The Sacrament of Holy Communion
1 Cor.11:23-25 (see Mt.26:26-28; Mk.14:22-24; Lk.22:19,20 also) For I received from the Lord, that which I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
The Truth Is: Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion on the night he was betrayed, which is known as Maundy Thursday.
Mt.26:26 While they were eating, after Jesus took bread and blessed it, he broke it, and when he gave it to the disciples he said, “Take, eat, this is my body.”
- Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted Holy Communion for his disciples.
1 Cor.11:23,24,26 For I (Paul) received from the Lord, that which I also passed on to you (the Christians in Corinth), that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you (the Christians in Corinth) eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
- Paul was not with the twelve disciples on Maundy Thursday evening when Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion. After Jesus had called him to be an apostle, Jesus also instructed him in the celebration of Holy Communion. He, in turn, taught the Christians in Corinth that Jesus had said they were to do what he had done on Maundy Thursday evening.
The Truth Is: Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion for his disciples of all ages who believed in him.
1 Cor.11:28,29 Let a man examine himself, and in this manner let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, not distinguishing the body of the Lord, eats and drinks condemnation to himself.
- Before coming to Holy Communion a person should understand what he will be receiving in the sacrament, otherwise he will bring the Lord’s judgment of condemnation on himself.
- In Christian love and concern we do not permit the uninstructed to come to Holy Communion to prevent their falling under the Lord’s judgment. We permit to attend only those whom we know have been instructed, are able to examine themselves, and can recognize what they will be receiving.
1 Cor.1:10 &10:17 I urge you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and that there should be no schisms among you, but that you should be perfectly united in the same mind and in the same intentions. . . Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
- Our church should remain united in the same faith and doctrine. When we attend communion together, we enter into communion with one another as well as with the Lord, and publicly confess we are united as one body.
- To preserve this unity, our church must maintain doctrinal agreement among our membership; otherwise, when we celebrate Holy Communion our public profession of unity will be hypocritical. Therefore, before permitting individuals to attend this sacrament, we study the Word of God with them to insure they are in doctrinal agreement with us.
Ro.16:17 Now I urge you, brothers, take note of those who cause dissensions and obstacles to make you fall contrary to the doctrine that you have learned, and turn away from them.
- We exclude from our fellowship and celebration of Holy Communion those who are not in doctrinal agreement with us.
Mt.5:23,24 Therefore if you are presenting your offering upon the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there in front of the altar and first go, be reconciled to your brother, and thereafter come, present your offering.
- Before coming to Holy Communion to be reconciled with the Lord, our members should be reconciled to one another. If members are at odds with one another, they should not attend this sacrament.
Mt.18:17 But if he (an impenitent member) refuses to listen to them (his fellow Christians who admonish him for his sin), tell it to the church. Then if he also refuses to listen to the church, let him be to you just as the heathen and the tax collector.
- Members who have shown they are impenitent and refuse to repent of their sins must be excluded from our fellowship and celebration of Holy Communion.
The Truth Is: We practice a close communion.
1. Only fellow believers who are able to examine themselves and recognize what is present in Holy Communion may attend this sacrament with us.
2. Only those who are united with us in the same faith and doctrine may attend Holy Communion with us. Those holding other beliefs and teachings are excluded.
3. Only those members who are reconciled to their fellow members and are penitent sinners may attend Holy Communion with us.
Mt.26:26-28 While they were eating, after Jesus took bread and blessed it, he broke it, and when he gave it to the disciples he said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” And after he took a cup and gave thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
- Holy Communion consists of eating bread and drinking wine.
- Simultaneously, the communicants receive with their mouth in a miraculous, unexplainable manner the body and blood of Christ, which are in, with, and under the bread and the wine.
- This miraculous union of Christ’s body and blood with the bread and wine is called a Sacramental Union.
- The presence of Christ’s body and blood is called the Real Presence.
1 Cor.11:26-28 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever should eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of a sin against the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and in this manner let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
- Clearly these verses teach that the communicant eats bread and drinks wine. We therefore reject the teaching of transubstantiation, which says the bread is changed into the body of Christ and the wine is changed into the blood of Christ, and that bread and wine are not eaten and drunk in Holy Communion.
The Truth Is: Holy Communion is the true body and blood of Christ, which are given in, with, and under the bread and wine for us Christians to eat and to drink.
