Firstly that God will in grace receive all who repent of their sins, to partake of the Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. And even when we realise that we are still weak and that it is hard to live according to God’s will, we accept in faith that our human nature cannot prevent us to receive the food that Jesus, our Host at the Table, wishes to share with us.
Secondly we can expect to be reminded by the Holy Spirit of everything Jesus did for us to save us and make us his own. The Holy Spirit speaks God’s Word to us and communicates with us through bread and wine. Through bread and wine we receive the Word of God that reminds us that Jesus was innocently condemned to death that we might be found not guilty at the judgment seat of God. We are reminded that he let his body be nailed to the cross to cancel the debt we have because of our sins. He took our curse upon himself, in order to fill us with his blessings. We are reminded that Jesus was forsaken by God, that we may be accepted by the Father and never be forsaken by him.
We expect to hear the Lord proclaiming his death and resurrection to us as he speaks to us through bread and wine, giving us faith through which we are saved.
Thirdly we expect to have communion, or fellowship, with our Lord at his Table. Jesus invites us to feast with him to assure us of his love and salvation, that we will know that as surely as the bread is broken and the cup is given to us, he is present at his Table to assure us that we belong to him. He meets with us at his Table to direct our faith to his perfect sacrifice on our behalf, teaching us that it is the only ground for our salvation.
By the Holy Spirit, who dwells in Christ as our Head and in us as his members, we have true communion with him and share in all his gifts, his eternal life and his glory.
Fourthly we expect that the same Spirit also unites us as brothers and sisters in true Christian love as members of the one Body of Christ. For the sake of Christ, who loved us first, we love one another at the holy Table and show this love not just in words but also in deeds.
Finally, we expect to receive a foretaste of the amazing joy Jesus promised to his own, that we one day will share at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God when we will drink God’s new wine in the Kingdom of God our Father.
In order to be nourished with Christ at his Supper, we must not only see and taste the outward symbols of bread and wine.
We should not doubt that at his Supper we shall be nourished and refreshed in our souls with Christ himself, as certainly as we receive the bread and wine in remembrance of him.
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