Communion

"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor. 10:16-17).

The Lord's Supper is properly called "communion." Paul called it a "participation" ("communion," KJV) in the blood of Christ and in the body of Christ. "Participation" translates koinonia in the Greek which involves "fellowship," "sharing," or, as the ESV translates it, "participation." Therefore, the elements of the Lord's Supper--the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine--symbolize a close bond with the body and blood of the Lord.

A person who lacks this relationship with Christ partakes of this memorial feast in an unworthy manner.

If a Christian is not walking with God because of sin, he cannot honestly symbolize his participation in the blood of Christ by drinking the fruit of the vine in the Lord's Supper. John said, "...God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 Jn. 1:5-7). Fellowship with the blood of the Lamb, or continual cleansing, is conditioned upon our "walking in the light." Those who walk in darkness, but observe the Lord's Supper, are mere pretenders.

If a Christian has a divisive spirit, he cannot in good conscience represent his participation in the body of Christ by eating the bread of the Lord's Supper. We are to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3); there is to be "no division in the body" (1 Cor. 12:25). Sowers of discord make a mockery of what is supposed to be a solemn banquet when they eat the Lord's Supper.

These things and others were on Paul's mind when he wrote: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27).

Brethren, mind your table manners.