COMMUNION - THE LORD’S SUPPER
                                                                                (COME AND DINE)
                                                                                                                                                                            by W. G. Guy
 
          I have seen churches observe communion, but treat it very lightly as a ritual rather than taking it for the significance that it truly represents.  Therefore I have addressed this topic to present it for all of its importance.     
 
          The LORD has prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemy.  We can dine on the bread of life while Satan and his demons can only watch in horror as we feast on the LORD and His Word.  (Read the following scriptures.)
 
Psalm 23:5 – Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
 
John 6: 48-58, 63 – the Bread of Life.
 
John 1:1, 14 – The Word became Flesh – the body of Jesus.
 
Luke 22:14-20 – The LORD’s Supper initiated.
 
Exodus 12:7-8, 13-14 – Passover is represented in Jesus’ Passion.
 
1 Corinthians 11:23-31  –  “Do this in remembrance of me.”
 
          Communion is all about remembering our sin substitute- Jesus death on the cross.  Consider the following:
 
John 15:1-5  The Vine – wine is called the fruit of the vine which is representative of the blood of Jesus.  The blood is the life of the vine - Jesus.  Life is in the BLOOD - (spiritual and physical).
 
1 Peter 2:24 – who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
 
          By His stripes we are healed – His body broken for our broken, diseased and infirmed bodies = healing.
 
          Let’s look at the significance of the Jewish Feast of Passover.  The Israelites were to do two things:  1) in Egypt,  they were to use the lamb’s blood as a protective covering to keep them from death of their first-born sons;  2) they were to eat the flesh of the slain sacrificial lamb.  Remember, Jesus became our sacrificial Lamb.  This is what He told the Jews of His day:
 
John 6:53-56 - Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.   For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.   He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
 
         This observation is what our celebration of Communion, The Lord’s Supper, is all about.
 
Luke 22:17-20 – And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and
divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.   Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 
 
           It is interesting to note that wine is referred to as the Fruit of the Vine.  When you add to this that Jesus said the wine represented His blood, then John 15 becomes more clear to believers.
 
John 15:1-6 – I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.   Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.   Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.   If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
 
         Jesus’ blood is the life of the vine that flows through those who are intimately attached to him, called branches, and it is His LIFE that flows into them that produces the required fruit that God is looking for to harvest.  That fruit being the very character and nature of God, which is also known as the Fruit of the Spirit.  This is the fruit that the life of Christ produces in His people when it is truly IN His people.  Unfortunately, not all abide in the vine, they fail to produce the anticipated fruit; their end result is stated in verse 2 and 6.
 
         Now let’s consider what it means to “eat His flesh” which is the “Bread of Life”.
 
John 1:1 & 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.   And the word was made flesh (Jesus), and dwelt among us….”
 
         Here it clearly declares that Word became flesh; and so, to eat the flesh of Jesus is to feed on the Word of God that He has provided and preserved for us.  The Word reveals HIM; who He is, what He has provided, what great love He has for us, and how to live as His children. The Word helps us to conform to His image, showing how He wants us to live and that we should be like Him.
 
        If you want to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, as God wants, then honor Him by properly celebrating His crucifixion – on the date that God set – PASSOVER; on the date when Christ was hung on the cross and became our Passover Lamb.  Communion should at least be observed at this time, recognizing all that it represents and provided.  Then, three days later, celebrate His resurrection and our new life that He provided and freely gave to us.  You see, Jesus not only gave His life FOR us; but He also gives His life TO us.  However, communion can be celebrated often besides on Passover.  Remember, Communion is for the purpose of remembering the life that He provided for us on the cross.
 
1 Corinthians 11:26 – For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 
 
          In addition, the Spirit of Christ that we received within us also becomes the “fountain of living water”.
 
John 4:10-14 – Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:  but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.       (Note also that we all need a daily intake of water, “living water”.)
 
COME AND DINE !