Sunday Rhapsody Of Realities - The Lord's Supper And The Holy Communion

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Even though many use these terms synonymously, there’s a big difference between the Holy Communion and the Lord’s Supper. They’re not the same.

What some celebrate as the Lord’s Supper is the Passover meal; the last meal the Lord shared with His disciples. That’s like the Love Feasts we have in our cell or church groups today; we come together once in a while and eat together. Paul referred to similar feasts in 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 where he rebuked some people for not waiting for their brethren, but over-ate till others had nothing to eat. He said to them, “If you can’t be kind to one another during love feasts, then eat at home before coming.” This definitely wasn’t the Holy Communion.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, as He ate the Passover meal with His disciples, He took bread separately, broke it, and gave it to them to share (Matthew 26:26). He said, “This is my body.” This is different from the meal (the meal was His “last supper” with the disciples). He also took the cup (after supper, 1 Corinthians 11:25), gave thanks, and said to His disciples, “...Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” This is the communion. He had communion with them during the “last supper.”

The Holy Communion is the communion of the body and blood of Christ. When you’re born again, you become one with the Lord. You become a participant in His body and blood, a sharer of His life. Therefore, in partaking of the communion, you’re reaffirming your oneness with the Lord, and reminding yourself of who you are.

We’re one with the Lord. This means His victory is our victory; His ability is our ability. We’re sufficient in His sufficiency (2 Corinthians 3:5). There’re no impossibilities with you, now that you’re in Christ. You’ve been brought into the life of unending victories. Be mindful of these as you prepare to take the Communion.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I’m grateful for the communion of the blood and the body of Christ, by which I emphasize my victory over Satan, the world and its elements. Through the vicarious death of Christ on the cross, I have eternal victory and dominion over sin, sickness, disease, death, and the devil, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 11:20-28 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 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. 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.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Luke 9:37-62, Joshua 16-19
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Romans 6:12-23, Psalm 106