Lk.22:19,20 And after he (Jesus) took bread and gave thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is being given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is being poured out for you.”
- Jesus said the bread is his body and the wine is his blood, the same body and blood given and shed on the cross. The word “is” always means is, to be, to exist. Therefore, we know his body and blood are truly present.
- We therefore reject the Reformed, Protestant churches’ teaching that the bread and wine only represent the body and blood of Christ, which they say are in heaven where he ascended, and that the believers only eat and drink his body and blood when through faith they ascend into heaven to feast upon them there.
1 Cor.11:27 Therefore, whoever should eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of a sin against the body and the blood of the Lord.
- The person who receives Holy Communion without recognizing the presence of Christ’s body and blood and the holy purpose of the sacrament is an unworthy communicant who sins against the body and blood of Christ.
- Since the unworthy communicant also receives and sins against the body and blood of Christ, we know they must be present in Holy Communion..
1 Cor.10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
- The words “a sharing in” could also be translated “in communion with” or “in fellowship with”. Because the bread and the wine share in, and are in communion or fellowship with, the body and blood of Christ, we know they are truly present.
The Truth Is: We know the body and the blood of Christ are truly present because:
1. Jesus said the bread is his body and the wine is his blood.
2. Unworthy communicants receive and sin against the body and blood of Christ.
3. The bread and wine share in the body and blood of Christ.
Mt.26:26,27; Lk.22:19 “Take, eat, . . . Drink from it, all of you, . . . Do this in remembrance of me.”
- Christ gives us his body and blood in the bread and wine to eat and to drink, at which time we know they are truly present.
- Christ tells us to do what he did in Holy Communion. He does not tell us to worship the bread and the wine as his body and blood when the elements are consecrated. We therefore do not elevate the bread and wine at the time of consecration to adore them.
- Such elevation and adoration of the bread and wine were not done in the early Christian church. This has been a late addition to Holy Communion, first practiced in the thirteenth century. The practice began after a nun, Julianna of Liege, saw a spot on the surface of the moon in a vision, which she interpreted as a neglect of giving proper honor to the real presence of Christ’s body. This led to the celebration of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ Festival), which began in 1264. Under Pope John XXII the Corpus Christi procession was inaugurated, in which the consecrated bread from the altar was paraded through the streets and adored by the people as the body of Christ.
- Christ gives his blood together with the wine for all the communicants to drink. The communicants should receive Holy Communion in both kinds, that is, receiving both his body and his blood together with the bread and wine.
- We therefore reject the practice of giving members Holy Communion in only one kind, the bread, while withholding from them the wine. This arose from the doctrine of concomitance, which teaches that since the human body possesses blood, the communicants receive the blood of Christ when they receive the body of Christ, and that therefore it is unnecessary to distribute the cup to them. This communion in one kind violates Christ’s words, “Drink from it, all of you.”
- Christ says Holy Communion should be celebrated in remembrance of him and his sacrificial death on the cross for our sins.
Heb.10:12,14,18 But this priest (Jesus Christ), after offering one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, . . . For by one sacrifice he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. . . Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin.
- On the cross Jesus Christ made the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people. No further sacrifice for sins is necessary. Because of his atoning sacrifice on the cross, our sins have been forgiven.
- Holy Communion is a celebration of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, which brings us the forgiveness of our sins. We therefore reject the Sacrifice of the Mass, in which the priest resacrifices the body and the blood of Christ for the sins of the living and the dead. Such a resacrificing of Christ’s body and blood says Christ’s one sacrifice for sins was insufficient. This resacrificing of Christ’s body and blood changes Holy Communion from a means of grace that conveys to the communicants the forgiveness of their sins for the sake of Jesus’ sacrificial death into a work of the priest in behalf of the living and the dead. The priest’s work takes the place of Christ’s gift of forgiveness.
The Truth Is: In Holy Communion Christ intends:
1. Us to eat and to drink the bread and wine as his body and blood.
2. All communicants to drink from the cup as well as eat of the bread.
3. Us to receive his body and blood in remembrance of his sacrificial death for our sins.
Lk.22:19 “This is my body, which is being given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
- Jesus tells us to receive Holy Communion often with his words “do this.” The stress of his command “do this” in the original Greek is “continue to do this.”
