticizing others, speaking wickedly, and spreading death, but instead you fear the Lord, treasure the Christ in the saints, and do not look at the earthen vessels, immediately you will be illuminated, refreshed, watered, and satisfied within.
Not only so, you will become a “repairer of the breach” (v. 12), and you will do a building work in the church. You can build up that which was torn down, and you can repair that which was desolate. Otherwise, darkness, dryness, desolation, and tearing down will be your portion. The apostle Paul says, “If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another” (Gal. 5:15). May our heart not be hardened to the extent that we cannot receive the shining of the Lord’s word. May we all receive grace from the Lord.
We must see that Christ is in the saints, and we must see that every portion of Christ is precious. We must not forget that we are earthen vessels. If we want to look at shortcomings, we should first look at our own shortcomings before we look at others’ shortcomings (Matt. 7:3-5). We also should see the Christ in others before we look at the Christ in ourselves. May we continue to learn this lesson.
When we break bread in the table meeting, we are enjoying Christ, and we are also enjoying the saints. For this reason we must deal with the problems between us and the Lord. Whenever there is disharmony or a barrier between us and the Lord, we must deal with it. At the same time, we must also deal with any barrier or disharmony that exists between us and the saints. We must ask for forgiveness and for reconciliation. We must also forgive others so that we are in harmony with the saints.
If we practice this, we will have God’s presence, we will have light, and we will be watered. As a result, we will be builders. Although we are earthen vessels full of weaknesses and deserving of criticism, we will be full of the presence of the Lord, and His presence will make up for our lack. The Lord’s presence will make up for whatever shortcomings we have, and His presence will rescue us from our mistakes. We will be blessed. Then our bread-breaking will be genuine, and we will be blessed instead of suffering a loss. We must not be those who argue, criticize, or judge the saints yet at the same time break bread with them. Doing this will offend the Lord’s Body and make us unworthy of eating the Lord’s bread. Furthermore, we may lose His blessing.
We must each fear the Lord. It is not a small thing to fear the Lord. Every time we break bread, we remember the Lord. The bread indicates that the Lord gave His body for us on the cross, and it also indicates that He has regenerated us with His life, making us His mystical Body. Hence, whenever we take the bread, we should deal with any barrier between us and the Lord and any barrier between us and the saints. When we come to the Lord’s table, we should be able to say that we have no problems with the Lord and that by His precious blood and in His grace we also have no problems with the saints. We do not criticize, blame, judge, or condemn any brother or sister. They are earthen vessels, just as we are earthen vessels. They are weak, and we are also weak; however, we do not look at weaknesses.
We treasure the saints because there is a portion of Christ in them (1 Cor. 12:24-25). We love and honor them because of the portion of Christ in them. By being in harmony with all the saints and blending with them, we enjoy them. Then when we take the bread, we can declare, “I enjoy my Lord, and I also enjoy my brothers and sisters. My Lord is my food, and the Christ in the brothers and sisters is also my food. My Lord is for me to enjoy, and He is in all the saints for me to enjoy. Not only do I enjoy the Lord directly, but I also enjoy the Lord indirectly through all the saints. This is my enjoyment at the bread-breaking meeting.”
