My Dear Friend,

A multifaceted Sacrament, Holy Communion, or the Lord's Supper, is: central, controversial, crucial, memorial, prophetic, covenantal, a present blessing, unifying, heavenly, highly accessible, and yet bound by only a few of Christ's personal orders. Let's examine this universal Christian ordinance.

Communion is central to our faith. The apostle Paul said it is the Christian Passover, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jews celebrate Passover by eating lamb to remember how they were saved by the blood of a slain lamb from bondage and death in Egypt. Similarly, Christians celebrate Communion by eating lamb - Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose broken body and poured out blood the bread and wine represent - to remind us we were saved by the blood of a slain Lamb from bondage and death in this world. Nothing could be more fundamental to our faith or meaningful to our spiritual life.

Yet Communion is not salvific: it does not save us. Millions who have taken the bread and wine regularly, yet never experienced the New Birth the divine Lamb clearly mandated (John 3:3-8), are lost in hell today. How sad and tragic yet true. Judas, also, received the bread and wine - from Christ's own hands - yet is in perdition this very moment. Why?

Judas took the physical elements of Communion, yet by his stubbornly willful sin, continued despite Jesus' pleadings, broke his spiritual union with the Lamb. So, just as water baptism without regeneration does not save, neither does Communion without regeneration. This brings us to another key point.

Jesus ministered this sacred meal only to believers: "He gave it to the disciples . . . [you] take and eat . . . He took the cup . . . and gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of it" (Matthew 26:26-27). Following His example, we should not serve Communion to the unsaved, including people who profess Christianity but do not possess Christ's New Birth. Why?

We have not discerned "the Lord's body" (1 Corinthians 11:29). We have failed to realize that the elements not only represent, but also, by the Spirit's mystical working, link us to Christ's glorified body, which is holy. And touching the holy while in an unholy state brings God's holy wrath and righteous judgment upon those who disrespect His holiness. (See 2 Samuel 6:6-7.)

Though central, Communion is also controversial. Early in the Reformation, its two prime leaders, Martin Luther, and Ulrich Zwingli, when attempting to join their two followings, failed to agree on exactly what Communion was. So, sadly, they broke fellowship, and the Reform and Lutheran sects remained separate. Why did they disagree?

Luther believed Transubstantiation - that the elements literally became Jesus' body and blood. Zwingli believed Consubstantiation - that the elements merely represented Jesus' body and blood. To this day, this controversy remains, Catholics assuming the former position and Protestants generally holding the latter.

Despite the controversy, Communion remains crucial. We must have it. Why? Jesus ordered it, "This do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). Christ commanded the Communion sacrament for three reasons: past, future, and present.

First, Communion looks back. It reenacts the Last Supper to honor what immediately followed: Jesus' sacrifice on the cross by which we are saved. When administering the bread and wine, Jesus said, "This is [represents] my body, which is broken for you . . . this is [represents] . . . my blood" (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). (For those holding Transubstantiation, please note Jesus was in His physical body when He said of the bread, "This is my body." Obviously, then, the bread was not His physical body but merely represented it.) Every time we partake, we look back and "show the Lord's death," or publicly demonstrate and memorialize the events leading up to the cross (1 Corinthians 11:26). And every time we do this, our devotion to Christ grows.

Second, Communion looks to the future. Thus, it is a prophetic act, acknowledging we will take Communion "till He come(s)" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Clearly Paul was referring to Christ's Second Coming, specifically, the Rapture, when He will catch away faithful believers, living and dead, to be His bride (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). Within this prophetic act lies another meaningful insight.

The cup represents not only Christ's blood, but the wine of our marriage covenant with Him. Whenever first century Jewish men found a bride, they first paid her father a bride price. Then the bridegroom, bride, and her father sealed the covenant and betrothal (engagement) by sharing a cup of wine. By partaking, the bride accepted her responsibilities to be faithful to her beloved until he returned to take her to their wedding in his father's house.

Similarly, every time we take the cup, we are renewing our covenant vows. We are publicly promising to faithfully love, honor, and obey our heavenly Bridegroom until He returns for us. Thus, Communion is one of many ways we make ourselves "ready" for eternal union with Christ: "The bride hath made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). Meanwhile, Christ vowed faithfulness to us. He promised He will "not drink henceforth" of the holy betrothal cup with any other until He shares it anew with us at the wedding feast in His Father's house in heaven (Matthew 26:29). So, every time we partake, we renew our faith in Christ's return and remember His pledge to "prepare a place for you [us]" in heaven (John 14:2-3).

