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Foundations of Faith
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Lesson 28: The Lord's Supper

In the capital of the United States the Washington Monument reaches into the sky in memory of the first American president. A short distance away the Lincoln Memorial honors another great president. Close by in Virginia is the Tomb of the Unknowns, placed there in memory of the unknown military men who gave their lives in their nation's service. When people wish to remember great men or women they usually erect monuments of stone. Eventually such memorials crumble or the names of the ones whom they commemorate are forgotten. But when Jesus wished to leave a monument by which his disciples would remember him, he erected a living memorial that would stand so long as the earth remains.

THE LORD'S SUPPER INSTITUTED. On the night he was betrayed Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. As they ate Jesus took some of the unleavened bread of the feast, and after offering thanks and breaking it, gave it to the disciples with the words, "Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." He then took the cup containing the fruit of the vine or the grape. After offering thanks he gave it to them saying, "This cup is the new testament (covenant) in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." (1 Cor. 11:24, 25.) Thus there came into being the memorial which from the death of Jesus until now has reminded Christians of the sacrifice of their crucified Savior.

TERMS APPLIED TO THE SUPPER. Several phrases are used in the scriptures to designate this memorable feast. It is called "the Lord's supper" because it was inaugurated by Jesus as a means by which his disciples might remember him. (1 Cor. 11:20.) In 1 Corinthians 10:16 it is described as a "communion" of the body and blood of Christ because in partaking of it Christians participate with one another and with Jesus in his sufferings. It is spoken of in Acts 2:42 and Acts 20:7 as the "breaking of bread." While this expression sometimes denotes a common meal, in these verses it refers to the sacred feast in which bread is broken in memory of Christ.

Today the Lord's supper is sometimes called the Eucharist, meaning "giving of thanks." However, this term is never applied by the inspired writers to the Lord's supper and cannot be appropriately used with biblical authority. Sometimes it is also called a sacrament. As used in the religious world this word implies an outward sign by which a blessing from God is realized. Aside from the fact that the word is foreign to the Bible, the institution of the Lord's supper is designed for other purposes than the impartation of a divine blessing.

THE PURPOSES OF THE SUPPER. Primarily the Lord's supper is a memorial. The words of Jesus, "Do this in remembrance of me," identify it as such. As Christians partake of the bread and fruit of the vine they return in their minds to that occasion 1900 years ago when Jesus was suspended on Calvary's cross for the sins of mankind. To them the bread represents the torture wracked body of the Savior. The fruit of the vine is an emblem of his blood, shed as a perfect sin offering for the sins of each individual.

However, this communion with Christ represents more to the Christian than a memorial. Of the cup Jesus said, "This cup is the new testament in my blood." (1 Cor. 11:25.) The word translated as testament may also be rendered covenant, and this is the meaning in this passage. The fruit of the vine is a visible expression of the agreement between Christ and the Christian -- the covenant that if the disciple of the Lord is faithful to him, he will reward that disciple with an eternal home.

As a memorial the Lord's supper looks backward to his death. As a covenant it declares our present, living faith. But the supper also looks to the future. Paul declares, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor. 11:26.) It is thus a proclamation to the world that Jesus will return to take the faithful home with him. Since it does point to the second coming of Christ, the breaking of bread is to be observed until the end of time.

The Lord's supper is also a symbol of the unity within the body of Christ. "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? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." (1 Cor. 10:16, 17.) The one bread of which the Christian eats reminds him of the one body. The one body is the one, undivided church of Jesus Christ. "And he is the head of the body, the church." (Col. 1:18.) While individually Christians are many, they are unified in one church with this unity symbolized by one bread.

WHAT THE LORD'S SUPPER IS NOT. Several erroneous ideas have become associated with the Lord's supper. One is the doctrine of transubstantiation. This is defined in the Canons and Decrees of the Coucil of Trent as follows: "In the Eucharist are contained truly, really, and substantially the body and blood, together with soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ." Again, "The whole substance of the bread is converted into the body, and the whole substance of the wine into the blood." Thus is developed the idea that one eats the literal body of Christ and drinks his literal blood when he partakes of the bread and fruit of the vine. The authority cited for this teaching is Matthew 26:26-28 in which Jesus says, as he institutes the supper, "Take eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament." It is argued that in saying "this is my body" and "this is my blood" Jesus was referring to his literal body and blood -- the actual body suspended on the cross and the actual blood shed on Calvary.

