Why we take Communion

Institution of the Lord's Supper (MKJV)

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is My body.

Mat 26:27 And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink all of it.

Mat 26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mat 26:29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.

 

What is a Covenant

What is the difference between Covenant, Contract and Testament ?

• A covenant is an agreement or written promise between two or more parties that constitutes a pledge to do or refrain from doing something.

• A contract is a voluntary agreement between two or more parties, who intend to create legal obligations, in which there is a promise to do or perform some work.

• A testament is a statement of belief.

 

While a contract is legally binding, a covenant is a spiritual agreement. A contract is an agreement between parties while a covenant is a pledge. A contract is an agreement you can break while a covenant is a perpetual promise. Covenants are everlasting, a promise never broken.

 

Old Covenant and New Covenant

​The Old Covenant

The first or old covenant was between a holy God and sinful man. Was there anything wrong with the first covenant? Of course not. “The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). The problem was man’s inability to keep it. The failure was with man and not God. The covenant designed to result in life, resulted in death. Paul said, “And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death” (Romans 7:10). With the advent of the law about 3,000 people died (Exodus 32:28).

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The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with

the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”.

The New Covenant is God's new agreement with all people through Jesus Christ. The old covenant revealed we needed something better. “Therefore the Law has become our tutor (schoolmaster) to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). The new covenant is between the Father and the Son. God told Jesus if He would go to earth in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) and go to the cross for the sins of mankind (1 Peter 3:18), God would forgive the sins of anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (John 1:12, Romans 4:4-5, Romans 5:1, Romans 10:13).

Heb 9:16-18 (MKJV) For where a covenant is, the death of him covenanting must be offered. For a covenant is affirmed over those dead, since it never has force when The one covenanting is living. From which we see that neither was the first covenant dedicated without blood.

Most people would say the New Covenant began when Jesus was born. But from God’s perspective, the New Covenant began at the cross. That is the day that the New Covenant was ushered in and replaced the Old Covenant.

Why will this covenant succeed when the first one failed? Because the new one doesn’t depend on us. It’s a covenant between the Father and the Son. God lived up to the first covenant, but we failed to live up to our part. In the new covenant man is left out of the equation. Jesus lived up to the covenant by going to the cross in payment for our sins. God lived up to the covenant by forgiving and justifying all who put their faith in Jesus. “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). This one cannot fail because both parties involved lived up to their side of the contract. Now it is up to us to live up to that part of the covenant Jesus has with God, by believing in Jesus.

 

The New Covenant Replaced the Old Covenant

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” - though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:8-10)

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (Hebrews 8:13)

The Old Covenant was set aside in order to usher in the New Covenant. And in the New Covenant, and by the cross we have been set apart and made holy, once and for all.

Unfortunately today, most Christians from a Gentile background have mixed the New Covenant with the Old Covenant. That is why so many Christians today are frustrated and confused about who God and Jesus is. The reason the book of Galatians was written was because of the co-mingling of the New and Old Covenant.

Are you living in the New Covenant or in the Old Covenant?

Old Covenant and New Covenant comparison

• The old covenant came by Moses while the new covenant came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17)

• The old covenant leads to death (kills) while the new covenant gives life (2 Cor 3:6)

• The old covenant was ended by Jesus Christ (Roman 10:4) while the new covenant was established by Jesus Christ (Heb 8:6)

• The old covenant enslaves (Gal 5:1)while the new covenant makes man free (gives freedom) (John 8:32. 36)

• The old covenant leaves man imperfect while the new covenant leaves man perfect (Heb 7:19)

• The old covenant exposes sin (Gal 3:19) while the new covenant covers sin (Rom. 4:1-8)

• The old covenant cannot give life (2 cor 3.7) while the new covenant gives life (Gal. 3:11, 6:8)

• The old covenant was abolished while the new covenant is in force (Eph:2:15)

• The old covenant brings a curse (Gal. 3:10) while the new covenant redeems from curse (Gal. 3:13)

• In the old covenant, living is by works while in the new covenant living is by faith (Gal. 3:10-11)

• The old covenant is a shadow (Col. 2:14-17) while the new covenant is the reality (Heb. 10:1-18)

• The old covenant is a covered glory while the new covenant is glory uncovered (2 Cor. 3:13)

• The old covenant had many high priests (Heb. 7:23) while the new covenant has only one high priest (Jesus Christ) (Heb. 7:24-28)

• The old covenant had earthly priest (Heb. 5:1-4) while the new covenant has heavenly priest (Heb. 9:24, 10:12)

