Lesson 11: Communion

Passover was a Jewish feast that celebrated the night when the nation of Israel left Egypt. The celebration was not just about deliverance from Egypt; it was celebration of God’s mercy to them when he killed Egyptians but passed over the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:27). Therefore, the event was a symbol of the mercy of God toward his people.

After the deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites had a Passover feast every year. God gave them ceremonies for that day which included special food and the ceremonial use of blood.

The event was a type of salvation. That does not mean that the people who were delivered that day were all forgiven of their sins and in right relationship with God. However, they were delivered from slavery, they received mercy from God, and blood was part of God’s requirement. Those details make this event an illustration of the salvation provided by Christ. Most Israelites celebrated the Passover without realizing its full meaning.

At the last Passover that Jesus shared with his disciples, he explained its meaning. He instituted a ceremony for the church to practice when he said “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:15-20). Churches call this ceremony “The Lord’s Supper,” or “Communion,” or the “Eucharist,” or the “Mass.”

Paul wrote that this custom is to be practiced regularly by the church until Jesus returns (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The church had other special times of feasting and fellowship that should not be confused with communion. For example, when the Bible says that the early believers were “breaking bread in their homes,” we should remember that the term breaking bread simply referred to eating (Acts 2:46). They were fellowshipping by eating together in various homes. The church also had “love feasts” that were not the same as communion (Jude 12).

► A student should read John 6:47-58 for the group.

Jesus shocked the crowds when he said that he was the bread from heaven, and that they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

► What did Jesus mean by those statements?

Jesus said he was giving himself for the life of the world (John 6:51). He was talking about the sacrifice of himself to provide the atonement. He compared his sacrifice to food and drink. Just as a person needs food for physical life, he must accept the sacrifice of Christ for eternal life.

► A student should read Luke 22:15-20 for the group.

At Jesus’ last Passover meal with the disciples, he said that the bread was his body and the wine was his blood. He would give his life for their salvation.

► Why did Jesus use bread and wine for communion?

There may be several reasons that Jesus used bread and wine for communion.[1] Bread was the most basic food, as it has been in many parts of the world. Bread not only represents food in general, but also represents life because food is necessary for life. Wine was the most common drink at that time, other than water. Wine also represents celebration.

Some modern churches use wine for communion even if they do not drink wine at any other time. Other churches use grape juice because they do not want to encourage the drinking of any alcohol. Grape juice was called wine in the New Testament whether it was fresh or at any stage of fermentation.

Some churches have changed to completely different things to eat and drink for communion. We should be careful about using something different for communion. The Mormons use bread and water, but they do not believe in the Christian doctrine of the atonement.

In parts of the world bread and wine may not be common; other things may be the basic food and drink. In that case, the church may prayerfully consider different options.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Jesus. There are other churches that believe that his body and blood are truly present in the bread and wine. Most Protestant churches believe that the bread and wine symbolize the body and blood of Christ without their physical presence.

When Jesus served the Passover to his disciples, he said, “This is my body... this is my blood.” Jesus was still standing there, physically present with them. His body and blood had not yet been given in sacrifice. It seems clear that he meant that the bread and wine were symbolic of his body and blood, and not literally his body and blood. The bread and wine used in communion should be considered the same.

Salvation is through the one-time sacrifice of Jesus. His death does not occur repeatedly. Because communion is an act of worship and faith in the single event of Jesus’ death, it is not necessary that the bread and wine be literally his body and blood.

Because Roman Catholics believe that the church had control over giving out the literal body and blood of Christ, many of them believe the church controls who can be saved. They think that a person cannot be saved if the priest refuses him communion. Millions of people think that a person is saved by receiving communion.

The proper view of communion is that it is an act of worship symbolizing the death of Christ for us, during which God gives grace in response to the faith of the participant. It is for people who are saved, and their salvation does not depend on the availability of communion.

► Why should we not think that Jesus meant that the bread and wine were literally his body and blood?

► Why is it not necessary for salvation that communion be literally the body and blood of Christ?

[1]Communion is often called a means of grace. God has designed it to be a means of grace when it is received with faith in the atonement of Christ. A Christian should obey God in following the scriptural commands. A Christian should not neglect this means of grace.

