"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
The "breaking of bread" was an important part of the life of the early Church (Acts 2:46) and continues to be in the Church today (1 Corinthians 10:16). Many names are used for the breaking of bread - "The Lord's Table", "The Lord's Supper", "The Eucharist" or "Communion."
Communion has three very real meanings for our lives:
The bread speaks of the body of Christ that was broken for us so that we might be made whole (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4-5).
When we participate in the Lord's Table, we are focusing again on Christ's work on the cross and His impartation of life to us.
As we are focused on the power of our redemption through Jesus by regularly celebrating Communion, there is an increasing revelation of the Lord Himself.
"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases; he redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's" Psalm 103:2-5.
Present: Jesus said that as we partake of Communion we "proclaim the Lord's death..." Christ's work is outwardly manifest in our lives. We are "living epistles" (2 Corinthians 3:3, KJV).
Future: Jesus said we are to partake of Communion "until he comes." Communion is a reminder of the hope that is before us (Colossians 1:27) - the return of Jesus (Titus 2:13).
The old Passover covenant that God established with Israel in Exodus chapter 12 was a picture of the New Covenant that Jesus was to establish through His work on the cross (see John 1:36; 1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant and instituted a New Covenant. God gave a token for every covenant He made with the people of Israel to remind them of the covenant (for example, in Noah's covenant, the token was a rainbow - Genesis 9:11-17). The token of the New Covenant is the Communion Table.
A covenant is a two-sided agreement. As we partake of Communion we not only remember God's promises to us but also our responsibility - to believe and respond in obedience. Note Paul's caution in 1 Corinthians 11:27-34.
The Blood: Just as natural blood flows through the physical body, so when we drink of the Communion Cup we are testifying that we are united by the blood of Christ. The same blood flows through the spiritual Body of Christ. We are of the same blood. We are one family, one spiritual nation (1 Peter 2:9).
The Bread: The loaf of bread that is divided becomes one loaf again in us as we all eat it. This is a declaration that we are one Body (Romans 12:4-5). Christ can only fill the whole Body as each individual member is filled with Him.
"...and [God] appointed [Jesus] to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that fills everything in every way" Ephesians 1:22-23.
This is the prayer of Jesus: That the picture of Communion will become a working reality in His Body - that we will "be one" (John 17:20-23). As this happens, then "the world will believe."
The Communion Table is a constant reminder of our relationship to Christ, of God's covenant with us, and of our relationship to one another in the Body of Christ.
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Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in these studies are from the New International Version of the Bible, © New York International Bible Society, used by permission. Other versions referred to are: KJV (King James Version), NKJB (New King James Bible), TLB (The Living Bible), Amp (The Amplified Bible) and The Message. All versions used by permission.
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