What is “The Lord’s Supper” ?
Hundreds of thousands of people gather at their churches on Sunday mornings and partake of crackers and grape juice calling this "communion" or "The Lord's Supper".
Paul wrote of this in I Cor. 11 … 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which HE was betrayed took bread: 24 And when HE had given thanks, HE brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of ME. 25 After the same manner also HE took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of ME.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till HE come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
What is "the cup"?
The "cup" Jesus speaks of here is "the New Testament" ...
We judge ourselves by "the New Testament".
If we eat and drink that cup, "the New Testament", unworthily we bring destruction upon ourselves.
Partaking wrongly of "the New Testament" cup causes people to be weak and sickly and many die because of this.
Jesus spells this out for those who will hear ... the cup of the New Testament in HIS blood is the NEW TESTAMENT! (not crackers and grape juice)
My favorite aunt was Church of Christ. When I was a little child we would visit her, 250 miles from where we lived. If it was a weekend, I would go with her to church. I was only 5 or 6 at that time.
Someone must have explained to me that I could not eat the crackers nor drink the grape juice which they always passed around at the end of the Sunday service.
I would watch her carefully to see what she did when they brought the trays. She would be very somber as she broke off a small bit of cracker and put it in her mouth.
Then they brought another tray of purple liquid. She took a small glass and drank the liquid. Again she was very somber.
Years later, when I was 15, I was baptized in Church of Christ. Now I could partake of crackers and grape juice.
But I always dreaded this part of the church service. We were taught we were to “examine” ourselves to see if we were worthy to eat the bit of cracker and to drink the grape juice.
I had no idea how I was to examine myself.
I partook of it but I never felt comfortable doing this and I always dreaded this part of the service.
Years later, God showed me the scriptures in I Cor. 11 and God opened my eyes: The Lord’s supper is not eating crackers and drinking grape juice. The Lord’s supper is partaking of the Word of God itself.
We examine ourselves by the Word of God. We judge ourselves by the Word of God, conforming to that Word, applying that Word in a proper way, making appropriate changes to our lives to conform to the instruction given in the Word of God.
Now it all fit! Crackers/grape juice have nothing to do with the Lord’s supper. Crackers/grape juice have no power at all.
But doing the scriptures has great power!
The Lord’s supper is partaking of the bread of the Word of God and the blood of the New Testament.
John 6 … 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I (The Word) am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him : and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of (by) God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of (from) the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I (the Word) am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me (The Word), even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven :not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
There is always opportunity to doubt.
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