In these two alternative methods two different aspects of communion are represented. The former order lays the emphasis on taking and eating; or receiving only, and directly, from Him. This method is exemplified among us today when communion is administered to a company of people by one man or a few chosen men only, and no-one else. When this method is adopted it is probably because people believe that only one or a few may be ordained to represent the Christ from whom alone the communicant must receive the elements. In this case the devout Christian believes that he receives the spiritual communion direct from Christ and at that time eats the spiritual flesh and drinks the spiritual blood by faith.
The latter method, without minimising the import of the former, shifts the emphasis from receiving only, to both receiving and giving. This is of much greater significance, for it reveals a far deeper truth; it exemplifies the most fundamental principle of truest love and union known by God. More than that, it also demonstrates that kind of sacrificial giving exemplified by the cross alone. By realising that 'we being many are one bread' and by the self-breaking symbolised by breaking the bread, the cross is kept central at the heart of the Church. God wants it kept there, for that is where sacrificial self-breaking for others was accomplished among men on earth.
The Lord knew He could only give Himself to us by crucifixion, and that is why everything He did in the upper room was anticipatory of the cross. The feast was entirely conceived and inaugurated taking the cross for granted. Golgotha was the only place where it could be fulfilled and the cross was the only means He could use if He was to give Himself in the way He desired. Unless He did so, God's will could not be done, or His own wish be consummated; the whole design was to establish the Communion on earth among men.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.