The Vast Scope and Comprehensive Nature of Communion

    Most of us have not understood the vast scope and comprehensive nature of Communion. The bread and cup of Communion relate to every thought we think and every action we do; every day, twenty-four hours a day. I should say that a correct understanding of communion makes it applicable to every aspect of our lives. Incorrect understanding of the elements of Communion makes it another religious ritual that is irrelevant to our daily lives. Incorrect understanding greatly limits its usefulness and relevance to the believer. 

    Also, regarding the vast scope of Communion, the bread and cup summarize and epitomize the entire counsel of the Bible as it relates to our daily faith and practice. Communion summarizes the doctrines and teachings of the apostles as they relate to the Christian life and walk. Communion summarizes the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. Communion sums up the teachings of Jesus. How can two symbols represent the entire teachings of the Bible as they relate to our daily practice and faith? . How can God sum up the vast body of teachings and knowledge known as the Bible, written over a period of centuries upon centuries by many different authors, in two symbols? 

    Let’s go back to Genesis 2:17. Here God warned Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit or he would die. This scripture, in a nutshell, implies the world’s two fundamental problems. First, people do wrong things or sin (eating the forbidden fruit). Secondly, the consequence for their wrong, sinful behavior is death. Now here “death” is a big word. In this context it means physical death, spiritual death and “soulish” death. Death includes sickness, poverty, despair, depression, embarrassment, shame, guilt, chaos, destruction, strife, and every other negative result that comes from people’s sinful living. The term “death” even includes the reality of eternal hell, which would include some or all of these awful conditions lasting forever with no reprieve. 

    God in Christ came to eliminate these two enemies, sin and death. He hates the sin, and He hates the consequences of sin. He hates them both equally. The bread of communion stands for deliverance from sin through Christ’s body (1Peter 2:24, Hebrews 10:10, etc.), while the cup of Communion represents deliverance from death through Christ’s blood (Ephesians 1:7, etc.) (Forgiveness is deliverance from the penalty of sin, and the penalty of sin is death.). Everything that can go wrong in our lives or in the world in general, can be seen as either a sin problem or a death problem, or probably both. Communion represents God’s answer to everything and anything that can go wrong in this world. Thus, in communion, we see God’s comprehensive and complete solution to humanity’s problems.

    Let’s look at Communion’s vast scope and comprehensiveness in another scripture. In Romans 5:12-21, the apostle Paul gives an overview of the entire counsel of scripture regarding salvation. In Romans 5:12, he says, “…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin….” Here, again, we have man’s two great problems summed up in these two great words, “sin,” and “death.” 

    At the end of this passage of scripture in Romans 5:21, Paul says, “so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The words “righteousness” and “life” (opposites of sin and death) are used throughout this passage of scripture. In fact, all throughout this last half of Romans 5, Paul is teaching how through Jesus, God is replacing sin and death with righteousness and life, in the believers’ lives. He shows that through Christ man is justified (forgiven) and can have life instead of death. He also shows how many will be made righteous (practical righteousness) instead of being sinners. But, in Communion, the bread represents deliverance from sin into righteousness (1Peter 2:24,etc.), while the cup represents deliverance from death into life. Thus the two main themes represented by the bread and the cup summarize this whole section of scripture which itself is meant to be a great summary.

    Next, let’s look at Communion as it relates to the promises of God. There are thousands of promises throughout the Bible. The believers’ daily lives are lived with confidence in these precious promises. Without the promises of God, we are truly lost and ruined.  

    Now, most promises have two basic elements. There is some condition or act of obedience that is required of the believer to be fulfilled first. Then, secondly, there is some blessing the believer can expect from the Lord. For example, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom…”(Luke 6:38a). A great blessing is promised to the believer who does something, and that something is to “give.” The obedience (in this case, giving) comes before the blessing. Likewise, the bread is eaten before the cup is had. The unleavened bread representing obedience is eaten before the cup representing a blessing of some kind, is drunk (the cup standing for blood which itself is rich provision and life for the body). Just imagine the body of Christ out there obeying God and seeing wonderful, supernatural miracles of provision from the hand of God as He follows through on His promises. This is the meaning of the bread eaten and then the cup taken. 

