What is communion? (the Lord’s Table, Eucharist [giving of thanks]).

What is a communion ceremony or service?

Luke 22:14-20

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

What is the significance of this ceremony or service?

• It is a Passover.
• It presents symbols.
• It is a remembrance of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
• Like eating and drinking, we receive the real Jesus completely, into our being.
• In faith, it is a true and real receiving of Jesus – Jesus is really present, and believers really receive Him.

“In faith” means that the power is not in the ceremony, the ritual, or in the bread and cup themselves without faith.

I don’t have any problem in saying, even emphasizing, that Jesus is really, truly present in the bread and the cup of communion. Jesus draws near to us in many ways, and this is certainly one of them. I don’t think that the bread of communion transforms into the material body of Jesus Christ (and I don’t think that Roman Catholics even believe that), but He is spiritually present and should be honored and received as such. And, spiritual doesn’t mean unreal. Jesus is really present.

However, we want to guard against superstition. The bread and the cup aren’t “magical.” If someone is an unbeliever, and apostate, a rebel against God, it doesn’t do them any good to receive it – and likely does them harm. These are not magic potions that have power apart from genuine, real faith on the part of those who receive them.

In the big picture, I don’t think we need to over analyze this. From my limited understanding, this is the approach of many in the Orthodox churches. They believe Jesus is really present, and don’t try to press a theologically precise description beyond that. In communion, Jesus is really present, and we receive Him by faith.

When and where should this be done?

Ideally and primarily, it is done at church — in the presence of God’s people, under good church leadership.

When that is not possible, it can be done outside of church meetings.

Even when it is possible to come to the Lord’s Table in a good church, it isn’t bad to also remember and receive Jesus at other times and places (continuing daily…breaking bread from house to house, Acts 2:46).

In addition to receiving communion as part of a good church family,

• It isn’t bad for families and couples to receive communion together.
• It isn’t bad for home Bible studies and small groups to receive communion together.
• It isn’t bad for an individual to remember and receive what Jesus did for them on the cross.

How should this be done?

At church, the pastors or elders decide this, and we join in. Outside of church, we can do like this:

• Prepare the bread (unleavened or leavened?) and cup (wine or grape juice?)
• Pray, perhaps sings songs of worship
• Read the passages (Luke 22:14-20 or 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 are good)
• As you read, receive — and receive in faith.

Is it wrong to use grape juice instead of wine?

At the Last Supper, recorded in the gospels, Jesus and His disciples celebrated a Passover meal. As part of the traditional Jewish Passover meal, they would drink wine. When Jesus presented the cup and said, this cup is the new covenant in My blood (Luke 22:20), it was a cup of wine. The text doesn’t specifically say so, but that was what was served at a Passover meal.

So, throughout most of history, most Christians have used wine in communion. However, with the Temperance Movement in the 19^th and early 20^th century, many Christians promoted the ideal that Christians should never drink alcohol. So, some Christians started using grape juice instead of wine in the taking of communion.

There are Christians who say, “That isn’t right. It’s a sin. If it isn’t wine, then it isn’t the Lord’s Table.” I disagree with that, and I believe that it is fine to use grape juice at the Lord’s Table if that is what a church leadership (or an individual) wants to do. Here’s why I think this:

1. Though wine was normally part of a Passover meal, there is no specific mention of wine related to the last supper in the gospels. It is always the cup, not “the wine.” And in the context of the Last Supper, Jesus referred to the drink as the fruit of the vine (Luke 22:18) instead of saying “wine.” Please don’t think I’m saying that they used grape juice; it was almost certainly wine. But the “wineness” of what they drank is not emphasized at all.
2. The word “wine” is never used in connection with communion in the rest of the New Testament. I think that if it were important to have wine, there would be some specific mention.
3. When people insist that using grape juice is a sin, I have asked: “Then what percentage of alcohol qualifies?” I haven’t received a satisfactory answer to that question.

Some say that the alcohol content of modern wines is about 12% but can be double that in some varieties. So, if a wine is 10% does it qualify? How about 8%? 6%? It is often claimed that what they commonly drank in New Testament times was watered down wine, especially compared to modern equivalents.

The point is that our goal isn’t to imitate the vintage process and alcohol content of New Testament wine. The point is that the “fruit of the vine” and “the cup” are emphasized in the New Testament celebration of the Lord’s Table, not a certain alcohol percentage.

If a Christian from New Testament times came and took part in communion in a modern wine-serving church, he might very well say, “Wow, that’s pretty strong.” Of course, if he went to a grape juice serving church, he might say, “Hey, that’s pretty weak.”

