The Table of Showbread: The Substance of Christ

Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. (Exodus 25:23,24)

And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway. (Exodus 25:29,30)

The Table of Showbread typifies the Substance of our Lord Jesus Christ, His body and blood, that we must eat and drink continually if we are to grow in His image and become one with Him. Our sanctification depends on our partaking on a regular basis of the Substance of Christ.

The Communion service is a representation of eating and drinking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our actual partaking occurs in the spirit realm as we keep ourselves by prayer, by meditation in His Word, and by exposure to the ministries of our fellow believers, in the place where the Holy Spirit can feed us with the Divine Substance. In order to become holy we must keep on receiving into ourselves His holy Nature.

Christ is the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God. As we choose to overcome the world, the Lord gives us to eat of the Tree of Life (Revelation 2:7).

The Table of Showbread was located in the Holy Place on the north side—to the right as one entered the door of the Tabernacle. The Table was constructed from acacia wood covered with pure gold. There was a rim of gold around the center of the Table so that the twelve loaves of the Presence bread (showbread) would remain in place.

The twelve loaves of Presence bread were kept on the Table continually, even while Israel was on the march. We Christians must never become so busy we no longer are able to commune with the Lord and to receive the Substance that comes from Him. Also, every elder charged with ministering the Bread of God must always be ready to provide the Bread when need occurs.

The activities of the churches must be maintained in such a manner that the body and blood of Christ always are available to those who attend the assemblies of the saints. The bronze Laver represents the written Word by which we are washed. We are made clean by the Word. But the living Word, the Word made flesh, can come to us only as the ministry of the Church is moving in the Holy Spirit of God.

Many of the activities of Christian churches have little or no value in terms of building the Body of Christ. A chief problem is music. While music can play an important role in the Church, it is used commonly to take the place of the Presence of the Lord, to fill in where there is a lack of the anointed Presence of the Lord as represented by the Table of Showbread.

Choir anthems, oratorios, musical specials, often are of little value in building Christ in the saints. They stir the soul and are pleasing to the adamic nature. But if they are not anointed by the Spirit they do not contain the body and blood of the Lord. They occupy time that should be devoted to Spirit-filled prayer and the gifts and ministries of the Spirit.

Art forms, whether music, dancing, sculpture, architecture, pictures, are a Divine blessing to mankind. They have a place in our lives now and hopefully will continue throughout eternity. They have value in our services only as they are wrought in prayer and consecration to the Lord. Banners, marching, mime, tambourines, drama, can be employed in the assembly of saints. If they are governed by the Holy Spirit they add immeasurably to the joy and glory of the worship.

In many instances the Christian people are unable to distinguish between the inspiration produced by Christian art forms and the elevating influence of the Holy Spirit.

The body and blood of Christ may or may not be communicated by dancing, singing or drama. The anointing of the Holy Spirit may be present in such performances but in many instances it is not.

Only persecution and tribulation will suffice to purge the churches of the activities that are traditional and pleasing to people but do not communicate the body and blood of the Lord, that do not build up the saints in the Substance of Christ.

The surface of the Table of Showbread was enlarged by a shelf extending on all four sides from the top of the Table, a little lower in height than the Table top and having its own rim, or crown, of gold bordering its outside edge. The shelf area apparently served to hold the dishes, little cups, and larger cups and bowls that were used by the priest as he ministered in the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

The fact that the Presence bread was kept separate from the utensils of the Table by a rim of gold teaches us that the Word of God is higher and holier than the people who minister it until such time as the minister becomes one with the Word and is part of the Word.

And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute. (Leviticus 24:5-9)

Every Sabbath day hot loaves were placed on the Table of Showbread in two rows of six each, and the past week's bread was eaten by the priests in a sanctified area. In like manner, the Christian Communion service is not to be celebrated before the curious gaze of the world but is for the fellowship of believers who are worshiping their Lord.

When a drink offering was poured out by the priest on behalf of the nation of Israel, such as during the morning and evening offering of the daily lambs, the wine was poured out in the Holy Place, apparently on the floor of the Tabernacle near the table of Showbread.

The lamb was being burnt on the Altar of Burnt Offering outside in the Courtyard while the drink-offering, visible only to the priest, was being poured out in the Holy Place (Numbers 28:7). This is a picture of the atonement made by Christ on the cross of Calvary. While He was being offered on the cross His blood was making an atonement before the Throne of God in the highest Heaven.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, the Tree of Life. No person on earth, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, black or white, can live apart from partaking Christ. There is no eternal life apart from Him.

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. (John 6:32)

The multitudes of the earth go about their business each day in the hope of gaining their daily bread. Some are successful and some are not. The one true Bread—that which gives eternal life—is free and available to every person on the earth. The one true Bread is Christ. The true Bread does not grow up from the earth but comes down from Heaven.