Third, Communion speaks to the present. We are linked anew with Christ in heaven. As we receive the elements, the mystical working of the Holy Spirit unites us, the members of Christ's earthly body, with our heavenly Head. His supernatural life refills our entire being, spirit, soul, and body, with His divine energy, life, love, and grace. Thus, Communion revives and strengthens our present condition.

Communion also unifies Christ's body on earth. Every time we partake, we reconnect anew with every other communicant worldwide. How? Since by the bread and cup we are all linked by the Spirit to the same Head, we are also simultaneously linked to one another. All over the earth! Wherever other believers are receiving Communion.

Furthermore, as we partake, we experience supernatural fellowship with the heavenly members of the body of Christ. As the Spirit links us to Christ in heaven, we are also linked with all the saints there, the heavenly communion of saints, who live continually in His presence.1 Thus, Communion enhances our sense of union, or oneness in the present moment, with Christ and all Christians, below and above.

Finally, though sacrosanct, Communion is highly accessible. All Christians may receive Communion and, from the biblical evidence, all Christians may also minister it. Why? Jesus' instructions were surprisingly simple and unfettered with religious regulations. He just said, "This do," without issuing further directives. Let us then, ponder, what He said and did not say about Communion.

What Jesus Said About Communion

Without speaking, Jesus said who may partake of Communion: only regenerated Christians! He did so by administering, as stated above, the first Communion to His "disciples" (Matthew 26:26). Although not regenerated (born again) until three days later (John 20:22), they nevertheless represent born-again Christians. Note Jesus invited no unbelievers: the general Jewish public, Jewish religious officials, the Romans, or other Gentiles. It was a private affair, for His committed believers only.

Twenty-five years later, Jesus added to His instructions through the apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). Since the Holy Spirit inspired Paul, his thoughts were actually Christ's thoughts. So, concisely, Christ's additional instructions were: the communicants' behavior should be reverent, not irreverent (drunk, overindulgent, selfishly inconsiderate of others' needs) (11:17-22); we should examine our spiritual condition before partaking (11:28); failure to confess and forsake all sin renders us "unworthy" (11:27); this brings God's judgment for dishonoring the Lord's holy body by partaking in an unholy condition (11:29); God's judgment may render us "weak," "sick," or lead to "sleep" - early death; yet by chastening us, God deals with our sin now, so that, at the final judgment, we will not be "condemned with the world" (11:32).

What Jesus Did Not Say About Communion

Jesus did not say how we must minister Communion: what kind of bread we must use, leavened or unleavened; what kind of drink, wine or grape juice; what kind of cup, one common cup or many cups; whether we partake at an altar, or seated; kneeling, standing, or sitting; and so forth.

Jesus did not say when we should partake. He left it up to us: "as often as ye drink it . . . as often as ye eat this" (1 Corinthians 11:25-26). But He did not specify how frequently "often" must be. So, churches schedule Communion variously: daily (Catholics), weekly, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annually. And some individuals, couples, or families partake at home quite often, sometimes daily.

Jesus did not say who may minister His table. Generally today churches allow only ministers or elders to administer Communion. But Jesus made no such requirement, nor did His apostles in their epistles. And let us pause and remember, the Scriptures are our only source of binding authority for Christian faith, conduct, and teaching. So, biblically, any born-again believer may minister the Lord's Table: fathers to their families; couples to each other; or individuals partaking by themselves or with small groups of fellow Christians.

Jesus did not say where we may partake. Usually, we celebrate Communion in public buildings reserved for Christian worship. But from Pentecost to the present, Christians have revered Christ's meal in a wide variety of places: open fields, mountaintops, seaside, auditoriums, storefronts, stadiums, shipboard, islands, wooded camp meetings, travel stops, motor homes, dwellings, visiting other churches, and so forth.

Finally, Jesus didn't even name this special meal. In the New Testament, it has at least eight different unofficial titles: "The Lord's Supper," "Breaking Bread," "Communion," "Cup of the Lord," "The Lord's Table," "Eating the Bread and Drinking the Cup," "Eucharist [lit., thanks, thanksgiving]," and it is also a part of the "Feast of Charity" (Love or Agape Feasts).2 Considering Communion's significance, it is amazing how few direct orders Jesus gave concerning it.

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Today Christ is still lovingly calling us to His table: "This do!" May these biblical insights help inform, inspire, liberate, correct, and guide you and your church . . . about Communion.

In Remembrance of Him,

Dr. Greg Hinnant

GREG HINNANT MINISTRIES