All in all, I think that using grape juice – unfermented wine – is fine to use if someone wants to. I also think that it is strange that many more people seem to insist on using wine than insist on using unleavened bread. There’s really no doubt that Jesus and His disciples ate unleavened bread at the Last Supper. Then why don’t more people insist on that? Some do, of course.

The bottom line is that I think that wine or grape juice are fine; unleavened or leavened bread are fine. Those things don’t make communion valid or invalid.

Let’s take communion together…

[See video] Again, this is not to substitute coming to the Lord’s Table at your own church. This is for those who can’t receive communion at a local church (for whatever reason), and in addition to what we do as part of our local congregation.

1. Introductory prayer
2. The Bread: Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-24

1 Corinthians 11:23-24

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

3. Prayer, then receiving the bread together.
4. The Cup: Reading 1 Corinthians 11:25-26

1 Corinthians 11:25-26

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

5. Prayer, then receiving the cup together.
6. Concluding prayer.

How can we consider communion as a meal when it’s often taken in such a small portion?

The meal aspect of communion takes its context from the early church. At that time, communion was usually celebrated as part of what we would call a potluck supper in American culture, where everybody brings food to be shared together. It’s a common sharing of a common meal. That’s how communion was often taken in the early church.

I think that’s a fine thing for churches to do today, and some churches do that, but I don’t think it’s necessary. The significance is on eating together, whether it be a large meal or a very small meal. But I understand why some Christians are very attracted to the idea of putting the Lord’s table in the context of a congregational meal. In a larger church, it becomes impossible to do, but that’s one of the things that some people like about smaller churches, where it’s possible to do that. So, I think it’s a fine thing to eat a full meal together, but I don’t think the Bible requires it.

Does communion have a different meaning for children or for new believers? What should they understand about it?

They should understand that the bread and the cup speak to us about the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, His sacrificed body and His poured-out blood. Receiving these elements of communion is a way in which we exercise faith and say, “Lord, we want Jesus to be the center of our lives.”

I would not have a problem of allowing younger children (perhaps ages 4-8) to receive communion. As long as they have not consciously rejected Jesus Christ, and they can do it respectfully and reverently, I think it can be a way of communicating God’s truth and the truth of the work of Jesus Christ to them. I understand that there is controversy about such things in the Christian world, but that that would be my perspective.

What does Scripture say about the remembrance aspect of communion, and why is it emphasized so much? What exactly should we remember and what not?

You’re right. Some people look down on the remembrance view of communion, especially if it presents communion as being only a remembrance. Communion certainly is a memorial and a remembrance, but let’s not forget that it’s more than that.

As believers, we are to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, in His broken body and His poured out blood. Not only do we remember the act, but we remember the motive behind the act, which is love. You cannot preach properly Jesus Christ and Him crucified without also talking about the motive for the cross. It was love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (see John 3:16). He gave His only Son upon the cross. Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

By taking communion, we are remembering the act of Jesus’s sacrifice, and we’re also remembering what motivated His sacrifice: God’s love for His people, and in a larger sense, His love for the world.

If communion is meant to draw us closer to Christ, why do some denominations practice it so differently with varying frequencies and rituals?

It’s because there have been so many Christians throughout the ages. Think about how many Christians have been since Acts 2 until the present day. There are well more than 2 billion Christians on the earth today. And when you go back through history, there are even more billions of believers. No doubt there are going to be differences of emphasis or differences of opinion.

Consider not only the sheer number of believers, but also the different places of origin, different contexts, different languages, and different circumstances of all these people. I think these differences are organic. They just happen. In large measure, I’m fine with those differences, as long as there is a basic honoring and respect for Jesus. Communion should not be taken superstitiously, nor should it be done superficially, but I think there is some latitude for the exact methodology with which we come to the Lord’s table.

How can Catholics and Protestants unite around communion despite differing theology?

Throughout history, there has been a lot of division over how communion should be understood, for example the Catholic view of Transubstantiation versus the Protestant view of symbolic. How do we unite around this sacrament despite these differing views?

Even within Protestantism, there is a fairly wide spectrum. There are some Protestants, notably classic Lutherans, who come close to the idea of Transubstantiation. They believe in what’s called consubstantiation. Some other Protestants are much further away from the Roman Catholic idea of Transubstantiation. There’s a pretty big variety within the Protestant world.

I think the important thing is that we unite around the fact that Jesus died for us, and that we need to receive Him by faith. That’s what communion is doing. In taking communion, I am recognizing the death of Jesus, in His broken body and poured out blood, and I am receiving those things into myself as an act of faith. Jesus Christ comes and draws near to me in that. I believe that Jesus is present among His people when we do this.

