THE BELIEVER'S MIND AS CONNECTED WITH THE LORD'S SUPPER
THE BELIEVER’S MIND AS CONNECTED WITH THE LORD’S SUPPER
Matthew 26: 26 - 30; Luke 22: 14 - 20; 1 Corinthians 11: 23 - 24
JT What I have in mind is to consider the Lord’s Supper as presented in the gospels and then in the first epistle to the Corinthians in order to call attention to the fact that the mind is more in view than other features in us. Luke corresponds with what is recorded in the epistles but I thought that we should also consider Matthew (representing Mark also) because he stresses eating. That would involve the lower organs — digestion and assimilation — what is constitutional in that sense, but Luke contemplates the mind, and the passage in 1 Corinthians contemplates both the mind and the digestive organs. It is assimilation too, and perhaps we do not give sufficient thought to the eating side in the Lord’s Supper, suggesting what is needed to sustain us spiritually. At the same time Luke and 1 Corinthians make much of the mind, that is, it is a memorial which is contemplated. It seems as if the Lord intends that we should be built up so as to acquire and retain strength in the testimony and then to be clear in our minds historically. We have to bear history in mind too.
GFG The eating in Matthew seems to be followed by the drinking.
JT Well, it would be. It is the idea first of eating the passover. I had that in mind, as it says in verse 20 “And when the evening was come he lay down at table with the twelve. And as they were eating ...” — that is, it is the passover that is in mind. Then we have eating again in verse 26; these two references to eating are remarkable. That is in Matthew, but Luke is not concerned so much about [p. 96] eating, possibly because the Gentiles are more in view in his account. Luke brings in the mind.
RMcB Paul could say “I myself with the mind serve God’s law”.
JT Just so. Romans enlarges on the mind, and Peter refers to “your pure mind” and Paul in Romans speaks of “renewing of your mind”. Because of the fact that the mind is so much claimed by what is of the world, by what is outside, it needs to be renewed. There need to be renewed tastes and desires. The Lord’s Supper has acquired a great place amongst the brethren, and God has helped us as to it. It acquired a great place during the Reformation too, and indeed from Pentecost on the Lord’s Supper was in evidence involving much controversy. So in recent times we find ourselves constantly alluding to the Lord’s Supper in view of the service of God, but one has now in mind what is constitutional so as to take part in the service of God.
SB In regard to what you say, would it be helpful to see in connection with the scripture quoted in Romans, the man is connected with the mind — “I myself with the mind ...”?
JT Yes, “I myself”; the person is in mind; he has resolved inwardly to serve the law of God. These scriptures are intended to support all that. Just now the world is full of news. During the war the newspapers had great difficulty in finding space; there is not much now and perhaps it is a wholesome thing for the brethren that there is not — the less the better, for it is of the devil. He will not fail to fill the pages of newspapers, and therefore the need of constitutional nourishment and then mental ability such as will take in and make room for the things above, the things that are not seen.
Ques In speaking of what is constitutional have you in mind the connection of the feast of unleavened bread with the feast of the passover?
[p. 97] JT Quite so. The feast of unleavened bread tends to reduce the natural taste, and the passover would occupy us with the Lord and His things, making way for the things above.
Ques What is the bearing of the first eating in verse 21? Would you say a little about that in regard to the Supper.
JT Well, it refers to the passover, and it is clarified for us in Corinthians where it says “For also our passover, Christ, has been sacrificed; so that let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”, 1 Corinthians 5: 7 - 8. This is the view of the Lord’s Supper in the 11th chapter, but the passover is clearly the eating. It is Christ sacrificed, not Christ as having died alone, but sacrificed, alluding to the word in Exodus, the idea of sacrifice is there and it is a striking illustration of what the antitype is. The spiritual thoughts, however, are in the antitype.
FB If we are not eating the passover, can we rightly eat the Lord’s Supper?
