1 Corinthians 11:23–26 [23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, [24] and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [25] In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (ESV)

The Supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night he was betrayed to be observed in his churches to the end of the age (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith). We know the Lord’s Supper is important, but do we understand the richness of its significance?

In his book The Lord’s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant, Guy Waters wants us to see how, as a tangible sign of the New Covenant, the Lord’s Supper strengthens our assurance and nourishes our fellowship with Christ and fellow believers. As a physical token, the bread and wine symbolize the new spiritual relationship that binds us with God.

Though only 117 pages long, Waters’ book does not focus on the Lord’s Supper directly until just over two thirds of the way through. Before that, Waters sets the table (pun intended) in a brief explanation of covenants, covenant signs, and covenant meals.

With each, he helps us see their meaning and relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ and his life and death on the cross given for us

In the first chapter, Waters’ explanation of covenants is narrowed to the covenants that God has made between himself and human beings. After defining covenant, he builds on that definition with a discussion of the first covenant made with Adam and the need for a different covenant after the obligations to the first were not upheld.

Waters also looks at how different covenants are related to one another and how they tie together.

The second chapter deals with the character of tangible signs as they relate to the various covenants God has made with his people. The nature of a sign is that it points away from itself and to the object it signifies.

The signs of the various covenants are God given means to remind and give assurance of the things God has promised in the covenant. Ultimately, these signs point to Jesus Christ as the one in whom all of God’s promises are “yes and amen.”

The third chapter takes up the subject of covenant meals. Waters surveys the many feasts, meals, and banquets given throughout redemptive history.

His summary of the chapter is worth quoting – “God prepares a bountiful table and invites the undeserving to sit with him there. The table in all its abundance, points to the spiritual blessings that God gives his people – life, joy, peace, and glory. It points supremely to the chief blessing – God himself. We have been treated to an appetizer in this life. The fullness of the meal awaits us when the Savior returns.”

Then, in chapter four, the table being set (ha ha), we are ready to come to the Lord’s Supper. Waters puts the Lord’s Supper in context of redemptive history, explaining the significance of the table and what is being communicated when participating in it.

Finally he looks at the instruction received from the Lord Jesus by the Apostle Paul and given to us in Paul’s epistles.

The last chapter offers a summary of the Lord’s Supper and discusses some of the questions that arise surrounding the Lord’s Supper – How is Christ present in the Supper? Who can come to the Supper? And, how is the Supper like and unlike baptism?

Guy Waters is a great help in understanding the Lord’s Supper as it relates to us both on an individual basis, but also, and I think even more so, on a corporate basis.

Around the Lord’s Supper we gather together to remember Christ’s death for our sin, to commune with one another and with Christ now, and to wait together for the great banquet in heaven and the fulfillment of the promise of eternal life in the presence of God. I look forward to the next time we are at the table together with our Lord.