• The old covenant makes priest by law while the new covenant makes priests by oath (Heb 7:12,28)

• The old covenant had earthly tabernacle (Heb. 9:2) while the new covenant has heavenly tabernacle (Heb. 8:2)

• In The old covenant priesthood was in the lineage of Aaron (Aaron priest hood) while the new covenant priesthood is in the melchisedec lineage (melchisedec priesthood) (Heb 7:11,21)

• In the old covenant priests (high priest) were sinners (Heb. 5:1-4) while in the new covenant the priest has no sin (Jesus Christ) (Heb. 7:26)

• The old covenant was fulfilled (Mat. 5:17-18) while the new covenant is now in force (Heb. 8:6, 10:9)

• In the old, the law was written in stone tablets while in the new covenant, the law is written in people hearts (Jeremiah 31:33)

• In the old, the Ark of covenant was present as a sign of salvation while in the new covenant salvation is by grace through faith

• The old covenant demanded works (doing) while the new covenant only demands obedience

• In the old, Moses and prophets were mediators while in the new covenant, Jesus Christ is the mediator

• The old covenant is a covenant of letter while the new covenant is a covenant of spirit

• The old covenant needed offering for sin while in the new covenant, Jesus is the perfect sin offering

• The old covenant needed statues and ordinances while the new covenant only needs ones heart

• In the old covenant, the tabernacle was made with hands while in the new covenant the tabernacle is made without hands

• In the old covenant, remembrance of sin was done yearly while in the new covenant, forgiveness and washing away of sin was done once and for all.

• The old covenant remembers sin (Heb. 10:3) while the new covenant does not remember sin(Heb. 8:12, 10:17)

• The old covenant is a ministry of death while the new covenant is a ministry of life (2 Cor 3:6-7)

• The old covenant was written with ink while the new covenant is written with the spirit of God (2 Cor 3:3)

• The old covenant is for Israelite's only (Det 4: 7-8) while the new covenant is for all men (Luke 22:20)

 

All glory to the author of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ.

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Communion

Why do we commune?

What Christians commonly call “communion” is an ordinance started by Jesus during the Last Supper with His disciples. Communion is a way for believers to outwardly show their love for and fellowship with Christ, to remember the atoning sacrifice that Jesus made for them, and to look forward to the time when He will partake with us, in the kingdom. Communion is also known as the Lord’s supper or the Lord’s table.

 

The Last Supper

Foretelling His death
If the disciples were listening closely, these words should have seemed familiar to them. Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus had told a

crowd, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me” (John 6:53–57). This prediction of the death of Jesus and the need to accept His sacrifice for redemption proved to be too difficult for some: “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” (John 6:60). In fact, after hearing this, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). The symbolism that Jesus used shouldn’t have been a surprise to His hearers; after all, He had been speaking in parables almost since the beginning of His ministry. However, the thought of consuming Jesus’ body was too much for many of them.

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Early Church Communion
After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the early church obeyed the words of Jesus and practiced the ordinance of communion, the eating of bread (symbolizing His body) and the drinking of wine (symbolizing His blood). Paul the apostle brought out the idea of fellowship during communion: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:16–17)

Communion in the church not only meets Jesus’ commandment, but it also contributes to the unity of believers.

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Final thoughts
The practice of communion is one of two ordinances in the church. The Bible does not specify how often communion should be observed. Communion is a time for reflection, not only on an individual’s sin and need of forgiveness but on the grace and love that Christ exhibited on the cross (John 3:16). As Christians take communion together, they demonstrate their union with each other and with Christ. Christians are reminded of Christ’s sacrifice and remind each other that He is coming again as they partake of communion together. Communion is a “common sharing in the Spirit” (Philippians 2:1) and an answer to Jesus’ prayer “And I have given them the glory which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22–23).

Symbolism of bread in ancient Israel

Bread, the staff of life, was used in the worship of God, primarily through tabernacle (then later temple) services to symbolize the Eternal's presence (Exodus 25:30, Leviticus 24:5 - 9). Bread was also used in the Bible to symbolize an enemy being totally conquered (Numbers 14:9)(Jesus totally defeated satan), hospitality (Genesis 19:3), and the acceptance of wisdom (Proverbs 9:5).

 

The children of Israel were miraculously fed with "bread from heaven" or Manna as they wandered for forty years before entering the Promised Land (Exodus 16). This food initially symbolized God's love and care for his people, in spite of their sins, and an omer (translated as sheaf- an amount of grain large enough to require bundling) of it was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 16:32 - 34). Jesus revealed the full meaning of Manna when he stated it was a reference to him.