JT Well, I think that is what is implied. Scripture is linked together for us and made intelligible so that we can read Exodus in the light of the New Testament. The 12th chapter of Exodus speaks of “the beginning of months”; the young believer starting to break bread and partake of the Lord’s Supper is beginning. His earlier days may be recorded, of course, but in truth he begins as he commences to take the Supper. It is the “beginning of months”, and hence the beautiful account we have in Exodus 12 and continuing on to the tabernacle system. What is to be kept in mind is that the young believer is taken account of, for the matter is reduced to a few verses by Moses. In Exodus 12 we have a long account of the passover and all that is connected [p. 98] with it in relation to the unleavened bread; but then beginning with verse 21 we have Moses passing the matter on to the elders and he condenses the account. I think it suggests that God considers for us; meetings may be too long, or other things may be prolonged unnecessarily. God would take account of what we are capable of, so that Moses reduced the account and I believe it is for the young believers, for they have to be considered. They cannot take in too much nor can they sit too long, and they have to be considered even as to time. “And Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Seize and take yourselves lambs for your families, and kill the passover” and so on. It is to be noted that there are words included in this paragraph that are not in the general account. “And Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two doorposts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this as an ordinance for thee and for thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when ye are come into the land that Jehovah will give you, as he has promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say to you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is a sacrifice of passover to Jehovah, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And the people bowed their heads and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away, and did as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron; so did they”. That paragraph is really an epitome and it is concise and intelligible and I think it is well to have that in mind in looking into 1 Corinthians because the passover is introduced there in chapter 5 to prepare us for the Lord’s Supper in chapter 11. The [p. 99] idea of suffering is in the passover and the idea of sincerity and truth in the unleavened bread. Suffering and sincerity — these are brief words but pregnant with meaning.
FI Is that why in Matthew 26 we get the two things merging, that is the passover merging into the Supper?
JT That is so.
FI I was wondering whether it was for us to take in that there should be no break between keeping the feast of unleavened bread and the partaking of the Supper.
JT Well, I would say that.
Ques Is there a suggestion as to the assembly in Exodus 12? — It says “Speak unto all the assembly”.
JT Well, I think the Spirit of God had that in mind in using there the word that we use so much now, and seen especially in the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians. In Exodus 12 we have a very instructive note in the New Translation as to the word ‘assembly’.
In order to proceed and not to miss what we have in mind, I would remark that in general Matthew gives us the eating side; it is a question of mastication, digestion and assimilation — these are all thoughts that connect with building up the constitution, but Luke is not concerned so much about that; he is more concerned about our minds. We are to remember, and the word according to the note on 1 Corinthians 11: 24 is “For the calling of me to mind” — as if one had the power to do it, not that it is an accident, but he has the power to do it. He has power over his mind and uses it for one purpose and that is to contemplate what is presented in the Lord’s Supper, especially in the bread, but 1 Corinthians speaks of the same idea in regard to the cup, and we do not get that anywhere else. The gospels do not refer to it. It is evidently what the Lord Jesus gave [p. 100] from heaven. That is, as if the Lord in unfolding the truth added things so that our minds should be affected by the cup as by the bread.
GFG Is the principle seen in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 where it speaks of the thoughts of Israel being darkened? — but then it says “but we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit”. Is that connected with the idea of the mind being enlightened in contrast with Israel’s being darkened? It says “But their thoughts have been darkened, for unto this day the same veil remains in reading the old covenant, unremoved, which in Christ is annulled”. I was wondering if there was any suggestion that the saints were taking on impressions of the glory of Christ. Would you connect that with the divine side, the side in Luke?
JT Well, quite. “Beholding as in a glass” refers really to the mind — what the eye takes in as well as the ear. These are two organs which refer to the mind.
Ques I was going to ask as to the thought of remembrance connected additionally with the cup, in what the Lord gives to Paul for the assembly amongst the Gentiles: Is there some particular point of the economy which we now have with the assembly being here, and the Spirit being the central feature of it? I wonder whether you could help us as to why there is something additional in remembrance in connection with the cup that is not found elsewhere.
JT Well, I think it would imply satisfaction in what the cup presents to us, because young people, while they partake of the Lord’s Supper, sometimes are not satisfied feeling it is not enough. As time goes on young people get more and more taken up with things outside and I believe there would be [p. 101] provision for them in the sense of satisfaction, and the question is raised as to whether we are satisfied where we are as in the fellowship. Drinking is usually the idea of satisfaction.
WHT Would Eutychus in the 20th chapter of Acts be an example? He evidently was not up to things.
