1 Corinthians 11:23-24
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which 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.”
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The taking and eating of the bread and drinking the cup, what we commonly call communion, is first and foremost about being aware of and bringing to mind the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
For all who will accept and receive it, It was that sacrifice, the gift of God, that brought into being our righteousness as His shed blood freed us from sin and made us part of the family of God. It is indeed a family meal celebrating the grace and mercy of the Lord. It is also to show the unity of our faith as believers of every nation and tongue join together spiritually in this the common practice of the faith!
I have often said that the Father did not send Jesus, His Son, into the world to start a new religion, but rather to restore an old relationship—the family of God. And that first family was the complete ‘church’ with the gathering of God, man and the woman in the Garden. It is not now, and never was, dependent on size, as Jesus said; “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” {Mat.18:20}
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,” {Rom.8:14-16} That is the relationship proclaimed with the bread and the wine we share together!
When I had become a King’s kid, part of the family of God, a hit Christian song written by Archie Jordan was released just after that event. It declared: “What a difference You’ve made in my life…What a change You have made in my heart, You replaced all the broken parts.”
Those truths are what we commemorate and celebrate when we come together in the breaking of bread—recalling that we are to have no divisions among us. {1Cor.1:10} Unfortunately (sinfully) that is not always the case.
One of the most significant and misunderstood events in the history of the early church is recorded in Acts chapter 6. The family was divided, Hellenistic Jews and native Hebrews, {Acts 6:1} and the apostles began to tolerate and accommodate sin in the early church! So even their breaking of bread would have been contaminated in the eyes of God!
Satan’s ultimate desire is to separate us from Jesus, thus from the Father because that is death – and that old devil comes to kill! What we seem not to realize, but that old devil knows well, is that the far easier task of separating believers from one another accomplishes the purpose of separating us from Jesus Christ.
So let’s put aside all differences among brothers and sisters in the Lord and sit down to a family meal looking forward to the banquet table in heaven! Jesus said "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” {Lk.14:15}
“In the same way He took the cup also 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 eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:25-27)
THERE IS ONE LORD AND ONE BODY
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