The Lord's supper

For many, the arrival of the communion cup or the offer of bread can generate feelings of confusion and frustration in not knowing what to ‘do’ or how to ‘take’ the bread and the wine in a reverent and helpful way. A biblical understanding is of great benefit here.

Not meant as a ‘how to’ guide, this acronym is a simple mental resource that can guide us towards an appreciation of the Lord’s Supper in line with Scripture. Let me introduce it to you. The accompanying Bible texts should also be memorised in order to maximise the acronym, allowing God’s Word to renew a passion in us for this spiritually nourishing ‘Christ-feast’. If one chooses to bring it to mind while participating in Communion, this should be done carefully and prayerfully so that it does not overly distract or create any ideas of religious formula.

‘Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body”. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”’ (Matthew 26.26-28).

Family meal

The Lord’s Supper is a feast pointing to Christ’s complete and sufficient redemption wrought at Calvary. It seals and signifies the breaking of Christ’s body on the cross and the shedding of blood, for ‘there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood’ (Hebrews 9.22; Leviticus 17.11).

One biblical fundamental of Communion, not incorporated into this acronym, is its corporate nature. The Lord’s Supper is a family meal that expresses Christian unity and ‘sharing together’ (koin nia) in Christ. This is why the Apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthian Christians for not considering or waiting for each other (1 Corinthians 11.21,33-34).

Therefore, in a communion service, members of the church body should acknowledge one another, praying for one another and family unity. Our hearts, minds and eyes should take in the visible representation of Christ’s invisible bride, of which we are a part, marvelling at the diversity and unity in Christ. This moves us to grow in love, forgiveness, respect and dedication for the church family.

Eleanor Kreider writes: ‘The Eucharist community which joyfully celebrates its identity and its liberation through the lifeblood of Christ poured out will grow in deep inner commitment to each other and to Christ. This depth is the maturity which holds the community from wavering or collapsing when under pressure, a fruit quite different from that of superficial or over-personalised understandings of Eucharist’.¹

So then, as we come together to eat the Lord’s Supper, let us wait for one another and enjoy shared salvation in Christ (1 Corinthians 11.33).

E — examination

Or, more specifically, self-examination: ‘Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup’ (1 Corinthians 11.27-29). Here Paul is emphasising the need to properly discern Christ in the meal and not to partake just to satisfy one’s physical or religious hunger or thirst. Christ and his complete and sufficient salvation must be fully recognised. This means that only those who belong to Christ can have their part with him in this sacred meal.

In addition, the believer has the holy duty to examine him or herself concerning unrecognised or ignored sin. The person and work of the Holy Spirit is our God-given assistance and guide in this. Therefore, as we prepare to receive the bread and the wine we should ask the Father for the Holy Spirit to make areas of sin in our lives fully known to us, praying that his power and care will lead us to repentance and move us on in holiness. Whatever sin needs to be confessed and repented of, it is important not to offer God vague repentance. So, naming specific sins is a significant part of self-examination. Such prayerful participation in the Lord’s Supper cultivates humility in us and minimises the lazy dismissal of sin. It promotes a serious concern for sin in our lives and its mortification, but also a meaningful meditation upon the forgiveness of Christ. Kreider adds: ‘Communion services can help to shape a healthy and realistic awareness of sin, both corporate and personal, and also to provide a setting in which we receive and rejoice in God’s gracious forgiveness’.

M — memory

Jesus said: ‘Do this in remembrance of me’ (1 Corinthians 11.25). This simple meal is for the sake of our memories. So. when we eat the bread and drink the wine, it is to place Calvary firmly in our memories — to exercise our human minds for the glory of God and reorganise ourselves around the reality of the cross. God’s institution of this sacrament is a gracious response to our human weakness.

P — proclamation

‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes’ (1 Corinthians 11.26). When the bride of Christ feasts together on his body, it is a public declaration of his victorious death to the physical and spiritual realms. It is the redeemed ‘preaching Christ crucified’ to the world. 2,000 years on from the cross and millions of Christians are still proclaiming the spiritual and eternal significance of Calvary by this God-ordained meal. This unique and celebratory proclamation marks out the church from the rest of society. This declaration is also a significant feature of the church as it waits for the return of its Head and Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

T — thanksgiving

Jesus Christ ‘took the bread and gave thanks and broke it’ (Matthew 26.26-27; Mark 14.22-23; Luke 22.17-19; 1 Corinthians 11.23-24), and then later he gave thanks for the wine. Jesus was essentially thanking the Father for his own flesh and blood. As those saved by the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of his blood on the tree, thanksgiving to God is necessary for our growing in faith and love. Setting our spiritual eyes upon the infinite grace of the cross, symbolised in this meal, should move us to great wonder at the goodness of God and a profound sense of joy and thanksgiving for the person of Christ.

Y — yoked

In feeding upon Jesus Christ we are yoked or joined to him by the Holy Spirit. This is our saving union with Christ, which is a truth central to the Christian life (John 15). Paul writes of this participation in Christ in 1 Corinthians 10.16-17: ‘The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?’. Of this mystery Bob Letham writes: ‘True believers receive and feed upon Christ, as surely as they eat the outward elements. Christ is the key’.²

When we eat the bread and drink the wine, we meditate upon the fact that Christ also is in us and we are in him. ‘Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him’ (John 6.56). In this sacrament, Jesus Christ gives us himself. In giving us his body and his blood, Christ spiritually strengthens and nourishes his church. He is the husband in Ephesians 5.29 who cherishes his bride the church, self-sacrificially seeking her spiritual growth and maturity. Yet, distinct from any husband, he is both the means and the goal, for she feeds on him, the ‘bread of life’, so she can grow up in him (John 6.33, 35; Colossians 2.19). The Lord’s Supper, then, includes enjoyment of our union with Christ, bringing the believer assurance and spiritual strength.

The cup is now EMPTY (as is the tomb)! Christ is ‘poured out for many’. The work is complete — Hallelujah!

Natalie Brand

References

1 Eleanor Kreider, Given For You: A Fresh Look at Communion (Leicester: IVP, 1998).
2 Robert Letham, The Lord’s Supper (Phillipsburg: P & R, 2001).

A helpful acronym to aid biblical understanding