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. (John 6:33)

Natural bread sustains our physical life. The body and blood of Christ sustain our spiritual life. Apart from the eating of Christ we possess no spiritual life. If we are to be made in Christ's image we must eat of Him. We are created in His image by eating Him.

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)

Deep in every human being there is a hunger and a thirst that nothing on earth can satisfy. People spend their lives in a frantic attempt to appease this hunger by means of the resources of the flesh. But to no avail. Only the eating of the Tree of Life, Christ, can fill the inner need in every person.

This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. (John 6:50)

Natural food feeds the physical body. The physical body is as an animal or plant that is born, goes through the cycle of nature, and returns to the dust of the ground.

The Substance of Christ feeds the spiritual man, who is the offspring of God and who does not return to the dust of the ground. The spiritual man was not formed from the dust of the ground. The spiritual man, who is fed by the Substance of Christ, is eternally alive. He cannot die because he is born of God and is of the Substance of God.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51)

At this point, Jesus of Nazareth removed Himself from every other religious teacher who has ever appeared on the earth. There have been patriarchs, prophets, priests, teachers, crusaders, and spiritual leaders of all types in the history of mankind. Of them all, only Jesus is able to offer His flesh as food that brings eternal life. The flesh of Christ is eternal life, and when we partake of Him we receive eternal life into ourselves.

The world is dead, by God's definition of death. God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whoever eats of Him will receive the eternal Life of the Lord God Himself. Only in God is there eternal life. There is no eternal life in the flesh of humanity.

Eternal life must come down to us from God in Heaven, who has given eternal life to the world in the form of His beloved Son. God took the flesh of Christ, and His blood, and said to the world: "Take, eat. Here is life and healing for you. It is My gift to you—something you could not buy though you possessed the riches of the universe."

God gave the flesh of Christ, His Son, for the life of the world.

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6:53)

The peoples of the world are dead in sin. Each person is born under the guilt of Adam, his ancestor. Each person is born with a sin nature that tends to cooperate with the will of the devil. No human being is born with the eternal Life of God in him. We all were born spiritually dead—cut off from the Life of God.

God has given us the flesh of Christ and the blood of Christ so we freely may eat and drink of eternal life. If we will obey God, accepting the gift given us in His love, we will receive eternal life into ourselves.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54)

When the last trumpet sounds, all mankind will be divided into two groups: those who have eternal life in themselves and those who do not possess eternal life in themselves. Those who possess eternal life because of eating and drinking of the Lord Jesus Christ, have the power in themselves to enter glory with the Lord Jesus. Those who have not partaken of Christ will have no power in themselves to enter glory, even though they make a profession of belief in Christ.

Christ is our eternal Life and the Resurrection from the dead. We have to do more than believe in Him; we must abide in Him, eat of Him, live by Him as He lives by the Father.

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (John 6:55)

Jesus cautioned us to not devote all the energies of our lives to the pursuit of natural bread. He promised us that if we would place the seeking of the Kingdom of God in the forefront of our interests, God Himself would insure that we would be provided with adequate food and raiment. Jesus encouraged us to eat and drink of Him so that we would be in possession of the true eternal life that comes down to us from God in Heaven.

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (John 6:56)

There is no way to abide in Christ other than by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The greatest force that overcomes the sin in us and enables us to sanctify ourselves is the body and blood of Christ. The evil of the world keeps on attempting to tear us from our resting place in Christ's victory.

Sin harasses us on every side. The perverse wickedness abroad in the land today is so virulent in quality that we cannot overcome it in our own goodness. Yet the Divine quality of the body and blood of Christ possesses greater power than does the perversity of the present age.

Paul commands us to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Evil cannot be overcome with evil, only with the good that comes from Christ. This sounds fine and religious but it is also very practical. When we attempt to overcome the evil in the world and in the churches with some good originating in our flesh, we soon find ourselves burned by the prevailing evil. Then we attempt to strike back in irritation and anger. We seek vengeance—that which belongs to God alone (Romans 12:19).

If we will keep on receiving the grace of Christ, calling fervently on Christ in every situation, His Divine Substance will overcome the evil in which we are immersed. The body and blood of Christ is the only Power greater than the power of evil that prevails in the world today. The Divine Substance of God in Christ is freely available to whoever will call on the name of the Lord.

We dwell in Christ continually by partaking of His Divine Substance. We cannot remain in Christ by our own strength and determination because there is too much wickedness in the world and too much corresponding wickedness in our own fleshly nature.

As we, through the Holy Spirit, receive the body and blood of Christ, there is unlimited virtue, power, and wisdom that soon overcome every trace of evil and lift us above the poison, enabling us to forgive every person who has harmed us.

We cleanse our hearts from the bitterness that has dragged down so many believers from their place of abiding in Christ. Bitterness is the malignant consequence of not being able to lay hold on the grace of Christ to the extent that we can rise above the deadly poison of malice that fills the world (and sometimes the churches) in the days in which we are living.

