How many times should we take the holy communion?
Let’s begin by reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
The institution of the Lord’s Supper is given to us in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11. The Lord’s simple desire is that His people remember Him in this way. With our hearts and minds set upon the Lord Jesus, we partake of those two emblems that He gave us to represent Himself…a loaf and a cup. A loaf to represent His body that “bare our sins” (1 Peter 2:25). A cup to represent “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:19). In partaking of these emblems in a prayerful and grateful attitude, we remember Him and “shew the Lord’s death till he come.” In other words, this meeting of remembrance is intended to be done until the Lord returns.
How often should we partake of the Lord’s Supper? In the early days of the church, we read in Acts 2:46, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and BREAKING BREAD from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” While ‘breaking bread’ is a term often used to denote a time of eating and fellowship, in the scriptures it is synonymous with the Lord’s Supper, where they ‘broke bread’ to remember the Lord and the death that He died for them. There are a couple of things we learn from this verse. The believers ‘broke bread’ (remembered the Lord) on a daily basis. They partook of the Lord’s Supper in their houses. The book of Acts is a book of transition, changing from a young church that was entirely Jewish into a church that contained all, Jew and Gentile alike, that believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior.
Let’s look towards the end of the book of Acts and read Acts 20:7, “And upon THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, when the disciples CAME TOGETHER TO BREAK BREAD, PAUL PREACHED unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” We learn a couple of important lessons in these few words.
THE CHURCH MET ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK (Sunday). We also read in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” When the church came together each week, on the first day of the week, there was a collection taken.
THE DISCIPLES CAME TOGETHER TO BREAK BREAD. It was the Lord’s request to be remembered that drew the believers together. His tender appeal to them touched their hearts so they began to gather together each ‘Lord’s Day’ (Revelation 1:10) to honor His request. You can just imagine the setting as these believers (some of who must have known the Lord personally) sat in quiet reflection of Christ, His sufferings and His death. How precious and solemn were these times when their hearts and minds were fixed on their precious savior and how He suffered so greatly for them. Those emblems took on special meaning as they partook of them in remembrance of the Lord. Those times should be just as special, solemn and precious to us today as we remember the Lord, “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14). Each time the Lord draws us together to remember Him, he is there in our presence! (Read Matthew 18:2
There are groups today who still are gathered together each Lord’s Day to remember the Lord and the death He died for us. When we remain close to the Lord and walk in fellowship with Him, these weekly meetings do not become stale or commonplace. No, they become more precious each week as we spend time in contemplation of our dear savior. How many times should we partake in this precious remembrance meeting? ‘Till He come!’ (313.2)