Hi all,
The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is one of only 2 rituals of the New Testament, the other being water baptism. All the other rituals of the Old Testament were swallowed up by the sacrifice of Jesus. Some may suggest the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a third, but it is a spiritual infilling rather than an outward act like being immersed in water or having a meal, so it is not usually included as a ritual of the New Testament.
Is it a foundation of our faith the way many consider it today?
When the author of Hebrews lists “the principles (foundation) of the doctrine of Christ”, in 6: 1-2 they are: Repentance from dead works, faith towards God, baptisms (water and Holy Spirit), laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement. (When have you heard any of those in a ‘new believers’ class, or in a sermon?)
The Lord’s Supper is not included in the foundation. Teaching about the laying on of hands is foundational, but the Lord’s Supper is not. That should speak loudly to us today concerning this question. If you consider the Lord’s Supper as foundational doctrine, you need to change to what scripture actually says. That’s how we renew our minds, to think as God thinks. Repentance IS a part of the foundation of our faith. The Lord’s Supper is not.
Understand please that I am all for the Lord’s Supper and celebrate it several times a year. But in terms of foundational teaching, scripture does not include it as foundational. That probably comes as a shock to some, but a good shock to start thinking as God thinks on the matter.
Consider…
In Acts 2:38 when the gathered crowd heard Peter’s explanation of Pentecost and asked what they must do to be saved, Peter said, “Repent…” In Acts 3: 19 when the lame man was healed and people were gathered to witness the miracle, Peter urged them to “repent and be converted”. In Acts 8:22 when Simon the sorcerer wants the authority to lay hands on people for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, Peter told him to “repent and pray to God”. In Acts 11: 18 when Peter tells the leaders how Cornelius’ household were born again and received the Holy Spirit as they did, it says all of them “rejoiced that God gave the Gentiles repentance to life.”
Paul is on Mars Hill in Athens and in Acts 17:30 he tells them “God…commands all men everywhere to repent…” In Acts 20:21 in his final goodbye to the leaders of Ephesus Paul says he was faithful; “to testify to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Acts 26:20 in his defense before Agrippa he says the same thing, adding that upon repentance they should do things that prove they repented.
So I wonder what would happen if we were more concerned about repentance and living right than how or when we should have the Lord’s Supper. What would the body of Christ look like if we had the same priorities as God lists in His Word? What if in every Sunday morning Eucharist there was equal call for repentance? Or instead of celebrating the Lord’s Supper each and every service it was replaced even half the time, by calls to repentance?
That was interesting food for thought. Now, back to the subject…
Much has been written about the early church celebrating the Lord’s Supper weekly, but many of those writings are built on incorrect assumptions by interpreting ancient phrases through modern eyes.
They interpret the phrase ‘breaking bread’ to mean the Lord’s Supper, which is incorrect – it’s just a common phrase of the first century meaning a meal with others, a common meal. They didn’t have sliced bread, so they broke bread at each meal – sometimes it included the Lord’s Supper, sometimes it was just a meal. Jesus broke the loaves and fish but no one claims that breaking of bread was the Lord’s Supper – it was just a meal. (Mt 14:19, 15: 36, 26:26)
In Acts 2: 42 it says the disciples were steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. The phrase ‘breaking the bread’ in the Greek, means a common meal – they gathered to eat together.
That said, because it says ‘the bread’ in v42 and not merely ‘bread’, it could be understood to include the Lord’s Supper. But in v46 it leaves off ‘the’ and just says ‘breaking bread’, referring to a common meal. We would conclude then that the Lord’s Supper was part of what they did, but not at every meal. The emphasis was the gathering together in fellowship, food, prayer, and teaching.
We see this in Acts 20:11 when the young man was raised from the dead by Paul after having fallen out a window to his death. Once brought back to life, they all broke bread and Paul talked all through the night to the break of day, then left. They didn’t have the Lord’s Supper, the text says they had a late meal together.
In Acts 27:35 the same practice of breaking bread is described as Paul, in a storm on a ship as one of 276 people, assured them an angel had told him they would be safe, proving it by taking bread, giving thanks to God, the broke it and ate.
In house church,
…when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated it is often included as part of a meal. The frequency is determined by the group or the host(s). Sometimes just an informal gathering of Christians for a meal can include the Lord’s Supper if they wish. Even by yourself or with one other – there are very few guidelines given in scripture other than making sure our hearts are right, and that part starts next week.
When we take off the religious glasses and go back in time to the 1st century, we understand the Lord’s Supper as part of a larger meal during a gathering in the homes of the believers. It wasn’t always during ‘church’. It is a means to remember His death and sacrifice that is not limited to where, how, or how often it is celebrated.
Another consideration is that in all the New Testament,
…from the 30 years the book of Acts covers, to all that Paul, James, John, Peter, and Jude wrote, over the course of 70 years, the only time the Lord’s Supper is taught or addressed is in I Corinthians 11. It was only brought up there because of strife with one another in their celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Fortunately, it was put there for our instruction.
By contrast, messages about forgiving, making allowances for one another, prayer, repentance, baptisms, and such are mentioned or taught multiple times in the New Testament. What are we to conclude that the Lord’s Supper is only mentioned once while other topics are covered multiple times in those same letters? That is was part of what they did but not the focus nor the whole point of their gatherings.
What were the issues that Paul was led to address the Corinthians with the proper way to receive the Lord’s Supper?
That’s for next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
