For the last two newsletters we have looked into the four major pillars of the early church’s worship together as a body. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 NIV). Last time we specifically looked at fellowship, next we will see...
Breaking of Bread (Communion):
There is something really special that happens when we join in this worship. In the moment we take the bread and drink of the cup, we transcend time and space. We are joining something that Jesus instituted at the last supper and will continue until he returns and we all eat together as one at His table.
The apostle Paul emphasized the time element when he quoted Jesus, saying, “…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 11:25b NIV). Notice the word ‘whenever.’ We join in a common union (communion) when we take this special supper with every brother and sister who has come before, in Christ, or is yet to come!
We transcend space because there are brothers and sisters across the globe (space) who join in this sacred cup with us. Joining together as one body—the church—and with our Lord Jesus until his return.
So next time the trays are passed and you eat the bread and drink the juice, remember what you get to be a part of!