Cheat Sheet #18

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

(Most of this information comes from chapter 3 in the free PDF of my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today.)

Below are all of the passages in the New Testament that describe the Lord's Supper, and we're told that the cup represents the New Covenant in Jesus' blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of sins.

Look closely at all of the descriptions of the Lord's Supper (below) and notice that the bread is never said to represent the New Covenant or the forgiveness of sins. This is because the cup and the bread do not symbolize the same things.

In all of the descriptions of the Lord's Supper, we're told two things about the bread. First, it represents His body that was given or broken for us, which is usually interpreted as a redundant way of saying that His body was given in death for the forgiveness of our sins (it's redundant because the cup of wine or juice represents Jesus' blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins). But chapter 3 in the free PDF of my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today shows that His body was given and broken for us when He received the stripes for our physical healing (the vicious flogging that He received on His back created bloody ribbons of flesh, His "stripes"). The bread that we break represents His broken body because of His stripes, which is why there are two elements in the Lord's Supper. If the Lord's Supper were only about the New Covenant and the forgiveness of sins, then only the cup would be needed.

Second, we're told that we are one bread and one body, for we all share the one loaf of bread (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, below). As Christians, though we are many, we are all members of the one body of Christ, the Church (Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 3:6, 4:11-12, 5:23, Colossians 1:24). When each person ate a broken piece from the loaf of bread during the Lord's Supper in the New Testament, this symbolized that they were each a small piece of the one true loaf, which is Christ.

If you ask any Christian why we use red wine or dark juice instead of white wine or water, they will probably say it's because white wine and water don't symbolize Jesus' blood. This is the correct answer, which demonstrates that we understand the importance of getting the symbolism right.

However, many, if not most, churches are getting the symbolism wrong when they eat the bread.

When it's time to observe the Lord's Supper in many churches, everyone puts the bread into their mouth and eats it when they're told to do so. However, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (below) that the bread represents Christ's body (the one true loaf) and that each Christian is a piece of that one loaf as members of the body of Christ (see also Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, and Colossians 1:24).

If we don't break the bread when we observe the Lord's Supper, as they did in all of the descriptions of the original Lord's Supper (below), then we're getting the symbolism wrong. Before eating the bread, we need to break it and only eat part of it. The rest can be thrown away because in the New Testament we're never told what to do with the remaining bread that's not eaten.

In the original Lord's Supper, Jesus broke the bread and said to do this (Luke 22:17-20, below). In 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (below), Paul repeated the fact that Jesus broke the bread and said to do this. Paul also said that the bread that we break is our participation in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, below). This is how a prominent Bible commentary explains that passage:

"The one loaf of bread, of which all partake, pictured their unity as members of the one body of Christ." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, emphasis added)

The one loaf is a picture of our unity in Christ, so breaking the bread and eating the broken piece symbolizes our individual participation in the body of Christ as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (below). If you receive a wafer or square of bread in church for the Lord's Supper, that's your one loaf. To get the symbolism right, you need to break it and eat only part of it.

We know that symbolism is important to God because symbolism is found throughout the entire Bible. The bread and the wine or juice do not literally and physically become the body and blood of Christ because when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, He was physically present and alive at the table while the disciples ate the bread and drank the wine. Instead, the bread and the wine or juice are symbolic, and it's very important that we get the symbolism right and observe the Lord's Supper correctly.

According to 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (below), many of the Christians in Corinth were weak and sick and had died because they had been observing the Lord's Supper improperly. (Death is figuratively referred to as "sleep" in the New Testament, e.g., Matthew 27:51-53, John 11:11-14.) This demonstrates how important it is to observe the Lord's Supper correctly. Notice that Paul said that they were not properly discerning the body of Christ (not His blood but His body), which caused many of them to be weak or sick or to die. Since they did not discern that Jesus' body was broken (His stripes) for our physical healing, represented by the bread that we break, this affected their physical health.

In the Atonement (when Jesus was humiliated and brutally tortured and executed and resurrected), Jesus gave His blood and His body for us, but He gave each of them for different reasons (see chapter 3 in the free PDF of my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today), which are symbolically pictured in the Lord's Supper. We break the bread in remembrance of the fact that His body was broken (His stripes), enabling us to receive physical healing, and we eat the broken piece of bread to symbolize that we are each a piece of the one true loaf that is Christ. The wine or juice symbolizes the New Covenant in Jesus' blood, and we drink it in remembrance of the fact that His blood enables us to receive forgiveness of sins.

Relevant passages:

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. (Mark 14:22-24)

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:17-20)

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

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; 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." 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." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 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. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:23-32 NKJV)
["Sleep here refers to the death of Christians (1Co 15:18; 1Th 4:15-16). In this passage, it refers to untimely death, a punishment suffered by some Christians who failed to examine themselves at the Lord's Supper (v. 1Co 11:28)." (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary, 1 Corinthians 11:30).
"it is to be regarded as the chastisement of a father's hand, in order that we should not be condemned with the wicked. "We are under the discipline" (paideuometha) of the Lord; we are dealt with as children, and are corrected as by the hand of a father; compare Heb 12:5-10, and 2Co 6:9." (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:32).]

These are all of the passages in the New Testament that describe the Lord's Supper, and notice that we're never told where or when or how often to do it. Some churches do it weekly, some monthly, some bi-monthly, some quarterly, and some yearly or on some other schedule. Christians sometimes assume that it must be done every week on the first day of the week based on Acts 20:6-11, but my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three shows that this is a false assumption. The New Testament never tells us to do it on a specific schedule.

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (above) we're told to examine ourselves so that we don't observe the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner, and we're told to make sure that we're doing it for the right reasons and with a proper understanding. Non-Christians (and children who are too young) don't have a proper understanding, so they should not participate in the Lord's Supper.

Personally, I observe the Lord's Supper at home by myself every Saturday evening so that I can do it properly and with the proper focus (on the Atonement). The only reason why I do it on Saturday evenings is because that just happens to be the day and time when I first did it myself at home, and I've simply kept that as my regular routine. I get a slice of bread and pour a glass of red wine (the wine is alcoholic - see my article called Alcohol in Moderation Is Not a Sin). I pour enough wine for three sips; I'm not sure why, that's just what the Lord told me to do (perhaps it's related to the Trinity). This is what I say:

"Lord, thank You for everything You went through for me in the Atonement. I break this bread [break a small piece off] in remembrance of the fact that Your body was broken with stripes for me so that I can receive physical healing, and I eat this piece of bread to symbolize that I am a piece of the one true loaf that is You [eat the small piece of bread]. This wine symbolizes the New Covenant in Your blood, and I drink it in remembrance of the fact that Your blood enables me to receive forgiveness of sins [take three sips]. Thank You, Jesus!"

Are you observing the Lord's Supper correctly and on a regular basis?