The Lord’s Supper according to the Bible

By: Roberto Herminzul Aguirre

United Pentecostal Church of Colombia

Study of the Lord’s Supper according to the Bible, what does it mean?

Pentecostal Evangelical Holy Supper, Biblical study on the Lord’s Supper according to the Bible, what it means.

I received from the Lord the same thing that I transmitted to you: That the Lord Jesus, the night he was betrayed, took bread, and after giving thanks, broke it and said: «This bread is my body, which I give up for you; Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after dinner, he took the cup and said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, every time you drink from it, in memory of me.” Because every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. This is the Lord’s Supper.

At the end of this article you can also read: 7 Reasons to practice Foot Washing and also Foot Washing since these issues are related to the Lord’s Supper, although not all congregations practice it. Let’s continue with the topic on the Lord’s Supper.

Meaning of the Lord’s Supper for Christians in the Bible (Evangelical Pentecostal Holy Supper)

What does the Bible say about the Lord’s Supper?

The primitive church allows us to have an idea about it, Luke tells us that Jesus instituted it on Easter night, Luke 22:12-13. Thus, as in the Old Testament Easter, the liberation from slavery in Egypt was celebrated, the Lord’s dinner has a purpose and is to remind us, the liberation of our sins through the death of Christ. It allows us to remember the complete work of Christ on Calvary.

The Lord’s Supper in the Bible: The expression “this is my body”

When Jesus said: “This is my body” he was not saying that the bread that his disciples were about to eat was his literal body, but rather that the bread and wine symbolized his body and blood, which was near. to be poured out and delivered by humanity.

Therefore, participation in the Lord’s Supper is an important element in the Christian faith since it renews faith, reminds us that we have the presence of Christ in our lives. Thus the Lord’s sacrament in the same way allows us to announce the death and resurrection of the Lord, until he comes.

What do we understand by a new covenant in the Bible?

With the old covenant, this is in the time of the law, people could approach God, only through the priests and the sacrificial system. Instead, Christ’s death on the cross brought with it a new covenant between God and us. Now, everyone without exception, we can get closer to God and communicate with him.

With the sacrament we renew our pact to serve him

So what the new covenant does is complement; rather than replace, the old covenant. Fulfilling everything that the previous agreement pointed out, since by eating the bread and drinking the cup in a commemorative way, it shows that we are remembering the death of Christ for us and if we renew our covenant to serve him and live a life consecrated to the Lord Jesus .

(Perhaps you may be interested in: Resentment: Lack of Forgiveness)

Easter biblical evangelical meaning

It is thus that the Old Testament Easter, exposed as a type of Christ, that in which the justice of God with respect to sin had been declared. The blood of the lamb was a testimony of death, therefore this figure of the Old Testament lamb, took place vicariously in Jesus Christ.

The next day, John saw Jesus approaching and said: “This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). an emblem of judgment, he associated that sacrifice with what had taken place, that is, his redemption, from slavery in Egypt. That Passover day was a special day, where everyone should eat inside their homes with all their families and friends .

On the first day there will be a holy convocation, and likewise on the seventh day you will have a holy convocation; no work will be done in them, except only that you prepare what each one has to eat. (Exodus 12:16). There was no time to save what was left, the premise was to eat quickly, God wanted to make them understand with this that there was an urgency to leave Egypt.

And you shall eat it like this: With your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you will eat it hastily; It is Jehovah’s Passover (Exodus 12:11)

easter meaning

This explains why for a Jew the Passover had great meaning:

Joy deep in the heart

Freedom from the oppression of slavery

Have the protection of a mighty God

A family party, where they could celebrate a mighty victory

· An internal and external reconciliation with the one who calls them

Live a new experience in your life with the God of your parents

Why do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper according to the Bible?

The Lord’s Supper must be considered as an ordinance (Christian Evangelical Holy Supper)

Due to what was previously mentioned, the Lord’s Supper in the NT, we must consider it as an ordinance, which brings to mind what Christ did for us, and not take it as a sacrament. The apostle Paul instructs the Corinthian church as to its biblical meaning and the believer’s attitude when participating in it.

In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul conjugates two expressions, in which it seems that he was praising them, but at the same time he was not praising them.

