The Lord's Supper

And when he had given thanks to God for it, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new agreement between God and you that has been established and set in motion by my blood. Do this in remembrance of me whenever you drink it.” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 (TLB)

Many Christians don’t really understand what happens when the Lord’s Supper takes place. Possibly due to an overreaction against Roman Catholicism, many Protestants are keen to establish that “nothing happens” at Communion. Yet, for the Early Church, it was the third thing they did in Acts 2:42. And that was when the Church was at its “optimum power” just after the Day of Pentecost. Ultimately, it was Jesus Christ Himself who instituted the Lord’s Supper. As such, it must be very special to God.

There are four major views about Communion:

(1) The Roman Catholics believe in transubstantiation. That once a priest says, “Hocest corpus meum (This is my body),” the bread and the wine literally become the body and blood of Christ.

(2) Martin Luther objected to transubstantiation but came up with consubstantiation, which means that bread and the wine became the body and blood of Christ only when eaten.

(3) Ulrich Zwingli objected to both the Roman Catholic and Lutheran views. He taught that it is merely a “Memorial Supper” to honor Christ’s death.

(4) John Calvin felt that all have missed the point. He said Christ is spiritually present in the bread and wine, and grace is imparted to us in the Supper if we have faith.

What actually is the purpose of Holy Communion?

(1) To remind us regularly that the reason God sent His Son is to die on the cross for our sins (1 Cor. 11:26).

(2) To bring us into a deep intimacy with Christ. To eat someone’s flesh, or drink his blood, is to desire an intimacy that is ordinarily unthinkable. But we are to love Christ so much that, by partaking of the bread and wine, we affirm Him to the most extreme degree.

(3) To enjoy the Lord’s presence in a special manner. Whenever we meet around the Lord’s table, Jesus is there.

(4) To have more of Him in us (John 6:53-58).

(5) To affirm that Jesus literally has a body and to honor His blood.

(6) To affirm the Church-we are to be at peace and unity with one another.

(7) To regularly examine our own spiritual condition in the light of God’s Word (1 Cor. 11:28). All in all, through the Lord’s Supper, we are exalting Jesus and enjoying His presence in a very special way.