JT Very good. I would think that fits very well. That chapter is full of love. It begins with love and ends with love. But one young man was there who was under compulsion. We are thankful for the young present, even though they are here under compulsion, but they may not all be satisfied, and Eutychus represents that element. He was looking out of the window at first but he fell asleep and then eventually fell — a most sorrowful thing, and I suppose it would have been more sorrowful if there had not been an intervention. Paul went down and enclosed him in his arms. That was a feature of the position — it is a very beautiful feature, specially applicable today — laying hold of the young, influencing them with affection, so that Paul was able to say “life is in him” and he was brought up alive. But the chapter is very significant as alluding to assembly history in relation to the Lord’s Supper; we are not to be hesitating in our meetings, and I believe what is needed is satisfaction — to be restful in the understanding of the position.
FB Would the right idea in regard to the young be found in 1 Peter 2: 1 - 2, “Laying aside therefore all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envying and all evil speakings, as newborn babes desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow up to salvation”?
JT Well, notice the word “mental”. That is the word that links up with what we are speaking of — it is a question of the mind being held. The gospel [p. 102] presents what is attractive in Christ at the outset, as the woman said “Come see a man”. Peter has the mind in view in the word “mental” — it is milk, it is the nourishing of the mind.
Rem You have dwelt on the thought of drinking in connection with the cup, but Paul introduces the thought of remembrance in relation to it additionally. I was wondering if you could help us as to why it is that sometimes we get an impression of the Lord in the bread, but perhaps do not look for any augmentation of it in the cup. Would you expect the remembrance in connection with the cup to lead to the enlargement of what the Lord has already said or the strengthening of it in the souls of those present?
JT Well I think that, and what I was remarking about satisfaction is an important thing with us.
AH You mean in speaking of satisfaction as connected with the cup it is as taking in all that the cup implies that we are satisfied with it.
JT Yes, all that it implies. The Lord says “My blood is drink indeed”. In the scriptures drinking usually means satisfaction, I think.
AH Is the lack of that satisfaction very often the cause of so little part being taken perhaps by younger brothers?
JT Quite. In the 10th chapter of 1 Corinthians it speaks of our public conduct and walk and the cup is mentioned first. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of the Christ?” The word “communion” is stressed in the 10th chapter because it is a question of what we are externally and what we are connected with externally — whether on Monday and the rest of the week we can carry on with what we have had in the Lord’s Supper — whether it sustains us. And so the idea of idolatry is enlarged on in chapter 10 and the idea of discipline on the part of God is enlarged on in [p. 103] chapter 11 — that is your conduct inside is disregarding the body of Christ. Whether it is as coming into the room or sitting down together, or during the meeting, we should see to it that our conduct does not in any way discredit the body of the Lord Jesus.
SA What would be the force of the word “communion” in your mind?
JT Well it is what we have in common. We would be under command or under orders.
SA ‘Identified with’ — would that be it?
JT Well the word means more than that. It implies that we are under orders. We are obligated to one another; of course we are obligated to the Lord, but the force of it is that we are obligated to one another. It is what you are doing when the brethren are not looking at you — it is a question of honesty or uprightness. What do you understand when you use the word “communion”?
SA Well, I thought it was that we are identified with the fellowship of the Lord’s death.
JT Well, it is the word “identification” or “communion” but it has obligation attached to it. I am not only obligated to the Lord and He sees me all the time, but I am obligated to the brethren even though they are not present.
Ques Would you say it is the idea of partnership and whatever we do affects the partnership?
JT Just so. Partnership is the word really. I think we overlook that we are obligated to each other.
Rem Paul wrote to the Corinthians in relation to their measure and to their state of soul. They were intelligent enough to understand what he was going to say. He says “Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to intelligent persons, do ye judge what I say”, 1 Corinthians 10: 14 - 15. Is that an appeal to their mental [p. 104] powers?
JT Quite so. I was thinking of that very word — “I speak as to intelligent persons”. He considered them to be that; as Christians we ought to be intelligent. We are not short in teaching, but we are short in consistency and in intelligence to take in things that we have heard.
Ques Do I understand from what you say as to the Lord’s body that we are not, for instance, at liberty to look about in the meeting as we please? Would that come into it?
