No Inside Man
Being saved is not like sinning. When we sin, we do it all on our own. No one makes us do it. Another person cannot sin for us or force us into sin. Salvation, however, is not going the other direction on the same line of individual effort. I sin and have only myself to blame. I’m saved and have only another to thank. I wear the sinners hat but never the Savior’s crown. That is why I need a Savior.
The Lord’s Table calls us to remember our Savior, to remember His provision, and to remember our need. The bread and the cup represent His body and His blood given for us. We do not eat our dead flesh and drink our spilled blood. We who believe died with Christ, but we participate in His substitution for us, the cross doesn’t require an addition from us.
Our deliverance from the judgment dungeon was not a coordinated effort between Jesus and us. Jesus didn’t have anyone on the inside to partner with. He stormed the castle walls at His own expense, He broke our chains, and He lead us into life. We deserved to be locked up all on our own. He got us out all on His own.
The Lord’s Table reminds us that someone else is working on our behalf. He rescued us, He keeps making meals for us, and He is preparing us for a home with Him. We eat and drink what He has made as He makes us into His people.