A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

and be subject to all the commandments of their King and obedient to them according to his Word: Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- manded you (Mat. 28:20)* THE LORD'S TABLE The confession contained a threefold emphasis on the Lord's Table: CD The sacrifice of Christ for the remission of sins; (2) Christ as the source of the life-giving resources for the human soul (bread, meat and drink); and (3) the union of Christ himself with all true believers for spiritual communion. In this holy supper we are brought to see that Christ's holy body was sacrificed on the cross and His precious blood shed for the remission of our sin, and that He now being glorified in His heavenly state, is life-giving bread, meat and drink for our souls and unites Himself with all true believ- ing souls for spiritual communion according to His Word: Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me. Gal, 3:1; Eph. 1:7; Mark 16:19; Eph, 2:6; Phil. 3:21; John 6:51,53-58,63; Rev. 3:20* This fellowship with Christ was also to express the rela- 47 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH tionship of the believers among themselves. The passages of 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 1 Corinthians 5:11 and 2 Corinthians 6:15 received strong emphasis: "The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread, and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread/29 They also placed strong emphasis on the prerequisites for the participant. "Only the gracious enlightenment and fellow- ship of the Holy Spirit can enable the believer to rightfully ex- amine himself and prepare him to partake of this holy supper in a worthy manner. . _ff3° These statements reflected a major objection to the prac- tice of communion in the church from which they had with- drawn. Absent, in the opinion of the Mennonite Brethren, had been the basic prerequisites of personal salvation and Christian lifestyle. Thus they placed particular emphasis on self-examination in preparation for the communion service. *'Let a man examine himself ... he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not dis- cerning the Lord s body" (1 Con ll:27-MVl Later writings by Mennonite Brethren continued to reflect this emphasis on self-examination, confession and purification as a prerequisite for communion.51 The practice of giving op- portunity for confession and reconciliation of tensions be- tween brothers and sisters prior to comm