Communion: For Better or For Worse

Communion is something that must be taught throughout the churches. There are many who are sick, lost and dead because they have dishonored the Holy Communion. We dishonor it when we walk with non-repentant sins. Then we partake of this holy sacrament. The truth is many saints fail to connect the dots when they are stricken with sickness. They forget that at one time or another, they have taken the Communion unworthily. Consider the ministry of Paul concerning this feast.

1 Corinthians 11:17-19

17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

19 For there must be also heresies (sects, or disunion), among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Many churches make the Lord’s Supper a scheduled event. They pencil it in on their calendar; whether weekly, monthly or annually. This may not be the best thing for a church to do. Instead, they must first ensure that their joining together is not for the worse.

A pastor is sent to develop and groom the flock in holiness and in the calling of their lives. The pastor is he who is gifted to discern the operations within the flock. If there is strife, heresy and contention in a church, that church is not fit for Communion, because their joining together is for the worse. Pastors must first discern if the flock is fit for the Lord’s Supper, not willing to cause damnation to fall upon the people of God.

There may be an overall negative disposition that the pastor discerns in the church from which they have not acknowledged or loosed themselves. At this point, the pastor must protect the flock and minister until the church is purged from their error.

There are many who walk in holiness, and there is nothing wrong in inviting those who are holy to partake. However, sometimes it is good for the leaders to prevent the ones we know are non-repentant from taking the communion.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

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.

Listen to the choice of words by Jesus concerning His body. “It was broken”. It is typical for us only to see this scripture in light of the death of Jesus Christ. He was crucified on the cross and died the death of a sinner. Indeed, His body was broken for us through death. But consider the Greek interpretation of the word broken in this scripture.

BROKEN - to break and distribute among

It is good for us to see the word ‘broken’ in light of His death, but it also means divided.

1 Corinthians 10:17

For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He gained power over all flesh. This simply means He is able to resurrect the circumcised body of the old man in righteousness by the presence of His Spirit within it. When He testified of His power over all flesh, His Spirit was only in one body. However, today His Spirit is within each and every one of His saints. By the sending of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost Jesus was able to divide, break or multiply His body. He is in each and every one of us who are filled with the Spirit.

Even though we are many members, we are still one Body because we have been baptized into the same Spirit. This reveals that we are all one with each other, and ought to feel the infirmities of one another.

His body was broken for us, it was divided. We are each a new man even though we are each members (parts) of the Body of Christ. We together make up one body. Jesus took the bread of His body and divided it amongst us, giving us each a measure of faith, and a gift of Christ. Therefore, when we take the communion, the broken piece of bread that we receive is symbolic of the new man we have put on.

REMEMBRANCE

Yes, we also should take the communion to remember the great sacrifice Jesus allowed Himself to face for our sakes. However, communion also is a remembering of the Body of Christ. Even though we are many we are still one body. Jesus instructs us to take this communion as a symbol of the unified “re-membered’ Body of Christ.

The communion identifies the real Body of Christ. When we partake we say unto the Father “this is your true Body. Those who partake are one with your Son by a holy life in the Spirit.” However, what if in our ‘re-membering’ of the Body we allow the sinful to partake? We are therefore including sin as we “re-member” the Body, thus defiling the Body of Christ.

Galatians 5:7-9

7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

It is also noteworthy that the bread of the Communion is unleavened bread. The leaven or yeast is symbolic of sin. A little sin will affect the whole Body. Therefore, by eating the bread that you have received in Communion you are making a declaration unto God that you are without sin. This is such a serious matter. Many do not realize that the Communion is a method through which God preserves the Body of Christ in righteousness.

He does not want us to bring a little leaven (the sin of one member) and join it to the Body. That leaven will affect the entire Body of Christ. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! Sin affects the entire body. If that which we present to God as righteous is sinful then this is a great offense to the Father!

I said earlier that in partaking of the communion we are making a declaration to the Father, that we are holy and obedient to Christ. However, many do not realize that we become as Ananias and Sapphira when we walk in sin but still partake at the communion table. This is why many get sick, and/or die because we lie in the face of God. Even though we declare before the Father we are unleavened, we actually have leaven in our heart.

The Body ought to be joined together in love, a great love for one another and for the Father. Anything that hinders love is iniquity. Let us not allow iniquity in our lives. Let us love one another, and be watchful and seek to save as many as we can. Let us contend for the faith and preserve the Body of Christ holy and perfected in love!