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:57)

Here is one of the most extraordinary statements of the Scriptures. The concept of union with God in Christ is repeated in the seventeenth chapter of John. Such ground (union with Christ) is exceedingly holy and we must take off the shoes of our own works when we tread here.

Christ is of the Substance of the Father and lives by, through, in, with, and because of the Father. Christ cannot be separated from the Father because He is One Substance with the Father and lives by the Life of the Father. Christ and the Father are One.

In the same manner we are to become part of the Substance of Christ and live by, through, in, with, and because of Christ. We then will be incapable of separation from Christ because we will be one Substance with Christ and live by the Life of Christ. We and Christ are to become One.

Imparting to us the Substance of Christ is an act of Divine love. There is no other motive. The closer we draw to Christ the fuller becomes our appreciation of the fact that Christ loves us and desires that we become one in Him—part of Himself.

How will we respond to His love for us? That is decided by each of us. The best way to respond is by partaking joyfully of the Divine Substance of Christ. If we will do this, God will take care of the rest. There is no pathway to the fulfillment of the deepest needs and desires of our hearts other than by eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood.

This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. (John 6:58)

Natural food nourishes our physical body. Yet that body is decaying and dying every day. He who is eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ is nourishing the spiritual life in himself, and that life is not decaying and dying but is beginning to behold the Face of the Father.

As newborn babies we should be thirsting for the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God (I Peter 2:2), since we have been born again by that Word (I Peter 1:23). Christ is the Word made flesh. When we eat His flesh we are eating the Word of God, the Divine Substance.

In many instances the members of our churches still must receive milk even though by now they should be able to digest solid food (Hebrews 5:12,13). If we Christians will keep on eating and drinking Christ, the day will come when God can feed us with the solid food of the Word—the diet of the mature sons of God.

Let us receive what Christ has for us now during these "seven fat years," to borrow a symbol from Joseph in Egypt. The Spirit seems to be testifying that "seven lean years" are coming a bit later and that we need to store up all the spiritual food we can against the day of trouble that is ahead.

We eat and drink Christ by daily prayer and waiting on Him, by studying and meditating in the Scriptures, by meeting with the saints, by keeping ourselves exposed to the ministries and gifts of the Body of Christ, by exercising our own ministries and gifts.

If we are seeking the Lord each day, being sensitive and obedient to the leading, reproof, and counseling of the Spirit of God, Christ will come and feed us with His Divine Substance. Also, it is necessary that the assemblies of Christians receive the Communion elements on a consistent basis because the Communion service brings to our minds the death of the Lord Jesus and our relationship to Him and to one another.

Two thousand years ago the body and blood of Christ were intact in one Person, the Lord Jesus. Then, by the will of God, His body was broken and His blood was poured out. His body and blood never again will be intact until Christ, Head and Body, has been made one in the Father.

The Book of Revelation speaks of the "bride, the Lamb's wife" (Revelation 21:9). There are many figures in the Scriptures that portray Christ, such as the Word of God, the Lion of Judah, the bright and morning Star, and so forth. When the "bride" or "wife" is spoken of she never is referred to as the wife of the Word or the bride of the lion or the bride of Christ. She always is "the Lamb's wife." Why is this?

The reason the Church is the Wife of the Lamb, and not the wife of any other expression of Christ, is that we eat the Lamb. During the celebration of Passover the lamb was eaten (Exodus 12:8). Christ is our Lamb (John 1:36). Christ is our Passover (I Corinthians 5:7). We eat our Passover Lamb and we drink His blood. We become one with Him, united with Him in this manner.

The Wife of the Lamb is formed from the body and blood of Christ. Just as Eve was created from the substance of Adam, so the Wife of the Lamb is being created from the Substance of the Lamb. Christ is not wedded to flesh and blood even though the Church is being formed from human beings. Christ will be married to the Church that has been created from His own Substance.

In God's creation, like marries like. Each species unites after its kind. So it is with Christ. He cannot be married to a lower creature. He is from Heaven and His Wife must be from Heaven. She must be created from Him or she cannot be united with Him.

By eating the Substance of the Lamb of God and drinking His blood the Church becomes able to be united with Him in spiritual marriage. When the Bride of the Lamb appears in completeness and perfection for the first time (Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22), she descends from Heaven. She has been made perfect by partaking of the virtue of Christ.

She now is "bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh." What God has joined together is not to be cut asunder by man. The marriage of the Lamb and His Bride is an eternal union. After billions of eons have passed the wedding of Christ and His Bride still will be young and fresh. We are being created in God in order to fulfill His eternal purposes in Christ. The fullness of the image of God requires both male and female (Genesis 1:27).

We see, then, that sanctification depends on our partaking of the body and blood of Christ, of the Divine Substance symbolized by the Table of Presence Bread. The body and blood of Christ compose the Presence of God in us.

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