Seven Reasons To Partake In Communion

Seven Reasons for Communion

1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-32

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Act of Remembrance

There are two ordinances instituted, commanded, and first observed by the Lord Jesus Christ: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While baptism is only done once we are commanded by the Lord to “remember His death” frequently until He returns. While the sermon, singing, reading the Bible and prayer are foundational to any church service that wants to truly honor God, the Lord’s Supper or Communion is one of the most important things a church does for it is truly “a solemn rite, instituted by our Lord with deep significance.” While none of us were present to view the emptying, birth, life, atonement and resurrection of our Lord, we are called to remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross not by imagining, dreaming, or channeling these events with some sort of mysticism that only few can obtain, but instead through faith accepting and being transformed by the historical facts proclaimed in His holy word! At the foot of the cross, we are called to remember that by “offering His life as a ransom for the many” (Mark 10:45), Christ broke the chain of sin that has so easily entangles and has enslaved us all (Hebrews 12:1; Romans 6:1-7)! The glorious “message of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23; 2:2, 8)” is that the Hades had no right or power to hold our Lord and in raising of Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11-13) He demonstrated His supremacy over all things seen and unseen (Colossians 1:16) which included sin, Satan, and the world! In remembering the historical facts of the crucifixion, we do not do so to amass information but to see the bread and the cup as an invitation to continuously surrender our sins to He who conquered them and in doing so to be humbly and radically transformed by His undying love by which we were purchased (1 Corinthians 6:20)! So, until we get to eat the bread and drink the cup anew in the Father’s presence (Matthew 26:29; cf. Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18) may we observe Communion by not only by “eating, drinking, remembering,” but in faith and grace may we be radically transformed by the One who set us free (John 8:36)!

Act of Fellowship

Communion is not just an act of remembrance it is also an act of fellowship. “Because there is but one loaf,” Apostle Paul states, “we, who are many, are one body, for we all share in the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:17). Salvation though belief in the atoning sacrifice of the Son means participation in a new church of which its “members of reconciliation” are to seek fellowship with one another as a unified, equal and caring body whose head is the Lord (Ephesians 2:11-22)! The Lord’s Supper is not to be seen as just any meal but for those who acknowledge the Lord as their Savior and gather as a family in which all titles of “rich/poor, Jew/Gentile, free person/slave” are put aside because at the foot of the cross the ground is truly level! This means biases, prejudices and personal cliques and power struggles are not welcomed at the Table of the Lord for no one purchased their salvation but received it as a sinner saved through faith in the atoning sacrifice of the Son (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16)! As a family we need to value each person by seeing the image of God within them and by celebrating the spiritual gifting(s) and divine role(s) they have been assigned (1 Corinthians 12). Apostle Paul states as brothers and sisters in Christ we are to have the “same love, one in spirit and mind, and are to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility value one another above ourselves, not looking out for our own interests alone but also the interests of others (Philippians 2:1-4). So important is our love for one another that John describes it as a “litmus test” for “walking in the light” and even went so far as to state that those who “hate” a brother or sister do not love God (1 John 1:7, 4:20)! In the Sermon on the Mount Christ also stated that if anyone has anything against you leave your gift at the alter, go, and be reconciled first before offering it unto God (Matthew 5:23-24)! To come rightly to the Communion table, one simply must love the Lord your God with all your heart and those created in His image for the blood of the Lamb not only justifies and cleanses a soul but also unites those who have been grafted into the vine with an equal status, sinners saved by grace through faith!

Act of Giving Thanksgiving

Communion is also an opportunity to “give thanks” unto the Lord! Spurgeon once said, “we cannot rightly observe the Lord’s supper unless we come to the table, blessing, praising, magnifying, and adoring our Savior.” The bread we eat is not only symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross but also the truth that as “spiritual beggars” we come to the Lord’s table to receive the crumbs of grace and mercy from the Master that are needed to feed and sustain our starving souls (Matthew 15:27)! How thankful we are that despite our unworthiness to untie even the Lord’s sandals (John 1:27), sinners though we may be, we can humbly and yet boldly rejoice for the Price by which we have been set free has atoned for and sanctified even us wretches who have fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23. 7:24)! Praise the Lord o my soul, may we not forget all His blessings, for He has redeemed us from the pit of sin, placed our feet upon the Rock of our salvation, clothed us with holiness not obtained by our own effort, and renewed our strength to soar like on the wings of eagles because we have chosen to find compassion, comfort and right living under His wings (Psalms 62, 103; Isaiah 40:31)! Thank you, Lord that the curtain of the Temple was torn in two and Your Spirit now lives inside of us (Matthew 27:51; 1 Corinthians 6:19). Thank you, Lord Jesus that You have given us every spiritual blessing in Your Name (Ephesians 1:3), forgiven our transgressions (1 John 1:9), and have secured our eternal home in Your presence (John 4:13; 14:3)! Above all Communion ought to observe with a thankful heart, one that is like the disciples on the night that Jesus was betrayed; rejoicing, faithful and above all filled with thanksgiving that the Father sent the Son to atone for our sin and make the way available to those who deserved nothing but hell but in grace and by faith receive life!