Step 3: Read:

The gift of Communion or the Lord’s Supper is one of remembrance and participation. When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we are remembering Jesus’ death on the cross and communing with him by faith. The elements of the bread and the crushed fruit of the vine represent his body and blood. His body (bread) was given for us. His blood (wine/juice) was poured out for us (Luke 22:19-20). We remember what he has done for us and embrace it, once again savoring our salvation.

This nourishes us spiritually as we ponder God’s goodness toward us expressed fully in the giving of his Son for our sin and salvation. When we take communion, we are participating by faith in the broken body and shed blood of Jesus and he is spiritually present with us, communicating his love for us in a tangible way (1 Corinthians 10:16). It is a time of rich intimacy with Jesus where we are feasting on Him by faith and receiving afresh the benefits of his death and resurrection for us.

As we receive communion together, we remember that we are a community brought together around the Lord’s table by the Holy Spirit who has united us together in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17). This is a communal meal, a coming together around Jesus to remember him and have our faith renewed in his saving work. As we take of this symbolic meal, we look forward to his coming where we will indeed dine with Christ and his people in his Kingdom (Luke 22:16, 18). This is a very sacred moment. So much so that only those who have come to know Christ and have been baptized in his name are invited to receive communion.

When we take communion, we are giving testimony of our continued faith in and loyalty to Jesus as our Savior and to our faithfulness to his Church as our spiritual family. Paul warned the church in Corinth that anyone who took communion in an unholy way, either as a non-believer or as a believer who was living in sin or out of fellowship with God’s people, would bring judgment on themselves. In fact, some in Corinth had become sick and even died as a result of taking communion in an unholy way (1 Corinthians 11:23-31). 

The normative experience of the Lord’s Supper is the intentional, frequent, and consistent observance (i.e., remembering and participating) by Christians gathered together in churches. At Church at the Cross, we practice “open communion,” namely that all baptized, true followers of Christ are welcome to his table with us. Those who are not baptized, true followers of Christ should not receive Holy Communion, so as to avoid eating and drinking unto their own judgment by God. We receive the Lord’s Supper each week as a vital part of our worship gatherings.