What is Communion | Bite—Sized

A wafer and juice. Bread and wine. What is communion? What are the components of communion? Are there wrong ways to take communion? What misconceptions can come from teachings on communion?

Bite-sized is a series I made to introduce you to some topics and terms you might not be familiar with. But even if you are, I share a lot of resourses at the end, if you would like to further your understanding on the topics. I hope this is helpful.

What is Communion?

Resurrection Sunday also known as Easter is coming up. Often people take communion around Easter and it’s important to know what communion is.

Communion also known as the Lord’s Supper relates to the last supper Jesus had with His disciples before He was arrested, beaten, and later crucified on the cross. It is during this last supper Christ lifts up a cup and passes a piece of bread around the table. Christ explains to His disciples that the bread and wine are part of a new covenant. See also: Covenant of Redemption | Understanding The Trinity

Both the cup and the bread hold symbols. The cup refers to the blood that will be spilled soon. The cup can also hold symbolism of Christ drinking/taking the wrath of God upon Himself in place of the sinner on the cross. See: What Is The Connection Between The Wrath of God & A Cup?.

The bread refers to Christ’s body being broken. As the article from Got Questions below points out, it’s not that Christ’s body broke bones, but that He was tortured horrendously. Not only physically, but we have no idea what took place on the cross spiritually for Jesus. We don’t know what it meant for Him to bear the wrath of God for our sin. His body was broken for our sakes. His blood was spilled for Christ to become the atonement sacrifice so that those who put faith in Him through the grace shown on the cross could be redeemed. See last week’s post covering some terms Christians’ should be familiar with.

Wrong Ways to Take Communion

It’s important to know that those who have NOT put their faith in Jesus Christ should not take communion. No one should be pressured to take communion. Pastors should remind their congregation of this fact before serving communion every time. There are people who feel pressure and they do not want to stand out. However, it is profane to partake of communion in an unworthy manner.

1 Corinthians 10:21- You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (If we are not children of God, we are children of the devil see: Ephesians 2:01-03)

1 Corinthians 11:27-32- Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

For this reason, we are also told to pray and be accountable before communion. If we have sin we need to bring before God, or perhaps we might need to skip communion and make something right between a brother or sister in Christ. Communion is serious, it’s not about eating and drinking.

Wrong Teachings About Communion

I’m going to leave this part mostly to the resources I’ll share below. My post is not to debate communion in the comments, so if you try, your comment may not show up. I will say that Jesus died on the cross only once. Jesus does not submit to the authority of man, period. Not even the Pope. The video by For the Gospel is less than 4 mins and shares how the Roman Catholic Church DOES believe (legal quote) that Christ is put on the cross more than once.

A fellow Christian blogger who is an ex-Catholic, Tom, has devoted his blog to debunking Catholic Apologetics. Check out his blog: Ex-Catholic for Christ

If you want more info, please check out the resources below:

Resouces on Communion:

• Wretched: Who Should be Allowed to Take the Lord’s Supper? (Less than 7 mins)
• Got Questions: What is the Importance of the Lord’s Supper?
• Got Questions: What did Jesus mean when He said to Eat His Flesh and Drink His Blood?
• For the Gospel: Why is the Catholic Eucharist UnBiblical? (Less than 4 mins)
• John MacArthur: Seven Aspects of the Lord’s Table focus on 1 Corinthians 10 & 11 (About 38 mins)
• John MacArthur: Taking Sin Seriously at the Lord’s Table (About 47 mins)
• R. C. Sproul: The Lord’s Supper (About 27 mins)
• Fellow Blogger Tom – Ex-Catholic for Christ blog – Series – Meeting the Protestant Response – This blog post dives into the cup and bread.

The Gospel Message– The Gospel message is good news, which means there’s bad news. We all are sinners and condemned. We all deserve the just punishment of God’s wrath. Christianity is unlike any other religion because we cannot earn our way into Heaven. God saw the weakness of man and his utter depravity. Yet, He showed us grace. Jesus, God, One Person of the Trinity, became God in the flesh, the God-Man. He was always perfect and sinless. And His humanity was perfected on the cross, living the full sinless life. He became our atonement sacrifice. Dying in our place, taking on the wrath of God upon Himself. He died on the cross, and He was resurrected because death could not hold Him. Jesus is the answer. We, as guilty sinners, need His blood to pay off our debt of sin. For all who put their faith in Him – meaning eyes are opened to the Gospel, we see ourselves as a sinner, we see the need for Christ, we desire our Savior, and we see the ugliness of our sin. Putting our faith in Jesus, we seek HIs forgiveness and repent from our sins, we turn away from our old way of life. We, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continue to become convicted of sin daily. Our eyes will never be the same again. We see things in a different light, and the truth of Christ affects how we live and serve Him. Christ tells us to count the cost. Salvation is a serious topic, it is not to be taken lightly. For a breakdown of this powerful message, understanding how Christ could be God and Man, why God required sacrifices, and more -please see: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?)

If you think you know the Gospel, check out these questions and see how prepared you are for the day someone might ask you why you believe: The Gospel Challenge (30 Question Quiz) – Are You Ready To Defend Your Faith?

Scripture To Meditate On –(ESV) Psalm 90:02 – Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Community Prayer –  March ‘23

Christian Topics/Series Covered
Personal Blog: Peeking Beneath
Second Blog: UnAshamed Christian Housewife
Godly Men & Women I Recommend: Link To List
Resources For False Teaching: Recommended Websites For False Teachers/Teaching 
Video Playlist: Christian Questions, Topics, False Teachers, Insights 
Video Playlist: New Christian Believer 
Video Playlist: Understanding False Teachings
Video Playlist: Sermons To Grow From
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COMMENT RULES– Rules For Comments (Why Some May Not Appear)

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