Additionally, in the Bible, bread symbolized Jesus the Messiah and the eternal life he offers to those willing to follow him with their whole

heart (John 6:32 - 35, 41, 50 - 51). The unleavened version of this staple was used during Christ's last Passover. It represented his willingness to offer his own body as a sacrifice for our sins and to make our healing possible (Matthew 26:26, 1Corinthians 11:23 - 30).

The apostle Paul wrote how bread symbolized the true spiritual unity of the church of God (1Corinthians 10:16 - 17).

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Significance of the breaking of bread.

The early Christians came together regularly for common meals, which included the breaking of bread. Acts 2:44 refers to them having “everything in common,” and this no doubt included sharing meals together, each one receiving from the others what they needed. Verse 46 describes them breaking bread in their homes. It represents everything they had was shared with others when they

needed it. We are to do the same as Christ did. This is why the bread is taken first. It shows that Christ will give all He has to others when

they ask, who believe in Him. We are to do the same as Christ when we take the bread.

As His people, we participate in His sufferings and brokenness, being broken by sin as He was broken by the punishment He willingly received for our redemption. “And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16).

What did Jesus mean when He said, “This is my body, broken for you”?
During the Last Supper when Jesus and His disciples were eating a Passover meal together the night of His betrayal, Jesus took bread and said, “This is my body, broken for you.” The statement is recorded four times in the New Testament:

 

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26–28).

 

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them” (Mark 14:22–24).

 

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of

me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:19–20).

 

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:24–26).

Jesus’ statement This is my body is the primary basis for the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, which teaches that the body of Christ is actually present in the element of the bread. However, interpreting Jesus’ words in this passage literally is an error. When

He called the bread His body, Jesus was physically present with His disciples, His body unbroken. How could He have been offering His

broken body to His disciples the night before He died? Jesus often spoke in metaphors, calling Himself the door, the shepherd, the vine, etc. He was speaking metaphorically on this occasion, as well.

 

Additionally, the context of the Passover meal is thoroughly symbolic. Almost every element of the meal stood for (or “was”) something else. Jesus took two of those elements and infused them with a new symbolic meaning as He was the fulfillment of everything that Passover stood for. From then on, whenever Jewish believers observed a Passover meal, they would think of the new meaning that Jesus had given to the bread and the final cup. And Gentile believers, who had never been partakers of a Passover meal, would observe the “Lord’s Supper” as part of a “love feast” that the whole church ate together (1 Corinthians 11). Later, the Lord’s Supper (also called communion or the Eucharist) became a separate ceremony all by itself.

 

Further evidence that Jesus was speaking symbolically is found in John, the only gospel that does not record Jesus’ statement This is my body. In John 6:53–58, Jesus says to a multitude, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” When Jesus spoke of eating His flesh in John 6, He had already given the crowd an indication that He was speaking figuratively. Earlier, in verses 32–35, Jesus had called Himself bread, comparing Himself with the manna in the wilderness: “‘Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘always give us this bread.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” As if to clear up any misunderstanding, Jesus then distinguishes the physical from the spiritual: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63, ESV).

 

When Jesus spoke of His “broken” body at the Last Supper, He was referring to His sacrifice on the cross. His body was broken, and His blood was shed. According to John 6:35, one can “eat” Jesus’ broken body by “coming” to Him and “drink” His blood by believing in Him. Jesus also emphasizes faith (which the eating only symbolizes) in verses 36, 40, and 47.

 

Again, the whole context of the Last Supper is symbolic. We do not partake of Jesus by physically eating His body. “The flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). Rather, we partake of Jesus by coming to Him in faith, trusting that His broken body (and shed blood) is sufficient to pay for our sins. The elements of bread and wine commemorate His broken body and shed blood, and when we eat them, we affirm our faith and fellowship in Christ and acknowledge His covenant with us, which we are to be as Jesus with others.

 

Significance of the blood

This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” (Hebrews 9:18-20)

The Old Covenant and the Law of Moses was put into effect with the blood of animals. God required the Israelite's to fully obey the law. If Israel fully obeyed the Law, God would bless them (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). But if the Israelite's did not fully obey the Law, God would curse them. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). The Old Covenant is a chronicle of Israel's repeated failure to obey God, of its refusal to keep His commandments and statutes. In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:21-22)

At the cross, Jesus took away the sins of the world. It was a one time sacrifice for sins. This is far different from the Old Covenant blood sacrifices of animals, which had to be repeated year after year. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

 

When Jesus shed his blood and died on the cross the Old Covenant system of Law and forgiveness was replaced by the New Covenant.