What Paul says before talking about the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:2 “I praise you, brothers, because in everything you remember me, and you retain the instructions just as I gave them to you.”

1 Corinthians 11:17 “But when I tell you this that follows, I do not praise you, because you do not congregate for the best, but for the worst.”

Importance of the Lord’s Supper according to the Bible

To demonstrate the importance of the topic to be discussed, given the occasion, first of all, he enters to denounce those who caused divisions. Let’s read what Paul says: Well, first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and in part I believe it (1 Corinthians 11:18)

It must be considered that these were not doctrinal divisions, but ethical behavior, an ethic that some had brought from the world, but which of course was at odds with the morality of the church. Although logically at the beginning of the letter, apparently this is what one seems to see, when Paul has to exhort not to be partisans of any apostle in common, since some had their own examples to follow, whether it was Paul himself, or Apollos or Cephas, who were surely remembered with appreciation for their work. But as for dinner…

Concerning the Lord’s Supper

The danger of celebrating the Lord’s sacrament unworthily according to the Bible Who should take it according to the Bible?

What Paul wanted to teach was the danger of celebrating a sacrament unworthily, using it for selfish ends, like some of the Corinthians, banqueting and dividing the church, which with their bad behavior produced:

The Lord’s Supper and the bad behavior of the Corinthian church

1) Shameful divisions with a social nature

2) Each one went ahead to eat

3) Some ate and drank until they got drunk

4) As long as they didn’t care that others lacked livelihood

5) They made no difference between a common dinner and the lord’s sacrament that had other purposes

6) They did not discern the body of Christ.

He who eats and drinks unworthily at the Lord’s Supper

“For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, without discerning the body of the Lord, eats and drinks judgment to himself” (1 Corinthians 11:29) (You may also be interested in: The Power of Prayer)

Participate in the Lord’s Supper unworthily according to the Bible. Who should take it?

With this they committed at least three serious sins in the Lord’s Supper

1) Contempt for the church

2) Lack of consideration for the poor

3) A direct attack against the unity of the church.

Paul uses strong words about grief and guilt in the Lord’s Supper

Paul uses very strong words regarding grief and guilt. Therefore, anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. V. 27 Gr= Énokhos: reo= Guilty.

Because he who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks his own condemnation. (V29), we will see what Paul means, by eating and drinking the Lord’s supper unworthily, the following words logically continue what he has previously argued.

Partaking of the Lord’s Supper unworthily

The background of this text (V27) is found in vv. 18-22. Participating in the Lord’s Supper “in an unworthy manner” does not speak of the personal character of the communicant, as much as of the way in which it is carried out by a sector of the Corinthians, Paul had already spoken in blunt terms regarding the attitude insensitive, selfish and divisive of the Corinthians.

Eating the bread and drinking the cup unworthily at the Lord’s Supper

That they did not watch over the well-being of the whole church but rather that of their particular group. Fostering partisanship within the church, by coming forward to eat and drink at the fellowship meal; without taking into account those with fewer economic resources. This was what the Apostle saw as eating the bread and drinking the cup, “in an unworthy manner.” Those who did so were “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” It should be clarified that the Apostle does not consider that the body and blood of the Lord are materially present in the elements.

What is known as transubstantiation, which teaches that “literally” the BREAD AND WINE, when consecrated or blessed, become the flesh and blood of Christ. Hence the doctrine of not chewing bread, but of course we do not have to follow that concept. It has already been observed that Paul does not literally identify wine with blood. Neither bread nor with the literal body of Christ, but rather they are a means to recognize the benefits of the work of the lamb on Calvary.

To partake of the Lord’s Supper unworthily is to contradict the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice

To partake of the Lord’s Supper unworthily is to contradict the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice as well as the spirit by which it was made. Those who did this placed themselves among those who were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. It is obvious that by committing this, they do not show the attitude of those who receive by faith the benefits of such a sacrifice.

Judgment from the Greek krima = Execution of a condemnatory sentence- although here no reference is made to a final condemnatory sentence towards hell. It is thus that without counting, the discernment that eating the Lord’s sacrament should have, she was worthy of respect, and this evil proceeding of the Corinthians did it or for lack of…

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