Communion - Bread and Wine

[Leonard]

Okay...I am NOT a new Christian...I'm a preachers kid brought up in a Brethren church and currently attend another non denominational church. In my life as Christian I have always been confused by communion. In the Brethren churches it is a very closed meeting that takes place before the 'family bible hour' meeting. In the 'closed' meeting they partake of bread and wine every Sunday, and that is when offering is taken as well. You must be baptised to take part in this meeting, and there is more...living your life to a certain standard before God. If you have been convicted of a sin such as molesting a child or something big like that you would be told that you cannot attend the closed communion meeting.

In the church I attend now, and in most churches today the communion is open to all and no questions are asked. But doesn't the Bible tell us somewhere that to do it this way can make the congregation sick? I have a huge hang up with communion and really search myslef well before partaking...and most times do not partake. Sometimes GOd slaps me upside the head and TELLS me to take of it, but most times I am just confused about wether I will be causing more harm thatn good by taking it (heart not in the right place, rough week, sins in the previous week (not big ones, but sins nonetheless) )

Anyway I know there are some wise people on here from many denominations...what is your take...when should, or shouldn't one partake in communion?

Scripture proves the Lords supper is the outward rite in which believers eat broken bread, not flesh, and drink the fruit of the vine, not blood. to COMMEMORATE the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ until He comes again (READ, Matt. 26:26-30; Mark 14:17-25; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor. 11:20-30), there is not excuse for believing otherwise.

The "symbols," the "bread" and the "wine," will always remain just that, "literal bread and wine" regardless of who or what prayer is said over them. No man can change these elements into Jesus Christs real flesh and blood in any sense. To believe otherwise is pure paganism, idolatry, and superstition.

Transubstantiation was declared and decreed by Pope Innocent 111 in the year 1215 A.D. By this doctrin the priest pretends to perform a daily miracle by changing a wafer into the body of Christ, and then he pretends to eat Him alive in the presence of the people during Mass. The Gospel condems such adsurdities. Holy Communion is simply a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ (Luke 22:19,, 20; John 6:35; 1 Cor:26). The adoration of the wafer (HOST) was invented by Pope Honorius in 1220 A.D. The Catholic Church also made it obligatory to have communion at leats one per week, and even every day if possible. Priests have communion four or five times per day, which means, every time they say mass.

Haz.

I'm sorry you have sided against Scripture, and FOR the impoverishment of your own relationship with Christ.

Read John 6 again, and understand that after REPEATEDLY telling the crowd they "MUST eat my flesh and drink my blood...." many 'stopped following Him.' And WHY did they stop following the Lord? Obviously because they understood Him to be speaking of truly eating His body and blood! Now if this wasn't what Jesus had meant, all He had to do was say, "Hey! Wait a minute guys! I was just speaking spiritually!!" Or: "C'mon, it was an allegory!" Or: "Just kidding, folks!" or even "Psych!!!!"

Instead, He let them leave. Obviously Jesus took the eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood VERY SERIOUSLY, and would NOT compromise the literalness of His words. Only we moderns could diminish in such dismissive fashion, that which Jesus Christ Himself made such a Gospel imperative!

I also find it very interesting that the Scripture which talks about those 'leaving Jesus and following Him no more' is John 666........ This 'denial of the body of Christ' leads to more widespread impoverishment of the spiritual lives of believers, than any other single deception the enemy has ever come up with. "As it was in the beginning...."

[nebula]

Now if this wasn't what Jesus had meant, all He had to do was say, "Hey! Wait a minute guys! I was just speaking spiritually!!"

He did:

"It is the Spirit who gives life ; the flesh profits nothing ; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. (John 6:63)

[Guest shiloh357]

I'm sorry you have sided against Scripture, and FOR the impoverishment of your own relationship with Christ.

Read John 6 again, and understand that after REPEATEDLY telling the crowd they "MUST eat my flesh and drink my blood...." many 'stopped following Him.' And WHY did they stop following the Lord? Obviously because they understood Him to be speaking of truly eating His body and blood! Now if this wasn't what Jesus had meant, all He had to do was say, "Hey! Wait a minute guys! I was just speaking spiritually!!" Or: "C'mon, it was an allegory!" Or: "Just kidding, folks!" or even "Psych!!!!"

