Weekly Worship Means Weekly Communion

Jesus told His disciples, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. ( Luke 22:19 )" Therefore, the Lord's Supper is a command and as with all of God's commandments the Church must not make light of God's word. God does not command things that are superfluous or vain, therefore the diligent use of the Lord Supper is necessary. According to Psalm 119:35 we are to delight in walking in the path of God's commandments. Surely the Lord's Supper is a delight for in it we remember Jesus our Savior, we proclaim His death until He comes, and since Christ is present our joy is made full; "In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)" Finally, the Lord's Supper has eschatological dimensions. In Revelation 19:9 a voice from the throne of God tells John to write, "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" David Chilton in commenting on this verse states, "God's people have been saved from the dooms of the world to become the Bride of His only begotten Son; and the constant token of this fact is the Church's weekly celebration of her sacred feast, the Holy Eucharist.  The absolute fidelity of this promise is underscored by the angel's assurance to St. John that 'these are the true words of God.'" How did the apostles carry out Jesus' command to "do this"? The book of Acts is the account of what Jesus' disciples did after His resurrection. Luke, speaking by the Holy Spirit, stated "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers....So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house...(Acts 2:42, 46)" Later on in Acts it is stated, "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread... (Acts 20:7)" The first day of the week is the Lord's Day, a day of worship. This means weekly communion.

The Apostle Paul, addressing the divisiveness of the Corinthian Church stated, "...when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you,...Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. ( 1 Corinthians 11:18,20 )" Paul is stating that the first day of the week is the Lord's Day and the church is supposed to come together in one place to take the Lord's Supper, a meal that stresses the unity of the body, but the Corinthians were abusing the day of worship. Therefore, Paul indicates in these verses that the Lord's Supper should be celebrated at least once a week, that communion is the purpose of "coming together in one place."

Finally, the Apostle John, being in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, records the message from Jesus Christ to the Laodicean church, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)" The question is, "If Jesus is telling the Church, 'I want to meet with you and dine with you,' why would we not want to dine with Him, who is our life, at least once a week?" What is the answer? The answer is to start taking the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ at the Lord's Supper seriously and center our worship on Jesus Christ through the Word AND Sacrament every Lord's Day.

John Calvin in keeping with the Biblical pattern and the tradition of the early church stated, "...the Supper could have been administered most becomingly if it were set before the church very often, and at least once a week. (Institutes 4:17:43; Note: Quotations from the Institutes are taken from Ford Battles 1960 translation, published by The Westminster Press)" He also connected the Lord's Supper with the worship of the church by stating, "...that no meeting of the Church should take place without the Word, prayers, partaking of the Supper, and almsgiving. That this was the established order among the Corinthians also, we can safely infer from Paul [cf. 1 Cor. 11:20] (Institutes 4:17:44)." In fact, John Calvin in standing against the Roman Church's practice of his day, called once a year communion, "a veritable invention of the devil" and the church should have done things differently, "...the Lord's Table should have been spread at least once a week for the assembly of Christians. (Institutes 4:17:46)" Therefore, weekly communion was the standard practice of the apostles and the early church, and the position of John Calvin to Jesus' command to "do this."

Mention has been made that communion should be held as part of the worship of the church and since the church normally meets at least once a week then communion should be administered once a week. However, this is not the whole of the issue. God does not play games with His people, when He tells them that they are to do x or y, there are reasons. So what are some of the reasons for making the Lord's Supper an essential aspect of worship? The following paragraphs will explain some of, but not exhaust, the reasons.

First of all, worship centers on Jesus Christ, the Word, who purchased the church with His own blood. How does this take place? Can the Word be preached and the Sacrament tacked on whenever "we" think "we" need it? Can the Word of Christ be separated from the blood of Christ? Is not our faith directed to the whole of Christ by the sacraments? (see Institutes 3:11:10) "Union with Christ, for Calvin, means a participation in the whole Christ. It means union with His human nature as well as His divine nature. 'He is both God and man in us,' says Calvin, 'for in the first place, He makes alive by the power of His Holy Spirit: then He is offered for our salvation, and declares to us that it is not without cause that He has appointed His flesh to be our food indeed, and His blood our drink indeed.' The communion which we have with Christ in the Lord's Supper is thus communion with the whole Christ in both His natures - divine and human. ( see Ronald Wallace's book Calvin's Doctrine of The Word and Sacrament, p. 200 )" Therefore, to worship the whole of Christ such that He becomes wholly ours, and we are pledged as wholly His means participation in the Lord's Supper when we come together as the church.

Jesus' Real Presence communicates Real grace and in Christ only can we find grace through the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Lord's Supper is not an empty sign, "I here embrace without controversy the truth of God in which I may safely rest. He declares His flesh the food of my soul, His blood its drink (John 6:53 ff.). I offer my soul to Him to be fed with such food. In His Sacred Supper He bids me take, eat and drink His body and blood under the symbols of bread and wine. I do not doubt that He Himself truly presents them, and that I receive them. (Institutes 4:17:32)"

Worship is an act of covenant renewal, therefore since the covenant is central to God's dealings with man, worship forms the basis of our world-view. This means that our understanding of the world must begin with God's perspective and this is what occurs each Sunday when the church assembles together to worship the triune God. God calls His people to worship Him, to come "...to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)" This means by the Spirit of God through the blood of the new covenant the church ascends into heaven to worship God with the host of heaven. Here the church hears the Word of God and partakes of the body and blood of Jesus. John Calvin explained it this way, "In order that pious souls may duly apprehend Christ in the Supper, they must be raised up to heaven....And for the same reason it was established of old that before consecration the people should be told in a loud voice to lift up their hearts. (Institutes 4:17:36)"

The ascension to the Holiest place (Hebrews 10:19-25), before Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant is where the Spirit's action of covenant renewal begins. Many topics could be addressed here with respect to worship and Lord's Supper, however, only three will be examined. The Apostle Paul states, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26)" To whom is the church proclaiming the Lord's death? The world is not present in the sanctuary where the Supper is held and as stated above God has brought the church before Him to worship Him, therefore, the primary proclamation is to God Himself.

