The Lord's Supper

I think it is very important to preface any discussion about the Lord's Supper in the context of its Jewish roots and the Passover.

7Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.8Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1st Corinthians 5:7-8)

As one might notice from the above passage we are exhorted to keep "the Passover". Even as late as the Essene community there was a recognizable form of what we now call the Lord's Supper.

"When they solemnly unite at the communion table or to drink wine, and the communion table is arranged and the wine [mixed] for drinking, no one shall stretch out his hand on the first portion of the bread or wine before the [Messiah] priest, for he shall first bless the first portion of the bread and wine, and [stretch out] his hand on the bread for all;" Manual of Discipline 1QS vi, 4-5.

"There are certain doctrines in the NT that are assembly specific. The assembly remembers the atonement in the joint participation of the Lord's Supper. There is no biblical example of the Lord's Supper out of the assembly. It (The Lord's Supper) is an act of togetherness or coming together which shows there is salvation in unity (The kingdom of God). Redemption is not solely for the individual but has to do with a people. Justification has brought all of us together at the foot of the cross. The body nature of the church (assembly) is manifested at the "meetings." It is in these meetings that the church as a body of hope is best exemplified. The same word (episynago) is used for meetings of the "church" (Heb.10:25), and is used for the gathering together of the Lord's elect at the second coming.

2Th 2:1 ...καὶ ἡμῶν ἐπισυναγωγῆς ἐπ' αὐτόν,

Heb 10:25 ...ἐγκαταλείποντες τὴν ἐπισυναγωγὴν ἑαυτῶν, καθὼς

Notice above that one reference refers to the assembly of the saints on earth and the other use of the word refers to the final assembly. The assembly looks forward to the second coming of Jesus and it is at the assembly that we encourage each other to endure.

In the early church the Lord's Supper was the center of the activities of the assembly. These were meetings to take the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-21, 33) and those meetings took place on the 1st day of the week (Acts 20:7). The Lord's Supper (and not preaching) is the center of what our meeting is supposed to be about.

In the NT the word "body" in reference to Jesus is used in four different manners.

1) The physical body of incarnation (Heb. 10:5; Lk. 23:52);

2) His glorified body after the resurrection (Phil. 3:21)

3) The spiritual body of the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:23).

4) The bread of the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26). Each use of this word has a bearing on the nature of the church. The son of God became flesh and blood (John 1:14; 19:34; Heb. 2:14) so that by His death and resurrection He might redeem a new people (Col. 1:18-20; Phil. 2:5-10). These redeemed people will someday share His likeness (Phil 3:21; 1st Cor. 15:44; 1st John 3:2). The apostle Paul unites concepts 3 and 4 when he declares that partaking of the one bread, Christians become the one body of Christ (1st Cor. 10:16-17). But first, the Spirit at Baptism (1st Cor. 12:13 and Acts 2:38) must incorporate them into the body of Christ (1st Cor. 12:13).

Aspects of the Lord's Supper

(1) Thanksgiving and Eucharist. The prayer for the bread and the cup was the great moment of the church's thanksgiving for the salvation brought to them by the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as in ancient Israel, the Passover was a sign of deliverance.

According to Dr. Ferguson, the term Eucharist was the most often used term in the early church relating to the breaking of bread in the assembly. In the NT the term is never used as a act of doing something but is always used as "giving thanks." The basis of "thanksgiving" is the salvation brought to us by Jesus.

(2) The Lord's Supper__The Lord's Supper has been the most used term in Protestant congregations since the Reformation. Its usage in 1 Corinthians 11:20 refers to the context of a meal which was the occasion for the problems in the congregation. The term Lord's Supper is a reminder that this is an event peculiar to the Lord. It is "His Supper" in contrast to one's own supper. It is "His table" in contrast to one's own table (1st Cor. 11:21). He sits at the table for His people and invites them to join at the gathering. The eating and drinking are done in His honor.

(2) Communion or koinonia. These terms are from 1st Cor. 10:16-17 and are commonly expressed as fellowship or communion.

κοινωνία (koinōnia, 2842) -ας, ἡ, (κοινωνός), fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse; in the N. T. as in class. Grk.

