Having bible Authority means we recognize certain obligations. These obligations produce action in our lives. As children of God we have the obligation to spread the gospel, to edify the church, to save souls and to help those in need. The Bible by direct statement and example authorizes us to partake of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26- NKJV- Institution of the Lord’s Supper
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
How was the Lord’s Supper instituted? Jesus was with His disciple’s in the upper room just before He was arrested. It was the time of the Passover feast for the Jews. The Passover feast was a memorial observed to remember God’s deliverance from centuries of Egyptian captivity and slavery. The story is repeated of how God’s angel passed over the houses of the Israelite’s sparing them on the night that death came to Egypt’s firstborn
Now we see Jesus instructing them concerning a new memorial feast. This feast would have two elements.
Matthew 26:26-NKJV- Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
The eating of the bread is to remind us of Christ’s body it is a memorial to Christ’s sacrificial death. Have you ever wondered why we use unleavened bread, because it was used then by Christ? The Passover was the most important of Jewish festivals Seven days without any bread with a rising agent (yeast) in it. Matzah, a flat crisp slice of fairly tasteless unleavened bread in memory of the great escape from Egypt. So swift that there was no time for their homemade bread to rise.
Deuteronomy 16:3-4-NKJV
3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.
There is a reason for everything!
Matthew 26:27-29-NKJV
27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
The drinking of this fruit of the vine both reminds us and teaches us. It reminds us of Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice and shedding His blood for us. It helps to teach us that only through the shed blood of Christ can we have forgiveness of sins.
Romans 6:3-6-NKJV
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
The Lord’s Supper is a living memorial to Christ. All attention should be on Christ as we remember the cross and celebrate the freedom from sin he paid for us with his own blood.
Does the Bible authorize when to partake of the Lord’s Supper? Paul instructed the church at Corinth when to partake of it.
1 Corinthians 11:26- NKJV
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
“Often” The Corinthian church understood that Often was on the first day of the week…. Why? Because they were doing it regularly. Paul here was also admonishing them because they were abusing it. They had combined it into a large meal and some were rudely eating to excess while others were being ignored.
1 Corinthians 11:20-22-NKJV
20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
They knew the first day of the week was correct because they were doing what they had been taught by the apostles.
Another example can be found in: Acts 20:6-7-NKJV
6 But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
Here’s an example: In Acts 20:7, we are told that Paul arrived in the city of Troas. The Bible says: On the first day of the week, they assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. This verse indicates that a primary objective in their meeting together on that day was not necessarily to hear Paul; it was to participate in the communion service.
The Christians did not have an opportunity to listen to Paul’s encouraging words very frequently. However, these Christians’ coming together was not totally out of respect for Paul. Their coming together was to remember Jesus by participating in the communion service.
Here’s an analogy: The Ten Commandments directed the people of Israel to “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” Question – which Sabbath? It doesn’t specify, because it was understood to be every Sabbath!
In the same way, the early church assumed that when the Lord’s Day rolled around each week, it was time to gather at the Lord’s Table.
Paul now gives another directive to the church at Corinth in:
1 Corinthians 16:1-2- NKJV-Collection for the Saints
16 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
Why on the first day of the week would they be instructed to come together to give? Because this was the day that the saints regularly met to worship in remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ! Bible authority is clear, the Lord’s Supper is a communion.
1 Corinthians 10:15-17-NKJV
15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 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? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
The Lord’s Supper is a feast that portrays our communion with Christ, our common fellowship. The point is that a discerning Christian could not partake of this in communion with Christ and then participate in the worship of an idol. The cup of blessing simply means the cup for which Christ gave thanks. It symbolizes the participation of a Christian in all the benefits of Christ’s atoning blood.
The bread which we partake likewise represents our union with Him as partakers of the benefits of His death. We partake in remembrance of His great sacrifice given for our sins.
All Christians announce to the world their belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ when they partake of the Lord’s Supper.
It is also a time of self-examination: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26- NKJV
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
If all the body of Christ examined themselves as we are taught, we would see a more loving, caring, sensitive and unified church.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier pays respect to the remains of unidentified soldiers. The Tomb at Arlington National Cemetery is guarded 24 hours per day, 365 days per year by specially trained member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry on the back of the Tomb are the words:
“HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD”
You will not go watch this Memorial without reverence and quietness. We as Christians should remember to observe the Lord’s Supper in a reverent and worthy manner. Not talking, whispering, or thinking about lunch or what we are doing later!
Vs 28 says to examine ourselves as we partake. We should reflect upon our spiritual condition.
What has the Lord done for you?
An Indian, when asked what the Lord had done for him, gathered some dry leaves into a circle. He placed a worm in the center and set them on fire. As the flames drew nearer on every side and were about to consume the worm, he lifted it out and placed it on a rock. Then he looked up and said this is what Christ has done for me.
As we come together on the first day of the week as instructed, we should never lose the significance of its meaning. It serves as a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus paid for our sins.
