It has long been the way of the Lord to give memorials to His people to remind them of promises He has made or great events He wants them to remember. He put the rainbow in the clouds to remind man that He will never destroy the world with water as He once did (Gen 9:11-17). He gave the Sabbath to the Jews to help them remember that it was through His mercy and strength that they were led out of Egyptian slavery.

In the New Testament we have the Lord's Supper given as a memorial of the great sacrifice of God and Christ for our salvation. We need to carefully consider this beautiful and significant service instituted by Jesus.

Bible terms for this Christian memorial are "Lord's supper" and "communion" (1 Cor 11:20; 1 Cor 10:16). Other names have been used with reference to the supper, such as "eucharist" and "sacrament." But these are not scriptural names, even though they have some significance. Eucharistis from the Latin, "Eucharist," which means "to give thanks." And while the divine record tells us that Jesus gave thanks, that is not the name of the memorial. Sacrament means "sign, token, symbol." Yet this is not what the scriptures call it.

The term "Lord's supper" signifies "feast of the Lord." It is a scriptural term (1 Cor 11:20) indicating it belongs to the Lord. Jesus said to His apostles the night before He died, "And I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me; that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom" (Lk 22:31,32). The Lord's supper is on the Lord's table in the Lord's kingdom. And when we eat of the Lord's supper we are guests at His table because we are citizens of His kingdom. No one else has that right or invitation.

"Communion" is from the Greek word 'koinonia," meaning "joint participation." The term is appropriate because we commune with one another, jointly participating in the spiritual eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood, which indicates our fellowship with Christ and with one another. Why should anyone prefer to call this beautiful institution by any other name than what inspiration calls it?

The word "supper" comes from the Greek "deipnon" which means "dinner, the chief meal of the day (usually in the evening), feast, supper." One's chief or main meal may be eaten in the morning, at noon, or in the evening. The time of day is not significant.

The Lord's supper was eaten on the first day of the week by early disciples. The apostle Paul tarried at Troas seven days in order to observe the communion with the disciples who assembled for worship on the first day of the week (Acts 20:1-7).

The elements to be eaten in the Lord's supper are unleavened bread and fruit of the vine. Bread was appropriately used to typify the body of Christ, for he had already made such an analogy. In Jno 6:51 He said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

During the feast of unleavened bread Jesus was guest in the house of a Jew (Matt 26:17-19). He and His apostles had gathered there to eat the Passover. "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread..." (Matt 26:26). It had to be unleavened, for that was the only kind of bread that was in the house of a Jew at the time (Matt 26:17).

"After the same manner he took the cup" (1 Cor 11:25). The word "cup" is from the Greek "poterion," the definition of which is "a drinking vessel" (Thayer's Greek Lexicon - P.533). The word cup can mean "container and contents" (Webster's 20th Century Dictionary). And that is the way it is used in this passage. Jesus said to His apostles, "Drink ye all of it" (Matt 26:27). They understood what was commanded "and they all drank of it" (Mk 14:23).

In Jno 15:1 Jesus calls Himself the "true vine," and in Gen 49:11 grape juice is referred to as the "blood of grapes." So it certainly was fitting for our Lord to choose the fruit of the vine to be an emblem of His blood.

"Fruit" is translated from the word "genema" and means "product." Fruit of the vine is what is produced in the vine - grape juice. Fermented wine is not the product of the vine. Jesus teaches that a branch cannot bear fruit outside of the vine (Jno 15:4). Fermented wine is produced by man outside of the vine and is a by-product of grape juice. But Jesus took the "fruit of the vine" and said, "This is my blood."

Until thanks was given, the bread was only bread, the fruit of the vine was only grape juice, and the cup was only a container. But after they were "sanctified (set aside for a holy purpose) by the word of God and prayer" Jesus said of the bread, "This is my body." Of the fruit of the vine He said, "This is my blood...." And concerning the cup He said, "This cup is the New Testament in (ratified by) my blood" (Lk 22:20). The language is exactly the same in each case. The complete and beautiful picture in the Lord's supper is the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," the shedding of His innocent blood, and the ratifying of the New Covenant that God has made with His people, indicating His love and concern for us. This is what Jesus wants us to see in this memorial service. He said, "This do in remembrance of me" (Lk 22:20).

When one officiates at the table of the Lord he has an awesome responsibility. If he fails to offer proper thanks, he may profane the service. The word of God tells us, Jesus "took bread, and gave thanks" (Lk 22:19). The person waiting on the table is not obligated to thank God for the day, nor for the occasion, nor for the people there. But He does have the responsibility to thank the Lord for the bread, to follow the example of Jesus. Another obligation he has is to ask the Lord to bless or sanctify it. Until then it is not the body of Jesus; it is just bread. The same is true with the cup. Until proper thanks is given, they are just common material elements. However, after scriptural thanks is expressed, to the children of God the bread symbolizes the body of Jesus, the fruit of the vine His blood, and the cup, the New Testament. If one partakes of these sanctified elements without examining himself, not discerning them in a spiritual way, he eats and drinks damnation to his own soul (1 Cor 11:28, 29).

The Lord sets these elements aside for a sacred use. No profane person has an invitation to the Lord's table.

This beautiful yet simple Christian memorial must be greatly appreciated for the reason it was given and for what it stands. Christians should never allow the Lord's supper to lose its significance nor its importance in their lives. Each first day of the week it should be approached with fresh vigor and interest. By our communing together regularly each first day of the week, we are proving to one another and to the world that we believe that Jesus lives, and that He is going to come again.-998 Terrace Drive Oakdale, CA 95361