1 Cor.11:25 In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
- Jesus said to receive Holy Communion often, when he said that as often as we receive Holy Communion we should do so in remembrance of him and his death to pay for our sins.
Mt.26:28 “. . . for this is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
- With Christ’s death God ratified his covenant that he would forgive sins for the sake of Christ’s sacrificial death in behalf of them. In Holy Communion Christ gives his blood that established God’s covenant of forgiveness to assure the communicants their sins have been forgiven.
- Since we daily sin much, we will want to receive Holy Communion often to assure us our sins are forgiven and to strengthen our faith.
The Truth Is: We will desire to receive Holy Communion often:
1. Because Jesus tells us to receive it often.
2. Because we need the assurance of our forgiveness for the strengthening of our faith.
Mt.26:28 “. . . for this is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
- In Holy Communion we are blessed with the forgiveness of our sins.
Lk.22:19,20 “This is my body, which is being given for you. . . This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is being poured out for you.”
- In Holy Communion Christ gives us the same body and blood he gave and poured out on the cross for the sins of the world as a pledge and guarantee of God’s covenant that our sins are forgiven.
Ro.6:22 But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit resulting in sanctification, and the outcome – eternal life.
- When we receive the forgiveness of our sins in Holy Communion, we also receive the blessing of eternal life and salvation.
- Having our sins forgiven in Holy Communion, we are also strengthened to lead a holy life.
The Truth Is: In Holy Communion we are blessed with:
1. The forgiveness of our sins, eternal life, and salvation from hell.
2. The strength to lead a holy life.
1 Cor.11:27,29 Therefore, whoever should eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of a sin against the body and the blood of the Lord. . . For he who eats and drinks, not distinguishing the body of the Lord, eats and drinks condemnation to himself.
- Only the believer who recognizes by faith the presence of Christ’s body and blood is blessed. The unbeliever who fails to recognize the presence of Christ’s body and blood brings the judgment of condemnation on himself.
Jn.3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who disobeys the Son will not see life, rather the wrath of God remains upon him.
- By faith the believer receives and possesses eternal life; because of a lack of faith the unbeliever remains under the wrath and eternal punishment of God. So it is in Holy Communion – only the believer receives eternal life; the unbeliever because of his lack of faith remains under the wrath and eternal punishment of God.
The Truth Is: Only the believers receive the blessings given in Holy Communion.
1 Cor.11:28 Let a man examine himself, and in this manner let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
- We should examine ourselves before receiving Holy Communion.
- Children and adults who have not been instructed, as well as the unconscious, the insane, and unbelievers, are unable to examine themselves. They cannot, therefore, receive Holy Communion.
The Truth Is: Before receiving Holy Communion we should examine ourselves to ascertain that we are penitent sinners who believe in Jesus Christ, that his body and blood are truly present in this sacrament, and that through it we receive the forgiveness of our sins, life, and salvation.
Note: To examine ourselves we should ask ourselves such questions as: Do I believe I am a sinner? Am I sorry for my sins and do I intend with God’s help to overcome those sins? Do I understand I deserve God’s punishment for my sins? Do I trust in Jesus Christ for my forgiveness and salvation? Do I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for my sins? Do I believe I will receive Christ’s body and blood and the forgiveness of my sins in this sacrament?
Mk.9:24 “I believe! Help me with my unbelief!”
- We all are weak in faith and need to come to Holy Communion to have our faith strengthened.
Jn.6:37 “. . . the one who comes to me I will absolutely not cast out.”
- Even though we are weak in faith, when we come to Jesus as we do in Holy Communion, he will not cast us out but will welcome us.
The Truth Is: Jesus wants us who are weak in faith to come to him, as we do in Holy Communion, for the strengthening of our faith.
1. The open communion practiced by many churches permits everyone who is present in church at the time to receive Holy Communion, even those who are not members. How does their open communion undermine the celebration of Holy Communion as the Bible says it should be practiced?
a.
b.
c.
d.2. Explain what the term Real Presence means.
3. What will you receive in Holy Communion?
4. How do you know Christ’s body and blood are truly present?
5. Why will you desire to receive Holy Communion often?a.
b.6. How often should we come to Holy Communion?
7. What blessings will you receive in Holy Communion?
8. How should you prepare yourself to receive Holy Communion?
9. Why should we withhold communion from infants and small children?