The Lord’s Supper-Celebrating the Bread and the Cup
And all that believed were together, and had all things common; (Acts 2:44).
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, (Acts 2:46).
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (1 Cor. 10:16)
If you were raised in a traditional church setting you have become accustomed to participating in the special but sacred service called the Holy Communion. This special service, also known as the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper is traditionally administered by the clergy and is usually a solemn, reflective, and introspective time of prayer, confession, and re-dedication of the believer to Christ.
However, in contrast to most churches of today, churches of the 1st century had an entirely different perspective and experience of what we call the Holy Communion.
The Common Meal
In the early church the Lord’s Supper was not reduced to a sacred ceremony consisting of a small cracker and a tiny glass of grape juice administered by professional clergy. In contrast to modern practice the early church observed the Lord’s Supper regularly, breaking bread from house to house. This consisted of a complete meal including bread and wine, symbols of the New Covenant (Acts 2:44, 46).
This was a common meal in which all believers participated; much as a potluck meal today. As the church grew and believers gathered regularly the common meal became known as the agape feast or feast of charity (Jude 12). It was a time of celebration, praise, and thanksgiving for so great salvation; thus the association of the term Eucharist (thanksgiving) with the Lord’s Supper.
Since the House church is all about discovering, experiencing, and celebrating Christ in a community setting in which every member functions and participates, one of the ways we express our love toward each other is to share a common meal at the Lord’s Table. This theme is expressed fully during the common meal as each family brings something to share with the others.
More than just a gesture of hospitality the common meal is an expression of the love, unity, and fellowship shared by the Body of Christ. Contrary to modern practice, this is the main reason why the Lord’s Supper is called the communion or fellowship (Gk. koinonia) of the body and blood of Christ.
In the House church, we incorporate the bread and the cup into every open meeting without ritual, liturgy, or a sacramental spin. We simply approach the Lord’s Table as a community meal that we all share in commemorating Christ’s finished work of the cross (1 Cor. 10:21).
Yet, due to many years of the influence of the institutional church some find it difficult to separate the ritual of the traditional communion service from the simplicity of a common meal shared together in which the bread and the cup are celebrated. Rather than approach the bread and the cup from the perspective of a sacred service or ceremony:
We should envision the Lord’s Table as an integral part of our common life together, and a representation of the communion (fellowship) and life we share as one Body, and one Spirit in Christ (Eph. 4:4).
Having this understanding, the common meal then is to afford us a tangible expression of the love, unity, generosity, and community of the Body of Christ.
When we share The Lord’s Table in this manner we honor and celebrate the person and work of Christ. As the bread and the cup are the central objects of the common meal or agape feast, it is therefore called the Lord’s Table or the Table of the Lord, because Christ is the central person present (1 cor. 10:21).
Sacrament or Ordinance?
Is the Lord’s Supper a sacrament or an ordinance of the church? There are those who hold a sacramental view of transubstantiation. This view teaches that the bread and wine are literally and mystically transformed into the flesh and blood of Christ when consecrated and administered by a priest.
Others similarly hold a sacramental view of consubstantiation. This view teaches that although the bread and wine are not literally transformed into the flesh and blood of Christ, Christ’s body and blood are mystically present along side of the bread and wine and both are received together when consecrated and administered by the clergy.
The sacramental view is meant to infer that a special impartation of grace is imparted to the believer who partakes of the bread and the cup by faith.
However, some do not see the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament (a means of grace) at all, but as one of two ordinances instituted by Christ to symbolize His redemptive work. They maintain that the elements of the bread and the cup hold the same symbolic meaning they held the very night Jesus offered them to the disciples.
Christ, on the night in which he was betrayed gave His apostles literal bread and wine, and not His flesh and blood when he said, take, eat; this is my body and this is the New Testament in my blood (1 Cor. 11:23-26). There is no scriptural evidence to support, that during this occasion the bread and wine (fruit of the vine) were mystically transformed into flesh and blood (See also: Mt. 26:17-30; Mk. 14:12-26; Lk. 22:7-30, Jn. 13:1-30).
Having said that, there should be no doubt that a blessing is inferred upon those who do this in remembrance of Him. Paul says the cup is the cup of blessing (Gk. eulogia-a blessing), which we bless (Gk. eulogeo- celebrate with praises).
Is Jesus really present at the Lord’s Table?