If a person takes communion without faith in Christ, it does not automatically bring grace to him.

If a person takes it without reverence for its meaning, he brings condemnation upon himself (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

Repentance and faith are essential to salvation. Communion is not essential to salvation. Communion is an act of obedience and expression of faith. A Christian would not cease to be a Christian if he did not have access to communion.

► Is it necessary for a Christian to receive communion? Explain your answer.

The Apostle Paul corrected the Corinthians’ wrong way of sharing communion. His directions are valuable for us.

► A student should read 1 Corinthians 11:20-34 for the group. What were the Corinthians doing wrong?

They were bringing food and making a meal of the Lord’s Supper. Each person ate his own food rather than sharing. They did not wait on each other and begin at the same time. Some people were eating too much, and others were still hungry. Some were drinking too much and getting drunk.

► What specific directions did Paul give them?

He told them to not make it a meal. The churches did have feasts and fellowship meals, but those were not communion. He told them to wait for each other and start together.

Paul reviewed the manner that Jesus instituted the custom for the church. Jesus gave the bread, then the wine, explaining their meaning. It is important for the participant to take them reverently, remembering what communion means.

Paul said that a person should examine himself to make sure he does not take communion in an unworthy manner. Some people interpret that to mean that a person should not take communion unless he is sure that his life pleases God in every detail. That is not what the verse is teaching. The apostle was talking about the manner of taking communion. A person is condemned if he takes it in an irreverent, careless manner.

It is good for the congregation to pray together during the communion. Different people could be arranged to lead in prayer at different parts of the service. The group could also sing together at any point. The service should be done in a quiet and orderly way. It is not a time for loud, spontaneous rejoicing. It is a time for meditating on the sacrifice of Jesus that was given for our salvation.

► Who should be allowed to receive communion?

Jesus taught this practice to his disciples and told them to do it together, so we know it is for Christians. Communion should not be given to a person who is following another religion. A person who worships other gods is worshipping demons. He cannot also worship Christ (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

If a person is living in open sin and has not repented, he should not be given communion. To take communion is to testify that we have identified with the death of Christ. A person who is willfully sinning does not have that testimony.

A person who is living in obvious sin such as fornication, idolatry, or drunkenness is not a Christian (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The Bible tells us that we cannot fellowship with a person who commits these sins and still professes to be a Christian (1 Corinthians 5:11). Therefore, it would not be right to serve him communion.

If a member has sinned and has refused the correction of the church, he is to be considered unsaved (Matthew 18:17), and therefore should not be served communion.

Communion expresses the special unity that belongs to Christians. The apostle said that in communion we demonstrate that we are one body (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Therefore, if a person is known to be a careless, unconcerned sinner, he cannot share in that unity.

A pastor is responsible to serve communion to Christians, but he is not responsible to investigate every detail of their lives. If a person professes to be a Christian and is not living in open sin, the pastor can accept his testimony.

Every person who is truly saved has received the atonement that the communion represents, whether or not he is a member of a particular local church. Therefore, local church membership should not be a requirement for communion.

A true convert qualifies for both communion and baptism. He should not have to wait until after baptism to receive communion, if he is willing to be baptized.

If a congregation is mixed with a variety of Christians and unsaved people, including people who are living in obvious sin, communion should not be served to the congregation in general. Communion could be scheduled at a different time for those who should receive it.

► What are some reasons that an obvious sinner should not be served communion?

► How often should communion be served? Why?

Some churches serve communion every week. Other churches serve it once every month. Some do it once per year. Some do it rarely, with no schedule.

The Bible does not tell us how often to serve communion.

Some people before they were saved trusted in rituals for salvation. When they get saved and leave that form of religion, they may be uncomfortable with any religious ritual. They may think that communion should not be often.

Some people wrongly place their faith in the ritual. They want to have communion frequently because it helps them to feel that they are saved.

It is important for a pastor to explain the meaning of communion. He should help his people understand how to use it as a blessing in their relationship with God without trusting in it the wrong way.

► Who has the right to serve communion?

