deeper :: communion

:: Introduction
The Deeper series is designed to give biblical depth and historical consideration regarding key topics for your own study including: baptism, Communion, and women in ordained ministry. Each study asks a series of relevant questions related to the topic at hand. The purpose of the study is not for you, the reader, to agree or disagree with every theological claim. Rather, the goal is for you to use this study to begin to formulate your own position as well as be able to know more deeply what you believe.


:: What Communion Is
Communion is a sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. Simply put, a sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible grace given by God. What this means is that God has given us a visible sign of his invisible grace so that when we look upon the loaf of bread and cup, we see with our “spiritual eyes” a sign that points to the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. The word “sacrament” is not used in the New Testament to describe Communion (or baptism). Rather, the sacraments have emerged in the history of the church as it has sought to understand more clearly its own life and practice [1].


The word “sacrament” comes from the Greek word mysterion which means “mystery” or “secret.” When mysterion was translated in to Latin, the Latin word sacramentum was chosen. Sacramentum most commonly refers to an oath or promise. When thinking about the rituals of Communion and baptism, both definitions have something to offer us in terms of a definition: a sacrament is both a mystery (from mysterion) and a promise. So Communion then is one of the mysteries and promises of God.


Lastly, because the sacraments are a sign of God’s grace to us which point us to Jesus Christ, then participating in the sacraments is not primarily about us. In our culture, there is a tendency to make everything about us – about our needs and wants; about our desires and dreams; about our successes and failures; about our faith and spirituality; and the list goes on and on. But the sacraments force us to reorient ourselves toward God in repentance and faith precisely because God has already given us His promises. So while faith and repentance are essential to receiving the benefits of the sacrament, faith and repentance are secondary to God’s primary promises.


:: What Happens in Communion
At this point in our study, we have given a historical foundation of the evolution of the sacraments in the Christian church. Now it’s time to move on to talking about what happens in Communion – in other words, what are its core meanings.


The word “Communion” is synonymous with two other descriptive words: the Eucharist and the Lord’s Supper. For the purposes of our study we will use the word, Communion. It’s important to recognize that each descriptor has a different emphasized meaning. For example, “Eucharist” comes from the Greek (eucharisto) and literally means “to give thanks” or “thanksgiving.” So the Eucharist in this sense is a celebration or a meal of thanksgiving. The Lord’s Supper gives us an image of a full meal or supper. Finally, the word “Communion” emphasizes our participation (and our union) with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are united to Christ as we partake of the meal and we commune with one another.


Like baptism, Communion demonstrates God’s presence to us which captures our attention and imagination by refocusing our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ. Essentially Communion is a feast of remembrance, of communion, and of hope. However, there are no less than 5 core meanings of Communion as taught by Scripture and the church. The core meanings of Communion include (but are not limited to):


:: Remembering What Christ Did For Us
Luke 22:19: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’”


:: Participation in the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
John 6:51, 53-57: [Jesus speaking] “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world….Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.”


1 Corinthians 10:16: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”


1 Corinthians 11:26: [Paul speaking] “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”


:: Unity as One Body
1 Corinthians 11:18-22, 33: “In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk…So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.” [Note that in this text the Apostle Paul is criticizing the Corinthians for using the Lord’s Supper to their own gain – by not sharing and for drunkenness].


1 Corinthians 10:17, 21: “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf…You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.”


:: A Foretaste of the Kingdom Feast
Isaiah 25:6-9: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day, they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’” [There is this sense that God will prepare a great feast for all people of every nation and tribe on the day he will swallow up death which is cause for celebration and rejoicing in his salvation].


:: Repentance of Sin
Matthew 26:26-28: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”


1 Corinthians 11:27-30: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.”


As you can tell from its symbolism and imagery, Communion is a rich sacrament. Communion is food for the Christian journey as week gather together as one body under the lordship of Jesus Christ to partake of him so that when we go back “out into the world” we are well fed and strengthened with His strength.


:: Summary of the Meaning of Communion [2]
Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ,
The Holy Supper that we are about to celebrate
Is a feast of remembrance, of communion, and of hope.


We come in remembrance
That our Lord Jesus Christ was sent of the Father into the world
To assume our flesh and blood
And to fulfill for us all obedience to the divine law,
Even to the bitter and shameful death of the cross.
By his death, resurrection, and ascension
He established a new and eternal covenant of grace and reconciliation,
That we might be accepted of God and never be forsaken by him.


We come to have communion with this same Christ,
Who has promised to be with us always,
Even to the end of the world.
In the breaking of the bread he makes himself known to us
As the true heavenly bread that strengthens us unto eternal life.
In the cup of blessing he comes to us as the vine,
In whom we must abide if we are to bear fruit.


We come in hope,
Believing that this bread and this cup
Are a pledge and foretaste of the feast of love.
Since by his death, resurrection, and ascension,
Christ has obtained for us the life-giving Spirit,
Who unites us all in one body,
So are we to receive this supper in true love.


:: Some Particulars
It’s worth remembering, in the midst of our chicklet sized bread and throw away plastic cups, that Jesus and his disciples shared a common cup and a common loaf. Hygiene is the most common reason today as to why we don’t celebrate Communion with a common cup or loaf. However, many churches practice Communion by intinction, where the participants break off pieces of bread from a loaf and dip the bread into a common cup. As one Wesleyan scholar says it, “To me, this way of doing Communion preserves the unifying principle much better than individualized plastic cups and wafers” [3].


Second, Wesleyan churches are supposed to take Communion at least once every three months. We are welcome to take it more often than that. John Wesley’s conviction was that we should take Communion “as often as you can.” John Calvin, Martin Luther, as well as many other great Christian thinkers of ages past shared Wesley’s sentiments on this.


Third, Wesleyans do not require baptism for participating in Communion. We do require, however, that the person be seeking God and earnestly repent from sin. This means that a non-Christian can take Communion as a time of seeking faith in God. Christian parents too ought to instruct their children regarding one of the various meanings of Communion at an early age so that the children know that they are doing something more than just having a snack.
:: The “Specialness” of Communion
One of the most common objections to celebrating Communion every Sunday is that in doing so it might become “less special” or would “lose it’s meaning.” So let us imagine someone we love very much. This person could be our spouse, or our children, or a parent. Now imagine only eating with them once a year or twice a year or maybe four times a year because if we ate with them more often, then our meal times together would be in danger of becoming “less special.” When framed in this way, I think we begin to understand the faulty logic in our thinking. Of course we wouldn’t want to only eat with our spouse or parent 4 times a year! Why not? Because we love them and we desire to spend time as much time as we can with those we love. Jesus Christ loves us and desires to spend time with us and desperately wants to eat with us as often as is possible.
:: Questions for Reflection:: What questions about Communion do you have that are left unanswered?
:: How has this study deepened or challenged your understanding of Communion?


:: Endnotes
1. James V. Brownson.  The Promise of Baptism: An Introduction to Baptism in Scripture and the Reformed Tradition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s Publishing, 2007), p. 22.


2. This summary is taken from the ligurgy of The Lord's Supper from the Reformed Church in America's Worship the Lord book.  Note the beauty of the language and how the content intends to teach the significance of the Supper.


3. Dr. Kenneth Schenck, Professor of New Testament Studies at Indiana Wesleyan University wrote this statement in a document he wrote entitled, “The Wesleyan View of Communion.”