The Four Directions of the Lord's Supper
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I almost failed my first driver’s test. I only passed by one point. And one of the main reasons I scored so low was because I failed to look in multiple directions. Every time I came to a stop sign, I looked to my right or my left, but rarely both ways. It nearly cost me my license. If you’re anything like me, I can treat the Lord’s Supper kind of like I handled my driver’s test. I mainly looked in one direction—to Christ and his atonement. That’s certainly to be our main preoccupation! But is it our only preoccupation? Biblically, I think the answer would be “no.” Much like driving, the Lord’s Supper requires that we learn to look in multiple directions. The Lord’s Supper is not so much like a one-lane highway, where we look predominantly in one direction. Instead, it is like a stop sign at an intersection, where we stop to look in multiple directions before proceeding. Taking the Lord’s Supper most faithfully requires that we look in four directions.
Look Backward at Your Savior
The Apostle Paul taught us, in accord with the teaching of Jesus, that the point of the Lord’s Supper is remember Christ. We “do this in remembrance of [him]” (1 Cor. 11:24-25). The Lord’s Supper in part is a proclamation of the death of Jesus for us (1 Cor. 11:26). We approach him as one who has gladly died for us: “This is my body, which is FOR YOU!” We approach as one who has paid for all our sins: “This is in the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). So, when we take the Lord’s Supper, we look to Jesus, the one who died for us to forgive our sins.
Look Forward to Your (Final) Salvation
The Bible makes clear that we are not only to look back at what Christ has done, but also forward at what he will do. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of a greater feast. In the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim the Lord’s death, but with a future anticipation—“until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). What will happen when he comes? We will be gathered with all the saints from all time around the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:6-9). When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we don’t look back to a dead Savior’s redemption. We look forward to a living Savior’s return.
Look Inward at Your Sin
The Lord’s Supper is not just for a backward and forward look, but an inward one as well. We are called to “examine ourselves” (1 Cor. 11:28). And this order is so important. We look at ourselves, but only after we have looked at Jesus. We must look at ourselves as those who are precious to Jesus and loved by Him, whose sins have been forgiven by him. So often, we assess our value and worth by how little we have sinned and how well we have performed. But the examination that Jesus calls us to do is rooted in what he has done for us.
This gospel-centered take is not in any way to minimize our sin or the need for repentance. We are still called to examine ourselves—to think about our daily practices and life patterns and examine where they are in-step or out-of-step with the gospel.
Tim Keller offers this helpful counsel:
“It is crucial that you keep this sobering note in balance with the note of gratitude for grace. Obviously, the Lord’s Supper is not for perfect people, but for repentant people—but that is just the point. The Lord’s Supper forces us to keep our inner experience linked with our outward behavior. It demands that we ask, “Am I truly living a life of gratitude and obeying God, as I would be if I really believed he saved me at the infinite cost of his only Son? The Lord’s Supper is concrete, making Jesus’ loving self-donation visible and palpable to the senses. Now are you making Jesus’ loving self-donation visible and palpable to others in the way you live your life?”[1]
Look Around to the Saints
Paul insists that during the Lord’s Supper we are not only to think about our relationship with God and ourselves, but with others (especially the church): “I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you … (11:18). He is very concerned that we are taking the Lord’s Supper in a “church-conscious” way. “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else … (11:20-21).”
There seems to be a break in the assembly at Corinth along socioeconomic lines (11:21-22). These actions amount to a despising of God’s church (11:22). The gospel creates unity and reconciliation within Christ’s Church (1 Cor. 10:16-17). Unreconciled divisions in the church fly in the face of the gospel, and so they shouldn’t be present at the gospel feast. In fact, the regular taking of the Lord’s Supper is intended to serve the unity of the church by creating a regular mechanism for believers to reconcile with each other before they partake. “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
The Lord’s Supper is an immensely helpful tool in preserving church unity. It is intended to not only remind us of our reconciliation with God, but also to require (in as much as it depends on us) reconciled relationships with fellow believers in the local church. How many people take the Lord’s Supper with unreconciled relationships? When was the last time a Christian couple with ongoing, unrepentant marital strife let the cup and bread pass by?
Conclusion
Pastors, teach your church to look in more than one direction when they take the Lord’s Supper. In the end, these four looks are infinitely more important than passing a driver’s test.
~ Mark Redfern
[1] Tim Keller, Changing the World Through the Lord’s Supper” (November 23, 2010), Gospel In Life, accessed April 30, 2024: https://rpc-download.s3.amazonaws.com/Changing_the_World_Through_the_Lords_Supper.pdf.