On the night before His death, Jesus gave His disciples bread and cup and commanded them to do this in remembrance of Him. Communion is not an optional religious ornament. It is Christ’s appointed ordinance for His gathered people, keeping the gospel of His death before the church until He comes.
READ THE KEY PASSAGES
Begin with what
Scripture says.
Luke 22:19This do in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
1 Corinthians 10:16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?
01
The Supper remembers Christ’s sacrifice
Matthew 26:28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
The bread and cup direct the church to Christ’s body given and blood shed. The ordinance does not repeat His sacrifice. Scripture presents His offering as once for all, sufficient for the sins of His people.
Remembering is more than recalling a fact. The church confesses that her life and forgiveness rest on the death of Christ, not on her own merit.
Communion is a church ordinance given by the Lord Jesus. The bread and cup direct believers to His body given and His blood shed for the forgiveness of sins.
02
The Supper proclaims the gospel
1 Corinthians 10:17For we being many are one bread, and one body.
Paul says that eating the bread and drinking the cup show the Lord’s death until He comes. The ordinance looks backward to the cross and forward to the return of Christ.
It therefore keeps the church from moving past the gospel. Every participation says again that salvation rests in the crucified Savior and that His people await His promised kingdom.
It is a remembrance, but not a casual one. The church proclaims Christ’s death and receives the meal with gratitude, faith, self-examination, and reverence.
03
The Supper belongs to the body
1 Corinthians 11:28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
First Corinthians connects communion with the unity of believers as one body. The Corinthian church was rebuked because its divisions and disregard for the poor contradicted what the table proclaimed.
The Supper calls the church to examine not only private belief but also relationships marked by selfishness, contempt, or unresolved sin.
The meal belongs to the gathered body. Sharing one bread reminds believers that they have been made one people through the Savior’s sacrifice, which calls them away from division and contempt.
04
The Supper calls for reverent self-examination
Revelation 19:9Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Paul commands self-examination, not self-salvation. The question is not whether any participant is sinless, for none is. It is whether a person comes in faith, repentance, and a manner that recognizes Christ and His body.
A faithful church should take the ordinance seriously without turning it into fear or a substitute for the finished work of Christ.
Self-examination does not demand sinless perfection before a person may come. It calls for repentance, faith, and a refusal to treat Christ’s sacrifice or His people lightly.
05
The Supper cultivates hope
Luke 22:18I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
The table is deliberately unfinished: it is observed until Christ comes. Each celebration keeps the church’s eyes on the promised return of the Savior and the future fellowship of His kingdom.
That hope gives present suffering and waiting a direction. The church remembers a death that has secured a future, not merely a tragedy from the past.
Communion also looks forward. Each observance remembers the cross while declaring hope in the day when Christ returns and His people share fully in the joy of His kingdom.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Questions for further reading.
- 01
What does the Supper proclaim according to 1 Corinthians 11?
- 02
Why does communion belong to the gathered body?
- 03
How is self-examination different from trying to earn acceptance?
Read patiently. Let God’s Word speak.
Christians take communion because Christ commanded it. In the Supper, the gathered church remembers His sufficient sacrifice, proclaims His death, confesses her unity, examines herself soberly, and waits for the King who will come.