    Let’s look at another promise. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) The carnal mind says, “Hey, I’ll be merciful to you, if I see it coming from you first.” But God’s way is to obey first, sow the first good seed, and then patiently wait for the blessing, in this case, mercy. Again, the bread precedes the cup. This is the mindset of the kingdom of God; this is the mindset that communion teaches. 

    Let’s look at one more of the thousands of promises in the Word of God. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) What goes around, comes around. This is the godly mindset. To think there is no consequence for our behavior is evil, and is mocking God. The bread stands for good, righteous behavior while the cup stands for wonderful consequences (at least in the long run, if not sooner) (Also, remember that the blood is rich provision, blessing, and life for the body. This is why the blood stands for good consequences.). Regarding Galatians 6:7, the bread stands for sowing a good seed, while the cup stands for reaping a wonderful consequence. 

    In every business, in every relationship, in every marriage, and in every circumstance, the bread and cup show the way. And, it is always the bread first, and then the cup; showing that obedience and righteousness usher in the coveted blessings (cup of blessing). “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9) 

    Also, regarding the cross, the bread stands for deliverance from evil actions (sanctification), while the cup stands for deliverance from horrible consequences (forgiveness). In other words, there is deliverance from sowing bad seeds. And, there is deliverance from reaping a horrible harvest (bad consequences).  

    The Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament; all followed the same basic pattern, i.e., if you keep sinning you will bring some horrible consequence or curse on you, your family or your nation. Conversely, if you obey God in this area, God will cause some blessing to come upon you. 

    Malachi writes in Malachi 3:8-10, “You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me…”(9) Then, Malachi gives the answer, “Bring all the tithe into the storehouse….And try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”(10) Here Malachi follows the familiar pattern followed by the Law and the Prophets: obey and be blessed, or disobey and be cursed. The unleavened bread represents obedience, while the cup represents God’s rich provision and blessing and life. And, most importantly, the bread comes first. 

    Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 48:18, “Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river,….” Do you see the bread and then the cup? The above are just a few of the many, many scriptures throughout the books of the prophets in the Old Testament. 

    Regarding the Law, in Deuteronomy 28:2 Moses wrote, “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Then Moses proceeds to specify the specific blessings that will come upon God’s people because of their obedience. Here, we can clearly see the bread of obedience preceding the cup of blessing. Then in Deuteronomy 28:15, Moses writes, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God….that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” Then Moses proceeds to specify the curses that will come upon God’s people for their disobedience. 

    The bread stands for obedience while the cup stands for God’s blessings. (Also, the bread stands for deliverance from disobedience found at the cross, while the cup stands for deliverance from curses found at the cross.) Thus, God summed up the teachings of the Law in Communion.

    The bread and cup of Communion summarize the doctrines of the apostles that relate to our practice and faith. Romans is probably the greatest and most complete doctrinal book in the New Testament. In Romans 3 through the first half of Romans 5, Paul makes clear that in Christ the believer is justified by faith so that he can have eternal life. This message can be phrased in various ways: i.e., forgiven by faith so that he can have life; or, justified by faith so that he can have life; or, delivered from death into life. This message is the message of the cup of Communion. 

    In Romans 6 through the first part of Romans 8, Paul teaches on how through Christ the believer is delivered out of his sin and into righteous living. This is the message of the unleavened bread of Communion. Thus, the two great themes of Communion are the two great themes of Romans. 

    Also, throughout the doctrinal messages of the apostles in the New Testament, two messages of the cross are mentioned with equal frequency and emphasis. The forgiveness message of the cross is represented by the cup and is one of these two messages. The crucified with Christ, dead to sin, died with Christ, message of the cross is the second truth and is represented by the unleavened bread.

It is clear that the Protestant Reformation uncovered the meaning of the cup of Communion, but never in a practical or real way, unveiled the true meaning of the bread of Communion. Imagine what a difference it would make in this world if church people understood and wanted the true meaning of the bread of Communion. 

 Click here to get this page in a printer friendly format

 
      Click on icon to email us

   
   To Order This Book