'The Communion service'

The Communion service illustrates our coming to Him and eating His body and drinking His blood.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)

As we eat the flesh of Christ we become one with Him in His death and resurrection. We eat the Passover Lamb and become one with the sacrifice. Our sins are forgiven through His blood. As we drink of it, the justifying, healing authority and power of His blood enter our body, soul, and spirit and we are delivered from bondages of all kinds—spiritual, mental, moral, emotional, and physical.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [sharing] of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion [sharing] of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (I Corinthians 10:16,17)

As soon as the flesh of Christ was broken and distributed He never again can be made whole until every last bit of His flesh comes together into the one Body of Christ. Such is the greatness of His eternal love. Christ will remain "imperfect" until each member of His Body has been made perfect and brought into oneness with Him, and through Him into oneness with every other member (Ephesians 4:13).

Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? (I Corinthians 10:18)

Under the Levitical law the priests, and in certain instances the worshipers, ate of the animal sacrifices after they were offered (Leviticus 7:6). Those who ate the sacrifices became one with the altar and with all that the altar represents.

As we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood we become one with Him in His death and resurrection. Our sins continue to be forgiven as we walk in the Spirit of God, and His flesh and blood in us fill and transform our being.

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: 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. (I Corinthians 11:23,24)

Every time we Christians sit down together and partake of the Communion we are remembering our Lord Jesus Christ. We are announcing the fact that through His death on the cross His body and blood are given to us so we may eat and drink, and thereby live.

The Communion calls to our mind that Christ is our Life and that we are to live by Him and not by the perishing physical existence that we have in the world.

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. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. (I Corinthians 11:25,26)
The blood of Christ washes away the sins of the past, when we receive Christ as our Savior, and of the present as we confess and forsake our sins.

The blood of bulls, goats, lambs, and birds acted as a covering over the sins of Israel. There was no authority or power in the animal blood to take away the sin, only to cover the sin until God provided His Lamb—the Lord Jesus Christ.

Under the new covenant we drink the blood of the Lamb of God, and that blood is the justifying, remitting, purging, reconciling, eternal Life from God Almighty. We live by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. His flesh and blood are our eternal Substance and Life. Every time we choose to turn away from evil and do the will of God we are fed in the spirit realm with the body and blood of Christ.

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. (I Corinthians 11:27)

The Communion elements are not merely a venerable church tradition that we observe because it seems to be a good thing to do. The Communion elements, from God’s point of view, are the Divine Substance and eternal Life of the Godhead given to death-doomed people that they may live in the sight and Presence of God.

It is important that the believer receive the Communion elements as the body and blood of the Lamb of God with all due reverence, awe, giving of thanks, and purity of heart and mind.

If there is known sin in the worshiper’s heart he must confess it to God. Also, he must make restitution if his sin is against another person and the circumstances seem to indicate that the offended person has an apology or payment due him.

If the worshiper is bound in sin he may need help in prayer from other members of the Body of Christ.

It often is needful and helpful to confess our sins to our husband or wife or to another good friend in the Lord (of the same gender as ourselves). Confession to another Christian enables us to expose the deceitfulness and pride that keep our thoughts and motives hidden in the dark recesses of our heart.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. (I Corinthians 11:28)

Self-judgment is an important part of the growth of Christ in us. As we are learning to walk prayerfully before the Lord the Holy Spirit brings to our heart and mind the various sins that are part of our personality. We must practice diligence in bringing these sins before the Lord in confession so that we may be forgiven and cleansed (I John 1:9).

If we would judge ourselves, it would not be necessary for God to judge and chasten us. We must cleanse ourselves by bringing our sins of imagination, motive, word, and deed to the fountain of the blood of Christ so that we may be forgiven and delivered from all sin and rebellion.

If we partake of the Communion elements, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but are not keeping ourselves in the place where we can hear the reproofs of the Holy Spirit concerning the uncleanness in our life, we will be judged by the body and blood of Christ. The judgment may result in our sickness or death.

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (I Corinthians 11:29)

When we do not judge ourselves the Lord chastens us so we will not be condemned along with the world.

Human beings can obtain eternal life only in the Word of God. The Word of God in the form of words and phrases is given to our minds as the Holy Spirit, through ministries, books and other media, and special revelations, brings guidance and understanding concerning the working and purposes of God.
The Word of God in the form of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is imparted to our whole being, bringing Substance and Life.

All of the material resources of the world, all the wisdom, knowledge, riches, and pleasures of the mental and physical domains—all that the world is, in other words, can never bring eternal life to a single man, woman, boy, or girl. Christ Himself is the Bread of life. Unless a person eats His flesh and drinks His blood he or she cannot live. He remains spiritually dead. Christ is our Manna from Heaven.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

When we attempt to find peace and satisfaction in the world apart from Christ we soon discover that they cannot be attained. When we have only material resources to fill our deepest needs we dry up in our inner being and soon our life becomes an unbearable chore. When we eat His body and drink His blood we satisfy the hunger and thirst that are in us.

Christ keeps on feeding us and giving us to drink of Himself so that we never hunger or thirst again. Mankind died through Adam’s sin. Restoration of life in the Presence and sight of God (and there is no life worth living apart from God) comes only through the Lamb of God, Christ.

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