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The Kingdom of God
(14th in the series of expositions on Communion delivered on Jan 7, 1979)
You are those who have continued with me in my trials; (and) as My Father appointed a kingdom for me, so do I appoint for you that you may eat and drink at my table, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28-30)
Today we are going to look into the relationship between the Communion and the Kingdom of God. We are sitting at the table:
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"And when the hour came, He sat at the table, and the apostles with Him" (v14)
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"But behold the hand of him who betrays Me is with Me on the table." (v21)
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"For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves." (v27)
These passages seems to be speaking of different things, yet they are linked together by the word 'table', from v14 onwards it is about the instituting of the Communion. In the Greek original the word 'appointed' (v29) is the verb form "covenant" (diaq h vkh 'diatheke', same as in v20) Jesus is saying that by means of the covenant, we can establish a covenant with God. Compared however to the marriage covenant (which is the closest relationship in human terms) which unites two persons together, it is not a perfect tie; it is dissolved by death - 'till death do us part'.
The new covenant cannot be destroyed at all. It is the covenant of life, a living relationship with God. There is no earthly relationship that can be closer than our relationship with God. Unless we understand what is covenant, we won't understand what is happening here. The Lord is speaking of the result of the covenant. In marriage the consequence is a tie to one another, from that moment on, you do not belong to yourself but to the other person. You belong to each other, and everything that the person has belongs to you, too. Hopefully you aren't married to that person for his material belongings. Oftentimes we enter into a covenant for the benefits that we can get from the other. Some Christians enter into a covenant with God not because they are interested in Jesus but really because they want to get something out of it - eternal life or a place in Heaven. Some become Christians not that they love Jesus but in order to get something out from Him. However once our relationship begins to get weakened, the covenant with Jesus gets weakened too, and we will get no benefits at all from the covenant.
Let us consider the meaning of Communion in relation to the kingdom; it is in virtue of the covenant that we have the kingdom of God. Whatever belongs to Jesus is now given to us (v30). This is the beauty of Jesus that He gives us everything: in the first place, He gave Himself to us, then He also gave us the Kingdom.
What does the Kingdom mean? The Kingdom of God, on our part, means to live under His government, His lordship, His crown. (When you get married, the husband is the head of the family; when we come into the living relationship with Christ, He is the head, we are His body.) Kingdom from God's side means to have an obligation that He gives us all the benefits of His government, the chief of these is eternal life.
Jesus said in Jn 3:3 that "unless one is born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." To receive His kingdom means to have a place there, to have a share in the eternal life, to be able to eat at His table (v30). Unless we are in the kingdom, we do not have the right to these. That is why if anybody has not been baptized (by baptism through faith one enters into the kingdom), he should not partake of the Communion. The Communion is not for those who have not yet taken the first step to the kingdom, the step of baptism through faith in Christ. If the person does not obey the first sacrament of the Lord to believe and be baptized, he has forfeited the right to the Communion. The Early Church did not allow anybody to partake the Communion except those who were baptized.
To accept His lordship does not mean just to accept Jesus as Savior but to accept Him as Lord. Nobody can enter the kingdom of Heaven without accepting Him as Lord. To accept Jesus as Savior only is to get something out of Him - He does something for me, He saves me. But in the Bible, the word order is always Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we cannot accept Him as Savior unless we accept Him as Lord first.
The third point is to "sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (v30). The Bible tells us in many places of Scripture that we shall reign with Him; if we are faithless, He remains faithful - for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim 2:11-13). He will never be the first one to deny us, if we endure, we shall reign with Him.
The Lord Jesus shared three Passovers with His disciples in His two-and-a half years' ministry. He did not institute the Communion on the first nor on the second Passover, but only on the last Passover, just before He died, why? This shows us the importance of Communion. Look again in v28, "You are those who have continued with me in my trials." Communion is a privilege granted to those who have not only been baptized but also have identified themselves with Christ, openly and fearlessly.
Are you those who have continued with Him in trials? To have a place at His table is a privilege reserved for those who have made a stand for Christ, those who witnessed for Him in baptism, and in faith in daily life. Let us bear in mind again of our privilege and understand the relationship of the Communion and the kingdom, the privilege that we are in the kingdom of God where we have a place and that we can sit at His table. One day we shall sit with Him in the Kingdom and have the privilege that we shall reign with Him, on the condition that we endure, and Communion is also for those who endure with Him. These are the higher standards of the kingdom of God; that we stand for Jesus, that we show forth the glory of the Lord, that we are the light of the world (Mt 5:14). Every time when we sit down at the table, we are showing thereby that we are a member of the family of God, therefore, prove worthy of that high calling.
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Communion Series:
- Worship
- A Sharing in the Body of Christ
- God's Expression of Love to Us
- Pressing toward the Mark of the High Calling
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