JT That is right. The 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians is when we are inside. The paragraph previous to the one we read refers to their being very naughty, going, I believe, to the extent of being affected by drink. Terrible things can happen amongst the brethren and in the assembly. The Corinthians were despising the assembly. It is a word for us all and especially for the young people breaking bread. The chapter explains what is meant, and it is very concise in what it says. Paul says “I praise you not”; he tells them that “many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep”.
GHP In regard to the cup and drinking and the satisfaction it affords, how far does the suggestion of blessing in the cup go? Does it go the full length of what we are brought into in Christianity?
JT Well, I suppose it might. “The cup of blessing” — as if the idea of blessing is denoted in it. You can hardly limit the blessing, it is a general thought. We already alluded to what Numbers brings out — what Aaron was to say “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace”. (Numbers 6: 24 - 26); and in Psalm 133: 3 — “… there hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore”. The Lord is bent on blessing and the [p. 105] assembly is constituted in that way. It is the vessel of the service of God and it affords blessing.
Rem In regard to the additional note about the cup, to which attention has been drawn; is the thought that as keeping that before us, say in thanksgiving, it would tend to this satisfaction?
JT Well, it would. In speaking of it in the assembly do you mean, or in each person keeping it before him?
Rem One who would give thanks for instance would mention the fact of the remembrance.
JT In relation to the Lord’s Supper I find it hard to get away from what the Lord was pleased to give to Paul as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11. In speaking at the Lord’s Supper that passage constantly comes before us as it is so concise and yet so full. The words “the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was delivered up” always touches the heart. And then you connect it with the passover and the sufferings, as it says in chapter 5 “For also our passover, Christ, has been sacrificed ...”
Ques Is that what you meant by history?
JT Yes it is. It attaches to this position. There is nothing more historical in the Bible I think. From the very outset God had the race in mind; we have to keep in mind that God is thinking of man all the time. It says His delights were with the sons of men — how beautiful that is! Not only men, but the sons of men.
RM Has the Lord satisfaction in seeing the saints having satisfaction?
JT Well, quite so. We are told in the Gospels that the Lord looked on the young man and loved him. The Lord was thinking of what He created physically and He looked on the young man and loved him. When we come to the truth of scripture, man is in Christ and eternity refers to Christ and all [p. 106] that comes out of Christ. The assembly is of Christ.
TG The Lord would have all this in mind when He said “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer”.
JT Just so. I thought that we should read in Luke because it is so beautiful that the Lord had that thought at that time. We have a reference there to before He suffered, and then in Acts 1 it mentions “after He had suffered”.
FI Would you say that as giving thanks for the cup we become stimulated, so that our affections are put into movement?
JT I would. That is what I would connect with satisfaction. I suppose you do too.
FI I was thinking that not only are we to be stimulated ourselves in that way, but as our affections are in full movement there is the stimulation of Divine Persons as well.
JT I think that satisfaction is the idea — the drinking is satisfaction and works out by the Spirit in the whole of the service; the Spirit rightly begins it.
SB It would look as if the writer of 394:5 had experienced something of what we are speaking about — “Thou dost make us taste the blessing, soon to fill a world of bliss”.
JT The hymns are important; they are intended to stimulate the brethren. Singing is intended to stimulate us.
JJ-n I was wondering how we should think of the sufferings of Christ at the Lord’s table. How far should the sufferings of Christ be brought in?
JT Well, as already mentioned there is what took place before He suffered, as in Luke, and then in Acts “after He had suffered”.
Ques Do you think that if this thought of eating were more with us constitutionally, and if we were [p. 107] built up in our souls as a result of the appreciation of the sufferings of Christ in relation to the passover, we should perhaps be more ready to appreciate His sufferings as the fruit of love, when we are together in the supper?
JT Just so. One of the latest Psalms speaks about the formation of our members. Psalm 139: 14 “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully, wonderfully made. Marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well”. I thought of that Psalm as entering into what you are saying as to constitutional formation — here we have it in the abstract, but it is not abstract when I am born anew; all these things are in new birth. They are all there and they work out in the assembly, and what we are speaking of is intended to nourish us inwardly so that we might have part in the service with intelligence and feeling. I thought it would be well to have that Psalm before us; it illustrates what the scriptures can be to us and I think that Psalm helps in the subject that is now before us.
