Bible Questions Answered:
“In our class much division over the
subject just how long we may go between receiving communion.
Some say it must be once a week, some
say at least once a year...so what should we think here?...”
Trey/ Walsall, England United Kingdom
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Stop
here and view the first blog posting on this subject: View A List Of
Subjects: Communion/Who/How
Often
(Herein lies an
incomplete dissertation on the subject of Communion, for
a complete study see the new ebook titled “Salvation-We
Are Not Afraid” on http://www.amazon.com/ )
To begin our answer, let us begin at
the beginning.
Communion the second ordinance of the
church, was placed in the church by The Lord Jesus, as a memorial,
which He so designated it!
It is to remind one, of the death,
burial and resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ.
I Corinthians 15:3,4 KJV
3 For I delivered unto you first of
all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures;
4 And that He was buried, and that
He rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Communion, does
“not,” save anyone, The Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone is The
Savior!
Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is The Gift Of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should
boast.
John 3:16 KJV
For God so loved the world, that He
gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
Now herein lies the
separation of boys and men. Though, we are not redeemed by any
earthly thing or work....
I Peter 1:18,19
KJV
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were
not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with The Precious Blood Of
Christ, as of A Lamb without blemish and without spot:
Yet, we are “not,”
saved, “from,” doing them, for the doing good works, is commanded
by our Lord, and so we must!
Matthew 5:16 KJV
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven.
What is the point?
The conclusion is that though not harbingers of salvation themselves,
yet they surely speak of the fruits of salvation. Spiritual good
works, Ordinances of the church of The Lord Jesus Christ, Baptism,
Communion, etc.
John 6:53-56 KJV
53 Then Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of The Son Of
Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth My flesh, and
drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the
last day.
55 For My flesh is meat indeed, and
My blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth My flesh, and
drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him.
Believing in,
and being obedient to The Lord, brings us spiritual life.
John 6:35,47-51
KJV
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am
The Bread Of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he
that believeth on Me shall never thirst.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that Bread Of Life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the
wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is The Bread which cometh
down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am The Living Bread which came
down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for
ever: and The Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world.
Let us go back to
the original question, how long may one go without having communion?
The answer lies in
the fact that it is a declaration of Christ's death,
burial, and resurrection.
Matthew 26:26-29
KJV
26 And as they were
eating, Jesus took Bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it
to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body.
27 And He took the
Cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of
it;
28 For this is My
Blood Of The New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.
29 But I say unto
you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until
that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.
Mark 14:22-26
KJV
22 And as they did eat, Jesus took
Bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take,
eat: this is My body.
23 And He took the Cup, and when He
had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 And He said unto them, This is My
Blood Of The New Testament, which is shed for many.
25 Verily I say unto you, I will
drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink
it new in the kingdom of God.
Luke 22:19,20
KJV
19 And He took
bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying,
This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of
Me.
20 Likewise also
the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My
blood, which is shed for you.
I Corinthians
11:23-26 KJV
23 For I have received of The Lord
that which also I delivered unto you, that The Lord Jesus the same
night in which He was betrayed took Bread:
24 And when He had given thanks, He
brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for
you: this do in remembrance of Me.
25 After the same manner also He
took the Cup, when He had supped, saying, this Cup is the new
testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in
remembrance of Me.
26 For as often as ye eat this
Bread, and drink this Cup, ye do shew The Lord's death till He
come.
Let us look at
Paul's words again!
“, ye do shew The Lord's
death till He come.”
That is what communion is, it is Confession!
What does the word
say regarding confession?
Romans 10:10 KJV
For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Confession, not a
work that saves, never, but the fruit of a life that is saved by The
Blood Of Jesus Christ!
Good spiritual
works commanded, not that they save, but are signs of God's child,
“being in the vine!”
Ordinance of the
church, confession, good spiritual works, yes commanded of EVERY
child of God!
No, exceptions.
The Word:
I Peter 3:15 KJV
But sanctify The Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every
man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear:
Did you see the
answer?
Communion is but
one more means of confession, and how often should a child of The
Living God, be ready to confess his faith?
As many times,
and ways as possible!
Want to
demonstrate that God's life flows through you? Then confess, confess,
confess your faith!
Homily:
A young suitor
would never count the many times or ways he told his loved one, just
how much he loved her, never, but he would constantly be thinking of
countless new ways of expressing that love, that love that is so
great he cannot put them into words.
Selah