But I don’t believe that He’s present in the bread apart from faith, as if there’s some magical property in the bread being used for communion. No, I think that we receive these emblems which God has given us by faith.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I have very consciously avoided the word sacrament. I’m not a Baptist, but maybe there’s a little bit of Baptist in me on this point. I don’t favor the word sacrament so much. It’s not a biblical word. Its original meaning speaks of an oath that a Roman soldier would make to the army or to his general. I don’t think this term equates to the biblical concepts as the sacraments are often understood in many theological systems. So, I don’t favor the word sacrament, and I normally avoid the term when I talk about what God gives us in communion.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about taking communion in an unworthy manner. How do we balance the idea of grace with the warning of judgment for misuse of the sacrament?

This is a very valid topic to raise. I like the way you phrased it: receiving communion in an unworthy manner. Sometimes people have heard this phrase about receiving communion unworthily, and they’ve thought it meant needing to be worthy enough to receive communion. Friends, I’m here to tell you that that the communion table is open to the unworthy and to the sinner who comes in repentance and faith. You don’t have to prove yourself worthy to receive communion.

When Paul spoke about this in 1 Corinthians, he was referring to the Corinthian believers who were coming to the Lord’s table in the context of a congregational meal, but using it as an excuse for gluttony, selfishness and even drunkenness. Those things were disgracing the table of the Lord.

I believe it’s fully possible for a person to so disgrace the table of the Lord that they take it in such a flippant, casual, or sacrilegious manner that God is offended and may bring discipline against believers for those reasons. God brought disciplinary judgment against those Corinthians. I don’t think it was judgment to damnation, but it was disciplinary judgment God brought upon those believers because they were so disgracing and profaning the table of communion and receiving it in an unworthy manner.

There are more than a couple of people who would say that receiving the bread and the cup online, as we just did via YouTube, would be taking it in an unworthy manner. They would argue that communion can only be taken in a congregational setting, under proper church leadership and supervision.

I understand those people’s arguments. I just don’t agree with them. I think that you can reverently and respectfully receive communion in a God-honoring way at home, among friends, among family, or even together here online. For those who would disagree with me, I guess we would just have to agree to disagree. Well, I’ll agree to disagree. You can do whatever you want.

Is communion a means of receiving grace or a merely symbolic act?

In some traditions, communion is seen as a means of grace, while in others, it’s merely a symbolic act. Can both views be valid, or is one more biblically accurate?

I’m uncomfortable with some of the implications of the phrase means of grace. I don’t see enough explanation going on about it. For example, to say that this bread is a means of grace, it means this bread communicates the grace of God to me. So, if I eat this bread, I receive God’s grace. However, it’s a means of grace if you receive it by faith. It’s not a means of grace in and of itself. There’s not grace inherent in the bread that communicates grace to me regardless of whether I believe or not. This is often not explained very clearly by people who take a more sacramental approach.

So, I don’t put the emphasis on the object as communicating the grace of God. I put the emphasis on our receiving it by faith. We receive the grace of God by faith. Communion is God’s gracious illustration or vehicle of grace to us, but only if properly understood that it’s received by faith, not just by receiving the material object.

What do you think is the deeper, more transformative effect of communion on a believer’s life beyond just remembering Christ’s death?

I do believe there is a spiritual work which God does within a person. Let’s remember that this work of faith comes from the work of the real presence of Jesus in communion. It isn’t just something that operates upon the intellect, but there is a real spiritual presence and the power of God in the midst of these things.

Remembering is something that’s primarily done in the mind. If we receive the Lord’s table properly and in faith, we receive something so much greater than just a mental benefit. We receive Jesus. We receive Him unto salvation because we’re trusting in what He did to bring us salvation in His work on the cross. It’s powerful and beautiful, and it goes so much further than the intellectual benefit that comes from properly remembering something.

Does communion lose significance when it’s not part of a full meal or not taken in community?

Do you think believers are taking a shortcut by leisurely taking a wafer and juice instead of gathering around a full meal with other believers? How important is community when celebrating communion?

I think community is an important part of it, but I don’t think that the validity of the Lord’s table is only found in community. I believe there can be something sacred in just one or two people receiving the bread and the cup. But normally it should be done in the presence of community.

The underlying idea is of coming to the Lord’s table, and if it’s done in the context of a meal, all the better. Those gathered can say, “Lord, we’ve feasted on these things that You have given us. And now, Lord, we feel like our meal is not complete unless we recognize Jesus, and we feast upon Him. Let’s get out the bread and the cup.” Oftentimes, in the ancient world, believers would drink from a common cup during communion, and they would take pieces from one loaf of bread, both of which further emphasize the idea of communion. Ideally, the Lord’s Table is celebrated in community.