As a Fellowship of Believers in Jesus, it is our joy to observe two Scriptural Ordinances on an ongoing basis: The Ordinances of Water Baptism and The Lord’s Supper, or Communion.
We believe that Water Baptism is for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and is to be administered by immersion, thus bearing witness to the gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for us, and our own new life in Him. (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4)
Next, we believe that Communion, when shared by believers, witnesses to the saving power of the gospel, to Christ’s presence in His church, and looks forward to His victorious return. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
Water Baptism witnesses to the reality that the believer is now “in Christ!”
Romans 6:3-4
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Notice those words in v3 – “baptized into Christ Jesus.”
Water Baptism witnesses to the reality that the believer is “in Christ!” We are not baptized as a mere outward ritual or religious rite; instead, it is rather a faith-filled act whereby the believer witnesses to the reality of their entering into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Water Baptism is a one-time experience. We die once and are buried (in the waters of baptism) and raised to walk in the power of His Resurrection Life.
Whereas Water Baptism witnesses to the reality that “the believer is now in Christ,” Communion witnesses to the reality that “Christ is now in the believer!”
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what 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.”
In the same way also, he 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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
While Water Baptism is a one-time experience, witnesses to one’s entering into His death, His burial, and His resurrection, Communion, on the other hand, is to be an ongoing, continual observance, in that we are witnessing to the reality of the indwelling life and person of Jesus! “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Notice that, unlike Water Baptism, which is a one-time response of faith, Communion is to be an ongoing, continual partaking as Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 11:26 – “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup…” While our entrance into Christ is a one-time event, our Fellowship with Christ and Feeding on Christ are to be an ongoing, unending, nurturing of His Life in us.
For now, let me go back to our statement on Communion and take three quick Looks at the Lord’s Supper. As stated earlier, “We believe that communion, when shared by believers, witnesses to the saving power of the gospel, to Christ’s presence in His church, and looks forward to His victorious return (1 Corinthians 11:23–26).”
Let’s start with a backward glance.
We believe that communion, when shared by believers, witnesses to the saving power of the gospel. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11 take us back to the night of Jesus’ betrayal and to the supper He shared with His disciples a few hours before He was betrayed, arrested, and taken to His trial and death. Hence, that event is often called “The Last Supper.”
Each of the Gospel writers tells us they were in the process of celebrating the Jewish Passover: the event that commemorated Israel’s deliverance from Pharaoh’s death-grip and their exodus from Egypt after more than 400 years in bondage.
As Jesus shared the meal with His disciples that evening, they were undoubtedly hoping for a similar deliverance in their day. The names had changed, but Israel’s situation was the same. The Ancient Pharaoh had been replaced by a Modern Emperor, and the powers of Egypt now resided in the Roman Empire. Israel chafed underneath Caesar’s iron fist and believed that when the Messiah came, He would deliver them from all of their enemies.
It would not be until after Jesus’ resurrection that His disciples understood the fact that Jesus goal was not simply to be another Moses and deliver Israel from the Romans, but that through His cross death and Easter Resurrection, Jesus would conquer the true enemies of all mankind, defeating and destroying the powers of death, hell and the grave for all who place their trust in Him.
Clearly, there is an inevitable similarity between the celebration of the Passover as a feast of the Old Covenant and the Lord’s Supper as a feast of the New. Passover looks back with thankful remembrance to the people’s redemption and liberation from Egypt by the act of God associated with the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. Communion looks back with thankful remembrance to redemption by the act of God through the sacrifice of Christ. As Paul unites the two: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
And so, as His followers, as believers, we share communion as witnesses to the saving power of the gospel, and in doing so, we declare, there is no other Gospel, and there is no other name – under heaven – given among men by which we must be saved! (See Acts 4:12).
Next, in Communion, beyond the backward glance, we take a forward glance.
Once again, our statement: We believe that Communion, when shared by believers, witnesses to the saving power of the gospel, to Christ’s presence in His church, and looks forward to His victorious return. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
Paul points to the future when he declares over Communion, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Yes, our sharing at the Table is a Memorial of Jesus’ suffering and death, but likewise, it is a Prophecy of His soon return! There is an anticipatory element in every celebration of the Lord’s Supper. It looks back to His death, and it looks forward to His coming again.