1. the share which one has in anything, participation; w. gen. of the thing in which he shares: πνεύματος, Phil. ii. 1; τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, 2 Co. xiii. 13 (14); τῶν παθημάτων τοῦ Χριστοῦ, Phil, iii. 10; τῆς πίστεως, Philem. 6 [cf. Bp. Lghtft.]; τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, i. e. in the benefits of Christ's death, 1 Co. x. 16 [cf. Meyer ad loc]; τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χρ. in the (mystical) body of Christ or the church, ibid.; τῆς διακονίας, 2 Co. viii. 4; τοῦ μυστηρίου, Eph. iii. 9 Rec. εἰς κοινωνίαν τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, to obtain fellowship in the dignity and blessings of the Son of God, 1 Co. i. 9, where cf. Meyer.

2. intercourse, fellowship, intimacy: δεξιὰ κοινωνίας, the right hand as the sign and pledge of fellowship (in fulfilling the apostolic office), Gal. ii. 9 [where see Bp. Lghtft.]; τίς κοιν. φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος; what in common has light with darkness? 2 Co. vi. 14 (τίς οὖν κοινωνία πρὸς Ἀπόλλωνα τῷ μηδὲν οἰκεῖον ἐπιτετηδευκότι, Philo, leg. ad Gaium § 14 fin.; εἰ δέ τις ἔστι κοινωνία πρὸς θεοὺς ἡμῖν, Stob. serm. 28 [i. p. 87 ed. Gaisf.]); used of the intimate bond of fellowship which unites Christians: absol. Acts ii. 42; with εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον added, Phil, i. 5; κοινωνίαν ἔχειν μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν, μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων, 1 Jn. i. 3, 7; of the fellowship of Christians with God and Christ, μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς κ. μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, 1 Jn. i. 3, 6, (which fellowship, acc. to John's teaching, consists in the fact that Christians are partakers in common of the same mind as God and Christ, and of the blessings arising therefrom). By a use unknown to prof. auth. κοινωνία in the N. T. denotes

The Lord's promised to be with His disciples always (Matt. 28:20). The Lord's Supper is the fulfillment of that promise. In the bread and wine are tokens of His body and blood.

One of the earliest names used for the communion was "breaking bread" (Acts 2:42, 20:7). In the idea of "breaking bread" is expressed "joint fellowship" as all sharing a meal together. Table fellowship in the biblical world is full of rich associations of closeness and fellowship (expressed in the Bible most often in the Peace Offering). The common bread expresses the unity of a redeemed community with fellow believers. There is a unity through the common allegiance to the Lord (1st Cor. 10:17). Communion shows one's participation in the body of Christ (1st Cor. 12:12). Eating of the "one loaf" identifies those who participate with the "one body." It is only in the one body that the benefits of Christ are received.

(4) Memorial or anamnesis. The present experience of communion with Chirst and fellow believers is based on a past event. Paul's record of Jesus' words on institution contains this command, "Do this in remembrance of Me"(1st Cor. 11:24, 26). An alternative translation is "do this in anamnesis of Me." As stated at the first of this article, the basis for the Lord's Supper is found the "Passover" of Exodus chapter 12. Notice that the "Passover" was celebrated as a memorial (Exodus 12:14ff).

In the NT Paul further states that this memorial of Jesus "proclaims His death." (1st Cor.11:26). When Jesus broke the bread and poured out the wine He preformed an act of prophetic symbolism. The prophets delivered the "word of God" by actions as well as activities (Isa. 20:2-6; Jer. 28:21-10; Ezek. 4-5). In the same way, Jesus was telling His disciples that "He was the Lamb of God" that takes away the sin of the world.

(5) The Aspect of Covenant__All four gospels speak of a "new covenant" in reference to the blood of Jesus. The sacrifice of Christ brought a new covenant based on forgiveness of sins (Heb. 8:6-9:26). The wording of the Matthew 26:28 makes it plain that the new covenant is associated with forgiveness of sins. To drink from the cup is to share in the covenant of blood. The Old Covenant was inaugurated by sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood (Zech. 9:11) and the eating of a covenant meal (Exod. 24:3-11). For Christians, eating and drinking from the cup are acts of renewing the covenant.

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This is part one and shortly I will finish my thoughts on this. Lane