Thoughts on Communion

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

We celebrate as we commune with the Lord Jesus what His death means to us- access to God the Father, the gift of His Holy Spirit, and fellowship with our Lord.  We are not far away from God but He is right there with us.  

We also are celebrating what was paid for by His sacrifice- His defeat of death and the new life that has been given.  We are stating in the spiritual realm are rejection of the world and our clinging to Christ as new creatures.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

We are celebrating as we take the bread what Jesus paid for as He was brutalized for us.  Sickness in every form was being destroyed as His body was offered up for us. Infirmity of the soul and body was taken on Him for me.  Jesus paid for it all.  

When you are afflicted, celebrate that you are sharing in His suffering.  Just don’t stay there, let the power of taking His body do its work in you. Come into agreement with the Lord- Your body was broken for me, I am dead to sin and its consequences.

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread;and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

When we take the cup we are recognizing that we were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). This blood wasn’t spilled carelessly, He wasn’t murdered for political ideology, He gave His life away. He laid all of Himself down and was obedient to death on the cross so we could have life. 

For those who have been purchased by this blood have laid down their lives and live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  

He has given them a whole new identity and in reality are brand new creatures.  This isn’t just a changed mindset or empty philosophy, it is going from death to life.  

When we take the cup we are coming face to face with reality- without this we would spend eternity in hell and have no hope apart from this blood.

1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

I loathe the casualness the American church treats this sacrament far too many times.  I desire to see the emptiness with which we have treated this, replaced with the sobriety of the hour we are in.  Our lover has purchased us with His blood, He gave His body and life over to punishment because He loved us so much.

As a family we have been taking communion together, and as we do our living room is filled with the presence of God.  I know the healing of my body is directly related to these moments, as is the healing of my wife and children’s hearts against the trauma of the last 1 1/2 years.

Counseling is good, medicine is good, all the wonderful things God provides for us are good; but it’s His presence that makes all the difference.  When we take communion we are coming into community with the Trinity.  When we get to do this at church it is particularly beautiful because the brethren come together at the highest level.

I write all of this because I am overwhelmed at how beautiful it is that the Lord invites us in to be with Him, and I fear too many miss it.  Please don’t miss it.  Take to heart what is written to us in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32.

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 

But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. 

For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. 

But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

Jesus is so patient with us, granting repentance as soon as we turn to Him. I encourage the reader today to get alone with the Lord, take your family if you can, and take communion.  

Fall in love with the One who has already declared and proven His great love towards you.  Don’t ever, ever, ever treat communion at church casually, even if the minister administering it seems to misunderstand its power.

Lord, I thank you for your body and Your blood that was shed for me.  Thank You for Your invitation for me to be with You where You are.  Your love is better than life.