For centuries, Christians have gathered around tables, sharing bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus Christ. But is the Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion, simply a memorial, a time to reflect on a past event? Or is there something more, a deeper significance that connects us to God’s grace and power? At Remnant Radio, we believe the Lord’s Supper is far more than a mere act of remembrance; it’s a powerful means of grace, a pledge of allegiance, and a foretaste of the glorious future that awaits us.

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I. Communion: A Means of Sanctifying Grace
The term “means of grace” describes how God imparts blessing to undeserving sinners. It is a sacramental event in which God is acting in the life of believers, not simply an act of human remembrance. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, Paul compares Israel’s passage through the Red Sea and their provision of food and drink in the wilderness to Christian baptism and the Lord’s Supper, showing how Israel’s experience foreshadows our miraculous provision in the Supper. Just as manna and water were acts of God meeting the needs of His people, the bread and wine are primarily acts of God, whereby He meets our spiritual needs. Our obedient “remembrance,” as we partake, falls under the umbrella of God’s grace. To remember Jesus in Communion is to proclaim Him; it is a visible word, a visible sermon. Church fathers like Cyprian and John Calvin viewed communion as imparting strength and spiritual nourishment. If every faith-filled participation in the Lord’s Supper promises sanctifying grace, why should we not want it as often as possible?

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II. Communion: Pledging Allegiance in the Face of Idolatry
Paul warns that Communion will not magically save us from idolatry (1 Cor. 10:5ff). While it is a means of grace, it is not magical. Rather, the means of grace become effective by the Spirit when we come to the table in sincere faith. When we partake in communion, we are pledging our allegiance to God over idols, to God over demons, to God over all. If our allegiance is divided—even if we are Christians—we should not partake of the Supper. In pledging our allegiance to God over the devil, we effectively declare His victory. The Lord prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23). Communion is a victory meal; it “talks smack” to the devil. As Luther said, knowing how many spiritual attacks are aimed at us, we should be glad to come to the sacrament as often as we can.

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III. Communion: Experiencing Christ’s Presence
How is Christ present in Communion? While views vary from transubstantiation to memorialism, we hold to a spiritual real presence. “This is my body” does not mean Christ’s physical body is present any more than “I am the gate” means Christ is a literal door. Jesus makes clear in John 6:63 that “it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” The material elements of communion do not become physical flesh; their power to transform comes by the Spirit. We participate in the body and blood of Christ, not by fellowshipping with literal body and blood, but by enjoying the benefits of the Cross as we eat before the Lord, who hosts us—communes with us—at His table.

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IV. Communion: Uniting the Body of Christ
Communion is not a time of morbid introspection but a meal of joy, a time for looking outward at Christ, not inward at ourselves. Paul warns the Corinthians against “unworthy” participation (1 Cor. 11:27-34) because they had turned communion into a source of “divisions” and “factions” between the haves and have-nots. The meal was intended not to divide, but to unite. Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread (1 Cor. 10:17). When we violate God’s purpose for the Supper—to unite—we eat and drink in an unworthy manner.

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V. Communion: Amplifying the Spoken Word
After Jesus rose, He spoke with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, whose eyes were kept from recognizing him (Luke 24:16). It wasn’t until they dined with Jesus that He who had “opened the Scriptures” now “opened their eyes” to perceive Him (Luke 24:30-32). The formula, “took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it,” matches precisely what we find in the first communion (Luke 22:19). Discerning readers learn that Communion complements the spoken message of the Gospel because the meal opens our eyes to the presence of our Risen Savior, just as it did for the disciples at Emmaus. Word and Table belong together.

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VI. Communion: Renewing Our Covenant
In Exodus 24:7-11, the covenant ceremony involved blood, a pledge, a theophany, and eating and drinking. This Old Covenant background foreshadows our New Covenant feast, where Jesus says, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood” (1 Cor. 11:25). Communion is a covenant renewal ceremony, akin to renewing wedding vows, where we pledge, by God’s empowering grace, to do all that the Lord has spoken.

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VII. Communion: Our New Passover
Jesus did not invent Communion out of the blue; He modified the Passover. Jesus instituted the first Communion over a Passover meal, died during Passover, and now Scripture calls Him our Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). Paul then celebrates not the Old Passover, but the New; not in Jerusalem, but in Troas; not with Jews, but with Gentiles; not on the 14th of Nisan, but on the first day of the week, the day Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus reinvents Passover because He is not a Dead Passover Lamb; He is a Resurrected Savior.

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VIII. Communion: Positioning for Pentecostal Power
Luke draws a direct line from the “upper room” of the Lord’s Passover (communion) to the “upper room” of Pentecost. There is no Pentecost without Passover. Jesus is the Passover Lamb, who through His death, resurrection, and ascension, gives His church power. The line between (the new) Passover and Pentecost—between communion and power—seems to be validated in church history.

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IX. Communion: Anticipating the Wedding Supper of the Lamb
When Jesus instituted Communion, He said He would not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when He drinks it new with us in His Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29). Jesus was referring to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9), a feast hosted by Jesus upon His return, where we receive the reward for our labors, and Almighty King Jesus humbles Himself to serve us! Communion is a foretaste of this great feast.

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X. Communion: Participating in New Creation
Jesus is called “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5). The elements of bread and wine come from the old creation. But because of Christ’s presence, the elements become a foretaste of new creation (Rev. 21:5). The Lord’s Supper is the experience of new creation. The bread and wine of the old creation become means by which we experience the new. Why would we resist a weekly appetizer, served by our Lord Himself?

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You can find the full show notes with Scripture references over on Patreon.

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