Interestingly, the Gospel writers include a most hopeful statement Jesus made as He shared the cup with His disciples on that final night. “Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:25). Jesus was giving an eschatological hope and a last-days promise. What He inaugurated in His first Coming, He will consummate in His Second Coming
As we gather at the Table, we can look forward with the firm assurance that this same Jesus will come again to this world, and our fellowship with the Lord will find its ultimate fulfillment in the perfected kingdom of God (See Acts 1:11).
So, we’ve looked backward and forward; so now, and really for our main focus, let’s look inward.
Once more, our statement: We believe that communion, when shared by believers, witnesses to the saving power of the gospel, to Christ’s presence in His church, and looks forward to His victorious return. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
Today, we believe that every time we share Communion, we are witnessing to Christ’s presence in His Church. Yes, we are witnessing to the enduring memorial of the Savior’s suffering and death; and yes, we are witnessing to the empowering prophecy of His soon return, but also, we are witnessing to the invisible Presence of the Exalted Lord in our midst.
We understand “omni-presence,” that God is everywhere present and nowhere absent. It does not take the sharing of Communion to recognize this fact. Yet, our statement is declaring something more; something deeper, something higher, something greater, something richer…
We are saying that:
This same Jesus who took bread and broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24).
And this same Jesus, who took the cup, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).
This same Jesus is somehow mystically present with us in Communion!
Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance!” Biblically speaking, “remembrance” is more than simply calling to mind a past action. In Biblical thinking, “remembrance” involves a present realization and appropriation of something that’s been done, provided for, or proven true in the past.
Jesus did not say, “Come together and reflect on my memory or my teachings or my doctrine,” but instead, “Come together and witness to My Presence with you.” “Understand that I am with you, among you, and everything that I am is available to you!” “I am here! I am walking among My lampstand” (Revelation 2:1).
It seems at this point, many can get nervous. We don’t want to bump up against the doctrine of Transubstantiation – the teaching that at their consecration the elements literally become the body and blood of Christ while keeping only the appearances of bread and wine. So, in our attempts to stay far away from giving that impression, we overreact and swing the pendulum far to the other side and say that communion is purely symbolic and memorial in character. While we won’t delve into all that at this time, suffice it to say, there is undoubtedly more to encountering the living presence of Jesus in Communion than most of us have understood or experienced. My friend, it’s as if Jesus says, “You can find Me anywhere, but you can meet Me in Communion.”
Earlier, I mentioned that our Fellowship with Christ and Feeding on Christ should be an ongoing, unending nurturing of His Life in us. In 1 Corinthians 10:16, Paul writes, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” Partaking of the bread and the cup is spoken of as “participation” in the body and blood of Christ. That word, “participation,” is the translation of the Greek word koinonia, which is rendered “fellowship” in many New Testament passages. “Participation” — a sharing relationship (koinonia) — with the Savior. This is Communion!
I am certain that when Communion was shared by the Early Church, there was not only the recalling of the night of Jesus’ betrayal, along with His subsequent trial and death, or the anticipation that they would see Him again in His future return. But surely, there was the recognition of His presence with His disciples on that first Easter night (John 20:19-23); His walk with them at Emmaus and the breaking of bread (Luke 24:13-35), and the continued experience of fellowship with Him they presently enjoyed. (Acts 1:3).
We said earlier that Water Baptism has a once-for-all nature, while Communion is repeated and ongoing. The life of Jesus has been offered for sins once for all on the cross, and we find life in turning to Him — baptism signifies that.
At the same time, His life is also offered to us continually for the nourishing of our spiritual lives day by day; and it is of this ongoing sharing of life that Communion speaks. Is it no wonder Communion held such a supreme place in the Early Church? “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
John Chisum, a friend of ours, penned a beautiful song that expresses the richness of Communion. I hope it will inspire you to seek the Presence of God the next time you share the bread and the cup.
I come expecting Jesus
To meet me in this place
I come expecting to receive
His mercy and His grace
When I eat the bread and drink the wine
It will be a holy moment in time
I come expecting Jesus
To meet me in this place
Before us, the table is spread
Here awaits the wine
Here awaits the bread
This passage of hope
The bread and the cup
Here where our souls are fed
Remember the price that He paid
This beautiful gift that He gave
Come and receive
The healing He freely gives
Here, where His love awaits
I come expecting Jesus
To meet me in this place
I come expecting to receive
His mercy and His grace
When I eat the bread and drink the wine
It will be a holy moment in time
I come expecting Jesus
To meet me in this place
You can listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/UOiv_enuJ80?si=L3Ydv5e15_YOzV-W