Ques Before you leave the Psalm I would like to ask is it noteworthy that so much is made of searching in the Psalm? Do you think that as being subject to the scrutiny of the Lord, as we must be if we have partaken of the Supper, it would set us free as the verse that you have read suggests?
JT Well, just so. We alluded yesterday to the parts of a man — the inwards — spirit, soul and body. Mary, the Lord’s mother, alludes to the soul and spirit and we are now alluding to the mind. Proverbs 20: 27 says “Man’s spirit is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the inner parts of the belly”. God can employ our minds; they are available to Him to search us, so that we get here “Jehovah, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest [p. 108] my thought afar off; Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways; For there is not yet a word on my tongue, but lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether”. So that we are under the eye of God in the service and the inwards are to be in action, the different parts of a man — spirit, soul and body; the body is involved — how we sit down and how we get up and how we speak. We are therefore challenged as to whether we call upon all that is within us to bless His holy name. You are not ashamed to bring anything out before the Lord in the service.
FB Would it not be a great preservative if we had that ever in mind?
JT Well, I am sure it is intended to be that. And I believe the drinking is intended to stimulate and give satisfaction, but it gives intelligence. I am thinking of a passage in 1 Timothy where the apostle says “Use a little wine”; the brethren will understand that I am not telling anyone to drink wine literally, but in order to shew how it may affect you if it is used figuratively. In the 5th chapter of 1 Timothy, verse 22, we read “Lay hands quickly on no man, nor partake in others’ sins. Keep thyself pure. Drink no longer only water, but use a little wine on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illnesses”. Now it might seem strange to bring this in here, but I believe it is an allusion as to how we are stimulated inwardly and made quick in our understanding and able to grasp things as before God.
TG Would self-examination, as suggested in the chapter, make way for the Spirit to form us in affection towards Christ?
JT Just so. That is what is in my mind. Now I would call attention to another serious thing, and that is God’s discipline in connection with the Lord’s Supper, a thing which has perhaps been a little ignored. It says “In like manner also the cup after having supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come. So that whosoever shall eat the bread, or drink the cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty in respect of the body and of the blood of the Lord”. That is to say, where there is carelessness we do not distinguish the Lord’s body or His blood. Then it goes on to say in verse 30 “On this account many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, so were we not judged. But being judged, we are disciplined of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. So that, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait for one another” (which would allude to mutual feeling among us) “If any one be hungry, let him eat at home, that ye may not come together for judgment. But the other things, whenever I come, I will set in order”; which means that there is more that he could say about it. It was primarily in my mind to bring in the passage because of the present moment that we may renew our energy and affections and intelligence in this matter of the Lord’s Supper, because it really involves discipline and our having part in the service of God.
FB How did this discipline take place?
JT Well, it takes place if one is sick, but it may not always be so. It was so here, as it says “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep” — a most solemn thing.
FI I was wondering whether you would connect the thought of searching with when we are eating the supper, or whether it would mean that we are keeping the feast in our ordinary movements [p. 110] here.
JT I would say that it is especially when we are partaking of the Supper. Beginning at verse 17 and running down to the end of the 22nd verse refers to when they were together, and Paul says “It is not to eat the Lord’s Supper” — verse 20. But that is what they were doing, and I think the point would be to judge ourselves when we are eating. “Let a man examine himself and so let him eat”.
Ques What would you think of one who absented himself from coming to the Supper for a period?
JT Well, I think he might be cut off from among his people. Numbers 9 would be the truth bearing upon those who stay away from the Lord’s Supper.
Ques Would you think that normally the more a person was constitutionally self-judged the less there would be to occupy the mind on love’s occasion of the Supper?
JT I am sure of that. There would be nothing to occupy you but the Lord’s Supper. You have got control over your mind; I think we should keep that before us. In the Lord’s Supper we are supposed to have control over our minds, and I believe that is what Paul means when he says “I myself with the mind serve God’s law”. He was determined to do it and the Spirit of God is here to help us to do it so that we are able to shut out other things.
