Eating The Holy Meal

Eating The Lord's Supper

1. What is this Holy Meal?

a) A memorial feast by faith.

"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." Luke 22:19

In the Bible remembrance is reliving the original event.

b) A communion (sharing) with Christ.

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Cor 10:16

c) A FACT celebrated in real time.

It is an action in which we share.

It has a deep spiritual reality.

We are discerning the Lord's sacrifice.

We are asking God to remember what His Son's death effected between Him and us - the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13).

We are remembering that we are one body in Christ.

"For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread." 1 Cor 10:17


2. Who should eat?

a) Citizens of the Kingdom.

"And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:29-30

A kingdom is relationship and loyalty. In obeying the gospel we "put on Christ."

Paul wrote: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Col 1:13-14

b) Those who discern the body.

His body of flesh & blood that was nailed to the cross.

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." 1 John 4:1-3

His spiritual body - which we are members of.

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor 12:13

c) Those who have examined themselves.

"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified." 2 Cor 13:5-6

Some think they must punish themselves for sin by refusing to eat the Supper. This is mistaken.

"how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Heb 9:14-15

Properly humble and repentant.

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:7

d) We should neither invite nor forbid. The Supper is open to all. Each knows his/her faith. Each who eats and drinks take upon themselves the worship of the Risen Christ.


3. We should want to remember Him often.

The "first day" (Sunday) comes once a week. We - the church - gather to worship Him. Every Sunday we eat the Supper to praise Him and thank Him for His sacrifice. We show forth His death until He Comes. We presently celebrate the Supper in Christ's invisible presence, though one day we will see Him face-to-face in His eternal Kingdom.