| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index |

Breaking the Bread

Communion

This story has been told of the famous Scottish theologian John Duncan of New College in Edinburgh. At communion one Sunday when the elements came to a sixteen-year-old girl she suddenly turned her head aside. She motioned for the elder to take the cup away the she couldn’t drink it. John Duncan reached his long arm over touched her shoulder and said tenderly “Take it lassie it’s for sinners!” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》

"THE LORD'S SUPPER"
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. An act of worship in which we engage each Sunday is The Lord's
 Supper...
 a. Known also as The Communion (1 Co 10:16) and The Breaking Of Bread
 (Ac 2:42)
 b. Today
some refer to it as The Eucharist
from the Greek
 eucharisteo
"giving of thanks"
which Christ did at the time of
 its institution - Mt 26:26-27
 
2. It is a simple act
in which those who are Christians...
 a. Partake of unleavened bread
 b. Drink of the fruit of the vine
 
3. It is an important act
one that we should understand why we do it

 lest our participation be...
 a. Meaningless to us
 b. Displeasing to God
 c. Detrimental to us - cf. 1 Co 11:27
 
[Therefore it behooves all Christians
especially those new in the
faith
to be well acquainted with the meaning and practice of the Lord's
Supper. Let's begin by carefully noting...]
 
I. THE MEANING OF THE SUPPER
 
 A. IT IS A MEMORIAL...
 1. Note Paul's account as given by the Lord Himself - 1 Co 11:
 23-25
 a. We eat the bread in memory of His body
 b. We drink the cup (fruit of the vine) in memory of His blood
 2. We therefore commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross - Mt
  26:28
 a. Whose death make the new covenant possible - He 9:16
 b. Whose blood was shed for the remission of sins - Ep 1:7
 -- As the Passover was a memorial commemorating Israel's
 deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lambs on the
 door post
so the Supper is a memorial of our Lord's death who
 makes our deliverance from the bondage of sin possible
 
 B. IT IS A PROCLAMATION...
 1. We proclaim our faith in the efficacy of the Lord's death
 - 1 Co 11:26a
 a. That His death was indeed for our sins
 b. If we don't believe He died for our sins
why keep the
 Supper?
 2. We also proclaim our faith in the Lord's return - 1 Co 11:26b
 a. For it is to be done "till He comes"
 b. If we don't believe He is coming
then why keep the Supper?
 -- Thus the Lord's Supper looks forward as well as backward
and
 will ever be observed by His disciples who trust in His
 redemption and anticipate His return!
 
 C. IT IS A COMMUNION...
 1. A fellowship or sharing in the blood of Christ - 1 Co 10:16a
 a. As we partake
we commune with the blood of Christ
 b. Perhaps in the sense of reinforcing blessings we enjoy
  through the blood of Christ - cf. 1 Jn 1:7
9
 2. A fellowship or sharing in the body of Christ - 1 Co 10:16b-17
 a. As we partake
we commune with the body of Christ
 b. Perhaps in the sense of reinforcing fellowship together in
 the body of Christ (i.e.
the church)
as we break bread
 together
 
["The Lord's Supper" certainly has great significance and should not be
taken lightly. We do well therefore to consider what the Scriptures
reveal about...]
 
II. THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SUPPER
 
 A. TO BE DONE WITH REVERENCE...
 1. That is
"in a worthy manner" (NKJV) - 1 Co 11:27
29
 a. The KJV says "worthily"
which some have misunderstood
 b. It is an adverb
describing how we take it
not whether we
 are worthy (none are truly worthy)
 2. With respect for the supreme price Jesus paid for our sins
 a. E.g.
the cruel torture and humiliation of His physical body
 b. E.g.
the spiritual anguish suffered as Jesus bore the
 punishment for our sins ("My God

 My God
Why have You forsaken Me?")
 3. Failure to observe with proper reverence brings condemnation
 - 1 Co 11:27
29
 a. One will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord
 b. One will eats and drinks judgment to himself
 -- To make light of this memorial puts one in the same category as
 those who mocked Him as He hung on the cross!
 
 B. TO BE DONE WITH SELF-EXAMINATION...
 1. Such as reflecting upon one's spiritual condition - 1 Co 11:28
 2. Are we living in a manner that shows appreciation for His
 sacrifice?
 a. By accepting the grace of God in our lives? - cf. 2 Co 5:18-
 6:1
 b. By living for Jesus who died for us? - cf. 2 Co 5:14-15; Ga
 2:20
 3. Or are we by willful sinning
guilty of having:
 a. "trampled the Son of God underfoot"?
 b. "counted the blood by which [we were] sanctified a common
 thing"?
 c. "insulted the Spirit of grace"? - cf. He 10:26-29
 4. Do we
by refusing to repent of our sins
"crucify again for
 themselves the Son of God
and put Him to an shame"? - cf. He
 6:4-6
 -- In one sense
the Supper is a very private matter between a
 Christian and his or her God; a time to reflect on the past and
 to resolve for the future
 
 C. TO BE DONE WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS...
 1. There is ample indication the Supper is designed to be a
  communal meal
 a. The disciples "came together" to break bread - Ac 20:7
 b. When they came together
they were to "wait for one another"
 - 1 Co 11:33
 c. Partaking together of "one bread"
they demonstrate they are
  "one bread and one body" - 1 Co 10:16
 -- We commune not just with the Lord
but with one another
 2. For this reason I personally question such practices as:
 a. Observing the Supper by one's self when camping or traveling
  b. Observing the Supper on Sunday night when just one or a
 couple of people in the congregation are partaking
 c. Taking the elements to the sick or shut-in who were unable
 to assemble
 -- While such issues may fall in the realm of opinion
let's
 not forget that the Supper builds fellowship with one
 another as well as with the Lord!
 