The Bible tells us that every believer is a priest (Revelation 1:6, 1 Peter 2:5, 9). That means that we can worship God directly and help others to worship him. No mediator on earth is necessary to bring us to God, because Jesus is our High Priest, and he has given us access (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:14-16). By him we are to continually make sacrifices of praise (Hebrews 13:15).

Because every believer is a priest, we can reason that any believer could serve communion to other believers, especially when a pastor is not available. However, there are reasons that communion should ordinarily be served under the direction of a pastor.

The Bible does not make a direct statement that communion should be served only by the pastor. However, Paul gave special directions for serving communion in an orderly and reverent way. The directions were for the group, and the leader was responsible to guide the group. The people of the church would naturally depend on the pastor to make sure communion was done properly, and the pastor should take that responsibility.

► Look again at the warnings given in 1 Corinthians 11:27-34.

Paul said the directions were important because of reverence for the body and blood of Christ. If a person were careless, he would be guilty. Judgment of sickness and death had already come upon many of them. Paul said that if they were careful to examine themselves, they would be spared the judgment of God. Paul said that he would have further directions for them later.

It is important to share communion properly, not only to avoid the harm that comes from misuse, but to gain the benefit that God has designed for us.

It is reasonable to think that the apostle expected the leaders of the church to make sure these directions were followed. The members of the church would want their pastors to help them share communion properly because of its importance.

The pastor also has special responsibility because communion should not be served to someone who is involved in another religion or in obvious sin.

Therefore, communion should be normally served by a pastor or someone under the pastor’s direction. The pastor can ask others to help him in a communion service. The pastor may also give approval for someone to serve communion to people where the pastor is not present.

Gathering: There should be a routine way of gathering the people who will share communion. If it is done in a public worship service, leaders must know how they will serve the right people.

Scripture: Before communion is served, scripture should be read. A few statements could be said about the scripture, but should be short. Examples of scripture passages that could be used include Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 15:22-28, Luke 22:14-20, John 10:11-18, John 19:1-6, John 19:16-19, John 20:26-29, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Hebrews 10:11-17, Hebrews 9:24-28, Hebrews 4:12-16, Revelation 1:12-18, Isaiah 53:1-5, or Isaiah 53:6-12.

Prayer: Someone should lead in prayer. The prayer should include statements like these: “Lord, we thank you for the salvation you provided by the sacrifice of Jesus. We thank you for the grace that you give us freely. As we share communion together we testify that we depend on you for spiritual life. We demonstrate the unity that we have as believers together. We pray for grace to live pleasing to you every day.”

Distribution of Bread: The bread may be distributed by the pastor or by people he appoints. He may say, “This bread represents the body of Christ, given for our salvation.” Everyone should be quiet and reverent throughout the communion time. In some churches, the pastor will ask the people to hold the bread until everyone has received it, then eat it together. In other churches, the custom is for each person to eat the bread when he receives it.

Prayer: The pastor or someone he chooses could lead a short prayer thanking God for his grace.

Distribution of Wine: The pastor may say, “This wine represents the blood of Jesus, given for our salvation.” Some churches distribute individual cups. Others pass one cup. At some churches, each person dips his piece of bread into the wine. The important thing is that it be done in an orderly, reverent manner.

Prayer: The pastor or someone he chooses could lead a prayer of worship.

Hymn: The group could sing a hymn together.

1. Communion comes from the Jewish celebration of Passover.

2. Passover illustrated the atonement provided by Christ.

3. The bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus.

4. Communion does not automatically give salvation to the recipient.

5. Communion can give grace if a person receives it with faith in Christ’s atonement.

6. Communion should not be served to obvious sinners or followers of another religion.

7. The pastor is responsible to make sure communion is practiced properly.

1. Memorize the Seven Summary Statements for Lesson 11. Write one paragraph explaining the meaning and importance of each of the Seven Summary Statements (seven paragraphs) to someone who is not in this class. Turn this in to the class leader before the next class. Be ready to share a paragraph with the group if the class leader asks you to during discussion time. Write the statements from memory at the beginning of the next class session.

2. Remember to schedule your own outside-of-class teaching opportunities and report to the class leader when you have taught.

3. Interview Assignment: Interview three believers about what communion means to them. Write a brief summary.