Communion

I have chosen Communion to be the first article of this website because I see it as the most grossly misunderstood and one of the most important commands that our Lord Christ gave us. This sacrament is so misunderstood and yet so easy to understand if we only took the Bible at face value and believed everything It says. In one place in the Scripture if it says: love, we love, yet in another place if it says; be ye angry but sin not, we become confused: this has to be reconciled but how do we do this? The word heretic means ‘to pick and choose‘. We should not and cannot do this, we have to take everything, the whole council of God and bend our minds and our thoughts to It. So we love, and if we become angry it is not a sin (unless you are unjustly angry) yet we are to sin not, in other words do not act on your anger. This is the way you interpret scripture, take all of what the Bible says, and bend your thoughts to It. If to you it does not make sense, this is a sign from God that your theology may be wrong.

Even the reformers struggled with this subject, but one thing Calvin, Luther and ninety percent of the rest agreed on was, weekly communion, even though their followers disagreed with them. The reformers themselves could not establish a universal idea or theology on the subject of communion. It is my opinion that Luther went back and forth on this subject for he read Christ’s words and took them as Christ’s words “…this is my body…this is my blood…” Yet he could not come to terms with Christ becoming bread and wine. Luther argued against well known reformers that it was truly the Body and the Blood, yet in his writings we see a struggle, a struggle proclaiming that Christ is not located within the bread and the wine, a struggle proclaiming if one partakes of Communion without faith he is not partaking of Christ. So to Luther the key was faith, not the substance, or what is truly in his presence.

As for Calvin, I would place him in the whole bushel with the rest of the reformers. Proclaiming a memorial with sugar on top. They would admit Christ’s presence but only in the hearts of the believers. Even the ideas of these great reformers whom I admire do biblical injustice. The Catholic Church also does biblical injustice, but not to the extent that these gentleman do on this subject. We shall not take our doctrine from men no matter how great and wise they are. For even St. Augustine, the church fathers, Luther, Calvin and anyone else who can stand with these, are only giving us commentary on the Word of Life.

So let us see what God says, excluding denominational teaching. Christ says “…this is my Body…and…this is my Blood…” In John chapter 6 he gets into a discourse about His Body being bread and His Blood being drink.

JOHN 6:51-58

51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Christ not only says His flesh is meat and His blood is drink, but when the Jews and even his disciples begin to question this He does not say this a parable but reaffirms His statement ending it with “…indeed.” And His disciples afterward questioned Him, and some begin to leave His side. And He says does this offend you? Now I ask you, does this offend you? What did Paul teach on this same subject?

1 COR.11:20-30

20  When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.

21  For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

22  What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

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.

27  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

As you have just read Paul himself says “…shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord…For this…many are sick…and many sleep.” Can ordinary bread and wine do this? Of course not. It is stated in all these places that It is truly Christ, so let us believe this. Now Paul also calls it Bread and Wine after it is consecrated disproving transubstantiation. But what this does prove is that it is both bread and Body, both wine and Blood. If this is hard for you may God open your ears, for just as God became man He now becomes Bread and Wine for us. This is the biblical doctrine of Holy Communion, this is what the modern church is lacking, especially if a church does not even believe in the presence of Christ. I pray that you have ears to hear, eyes to see and that you do not pick and choose what you believe but bend your theology to God and reason out how this and that, one place and another, go together. God Bless You.

For this article Bible references are given from the King James Version.