God Never Intended an Altar

God never intended an altar, though he planned for it.

John Mark Hicks begins his book, Come to the Table, with this statement. What he means is that God planned Jesus' crucifixion, but that was only a means to an end. God's ultimate intention was to have communion with his people. Today, we accomplish this through the communion we share with him in the Lord's Supper. Someday, we will experience his communion more fully in heaven. 

Why would God create man? 

Was he lonely? Was he bored? We know of a panoply of angels who accompanied God. We know there must have been SOME turmoil up in heaven regarding the accuser. It couldn't have been those things. 

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all work in harmony with one another. We know the Father spoke the world into existence, and the Son was the instrument (John 1:1 and following). The Holy Spirit then breathed life into God's creation. They worked in perfect, loving harmony. 

Imagine a couple who decides to have a child. The couple already has a great relationship with one another. Why would that couple want to mess it up with a child? They aren't lonely. They have each other. In a perfect world, they have a child to share in the love that they have for one another. That child will then add to the love they share and bring honor to his or her parents.

That's exactly why God created man, and this is evidenced through his continual striving with man in order to bring them back into perfect communion with him. 

Israel is an Archetype for us.

When God chose Israel, there was nothing particularly virtuous about them. They were stubborn, few, and slaves. The Egyptians would have been a much better choice. They were strong, powerful, and rich. Surely they would bring more Glory to God, but God chose to love the Hebrews. When he did, he invited them to commune with him at the table. Before they could go to the table, they had to go to the altar. The altar led to the table. The sacrifice led to communion. 

When God later chose to save the Gentiles, there was absolutely nothing virtuous about the Gentiles that they should earn his favor. Most of us were idol worshipers and involved in every form of disgusting sin. God chose to love us, and extended communion to us and all people. To make this happen, God offered up his own sacrifice. He offered his own son on the altar. Thanks to that sacrifice we now can have communion with him at the table. God's intention and goal was the table, not the altar. 

Communion with you is God's Ultimate Goal

In Revelation 21:3 we read "He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his people, and God himself will be with them." God's ultimate goal has always been to destroy death and renew communion after our sin separated us from him. God forgave us at the cross, but his ultimate goal is fellowship. We experience that fellowship at the table now, and we will experience it more fully in eternity.