 

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people…..Hebrews 8:7-8.

​The Israelite's were unable to fully obey the law. You and I would also be unable to fully obey the law. Therefore, God had to usher in a New Covenant, which was different from the Old Covenant and not based on following the law. It is instead, based on faith in Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant and the Law was set aside. The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Hebrews 7:18

 

You can not draw near to God by following the law. You can only draw near to God when you know your sins have been taken away

completely, which happened when Jesus died on the cross and ushered in the New Covenant. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16.

 

The throne of grace happened at the cross, when Jesus took away (not covered), the sins of the world. When we do sin, we can now approach God because we are forgiven of our sins: past, present and future. As a result, we can approach Jesus with confidence and thank him for taking away all of our sins.

“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. Hebrews 8:8-9.

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts, I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:10-12

The Jewish people were given the law. They were unable to keep it. The Gentiles did not have the law (Romans 2:14). The New Covenant was ushered in by Jesus for both the Jew and the Gentile. The Jew was going to have to let go of the Old Covenant and the law, put their faith in Jesus and receive the good news of the Jesus in the New Covenant. Today, the Gentiles, who did not have the law, can accept Jesus as Savior found in the New Covenant. “Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

 

What does it mean to take communion unworthily (1 Cor 11:27)?

The concept of taking communion unworthily comes from a teaching by the apostle Paul to the believers in the church at Corinth (1 Cor 11:26–29). For "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show" the Lord's death until He shall come. So that whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, he will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

 

Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is an act of worship meant to memorialize Christ’s sacrifice and reflect the love and unity among members of the body of Christ. But, in the case of the Corinthians, it was instead magnifying the divisions among them. As a result, some in the Corinthian church were participating in communion “in an unworthy manner”.

 

Communion should honor Christ, but Paul gave this blistering indictment of the Corinthians’ practice: “So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!” (1 Corinthians 11:20–22).

The Corinthians’ communion services had become corrupted with selfishness, drunkenness, and discrimination against the poor. Participants were neither honoring God nor edifying one another in their celebrations.

In the early days of the church, Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper with feasts (Acts 2:46). Paul indicated that the Corinthians were favoring the wealthy and privileged but neglecting the poor. Some participants overate bread while others got drunk. The Corinthians were publicly overindulging in their church services and discriminating against the poor. Their actions, Paul said, were equivalent to “despising the church of God” (1 Corinthians 11:22).

 

Paul then reminded the Corinthians how to properly observe communion, stressing that the central focus of the celebration is to remember Christ’s sacrifice and proclaim His work of salvation (1 Corinthians 11:23–26). In essence, when people outside the church observe a unified body of believers eating and drinking to remember Christ’s broken body and spilled blood as His covenant to us, the message of the gospel becomes visible. Paul hoped that reminding them of the Lord’s simple and straightforward instructions would lead the Corinthians to correct their bad behavior.

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After his reminder of what communion is all about, Paul said, “So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily

is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27, NLT). The phrase in an unworthy manner could refer, in general, to harboring unconfessed sin while participating in the Lord’s Supper. Confession of sin is a beneficial practice to prepare one’s heart for worship; in fact, we are told to “examine” ourselves before we partake of communion (verse 28). But Paul probably had something more specific at the forefront of his mind.

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The “unworthy manner” Paul had in mind was most likely a failure to express the love and unity of the body of Christ—the problem he had just addressed. Those who selfishly promoted divisions in the church were guilty of a serious offense. They were dishonoring the very purpose of communion, which is to honor and remember the Lord’s work of salvation on the cross. Those who partake of communion in an unworthy manner are “guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). That is, they are showing irreverence or contempt for that which is meant to represent the body and blood of Christ. They are not “discerning the body of Christ” (verse 28), which means they are acting indifferently toward communion, as if it were just another meal.

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Paul went on to teach the Corinthians how they could avoid taking communion unworthily—by examining their motives and actions and making sure they lined up with the significance of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:28). They were to perform this self-examination in preparation for eating and drinking to avoid bringing God’s discipline upon themselves (verses 29–31).

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Paul stressed that the Lord’s Supper should be a time of celebration for the church in which Christians focus on honoring Jesus, exhibiting unity, and proclaiming the gospel of Christ’s salvation. The focus ought to be on others, and not on oneself. In this manner, believers avoid taking communion unworthily.

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The covenants:

Old Covenant - Between God and man.

New Covenant - Between God and Jesus.

Communion Covenant - Between Jesus and man.