The beauty of Communion!

Day 4: Amazing fact about God I am pondering today:

I love that God set up such a beautiful time of Communion we can share with Him over the bread and wine.

   From a young age I have loved the Word of God. I really have. I liked Sunday School and the Bible stories I would hear. As I got older I began to see how the Word of God was practical for my daily living, it became a blueprint for my life. When my daughters got to the age of junior and senior high school I thought it might be nice to take Communion at home. I was targeting Thanksgiving dinner. Because I honored God’s Word I thought I would ask my pastor about doing a family Communion table at home. He was very succinct in telling me that should be done in church, and there would, or could, be serious repercussion taking Communion in an unworthy manner. He was referring to this passage of scripture.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.  

1 Corinthians 11:27-32

   I am sure I do not want to know how many twisted takes have been preached out of those verses. When this is taught, there is strong consensus that these verses mean that we must judge our walk with God, and therefore our worthiness before partaking of the body and the blood of Jesus. That is not what those verses say. The only prerequisite for partaking of the Lord’s supper is to have made Jesus your Savior. To commune with God we must do so through Jesus, and only Jesus. That is what Communion is about. Anyone that has given themselves to Jesus Christ is allowed, and instructed to come to the table in remembrance of all Jesus did for mankind. God is no longer judging mankind, He put all of the weight of all of man’s sin for all time on Jesus. Jesus paid for us and took our judgement of death on the cross in our place. So what is it we are to judge then?

   The real problem here at the church of Corinth that Paul was addressing was the indifference- taking Communion as a meaningless religious ritual that had to be done. Communion was to represent all that Jesus was about to do for mankind the day after the Lord’s Supper. In that upper room, while sharing the bread and wine, Jesus said about those elements these things.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”  Luke 22:19-20

We need to look in Isaiah to see the points of this New Covenant, and what Jesus was being given to us for.

Isaiah 53:4-6

4 Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Transgressions:   rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.

Iniquity:  perversity, depravity, iniquity,  (moral) evil, guilt or punishment of iniquity, consequence of or punishment for iniquity.

Peace:   safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:—do, familiar, fare, favour, friend, great, (good) health, (perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (all is, be) well, wholly.

Healed:   רָפָא râphâʼ, raw-faw'; or רָפָה râphâh; a primitive root; properly, to mend (by stitching), i.e. (figuratively) to cure:—cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, thoroughly, make whole. 

   I inserted the Hebrew word used by Isaiah in verse 5 here to clarify that this is not spiritual healing, that is what Jesus’ wounds (blood) and bruises were for. Also, take a look in Exodus 15:26b  

“...I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

when God says He is the Lord that heals us, in Hebrew He was saying He was Jehovah-Rapha.  That is exact same word in Isaiah 53:5.

   When Jesus took our judgement for our sin, he restored us entirely. He paid for our wholeness, spirit, soul, and body. Our spirit was made alive. We were reborn, becoming a new creature because the transgressions and the consequence of the iniquity in us was paid for and forgiven by the blood that restored us back to God. Our soul was restored because Jesus took on the mocking and chastisement for us and that restored our peace. The stripes on His flesh, the broken places on His body, were the payment for our physical health.  

   Taking the bread and wine worthily simply means being in remembrance of ALL that  Jesus did on the cross. The cross is when the New Covenant was established, and the resurrection was God’s acceptance of the payment for us on that cross. Taking the bread and wine in the cavalier manner the church at Corinth was is the unworthiness spoken of by Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11.

   So what does remembering what Jesus did for us mean, and what does it look like?  Taking Communion in a worthy manner means we have come to the table ready to partake of everything Jesus’ death and resurrection provided for us- forgiveness, salvation, peace of mind, physical healing, deliverance from all evil, and total prosperity in every area of our life. This is done by judging ourselves by how much of those provisions we are willing to receive. The church has primarily focused on the blood of forgiveness and slid right over the bread for our healing, simply saying it was broken for us. We need to approach Communion in faith for all of those things, and accept all Jesus provided for us. The body and blood of Jesus has covered everything we need for living victoriously. 

   When you go to take Communion you can pray in faith that you receive all Jesus provided for you in the New Covenant. You can judge your heart according to the Word of God and where you have lacked anything and not walked according to the Word (strife, unforgiveness, addiction, fear, unbelief, jealousy) confess you have not been faithful, repent and ask for forgiveness. Thank God for being faithful to forgive you, and that He cleanses you from all unrighteousness. As you then take Communion confess that since Jesus’ body was broken for you and His blood was shed for you and that you recognize you are now forgiven and redeemed, that you see that Jesus bore all sickness, disease, fear, strife, sorrow and lack for you and that as you are now God’s righteousness you receive everything Jesus provided. Also, just as Jesus did- give God thanks!

   Communion is very powerful and does not have to be in a church, or with others. If you have something you need to get right with God, or you have a need, take some time with just Him and remember what Jesus did. Spend some time in prayer and conversation with God, and then stake your claim on His New Covenant promises, and receive all you need as you receive the body and blood.

Amazing fact about God I am pondering today:

I am so thankful to have access to God through Communion.