Many have considered communion as a ritual or sacrament that should be observed simply because the church teaches it. Some in today's church see it as a time when the believers eat the bread and drink the cup of wine in church. But what is it intended for?
More than just a church ordinance
The breaking of bread was done by the Lord Jesus Christ before He went through His suffering for our sakes. Paul communicates its beautiful truth in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26:
"For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord Himself. On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and said, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'
"In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.'
"For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again."
Communion, or the breaking of bread, is a beautiful act of worship that all believers must understand. It's more than just a church ordinance because it brings us back to the time when we were powerfully saved from our sins.
A beautiful exchange
The breaking of the bread symbolises for us the broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which "was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
That little piece of bread you munch on during church communion must remind you of the very pain that Christ went through for your very sake!
The cup of wine symbolises the blood of the Lord which was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Why did He shed His blood? Hebrews 9:22 says that according to the old Law of Moses, "without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness."
Friend, the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup of wine reminds us of a beautiful exchange: our unholiness for His holiness, our unrighteousness for His righteousness, and our sins for His forgiveness. We were the ones deserving of all that pain on the cross and before it, yet He took our place so that we could be reconciled to the Father as His children.
Until He comes again
So why is communion observed? It's because we need to be reminded always. God kept reminding Israel of His mighty acts of deliverance because they are forgetful. In the same way, communion reminds us that our salvation is not by our works, but by His grace and mercy, in the form of the Son of God who lived, died and rose again. We will remind ourselves of this truth until He comes again.
