A Charismatic Supper

The Lord Jesus instituted 'the Lord's Supper' for His disciples as a remembrance meal. He wanted them to constantly remember what He did for them on the cross of Calvary. That's the christian worship concerning the work of Christ. Simply 'break the bread' and remember Him; "Do this in remembrance of Me."

Unfortunately, in much of Christendom, the Lord's Supper is perceived as a sacrament, a sacred ritual, through which God or the divine is supposed to be experienced. I think two quotes about that sum it up well.

“For some, the remembrance of His life, suffering and death is central, others experience His presence at the meal or even the union with Christ, because He gives Himself in this sacrament. It can be experienced as a physical and ritual encounter with God Himself.” (Source)

“The Christian ritual of the Lord's Supper or Eucharist is a specific example of such a sacred meal in which contact with the divine takes place (…)” (Source)

We have learned that the Roman Catholic Mass is a special example of this, in which even 'unification with God' can be experienced. earlier seen already.

But now suddenly someone comes with a bizarre example from the charismatic world and drew my attention to a book by Joseph Prince. Prince – preacher of the prosperity gospel from Singapore – promises healing and health if you know how to eat the sacrament. Then you can experience the power of that meal and the consequences are amazing.

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Prince is not the only one teaching this nowadays, it is also being taught on the other side of the globe and Bill Johnson – the super-charismatic from California – has written a book about it. But even better, even 'our' Dutch Jan Zijlstra talks about it.

Evidently, in charismatic Christendom today, there is a belief that there is some kind of "magic power" emanating from the Lord's Supper. Only they don't call it 'magic power', but for example 'divine healing' or 'life and health'.

Jan Zijlstra also claims that if you use the Lord's Supper in the right way, you will receive 'divine healing'. The description in the webshop includes, for example, the following text.

“If we want to experience that full blessing, we must first of all know the meaning of the Lord's Supper. If we do not know this, the blessing of the Lord's Supper will come to us only very limited or will be missed entirely by us.
Jesus had a strong desire to celebrate the first Supper with His disciples. He desired that the blessing associated with it should come to them. Prior to the Lord's Supper, Jesus had said in John 6:54, "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life."
As Israel was redeemed by the blood of the Passover, so we are also redeemed by the blood of Jesus. As Israel was healed by eating the Passover, so that they did not bow down to Egypt, but left upright and sound, so we also shall be healed by the Lord's Supper."

They seem to be "telling their dreams" to each other as the prophets did (see Jeremiah 23:27), causing all of them to tell the same stories to their listeners. But because they are "prophets of lies," we know from what source they get these views.

Recently I read that Tom de Wal also talks about his 'colleagues' and proclaims the same view in his book 'Touching Jesus' (see here for a critical review of the book)

“According to de Wal, the ceremony of the Lord's Supper heals, it makes 'the power to heal' reach you. (pp. 103-108). This is mind boggling. I quote: "We too may realize today how great the healing power of Jesus' body is and that that power is released when we partake of the Lord's Supper, when we take the covenant meal today under the New Covenant, we also receive the healing power in our body...” (pp. 105,106).
The power is released when we partake of the sacrament.”

A magical ritual

If you try to get an idea on the internet about whether it is a well-known fact that you can get a mystical experience from food, you soon find out that the answer is 'yes'. Meals were part of the rituals of the mystery religions and you can still find it today. So there is a site'Mindful eating' whereupon I found the following poem.

Before the meal In the bread is the grain, is the field, is the crescent moon, is the blazing sun, is the plowing farmer, is the baker's hand, is the fountain. Eating I taste the mystery that is in all the One.

Poem by Hein Stufkens, from: What I serve.

It is remarkable that it is stated here that God ('the One') is in everything. That is the view of the pantheism, implying that 'god' is present in everything, so also in matter such as food. If that is your view (or your 'belief)', then, if you open yourself to it, you can also 'taste that mystery', or gain that mystical experience, in everything.

That mystical experience is not caused by the food or by any other matter, not even by the ritual, but by "the god" in the invisible world to whom man opens himself. After all, it is your desire and your search for that experience, which is then filled in by demons. It's the way'where the nations serve their gods' to speak to Moses ^{(Deuteronomy 12:30)}.

It is therefore easy to understand that all kinds of things or events in the physical world evoke a mystical experience in people who open themselves to it, which they call 'God', the 'Spirit' or 'Jesus'. For someone from a non-Christian background, it's 'magic', 'energy', 'love' or perhaps 'the Force'.

Eating food is thus one of the many things that people can do in such a way (as a ritual) that they physically experience the invisible reality. No wonder Christians are tempted to use the sacrament in a similar way.

