On the night in which Jesus was betrayed (1 Cor 11:23) he established the communion to perpetuate vividly his memory in the hearts of men and to assist in giving spiritual sustenance to the "many members of the one body" (Rom 12:4). To have a correct understanding of this institution and to maintain its scriptural observance is of transcendent importance to the Church of Christ. The proper keeping of the communion is one of the characteristics peculiar to the New Testament church and one of the marks by which it can be identified.

Since continually people are being "added to the Lord" (Acts 5:14) and those baptized must be "taught to observe all things commanded" (Matt 28:20), there must be continued restatements of the Bible position on this and other subjects. Furthermore, the propagation of the many errors with reference to the communion by apostate members of the Lord's church make it needful "to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth" (2 Pet 1:12).

I take cognizance of my great responsibility in writing upon this subject, and the realization that I must give account to the supreme Judge for my teaching constrains me to exercise due prudence and caution in the use of words and in the formulation of ideas. Regardless of your former views on the communion I beg you to study with unbiased minds the thoughts presented herein.

1. The Lord's Supper - "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper" (1 Cor 11:20). Verse 21 points out that everyone was taking "his own supper." In the worship we are to eat the "Lord's Supper."

2. The Communion - "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 first expression shows that it is the "Lord's" and not our's to do with as we wish and to call what we desire. Our sphere is to accept and follow. The word "communion" means "joint participation." The communion is a service in which the disciples of Christ jointly participate. We are all on a common level. "WE break" (1 Cor. 10:16). "WE all partake" (1 Cor 10:17). "They ALL drank of it" (Mk 14:28). It is not a service in which one disciple is preeminently a representative of Christ and performs special acts which others do not perform; e.g., one communicant performing an ultra-special act of breaking the bread which no one else performs, or one communicant drinking all of the fruit of the vine (as does the Catholic priest). In eating of one loaf and drinking of one cup we all have communion.

1. Sacrament - This word is from the Latin "sacramentum," meaning an oath, and was applied to the communion by the Catholic church which holds that there are seven sacraments, namely, baptism, confirmation, the communion, penance, extreme unction, holy orders, and matrimony.
2. Eucharist - This word is also borrowed from the Catholic church and early apostates.

While the latter term is very infrequently used by Christians in modern times, the former term "sacrament" is frequently heard, Brethren, let us purify our speech of the jargon of Babylon and the gibberish of Ashdod and call Bible things by Bible names. "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God" (1 Pet 4:11). To hear professed Christians use the above terms to designate the Lord's institution is enough to make us blush and bow our heads in shame!

(1) The First Day Of The Week - "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow" (Acts 20:7). This passage clearly implies that it was the custom of the primitive church to observe the communion regularly on the first day of week. That it was observed every first day of the week is evinced by the concurring evidence of ancient antiquity. Barnabas, the companion of Paul, wrote about A. D. 72, "Therefore with joy we celebrate the eighth day, on which Jesus arose from the dead." About A. D. 150, Justin Martyr wrote, "On the Lord's Day all Christians in the city or country meet together, because that is the day of the Lord's resurrection; and then we read the apostles and prophets. This being done, the President makes an oration to the assembly to exhort them to imitate and practice the things which they have heard, and then we all join in prayer, and after that we celebrate the Lord's Supper" (Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., Vol. 1, p. 135). Still later Eusebius, the father of ecclesiastical history, testifies, "From the beginning the Christians assembled on the first day of the week, called by them the Lord's Day, to read the Scriptures, to preach, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper." To these might be added the testimony of many of the primitive writers but this sufficeth for those who are fair enough to weigh the evidence. Weekly observance of the communion does not detract from its sacredness to the Christian but rather it constantly reminds him of its importance.

(1) Retrospective - "This do in remembrance of me" (1 Cor 11:24). We partake with a vivid memory of Christ's death and suffering on Golgotha's brow. On the Lord's table there is the bread (Christ's body) arid the cup of the fruit of the vine (his blood). The blood separated from the body is certainly a fit symbol of death. Since "blood is life," we not only have before us an emblem of death but an essential to life.

(2) Introspective - "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup" (1 Cor 11:28). We must not only look back to the death of Christ but we must look inwardly in order to examine self. Self-examination is the Lord's defense against formalism in the observance of the communion. Remember, "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor 11:29). "Self-examination" protects us against spiritual sickness, weakness, and slumber (1 Cor 11:30).

(3) Prospective - "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come" (1 Cor. 11:26). So, our observance of the communion is not just with sorrow for Christ's death but with hope, inspired by his resurrection, for his second coming. Let us not only remember his death but also his coming that we may be ready. "Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev 22:20).

(To be continued)