Instead, He let them leave.

That is not true. Jesus clarified what He meant in verse 63. Earlier in the same conversation Jesus already referred to His body metaphorically as "bread from heaven."

Even after Jesus removed the difficulty in verse 63, their understanding was still carnal as they continued to take Him literally in a manner He did not intend.

[nebula]

Botz, if Jesus meant as often as you come to passover there is no reason He would not just say so. "As often as you come together" can only mean what it says or else we need doubt all simple instruction.

You are mixing things up in your memory (I do this a lot).

Jesus never said the above quote (I looked it up). The passage you are thinking of is:

In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood ; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. (1 Cor. 11:25-26)

After Christ it was soon no longer possible that christians would come together once a year as the Israelites were commanded. Gentile christians were given only two requirements 1. avoid idols 2. avoid sexual immorality.

Actually, they were also commanded to avoid meat from animals that had been strangled and from blood.

Acts 15

28 "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials : 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication ; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

[mizzdy]

I don't think you were listening bro...I thought I explained clearly that I was not advocating Judaism.

Thoughtfully. Botz

One of the biggest issues some have it seeing the separation between Judaisn and the 'Jewishness' of the bible, too many see Judaism when they read Passover, etc.

Just because there are great men of G-d whose ministry is a powerful testimony to the work of the Holy Ghost and they celebrate Communion and teach Communion the traditional way, does not infer they are right, or that it is unimportant.

Amen.

Everytime we eat we pray and remember Him and what He has done for us, we break bread with one another and give thanks and in some ways I see Yeshua saying the same thing. The word communion itself can mean sharing in common or fellowship which we see Yeshua and His disciples doing also, sharing a fellowship meal as well as it being during the Passover/Unleavened Feast. The word remembrance can also be seen as memorial which is what Passover was all about. To me He also brought new meaning to the Passover how with His blood we are saved, it is by the seal of His blood that we are saved just as the Israelites and others were saved by the blood of the first lamb.

I so agree with Anita, all things we read in the scriptures have an agricultural bent to it, the parables are centered around them, in the beginning God used the cycles as yard sticks for everything, and I don't think the partaking of this is any different. Even though we can sit with one another, have a fellowship meal reflect on Him I can't see where Yeshua set up something different as a weekly service. Not that its something that cannot be done I just have never been able to see in scriptures where something new was being given.

[j102]

Okay...I am NOT a new Christian...I'm a preachers kid brought up in a Brethren church and currently attend another non denominational church. In my life as Christian I have always been confused by communion. In the Brethren churches it is a very closed meeting that takes place before the 'family bible hour' meeting. In the 'closed' meeting they partake of bread and wine every Sunday, and that is when offering is taken as well. You must be baptised to take part in this meeting, and there is more...living your life to a certain standard before God. If you have been convicted of a sin such as molesting a child or something big like that you would be told that you cannot attend the closed communion meeting.

In the church I attend now, and in most churches today the communion is open to all and no questions are asked. But doesn't the Bible tell us somewhere that to do it this way can make the congregation sick? I have a huge hang up with communion and really search myslef well before partaking...and most times do not partake. Sometimes GOd slaps me upside the head and TELLS me to take of it, but most times I am just confused about wether I will be causing more harm thatn good by taking it (heart not in the right place, rough week, sins in the previous week (not big ones, but sins nonetheless) )

Anyway I know there are some wise people on here from many denominations...what is your take...when should, or shouldn't one partake in communion?

sounds like legalism to me, plus scripture says for us to examine ourselves not someone else. Besides it is the blood of jesus that makes us holy before god, not any good or bad deeds that we have done and it is just WRONG

[j102]

Okay...I am NOT a new Christian...I'm a preachers kid brought up in a Brethren church and currently attend another non denominational church. In my life as Christian I have always been confused by communion. In the Brethren churches it is a very closed meeting that takes place before the 'family bible hour' meeting. In the 'closed' meeting they partake of bread and wine every Sunday, and that is when offering is taken as well. You must be baptised to take part in this meeting, and there is more...living your life to a certain standard before God. If you have been convicted of a sin such as molesting a child or something big like that you would be told that you cannot attend the closed communion meeting.