The Lord's Supper acts as a covenant memorial for us to use to remind God to keep the covenant. James Jordan explains, "It is not as if God forgets and must be reminded, but that for man's own good God requires us to remind Him....Thus, the rainbow was established not first and foremost to remind us of the covenant, but to remind God. (Genesis 9:12-16)" Similarly, the incense under the Old Covenant was a memorial to remind God of the covenant (Leviticus 2:1-3). In Exodus 28:29 we are told that the names of the tribes of Israel were to be engraved on the "breastplate of judgment" as part of Aaron's vestments to remind (the function of a memorial) God of the covenant whenever Aaron entered the sanctuary. "Similarly, the eucharistic memorial is done before the throne and eyes of God, for Him to see, to remind Him of the death of Christ, and to argue blessings from Him. God has established the eucharistic memorial as the preeminent means of arguing covenant blessings from Him. The importance of weekly communion should be obvious from this. (J. Jordan, The Sociology of the Church, p. 36-37)"

Second, the proclamation is for our remembrance. The church is to remember that it is because of the blood of Christ that peace exists between those redeemed and triune God. The word peace is a term that expresses the state of blessing in a covenant relationship. Wrath expresses the state of cursing. Therefore, the church should remember that by nature we are sinners and deserving of God's wrath and condemnation (Romans 1:18; 3:23; 6:23), however, due to God's rich mercy we have gone from a state of wrath to a state of peace with God. How? Our sin had to be dealt with and thus Jesus shed His blood on behalf of His people to satisfy God's justice. God's justice sentenced us all to death (wrath), but Christ's shed blood brings life (peace). The shedding of blood as a covenantal act is prominent in both the Old Covenant, the Passover being a good example, and in the New Covenant as Christ the High Priest, "with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12)" Indeed, Christ Himself stated that the cup is to us "the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28)" "So the new covenant is confirmed by the blood of Jesus at Golgotha. The Lord's Supper is therefore also the sign of the new covenant. Jesus Christ is the paschal lamb, who sheds His blood for many and who by His blood of the covenant, seals them against destruction (1 Corinthians 5:7) and redeems them completely (Ephesians 1:14). (C. van der Waal, The Covenantal Gospel, p.81)"

As in the Passover and many other covenant making events in the Old Covenant a meal is used as a demonstration that a "covenant of peace" exists. In the Passover, God did not bring the curse of death (wrath) to those covered by the blood, but passed over (peace). Today, the Lord's Supper acts as a covenantal meal between God who is the Judge of all and those who are forgiven. Having a meal with an enemy is difficult for there exists fear and distrust, but "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;...There is no fear in love. (1 John 4:17-18)" Therefore, since the church comes before God every Lord's Day, before "Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling," the church should be reminded of the forgiveness of sins and the peace that exists between them and their God by participating in Jesus' covenantal meal, His Supper.

Finally, worship is for those who "follow Christ," i.e. those who by one Spirit "were baptized into one body...and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)" John Calvin commenting on this verse explains, "In that ordinance we drink of the life-giving blood of Christ, that we may have life in common with him--which we truly have, when he lives in us by his Spirit....that believers...desire of cultivating mutual unity, and...when they receive the sacred Supper, they are again conducted by degrees to the same unity, as they are all refreshed at the same time with the same drink." So the Lord's Supper unites us to Christ and to each other through the Holy Spirit. The unity of God's people is cultivated, i.e. covenantal peace reigns among the members of the body of Christ. But what happens when someone falls into sin and refuses to repent and follow Christ? After all other means as given in Matthew 18 are tried, the sinner is to excommunicated, i.e. he is to be denied access to the sacraments. The covenantal relationship he has with the church, and ultimately her Head, is broken and state of wrath exists. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. (1 Corinthians 5:4)"

To some the authority to excommunicate might not seem like much authority at all. Does the Lord's Supper really make that much difference? As we saw earlier the apostles and the early church took communion seriously, that Jesus Christ was central to the Christian faith and participation in the body and blood of Jesus is central to worship. But does the church today worship this way? Is communion central just like the preaching of the Word? Does the church believe that the Lord's Supper is more than an empty sign? If participating in the Lord's Supper was seen as the apostles saw it, then excommunication would mean a lot more than it does now. David Chilton in his book Power in the Blood, A Christian Response to AIDS, states, "When the churches begin to take the Eucharist seriously, as the basis for continuing covenant life (and not just an occasional or infrequent observance), its importance for discipline will become evident. Obviously, it seems like no big deal for an offender to be excluded from participation in a relatively rare event--one that is not even seen by the leadership as central to the church's life. But if the Eucharist is what the Church gathers to do on Sundays, that changes the whole picture. If it is as Ignatius said the 'medicine of immortality,' or, as Theodoret said, the 'meal of eternal health,' or, as Calumanus said, the 'salve for every wound,' then things are quite different. Suddenly excommunication means something very significant indeed, in terms of the offender's practical relationship to Christ and His people. It becomes clear to him that he is being excluded from Life. (p. 149)"

Weekly worship means weekly communion. Let us return to the practice of the apostles and the early church. Let us renew our covenant with God each week and eat the meal of peace. Jesus told His disciples, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life....For My flesh is food indeed, and blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ( John 6:53-56 )"

Therefore, every week before the throne of grace with hearts set on things to come and on things above, "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready....Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:7,9)"

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