What we can learn from Paul

Paul has in the First Letter to the Corinthians have something to say about the subject. The congregation in Corinth lived in a pagan world and was thus under its influence. The danger was that all kinds of pagan ideas and practices would creep into the congregation. In that respect, our current time can be compared well with that.

Unworthy of the evening meal

In chapter 11, Paul makes it clear that the “Lord's Supper” is not intended to meet our own needs and desires. The Lord Jesus instituted it solely so that we might remember Him:Do that in remembrance of me” (11:23-26), Elsewhere a brief explanation of 11:17-34 has already been given and we will not repeat it here (see document, page 3).

When we eat the 'meal of the Lord' – that's the worship – using it to provide for our own needs, then we abuse it and Paul calls that partaking of the meal 'in a worthless way' (verse 27,29). The Lord cannot let that pass. so that He must judge, as also happened in Corinth (verses 29-34). That's how serious it is.

Food does not bring us closer to God

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul addresses a question about eating idol sacrifices (verse 1). The question was probably whether as a believer you could eat from that which was offered to the idols. Some believers apparently thought so, others thought not. Paul makes it clear that we can (he calls it "freedom" in verse 9), but that we don't because it could cause some of our brethren to fall and even "be lost" (verse 11).
Now we are not concerned here with the whole argument, but that Paul says something important in his argument that we want to highlight here. It concerns the text in verse 8, which reads “Now food does not bring us nearer to God, for whether we eat we have no abundance; and whether we eat not, we lack no“.

In the pagan sacrificial services it was normal to offer food to the gods or to hold ritual meals. In any case, it was used to get closer to 'the mystery'. The pagan idea is that matter (in this case food) brings man closer to the deity, at least if you observe the rituals that apply to it.
Now Paul disputes that idea with his statement in verse 8; he says that this pagan idea does not apply to the Christian faith. There it is not the case that there are material or visible things through which you will experience God more. Nor is it that God is further away if these material things are not there.

Paul makes it clear that – in contrast to paganism – in the Christian faith it is about a cleric relationship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. A spiritual relationship for which there are no material means or rituals to establish or promote that relationship.

In Christianity, the relationship between man and God is a spiritual relationship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul underlines this when he explains how that relationship works:

• it is a relationship of love; the believer: “loves God and is known by Him” (verse 3); about 'loving God' we have already said quite a bit elsewhere on the site;
• the believer knows that “there is no other God but One” (verse 4), though men have their own gods;
• the believer knows that this one true God is”the Father, of whom are all things, and we before him, and one Lord: Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.” (verse 6).

In this section Paul assumes that the believer has a relationship with God (knowing one another; verse 3) and has the correct 'belief system'. The latter is mainly how man relates to the one true God and Jesus Christ (verses 4 and 6). Then such a person also knows that the relationship with God is a spiritual relationship, which cannot be influenced by physical means – such as sacrifices to idols, for example flesh (verse 8). Then you know that such a spiritual relationship cannot be experienced physically. If these are your beliefs, then you are in no danger by consuming idol sacrifices in an idol temple. For the problem of idolatry is not in itself physical, visible things.

But Paul also makes clear where the problem actually lies: in the conscience. He calls it "a weak conscience" or "conscience of the idol" (verse 7). The word 'conscience' (ESV) also means 'consciousness' as it is also rendered in English by one word 'conscience', so that in my opinion it is better to say that Paul is talking about a 'weak consciousness' (verse 10,12 ) and a "consciousness of the idol" (verse 7). In the meantime: for the relationship between conscience (in a narrow sense) and consciousness, see also this blog.

There were brethren in the church in Corinth (verse 13) whoweak consciousness', which might make them fall back into the old pattern of idolatry. If they saw a ('strong') believer eating the sacrifices in the idol temple, this could be a signal to them that this is something a believer can do. Therefore, if such a person were to eat of the idol sacrifices, he would easily enter a state of "higher consciousness" with his 'weak consciousness'. Then he again comes into contact with and under the influence of the invisible world of gods and according to Paul such a person is then lost (verse 11). That is reason enough for Paul not to eat idol sacrifices, because then he sins against the brothers. He even calls it "sinning against Christ" (verse 12).

Summarized

The bread and the cup speak of You who have paid. You show us in this sign Your body and Your blood. You gave Yourself, You died for our guilt, and now You are our life, we are filled with thanks. We remember Your suffering, while we rejoice at Your table, Lord in You, for salvation is certain to us. One above we sing the song that never ceases; and on the earth we praise you until you come!

From Spiritual Songs 2016, no. 202