Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:18 am Post subject: Communion, true body and blood, or just representation?
Hello everyone,
As some of your may know, some denominations believe that the communion is the actual body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, not just a symbol of what He did for us on the cross. I personally believe that communion is a representation of what He did for us on the cross, but does the Bible actually say it's a remembrance or could communion really be Jesus's body and blood. I will answer that question for you today.
Okay, let's dig right into God's Word. Let's look at Matthew 26: 26 - 29. Let's look at the highlights. "26... Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body. 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29..." Too many, they might stop here and argue that Jesus never said the word "represent". However, there's much more to look at, so let's get going. Before we continue, take a good look at verse 28, and just read it a few times, it will help in this study later on.
Next, we pass through Mark 14:22 - 25, pretty much the same thing. Let's move to Luke 22: 14 - 20. Once again, I will bring out the highlights. "17. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves; 19. And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20. And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. I bolded the parts I want to enforce.
Look over that a few times, and let's move on to I Corinthians 11: 23 - 32. Please read the entire passage, as I will again pull out the key parts. "23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 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.' 25 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.' 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Oh no, it appears we have a conflict! The first 2 areas we stopped at didn't say representation, but the last two do.
Now, we know God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33), so that must mean that man and Satan are. So, if you are debating with someone on whether communion is just a representation or if its truly Christ body and blood (henceforth the wine or grape juice is the actual blood), then we are at a standstill, right? This is where one must spend hours of research, and in prayer to find the answers.
Please flip over to Acts 15: 13:29. The speaker is James here, and he is announcing to the public (Gentiles) the decision of the church council (v 6). Once again, I will pull out the highlights, but please read the entire passage to get it in context. "19 Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood." From blood? So should we abstain from communion. No, let's examine what that blood is referring to. Go to Genesis 9:4, read verse three and 4 to pull it all in. "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." Was Jesus alive? Yes.
If anyone is confused, please stop and let this sink in. Still not convinced? Fine. Let's keep going. As John Paul Jones said to the British, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Now, go back to Acts 15. If you have read through the passage, then I will pull out the highlights again. Starting in verse 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." Notice the passage states, that it seemed good to come from the Holy Spirit, and this is repeated twice, so if it's in the Bible twice (near each other too) we need to take heed, brethren.
I'm still not done, there's more to read, but please read Part II of this discussion.
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Now, go back to Acts 15. If you have read through the passage, then I will pull out the highlights again. Starting in verse 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." Notice the passage states, that it seemed good to come from the Holy Spirit, and this is repeated twice, so if it's in the Bible twice (near each other too) we need to take heed, brethren.
