COMMUNION - THE LORD'S SUPPER

COMMUNION (The Lord's Table)

1 Corinthians 11:23-32

When we come to the communion table, we see two things: the bread and the wine.

ü When you hold the bread in your hand, you are coming in touch with the great expression of His love. This love made Him endure the cruel striper on His back and cause Him to subject. His body had to be beaten, bruised, and broken so that yours can be whole.

ü When you drink the wine, you are reminded that the blood of the sinless Son of God did not just brought you forgiveness; it is made you forever righteous, holy and blameless.

1 Cor 11:29-30

"For this reason". He did not say "For these reasons". He was pointing us to one singular reason why Christians become weak and sick before their time.

What is the reason?

"Not discerning the Lord's body"

It means that they did not know why they were partaking of the body when they come to the table. They had no idea why they were eating the bread and this was the reason why they were not receiving the divine life of their saviour, causing them to be weak and sick and to die prematurely.

The body and blood should not be treated as one. They are two elements because there is a two-fold application in the communion.

• The wine, which is His blood, is for our forgiveness.
• The bread, which is His body, is for our healing.

K The blood is for forgiveness: -

Col 1:14

Eph 1:7

Because the Son of God paid the penalty for your sins with His spotless blood, you can go scot-free when you put your trust in His blood to save. When you partake the wine, know that you are forgiven and have been made righteous. The blood of Jesus has given you right standing before God so that you can come boldly into His presence.

K The Bread is for healing.

Acts 10:38

Discern the body (Matt 26:26)

These men were with Him everyday and not once did they see Him sick.

The matzah (a flat bread eaten at Passover) is a good object lesson of what Jesus' body symbolizes. The Mishnah or the Jewish oral laws gave instructions on the preparation of the bread. These instructions should be of great interest to us.

According to these laws, the bread was to be unleavened, baked, pierced with holes and striped. No leaven was used because leaven represents sin, and Jesus is perfect, sinless Son of God. That is why He is able to take our sins upon Himself.

When you come to the Lord's Table, make sure that you discern His body. When you partake, believer that Jesus took bread and broke it because His body was going to be broken. And as you partake of His broken body, know that His body was broken so that yours can be whole.

K ITS SIGNIFICANCE:

v It is memorial the Christ: Jesus said and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”8(I Cor 11:24).

It is not to be just a memorial to his death, as to a martyr, but to him as a living person. Jesus is to be commemorated as the one who ever lives is ever present with his own

“Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 9(Matt 28:20)

v It is a pledge of the new covenant: The sign of the new covenant is the cup. It symbolizes the blood, which was shed by our Lord in the ratification of the new covenant. Jesus said ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’ (Luke 22;20;cf I Cor11:25)

The partaking of the communion elements reminds us a new of the perfect forgiveness, which we have in Christ.

v It is the proclamation of Christ’s death: Paul writes “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes”(I Cor 11:26) As believers meet together in remembrance of Christ, they are actively proclaiming to the world the death of Christ. Both the fact of his death and the significance of it are proclaimed by the members of his body as they partake of the meal together.

v It is the prophecy of Christ’s coming: (I Cor 11:26) It looks forward to his return for his own.

Matt 26:29

Hendrikson writes of this statement, “We see therefore that communion not only points back to what Jesus Christ has done for us but also forward to what he is still going to mean for us”

Partaking together reminds the believers of the joyful reunion and unending jubilation, which await us when we meet the Lord.

v It is a fellowship with Christ and his own: I Cor 11:21. The table reminds the worshipper of the provisions, which Christ’s has made for his own.

The conditions of participating in the Lord’s Supper are regeneration and a life of obedience to Christ. This is a table of the Lord not the church’s table. This is evident from the fact that the individual is asked to examine himself as to his fitness to come to the table; the church is not authorized to sit in judgement upon believers, except in the case of disorderly conduct, false teaching or participation in unscriptural practices.

I Cor 11:28

The Lord’s Supper (A solemn & important act of Worship)

The Lord supper, communion whatever you call it, there is nothing quite like this solemn and important act of worship. Oh, it is possible to participate in communion without even thinking about God. It can become a ritual full of action but empty of meaning. If we let that happen, we miss out on a time of gratitude and fellowship. In addition, we miss the blessing that come with a serious examination of our spiritual condition.

Communion, that solemn time of self-examination before God reminds us of our responsibility to check the attitude of our heart, and it helps us to keep the slate clean. Be sure to experience the benefits of communion “Remembering Christ’s death for us should cause us to live for Him”.

Matthew 26:17-30

The Lord’s Supper (An act of solemn remembrance)

Jesus’ time on earth was limited. He had a mission and He knew exactly what was going to happen. He was aware of the coming of “His appointed time”. It was His “ kairos” moment meaning God’s appointed time. His passion, resurrection was the most significant event in human history. But at that time, the most important event in their history was the Passover. It was an event they remembered and celebrated through the Passover feast.

Jesus instituted a rite that was to be an act of solemn remembrance of His death and resurrection. It ran a symbolic parallel with the Passover. In Passover, a lamb was offered as a sacrifice for the redemption of the Israelites from the hands of Egypt, their oppressor. At the Lord’s Supper, Jesus was the sacrifice for the redemption of man from sin.

Matt 26:28- Jeremiah prophesied this when he wrote, “I will forgive thier wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jer 31:34)