Some churches observe the Lord’s Supper once a quarter others once a week. Whatever your church’s timing on this important ordinance, I think we all benefit from clarity about what we should hope to achieve in remembering the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for us. In a recent sermon on the Lord’s Supper (“Improving Our Worship in the Lord’s Supper”), I explained some of my pastoral goals for that celebration of Communion together. Perhaps you would also benefit from this discussion. So first let us briefly consider three pastoral goals that I hope are present as a church celebrates the Lord’s Supper and then three blessings that come in our corporate celebration.
3 Pastoral Goals
First, as a shepherd of God’s flock, I want to provide clear biblical teaching about the nature and practice of the Lord’s Supper. Second, I want to make sure that we know the meaning of various terms, phrases, and elements so that we can truly participate together from a place of understanding. Third, I want us to see the impact the Lord’s Supper has for our walk with God and one another as we worship and serve Him together. It is this last goal that I want to address the bulk of this article. I want to share with you three blessings that come to us as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.
3 Blessings
First, as we take Communion together as a body of believers, we are blessed with richer relationships with one another. In this way, the Table of the Lord actively binds us together more closely as we practice it. Communion is an activity of the gathered body and, as such, it facilitates a blessing to the body as a whole. These richer relationships flow from two streams. First, the Supper reminds us that we are truly bound together in Christ. We have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, and as such, we are bound to Him in faith and to everyone else who is bound to Him as well. What unites us as believers is not mere force of will, a common goal, or sentimental values. We have a bond that is built on Christ’s shed blood and secured by His power in eternity. Realizing that we are one should motivate us to real and concrete ways of demonstrating that unity. We must live out what we are. Second, the demonstration of our unity is facilitated by mutual self-examination which is commanded in our practice of the Lord’s Supper. The self-examination that Paul instructs (1 Cor. 11:28) is not merely of our heart towards God and any sin that may be hindering that relationship. It is also an examination of our heart towards one another. Greg Allison says that “the self-examination is specifically for the purpose of detecting broken relationships, division-causing behavior, disrespect, and mistreatment of brothers and sisters in Christ.” Are there impure attitudes, sinful actions, or unresolved conflicts that we have towards another? Then the examination of the Communion Table should help us to recognize these and clear them away through accountability, repentance, and reconciliation. By dealing with any relational issues, we enact the unity of the body which is symbolized by our corporate taking of one loaf (1 Cor. 10:17).
Second, we are blessed as we take the Lord’s Supper because it deepens our relationship with Christ. Paul teaches us that we eat the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him. He also reminds us that the Supper is a very real (if spiritual) participation in the body and blood of Christ. In other words, we are really and truly relating to Christ as we rightly take the elements of the Lord’s Supper because He is really present with us by His Spirit. Of course, we know that Christ is not bodily present with us for we are doing this “until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). However, He is really and truly with us through the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit in a very real spiritual way. We are engaging in an act of worship. We are drawing near to God. And as we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8). The physical and tangible nature of the elements vividly draws our attention to the person of Christ and His loving sacrifice on our behalf. It is almost like a drama that visibly shows us the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. And yet, even as the Lord’s Supper mediates something of Christ’s presence to us, it also highlights His present absence. This, too, deepens our relationship with Him because it fans the flame of our longing for His return and an expectant celebration of His victory. As the saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Third, we are blessed in the Lord’s Supper because it gives us a powerful and tangible way to proclaim the gospel. The taking of the elements are not self-explanatory. The practice is a drama that cries out for explanation. Communion is a physical act that demands a verbal accompaniment. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper can supply someone with a remarkable visible demonstration of the gospel as he or she hears the content of the accompanying message. By God’s grace, this paring of sight and sound may break through barriers and walls that have prevented a person from truly hearing and understanding the gospel before. In this way, the Lord has provided a provocative demonstration of the gospel to aid the church in the fulfillment of her mission to reach the world for Christ.
Let us be joyful and thankful for the blessings of the Lord’s Table as we celebrate and remember His sacrifice—eagerly awaiting His return until He comes.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Lord’s Supper from both a theological and practical standpoint, check out this great book by John Hammett: 40 Questions about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Some of the information in this article is drawn from the excellent discussion in Chapter 38 of his book.