Some may differ with me here, but I believe that Jesus is present at the Lord’s Table, but not present mystically in the elements of the bread and wine (fruit of the vine). Jesus is present among us in Spirit as He is at all other times when we gather apart from His table. The bread and the cup are to remind, represent, and embody:
1) The truth of His finished work of substitution and atonement
2) That He is literally coming again, and
3) That we will one day eat and drink with Him in the Father’s kingdom.
The bread and the cup which is to be shared by all are physical representations or symbols of Christ’s body and blood which was offered in sacrifice on the cross.
As for the Lord’s Supper being a means of grace, here too we must disagree with the sacramental view in favor of the doctrine of the finished work of the cross.
Embodied in the two elements of the Lord’s Supper is the most meaningful illustration of salvation through grace alone found anywhere in the New Testament. If nothing else, Christ ordained the Lord’s Supper to be a memorial meal commemorating His finished work of the cross.
At Corinth the Lord’s Table became disorderly; some were hungry and sober while others were stuffed and drunken. Thus, the apostle Paul sought to correct this situation because the true meaning of the Lord’s Supper was in jeopardy of being lost (1 Cor. 11:17-33).
If these symbolic elements lost their full meaning in Paul’s day, without proper teaching could it also happen today?
It is the attitude of the believer’s heart and mind while partaking in the Lord’s Supper that the apostle Paul is primarily concerned with. Paul warns believers against the irreverent attitude of eating and drinking without discerning the Lord’s body. This could represent a two-fold meaning:
1) Believers are to be careful to reverence and discern the symbols of the body and blood of Jesus while partaking in the common meal. It could also mean,
2) Believers are to be discerning of the needs of others in the Body of Christ.
These elements were to be sanctified in their hearts and minds as holy because they represent the finished work of Christ at Calvary. This is important for all believers because,
The principles of substitution and atonement are clearly revealed in the elements of the bread and the cup.
a) The bread represents the sacrifice of Christ’s body in substitution.
b) The cup represents the shedding of Christ’s blood in atonement.
These two elements declare from start to finish, Jesus Christ alone is the architect of our eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9; 12:2).
You see, as believers we share in the bread and the cup not in order to receive grace, but because we have already received grace.
Yet, how often the Lord’s Supper is improperly used as a legalistic barometer to measure one’s self-righteousness, while, at the same time we lose sight of the true meaning of the bread and the cup. That is:
To remember what Christ accomplished on our behalf.
Yet, there is nothing in the elements of the bread and the cup to suggest or remind us of what we have done or what we must do, except, through faith with thanksgiving we are to discern the Lord’s body. That is, when sharing in the table of The Lord:
We must recognize the person of Christ and assign to His body and His blood the total value of their worth.
1) Each time the believer partakes of the bread and the cup it is a visible and consistent reminder that Jesus paid the price for the believer’s salvation in full, with His own blood (Heb. 9:12).
2) Each time the believer partakes of the bread and the cup he is declaring that Jesus is the author and the finisher of his faith (Heb. 12:2).
3) Each time the believer partakes of the bread and the cup it is to shew or openly acknowledge and confess the merit of Christ’s death and His finished work of Calvary (1 Cor. 11:26).
4) Each time the believer partakes of the bread and the cup it is to remind the believer that he is enjoined to a New Testament (covenant) based on grace and not on human merit (Matt. 26:28).
When understood in the light of God’s grace and the finished work of the cross, the symbolic meaning of the bread and the cup deal a fatal blow to legalism and the concept of salvation and righteousness through human merit (works).
Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24). To partake in this manner is to acknowledge that,
We are therefore saved and secure because He paid the price of our salvation in full and obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12). There is nothing else the believer can do through human merit (works) to augment and supplement His finished work. We are to do this till he comes (1 Cor. 11:26).
It is on this basis that believers are admonished:
”But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ” (1 Cor. 11:28)
Often this scripture is misinterpreted to suggest that only those who are worthy can partake of the Lord’s Table and those who are not worthy should not partake, lest they bring damnation (condemnation and judgment) upon themselves. However, the real issue here is:
On what basis does one become worthy?
We may approach the table of the Lord from Sinai or from Calvary. When we approach the table from the vantage point of Sinai and the basis of our own righteousness, none of us are worthy.
When we approach the table of the Lord from the vantage point of Calvary and the basis of the righteousness of Christ, we understand that it is by grace that we are partakers of the virtue and merit of his body and of his blood (1 Cor. 10:30).
With this attitude and in this manner we are worthy.
Search your heart if you will— repent and confess your sin if you will. However, do not look to your own righteousness or merit when you partake of the Lord’s Table.
We are not partakers because we are righteous in ourselves. We are partakers because He died to make us the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
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