Jesus frequently used the metaphor, a comparison in which likeness is implied rather than specifically stated. When he said, "I am the door" (John 10:9), and "I am the vine" (John 15:5), he was using this form of speech. He was not a literal door nor a literal vine, but was like each in some respect. When he said, "This is my body," it is evident that he was also using a metaphor since he stood before his disciples in the flesh. When he said, "This is my blood," he could not have meant his literal blood since it was still coursing through his veins. Certainly the apostles would not have understood Jesus to speak of his literal body and blood when they knew they were looking at him in the flesh. Moreover, as already observed, the bread and fruit of the vine were to serve as a memorial to Christ. A memorial stands for something, but is never the real thing itself. Were the bread and fruit of the vine the literal body and blood of Jesus, they could not be taken in his memory since they would then be the actual body and blood of the Lord. Thus the doctrine of transubstantiation violates the purpose which the Lord's supper is designed to serve.

Related to the transubstantiation theory is the teaching of the Sacrifice of the Mass. This is the idea that a priest repeats the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross each time that Mass is said. But this idea of a continual repetition of the death of Christ contradicts the teaching of scripture. "For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." (Heb. 7:26,27.) Since the sacrifice of Jesus was perfect, it need not be repeated.

Still another theory is that one receives the remission of sins in partaking of the Lord's supper. This is the sacramental idea. It is based on an interpretation of Jesus' statement, "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matt. 26:28.) It is reasoned that this teaches that the fruit of the vine is for the remission of sins. However, the grammatical antecedent of "remission of sins" is "blood," not the cup. The forgiveness of sins is procured by the shed blood of Christ, not by drinking the fruit of the vine.

WHO SHOULD PARTAKE? The Lord's supper is designed for the Christian. Only to him is it a memorial of the death of Jesus; only for the child of God is this communion a symbol of the divine covenant; only for him is it a proclamation of faith in the return of the Son of God; only to the Christian is the bread a sign of the unity of the one body. For the non-Christian the Lord's supper is meaningless. It should be partaken of only by disciples of Christ.

THE MANNER OF PARTAKING. "Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body." (1 Cor. 11:27-29 -- A.S.V.) This condemnation for partaking in an unworthy manner should cause us to consider seriously our method of observance. To partake in a worthy manner one must focus his mind upon Christ and his death. If he allows his mind to wander to the material things about him, he is guilty of the body and blood of Christ. Too often Christians may eat the Lord's supper mechanically, allowing it to degenerate into a mere ritual. This displeases God.

WHEN TO COMMUNE. "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them." (Acts 20:7.) The stated purpose of this assembly was to observe the Lord's supper, not to hear Paul preach. Observe that this took place on the first day of the week, or Sunday. The implication is that it was the custom of the early disciples to assemble on each first day of the week to remember their Lord in this way. Church historians of various faiths concur in the belief that the weekly observance of the Lord's supper was the practice of the early Christians. The monthly or quarterly observance of the memorial feast is of relatively recent origin. Present day Christians should return to the practice of the early disciples. Surely if we love our Savior we will not consider this a burden.

SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES

Read the following passages which describe the institution of the Lord's supper -- Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. In the blanks before the quotations write the name of the book in which the exact statement is found:

____________	1. "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them."
____________	2. "Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."
____________	3. "And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them."
____________	4. "After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped."
____________	5. "Drink ye all of it."
____________	6. "And they all drank of it."
____________	7. "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
____________	8. "This is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many."
____________	9. "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Complete the following statements:

1. Three scriptural expressions applied to the memorial feast are ________, ________ and ________.
2. Two terms often applied to this feast which are without scriptural sanction are ________ and ________.
3. Four things signified to the Christian in the Lord's supper are ________, ________, ________, and ________.
4. Three erroneous teachings regarding the Lord's supper are ________, ________, and ________.

True or false:

T	F	1. The Lord's supper is intended only for the Christian.
T	F	2. The manner in which we partake of the Lord's supper is unimportant.
T	F	3. In Acts 20:7 we are told that the disciples gathered to hear Paul preach.
T	F	4. To follow the example of the early Christians we should partake of the Lord's supper every first day of the week.

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