Featured What is the point of taking Communion?

I am a member of the SBC and former member of the MBA and in either conference, we do not take the unfermented wine and unleavened Bread 2 or three times a year. As understand it it is a time of renewal and I believe that your personal relationship with the LORD should bond tighter than what was there before. I do not see it as any form of Legalism nor do I see it as a routine occurrence or tradition that is similar to the Traditions of the Jewish Faith.

 

By the way you described the ordinance of communion in your church, it sounds quite uninspiring. I don’t know if that is a manifestation of your attitude toward it, or simply the reality. I will confess that it was rather functional and played down in the church where I grew up because the leadership of the church was reacting against the Catholic Mass in our heavily Catholic area. It was rammed down our throats at children that everything that was done during “the Lord’s Supper” (aka Communion) was simply symbolic. The idea was pushed so hard that it was difficult not to think that Communion was nearly meaningless.

Yes, it was bread and wine as part of a larger meal as a believing community. That does not mean that we have to do it in the context of a meal today, but the idea is that we share this experience with Jesus and each other in the presence of a believing community, at a minimum.

Usually during Communion there will be a time of confession and prayer before God as part of a spiritual assessment that one does as part of “examining oneself” (1 Corinthians 11:28). In the Corinthian church, there were people who were living out of fellowship with one another (the body of Christ, aka, the church – see 1 Corinthians 11:29) and were taking the practice of Communion lightly. For this, a number of people had paid a physical cost – even death – in God’s discipline and judgment (1 Corinthians 11:30-31).

Once you come to faith in Christ by becoming obedient to Christ, you cannot fall out of God’s grace. However, you are still quite capable of sinning (1 John 1:9-10). But the point of eternal life is not to get a ticket to heaven (that doesn’t exist), but to enter into a transforming relationship with Christ where you learn how to live your life like He did. Heaven is NOT the goal, although it is a destination in the journey.

Communion should be a sacred encounter where we commune with Jesus and each other as the earliest disciples did. It is a time of reflection, refocusing and empowering in the Spirit where we take simple elements, bread and wine/juice, and draw them into our bodies as a symbol of our connected nature to each other and Christ. In ancient days and well as today, sharing a meal with someone indicates acceptance and at least a mild level of familiarity. It is the same with Communion. Over the Lord’s table, we see Christ in our midst through the common elements and the continuing practice of the church for nearly 2,000 years.

 

What is the point of taking communion?

Jesus ordained it and requested we do it:

Luke 22
17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

It is a witness to seekers of His promised return in His glory.

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

It is to be done by disciples on the First Day of the week.

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

It is a time of blessing and fellowship among the saints.

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (koinonia) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (koinonia) of the body of Christ?

HankD

 

Hi Ben, my you do go back a ways!

I read through Acts 2 this evening.
The breaking of bread was of primary importance.

Perhaps the apostles eyes were opened wide at Pentecost.
They finally realized what Christ really meant when he said he was the bread of life.the simple act was a direct remembrance of what he said.

Maybe we have ritualized the ordnance, maybe we have become complacent and too comfortable with the glorious gifts provided for us through our Savor.

Rob

 

The communion doctrine is almost as corrupted as the baptism doctrine.

One group, over a billion strong, claims they have the authority to change the elements into the literal body and blood of Jesus. Without this sacrament one cannot be saved.

Other groups, of the Protestant persuasion, have confused the issue even more with a consubstantiation as opposed to transubstantiation. One has to be a Mostly Right Reverend Doctor of Theology to decipher that nuance. For further study: theophagy and henotheist.

Then there is a rather small group which believe the communion is a memorial to Jesus and what He did for sinners to redeem them. The elements do not morph in any way. This group has a problem with whether the communion is open, close or closed--another thread for sure. The ecumenicals seem to be ahead in this arena.

Anyhow, trying to figure out real presence is an interesting adventure.

Choose wisely,

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Bro. James

 

His real presence is amongst the brethren not in the bread or grape juice/wine.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

HankD

 

Communion? I have a question... Why on earth are we using a Roman Catholic/Protestant term for the Lord's Supper?

 

It is scriptural:
1 Corinthians 10:16 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?

Communion : Grk. koinonia
United Bible Society (UBS) Lexicon: koinonia - 03555, Fellowship, a close mutual relationship, participation, sharing in,partnership...

Communion : Oxford Dictionary
The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings especially when the thoughts are on a mental or spiritual level.

HankD

 

I guess we had better stop referring to 'the Trinity', to 'baptism' and to 'the church' as well then as these are also catholic/ protestant terms

 

My point of contention with the LS/communion is: New Covenant. The NC was for Israel. Is "the Pentecostal church" a continuation of Israel (Gal 6:16, etc.)? Obviously, it is. What about "the body" of Christ of Ephesians? Is it a continuation? Confusing the difference will continue to result in mental confusion. NB: The Baptist church I attend takes part in this NC sign once a month at the Sunday eve service.

 

My bad with the communion thingy.

 

To the OP. I'm just a layman but will give you my 2 cents. We do the Lords Supper because He said to in remembrance of Him. If it is becoming a pointless ritual then maybe the church needs to be retrained as to it's meaning and significance, or perhaps you are doing it too often and it's losing it's importance with it's familiarity. In our church we generally do it once a quarter and it is looked upon with great reverence and we are encouraged to reflect on our relationship with Christ and His sacrifice for us.

 

Your good that you man up.

HankD

 

PBs generally have communion at each church's "annual meeting" which usually spans an entire weekend with many visiting preachers and members from surrounding churches attending and there is wonderful singing and powerful preaching and down home potluck dinners that ends on the last day with a solemn communion and feet washing service open to all PBs. It's experience that you don't forget.

 

Had a senior moment in the early hours of the morning.

 

Been there, done that

HankD

 

Its about eating a meal together. Eating together is a spiritual act. Communion is not passing out crackers and small shots of grape juice. When you go out to eat with the family after church is more of a communion then the cracker and toast ceremony, although the ceremony is important as a picture of what we do in remembrance of him.

 

I disagree. 'What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God......? (1 Corinthians 11:22).

The Lord's Supper is mentioned so many times in Scripture that it must be important. At he risk (nay, certainty!) of being misunderstood, it is a means of grace.
From the Baptist 1689 Confession 30:1.
The Supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by Him the same night on which He was betrayed, to be observed in His churches until the end of the world for the perpetual remembrance, and showing forth of the sacrifice of Himself in death (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
It was also instituted by Christ to conform believers in all the blessings of His death:
-- for their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him.
--for their further engagement in and commitment to all the duties which they owe to Him.
--and to be a bond and a pledge of their communion with Him and with their fellow-believers (1Cor. 10:16-21).
30:7.
Worthy receivers, outwardly taking the visible elements in this ordinance, also receive them inwardly and spiritually by faith, truly and in fact, but not carnally and corporally, and feed upon Christ crucified, and all the benefits of His death. The body of Christ is not present corporally [as material body] or carnally [as physical flesh] but it is spiritually present to the faith of believers in the ordinance, just as the elements are present to their outward senses.

If we are not receiving these blessings and benefits, maybe it's because we are not taking the Lord's Supper seriously enough.