SB In regard to the matter of self-examination; would it help us to note in the Psalm referred to, we are taken back to the very beginning, and it is a written record of every member?
JT Yes.
TMcC Would Matthew’s setting of the Supper have in mind our minds being occupied throughout the entire week with the Supper?
JT Yes, I think in general I would say that. What am I doing when I am absent from the brethren? There are, of course, things you have to [p. 111] be occupied with in ordinary affairs — the Lord knows that — your family, your business, etc.: but when you come to the Lord’s Supper, you have power to eliminate all that, and as at the Lord’s Supper we should have power to control our minds. The Spirit helps us in that.
Ques Has John that in mind in his epistle when he says “He that has been begotten of God keeps himself”?
JT Yes, “and the wicked one does not touch him”.
SWJ The bride in the Canticles says “Sustain ye me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples”. Is that the setting? And then it says “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me”. Does the head represent intelligence?
JT Very good. Generally the service of God would last a comparatively short time. Well, why can’t we give that time exclusively to God? We have many other hours and days to look after our own affairs. We should have control of our minds. It says “We have the mind of Christ” which is the thinking faculty, and means we are able to do what Christ does. It is a question of determination and the apostle determined to serve God’s law. God is entitled to the Lord’s Day and He takes it, and as we love Him we keep it too — not that we are legal about it, but at the same time we have respect for that day and He gives us the day so that we can devote ourselves in His service and use our minds and be able to control them. It is most important that we should be able to control ourselves. The Lord is entitled to the Lord’s Day and we are to give it to Him and act accordingly. As we come to the Supper the Spirit of God is ready to help us in the service of God. We shall serve Him in heaven eternally.
GFG Would the verse preceding the one in Canticles which our brother has referred to also help?
It says there “He hath brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love”. Would that embrace both thoughts — the house of wine the Matthew setting, and the banner Luke’s setting?
JT Very good. Then the allusion to the head in Canticles would be a reference to the mind.
RM I would like to ask, in view of what we are speaking of, how do you approach this favoured hour? Do you have in mind getting satisfaction or giving satisfaction?
JT Giving satisfaction, of course. It is the service of God and I am set for that — to serve God. That is really the controlling thought throughout scripture, and is especially dealt with in Leviticus but also in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. God is thinking of His service and calling upon us to think of it too and to be in it.
AED In relation to refraining to partake of the Supper, it is a serious matter to do so, and if a saint is incompetent to judge himself, should he not refrain in such circumstances from partaking of the Supper?
JT Well, I think the word here is “Let a man examine himself and so let him eat”. Why should he cease breaking bread? What hinders him?
AED I was thinking of incompetency with the person to judge himself; is he not doing a serious thing in partaking of the Supper unjudged?
JT Why should there be incompetency? What do you mean by that?
AED I am thinking of a case where the state of soul is so low that there is inability to take up this exercise of self-judgment.
JT I doubt that any Christian should assume that state, and if you judge yourself, God is gracious — grace reigns. I expect you are dealing with facts you know yourself and not with scripture. It says “Let a man examine himself and so let him eat”.
[p. 113] It does not say — Let him not eat if he is unworthy. I would think that should be accepted by us all, and the Lord’s Supper ought to be continued at all costs. The Lord would help us to judge things. The apostle in Romans 7 refers to serving God’s law with his mind, and then in chapter 8 the Spirit is introduced which enables us to do what we resolve to do.
Ques Would not the often-repeated reference to the Lord greatly help us, in that where there is the recognition of His authority the power to judge ourselves would not be absent from us?
JT Well that seems to be so. Why not do it? Why not feel that you are obligated to the Lord?
Ques I would like to draw attention to the expression “let a man examine himself”. Is that expression (and others similar) imperative, meaning that we are called upon to do it?
JT Yes, that is so.
JnoG Do you think that the man with the withered hand who was told to stretch it out, got strength to do so by obedience?
JT Quite so. “Stretch out thy hand” he was told, and he did. That is just the idea — the question of obedience and the sense of obligation.
SA Would John be an example of what you have in your mind? — one who was able to abstract himself from what was around and hold himself in readiness for the Lord.
JT Quite so. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” — he was in keeping with the day.