The Lord’s Supper

“²³ For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: ²⁴ And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. ²⁵ After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. ²⁶ For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

In this section I review: the Lord’s Supper; who should serve it; how it should be served; its significance. During the church ages, the serving of the Lord’s supper became a religious ritual and eventually developed into the main feature of Catholic ritual. It was eventually called mass or the eucharist. It is the summit of Catholic worship.

Catholicism holds to a doctrine known as transubstantiation: this dictates that the bread and the wine literally turn into Christ’s body and blood, respectively; then the body and blood are offered up to God as an oblation or sacrifice again to God. Therefore, Catholic’s are repeatedly sacrificing Christ at every mass. Catholicism teaches, that vis-a-vis the eucharist, the merits of Christ are bequeathed to the faithful.

Martin Luther argued that the scripture does not condone a new sacrifice each time Christians gather together and take the Lord’s Supper. It is only through faith that the merit of Christ is given to the believer and not through any rituals. The Lord’s Supper commutes divine grace only as the believer has faith in God. Luther held strictly to the meaning of the words that Jesus spoke unto his disciples. He was very dogmatic in that Jesus said, “this is my body” and “this is my blood.” He argued furiously with Ulrich Zwingli and even refused to extend the right hand of fellowship to him because Zwingli regarded the bread and the wine as symbols. Luther fumed that Jesus said, “this is my body” not “this represents my body.” Luther did not believe that the bread and the wine transformed into the body and blood, just that the presence of Christ was with the actual bread and actual wine. He argued that we should leave it as Christ said, and not try to explain it away. Luther’s doctrine has come to be known as consubstantiation as opposed to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.

Scriptural clarification in the Gospels denotes the bread and wine represent his body. The Messiah did not intend to say that he was somehow present in the bread and wine or that they morphed into his body and blood. There is no evidence supporting that position. The clear and obvious meaning is that I am going to give my body to be broken and my blood to be poured which will begin a new covenant. Wine and bread symbolize those elements. The bread remains bread, the wine remains wine.

Christ is present with his body of believers who gather together by faith in his name. It is through faith that we obtain favor with God. The Lord’s supper is a memorial of his death for our sins. It is to be served by those that qualify as deacons in the local church and it is open to all who believe. The early church understood it this way as well. Tertullian wrote in the late 2nd century:

“Having taken the bread, and distributed that body to his disciples, he made it his body by saying, ‘This is my body,’ i.e. a figure of my body.”

The Lord’s Supper is a carryover of the Passover Meal. It should be taken in the evening as this was the time Passover meal was to be eaten. Those who are deacons or would qualify as deacons according to the Bible are the ones that serve it and the pastor, associate pastor or a missionary (according to the area and need) should read the Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 11 and pray. Then each deacon should pray over whichever element they are serving. Then the believers come one by one to take first the bread, and then the wine. Traditionally this has been done with one cup, but Brother Branham also used the small cups to be used by one person each in the services.

It is a memorial of the Lord’s death and as such should be taken in sincerity.

“²⁷ Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. ²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ³¹ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. ³³ Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.” 1 Corinthians 11:27-33

The aforementioned scriptures clearly state that a time of solemn prayer and consideration should be given before taking the Lord’s Supper. If we have sinned against someone, we need to go make it right, or if someone has sinned against us and we have a problem with them we need to go speak to them before taking the Lord’s Supper. There is a judgment that comes against us if we take the Lord’s Supper unworthily. Does this mean that there is a blessing if we partake of it in faith and sincerity?

“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 Corinthians 10:16

Paul calls the cup of wine of the Lord’s Supper a “The cup of blessing …”  We are to offer a prayer of thanks and ask the Lord’s blessing upon it before we partake of it; and as such it becomes a cup of blessing to all who drink of it in faith. Then Paul writes that it is: “… the communion of the blood of Christ.” When we are saved by faith and filled with the Holy Ghost, as we come to partake of the bread and the wine, we are entering into fellowship. The word communion is koinonia and it means “partnership” or “fellowship.” The wine and the bread are the partnership of the blood and body of Christ. That is, they outwardly symbolize what we have received by grace through faith.

Clearly, we are saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary. Yet God ordained that we be baptize as a symbol of it; and he also ordained that we take the Lord’s supper to signify that you are a beneficiary of the body and blood of Christ for your salvation. [1] It is an outward expression that an inward work has taken place. [2] Therefore, just as baptism is ordained as an expression of the inward work of God so is the taking of the Lord’s Supper. Neither of them save you, but both are expressions of our salvation. Thus, there is a blessing, through faith, in partaking of the Lord’s Supper. [3] These blessings are already there internally. These inwards graces are already present within us, but outwardly they are expressed by what we do in the Lord’s Supper. Subsequently, it behooves us as believers to take the Lord’s Supper as often as we can with our local assembly, and take it deadly serious, just as we do baptism. Let’s not fail to mention, but to briefly state, that after the Lord’s supper is taken believers should gather together and brothers should wash brothers feet and sisters should wash sisters feet. This is done in prayer over one another.

[1] 54-0103e , Questions And Answers #2, Rev. William Marrion Branham

The Communion is to represent the body of Jesus Christ; and you were taking Him as a symbol into your body. So live clean, and live pure.

[2] 65-1212 , Communion, Rev. William Marrion Branham

Is this communion just something I go up for it, an order, say, “Well, the rest of them take this, I will too”? It’s a revelation that I am part of Him and I’m part of you, and I love you and I love Him, and we’re taking this together as a symbol of our love to God, and our love and fellowship to one another.

[3] 62-1104e , Ordination, Rev. William Marrion Branham

Do you know that communion has Divine healing in it? When the Israelites, in the type, took the communion, and marched forty years. And when they come out of the wilderness, there wasn’t a feeble one among them, two and a half million people. There is power of healing in the communion.