The Lord’s Supper (1)

By Bob Myhan

The Lord’s Supper is a multi-purpose meal. It is not designed for the satisfaction of physical hunger and thirst or the nourishment of the physical body. It is designed to meet spiritual, rather than physical needs.

The basic, most obvious purpose of the Lord’s Supper is conveyed by Paul in the following passage.

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ (1 Cor. 11:23-25)

Man has instituted a wide variety of memorials to commemorate both people and events he deems important. No person or event, however, should be more important to the Christian than the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord did not leave it to us to institute a memorial to these events. He instituted the Lord’s Supper as a memorial to Himself to help us keep uppermost in our minds what He has done in order that we might be restored to fellowship with God, which fellowship was broken by our sin.

Obviously, when Jesus said, concerning the bread, “This is My body,” and concerning the cup, “This is My blood,” He meant they were His body and blood figuratively, not literally. The bread was to symbolize His body and the cup was to represent His blood.

The bread is unleavened to remind us that His body, untainted by sin, was put to death on our behalf. The fruit of the vine prompts us to recall the innocent blood that was poured out in His death. The day of partaking brings to mind His resurrection, which was the conclusive proof that He is the Son of God (Rom. 1:4).

The Lord’s Supper is also a communion meal. Paul expressed this idea, too.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (1 Cor. 10:16).

The word for “communion” is sometimes translated “fellowship.” When saints eat the bread and drink the cup they take part in and have fellowship with the blessings of the Lord’s body and blood. Of course, fellowship or communion with Christ is not limited to that which we have in the Lord’s Supper. Paul wrote,

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death (Phil. 3:8-10).

This does not minimize the importance of the communion of the body and blood of Christ, which Christians enjoy in the Lord’s Supper. It is not possible for individuals to have a more intimate fellowship with the sacrifice of Christ than that which is available in the communion meal. When partaking worthily, their minds and hearts are consciously centered upon the suffering of Christ and the blessings resulting from that loving sacrifice.

The communion we have with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, by means of the Lord’s Supper is but a foretaste of heavenly glory. In heaven, our fellowship with Christ will be unbroken and eternal. Unity with Christ will never dissipate in heaven; fellowship with Christ will never end. Joyful is the fellowship of believers on earth. But this joy will be immeasurably intensified in heaven, when we shall have access to the tree of life forever.

The Lord’s Supper is also a covenant meal. This idea was expressed by Jesus.

“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

When Jesus says “My blood of the new covenant” or “the new covenant in My blood” He means His blood is that which dedicates, ratifies or seals the new covenant or makes it effective. But before we can appreciate how His blood dedicated the New Covenant, we need to appreciate the nature of that “covenant.”

The “covenant” in these passages is not an agreement between two equal parties but an undertaking of one party with absolute authority, which the other can accept or reject, but cannot modify.

Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. (Gal. 3:15).

The most obvious example of such an arrangement is a last will and testament. The benefactor and beneficiary do not sit down together and settle on the conditions of the will. The benefactor sets down the conditions of the will for the benefit of the beneficiary who can either accept or reject those conditions but cannot alter them. He must accept the conditions in order to benefit from the will, however.

The arrangement that God has made with mankind through Christ as a “will” or “testament” is vibrantly depicted in Heb. 9:15-17.

And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

In this way, His blood is the seal of the New Covenant, ratifying the promises contained in that covenant. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial to the effective means of the covenant—the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Since this memorial involves eating and drinking, it is called a meal or supper.

The Lord’s Supper can also legitimately be designated a grace meal, since it reminds the saint of the undeserved favor of God, which inspired the covenant of grace. Each time we consume the bread and fruit of the vine we show our appreciation to God for the countless blessings we have received through His wonderful grace. And having accepted the covenant of grace we pledge to obey Him in everything that this covenant demands of us. Thus, the Lord’s Supper should not only remind one of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross but also of one’s solemn pledge. It should also add incentive for one to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7).

God, through His faithful servant Moses, revealed that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11), which is a reference to the fact that the blood carries oxygen to the various parts of the body, contributing to the proper function of each part. When Jesus died on the cross, He surrendered His physical life, making it possible for us to have spiritual life in Him.

The Lord’s Supper is also a proclamation meal.

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

The word, “proclaim,” means, “tell thoroughly.” Each time we eat the Lord’s Supper, we “tell thoroughly” the death of Jesus Christ in a practical manner.

Frequently, one gospel fact is used figuratively for all the gospel facts. For example, when Paul said, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), he did not mean that he “determined not to know” that Jesus Christ was resurrected. He simply meant that he had come to Corinth with the gospel, rather than “with excellence of speech or of wisdom” (2:1).

In like manner, when we eat the unleavened bread and drink the fruit of the vine, in a scriptural manner, we declare not only the death of Christ, but the factuality of the entire gospel account. After all, His death is meaningless apart from His virgin birth, sinless life and resurrection. And since we “declare the Lord’s death till He comes,” we implicitly declare His ascension back to heaven, as well His future return. &