Lord's Supper in private?

Exactly.

 

What proof? From man or from God? Too many legalistic things in the church that makes it nul and void according to God's word....How about dress codes in churchs? How about membership? just to name a few....

Communion is for any that is a believer in Jesus Christ whether at home, at a camp or anywhere they please, it is not for just pastors to be there to do the handing out...for where does it say that a pastor is the only one to conduct this?

 

The original question was "Someone asked me if it was ok to partake of the Lord's Supper in private."

Can you give a SCRIPTURAL reason why two believers cannot assemble to remember the Lord through His Supper?

 

Boy...

There sure is some messed up ecclesiology flying around in this thread!

There are two ordinances for the N.T. church, namely Baptism and the Lord's Supper (or communion). These two things must be conducted under the authority of the local church. There is no Scripture that indicates that individual Christians ever exercised the ordinance of the Lord's Supper apart from the assembled body of believers (the local church). However, each time we read in the Scriptures about the Lord's Supper taking place it is being done in the presence of the assembled body of believers (the local church).

My wife and kids and I do not constitute a local church. However, we are part of a local church. We partake of communion when we are with the assembled body of believers (the local church). We cannot hold a communion service at our home or elsewhere with just the four of us present (myself, my wife, and our two children). We could go through the motions of a communion service and make ourselves feel all spiritual and warm and fuzzy. However, we will not have exercised the local church ordinance of the Lord's Supper because we, alone, do not constitute the local body of believers of which we are a part. As members of the local church we submit ourselves to the authority of Christ, his under-shepherd (the pastor), and the body of believers. Thus, we sit under the authority of the local church and its leaders. As such we, individually, do not possess the authority to exercise an ordinance of the church.

 

Where's the scripture that forbids a few believers from assembling themselves together to remember the Lord through His supper? The Bible says clearly that they came together in one place for remembrance of the Lord. All believers have this privilege. It makes no difference if the ones gathering to remember the Lord are blood related (as Bibleboy and Bob seem to amuse themselves by poking fun at such a thought, but I would remind them of Galatians 3:28 which states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.") or believing neighbors, they are gathering for the purpose of the Lord's Supper and nothing in scripture forbids this.

Please, Bibleboy and Dr. Bob - keep your disparaging remarks out of the discussion. Thank you.

 

I have made no disparaging remarks. I used my own family as a possible example of the type of "private communion" that we are discussing. Sorry that you took offense. I assure you that none was intended. Please forgive me.

I know of no Scripture that specifically "forbids" an individual from doing what we are talking about. However, I do know that each time the Scripture talks about people taking the Lord's Supper it is in the context of the assembled local body of believers and never in the context of a single individual or small individual part (like a family) of the local body of believers. Therefore, we see the principle of Scripture is that the Lord's Supper is an ordinance of the assembled local church.

Likewise, when church discipline is in veiw its final step is to be carried out at the time that the local body of believers (the assembled church) is about to take part in the Lord's Supper. Now if the unrepentant sinner, who is to be excluded from partaking in the ordinance of Communion with the local church, can simply go home and "do it" by himself what purpose is served by the local church exercising church discipline upon him and excluding him from Communion?

 

Right. And the principle is that when believers assemble together, they have the privilege and honor of remembering the Lord through His supper, no matter the number of believers and no matter where they meet.

You spelled 'judgmental' wrong, professor.

Okay. More inferior attitude remarks.

I realize that. Just thought it'd be nice to debate without the sarcasm and disparagement (rolling eyes, fuzzy comments, etc.). Sorry. This style of debate is not edifying, but only draws up resentment toward individuals which I need no part of.

 

TO A LOCAL CHURCH, not a coffee


and who is the local church? the assembly of believers....your family are believers, your friends are believers....gathering together we are the church.....

 

From the context of your question, I assume that by "in private" you mean individuals choosing to partake of the bread and wine apart from the church gathering. I mention this because some churches hold the Lord's supper as a "private" celebration, to which non-members are not invited. Personally, I could never conceive of getting bread and wine and "observing" the Lord's supper while I'm alone at home.

Taking the Lord's supper to shut-ins has never been a part of my "Baptist tradition".

Though preaching is usually engaged in at the gatherings in which I've observed the Lord's supper, I've never known that it was a tradition or a teaching that preaching must accompany the Lord's supper.

I believe that the Lord's supper in reserved for the context of the gathered church, based on the practice of the New Testament church and the teaching of Paul in I Corinthians. To my way of thinking, for an individual to observe the Lord's supper as an individual loses part of the "communion" and "one loaf" idea of the Lord's supper, and seems to almost turn it into something looked at as magical.

 

Just for the record, judgemental is spelled correctly, Oxford Dictionary...I don't know what the American spelling happens to be.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Aw shucks! And I thought I had you hooked on English

Cheers,

Jim, eh!

 

What I see on this thread is not messed up ecclesiology but a legalism sufficient to rival that of Roman Catholicism.

First, on the question of whether it is permissible (by God, not man) to partake of communion in private, no one canm show in scripture where it is prohibited. Second, on the question of what constitutes a church, no one can show that a church cannot be defined as being where two or more are gathered together to worship. As I have pointed out, the earliest gatherings of Christians were in the private homes of believers; are we seriously to believe that all such "house churches" contained clergy?

Thirdly, considering Jesus's views of legalistic religion, what do you suppose He would think of men trying to limit observance of His sacrifice to a human-defined, specific time and place?

 

Well, without getting into the tone of some posts here (mine included), one problem is obviously how "local church" is defined; another is what we believe about Christ's attitude toward religious rituals, observances, practices, etc.

First, I think it is evident, even with what scripture explicitly says about it, that many of the earliest "churches" were gatherings of any number of believers in private houses, or caves, catacombs, or wherever they could gather safely. I think it is thus a stretch to say that all these groups were "institutionalized," organized, or had clergy.

Second, considering Jesus's attitude toward such subjects as the Sabbath, I cannot imagine that He would disapprove of ANY group of believers commemorating His sacrifice--any time and anywhere.

 

I would not consider an assembling of believers for the purpose of remembering the Lord with His Supper a "coffe klatch." They are a body of believers (no matter how many) gathering for the express purpose of partaking of the Lord's Supper. (I suppose they could have coffee afterward )

We are members (each individual believer) of His body. As such, we have every privilege to gather in His name to remember Him. There is no biblical warrant for the institutionalized system that we find ourselves a part of hijacking the Lord's Supper, claiming that it belongs such and such church, who gives such and such "authority" to partake. Where is that in the Bible?

For that matter, where are many of the practices we adhere to found in the Bible?

To meet together for the Lord's Supper (organized for the purpose, hence, organization) is a church gathering. Yes, even with our family, seeing that we are members of His body, the church.