In the church I attend now, and in most churches today the communion is open to all and no questions are asked. But doesn't the Bible tell us somewhere that to do it this way can make the congregation sick? I have a huge hang up with communion and really search myslef well before partaking...and most times do not partake. Sometimes GOd slaps me upside the head and TELLS me to take of it, but most times I am just confused about wether I will be causing more harm thatn good by taking it (heart not in the right place, rough week, sins in the previous week (not big ones, but sins nonetheless) )

Anyway I know there are some wise people on here from many denominations...what is your take...when should, or shouldn't one partake in communion?

sounds like legalism to me, plus scripture says for us to examine ourselves not someone else. Besides it is the blood of jesus that makes us holy before god, not any good or bad deeds that we have done and it is just WRONG for a pastor or any church to forbid someone to partake of the body and blood of our lord jesus christ.

[JCISGD]

thanks for the words of correction Botz and Neb, i think ill bow out of this topic untill im better reseaerched.

[anitarose]

I don't think you were listening bro...I thought I explained clearly that I was not advocating Judaism.

Thoughtfully. Botz

One of the biggest issues some have it seeing the separation between Judaisn and the 'Jewishness' of the bible, too many see Judaism when they read Passover, etc.

Just because there are great men of G-d whose ministry is a powerful testimony to the work of the Holy Ghost and they celebrate Communion and teach Communion the traditional way, does not infer they are right, or that it is unimportant.

Amen.

Everytime we eat we pray and remember Him and what He has done for us, we break bread with one another and give thanks and in some ways I see Yeshua saying the same thing. The word communion itself can mean sharing in common or fellowship which we see Yeshua and His disciples doing also, sharing a fellowship meal as well as it being during the Passover/Unleavened Feast. The word remembrance can also be seen as memorial which is what Passover was all about. To me He also brought new meaning to the Passover how with His blood we are saved, it is by the seal of His blood that we are saved just as the Israelites and others were saved by the blood of the first lamb.

I so agree with Anita, all things we read in the scriptures have an agricultural bent to it, the parables are centered around them, in the beginning God used the cycles as yard sticks for everything, and I don't think the partaking of this is any different. Even though we can sit with one another, have a fellowship meal reflect on Him I can't see where Yeshua set up something different as a weekly service. Not that its something that cannot be done I just have never been able to see in scriptures where something new was being given.

Exactly. In Ecclesiastes it says "there is nothing new under the sun". There is also a Scripture that my pastor says often, which is "what once was, will be again". We are going to know the end from the beginning. This is why (I've been taught) that to know the end (Revelation) we have to study the beginning (Genesis). To me, to study the Torah is to understand the first five books of the Renewed Covenant. It's not a NEW covenant, it's been RENEWED by the blood of Y'shua. Everything we have gone through in history, we have to remember; remember the phrase, and I'm going to paraphrase it, "If we don't remember the past, we'll be doomed to repeat it." This is a very good reason that Jews for thousands of years have made it a point of studying and teaching the Torah to their children. Jewish history has been taught to thousands of people, and why? So it's not forgotten.

Look at what is happening now with all the Holocaust "deniers". One could take them to the grounds at Auschwitz and they would still deny it. "It's a Jewish fable", they would say. To understand the end we have to know the beginning. To recognize a lie we have to be taught the truth.

Oh, dear, I think I've accidently hijacked the thread. My point is, there IS nothing new under the sun. We are not progressing, we are REgressing back to S'dom and 'Amora. It HAS to get that bad before Y'shua returns.

a.

[Botz]

thanks for the words of correction Botz and Neb, i think ill bow out of this topic untill im better reseaerched.

Just get soused in the Scriptures and let the Holy Ghost show you and teach you.