 D. TO BE DONE OFTEN...
 1. The Biblical evidence is that it was done weekly
 a. Christians came together on the first day of the week to
 "break bread" - Ac 20:7
 b. Other indications of a weekly observance:
 1) The church at Corinth was coming together to eat the
 Lord's Supper
though they were abusing it - cf. 1 Co 11:
 17-22
 2) Instructions concerning the collection suggest their
 coming together was on the first day of the week - cf.
 1 Co 16:1-2
 c. Following the divinely approved example of Christians in the
 Bible
we know God approves of a weekly observance on the
 first day of the week
 2. The earliest historical evidence outside the Bible confirms the
 day and frequency
 a. The Didache (ca. 95 A.D.) indicates Christians were to come
 together on the first day of the week to break bread
 - Didache 14:1
 b. Justin Martyr (ca. 150 A.D.) records how Christians
 assembled on Sunday and partook of the Supper - Apology I

 67
 c. "...the early church writers from Barnabas
Justin Martyr

 Irenaeus
to Clement of Alexandria
Origen and Cyprian
all
 with one consent
declare that the church observed the first
  day of the week. They are equally agreed that the Lord's
 Supper was observed weekly
on the first day of the week."
 - B. W. Johnson
People's New Testament
 3. Religious scholars confirm this was the practice
 a. "As we have already remarked
the celebration of the Lord's
 Supper was still held to constitute an essential part of
 divine worship every Sunday
as appears from Justin Martyr
 (A.D. 150)..." - Augustus Neander (Lutheran)
History Of
 Christian Religion And Church
Vol. I
p. 332
 b. "This ordinance (the Lord's Supper) seems to have been
 administered every Lord's day; and probably no professed
 Christian absented themselves..." - Thomas Scott
 (Presbyterian)
Commentary On Acts 20:7
 c. This also is an important example of weekly communion as the
 practice of the first Christians." - A. C. Hervey
 (Episcopalian)
Commentary On Acts 20:7
  d. "It is well known that the primitive Christians administered
 the Eucharist (the Lord's Supper) every Lord's day."
 - P. Doddridge (Congregationalist)
Notes On Acts 20:7
 4. Some believe that a weekly observance diminishes the importance
 of the Supper
 a. Which is why they may do it monthly
quarterly
or annually
 b. But does the frequent practice of:
 1) Assembling diminishing its value and importance?
 2) Singing praises and offering prayers devalue their
 benefits?
 3) Preaching and studying God's Word decrease their
 significance to our lives?
 -- Our spiritual lives are dependent upon the value and benefits
 of our Lord's death on the cross; a weekly observance of the
 memorial helps us to live appreciatively and accordingly!
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. "The Lord's Supper" is a very special memorial of His death for our
 sins...
 a. Instituted by Jesus Himself
He asked His disciples to do it in
 His memory
 b. Jesus told His disciples that He would not eat of the elements
 again until:
 1) "...that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's
 kingdom." - Mt 26:29
 2) "...that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." - Mk
 14:25
 3) "...it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." - Lk 22:16
 4) "...the kingdom of God shall come." - Lk 22:18
 c. There are two plausible explanations for what Jesus means:
 1) Some think it refers to Jesus having fellowship with us as we
 observe the Lord's Supper in the church
which is His kingdom
 - cf. 1 Co 10:16-17
 2) Others propose that it refers to the special communion we will
 have with Jesus in His Father's kingdom
spoken often in terms
 of a heavenly feast - cf. Isa 25:6-8; Mt 8:11; 22:2-14; Lk 14:
 15-24; Re 19:9
 
2. The first Christians "continued steadfastly" in its observance...
 a. Just as they did in the apostles' doctrine
fellowship and prayer
 - Ac 2:42
 b. Coming together on the first day of the week for that very purpose
 - Ac 20:7
 
3. Christians today should never lose sight of its significance for
 us...
 a. A constant reminder of the great sacrifice Jesus paid for our sins
 b. A communion or sharing of the body and blood of the Lord
 c. A time for self-examination and rededication of our service to the
 Lord
 d. A means for building fellowship with one another in the body of
 Christ
 
May such thoughts encourage us to never neglect opportunities we have to
observe the Lord's Supper
but to continue steadfastly and in so doing
"proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."

－－《Executable Outlines》