By Roger E, Dickson

On the first day of the week, Sunday, Christians bring their worshipful spirits together in order to praise God as an assembled group. They come together to remember Jesus and the grace of God that was poured out for them when Jesus died on the cross (Titus 2:11).

An important part of this Sunday assembly is the communion of Christians with one another and with Jesus around the Lord's table. Early Christians came together on the first day of each week in order to partake of the Supper (Acts 20:7), and Christians today also participate in this memorial feast which was instituted by Jesus. Matthew 26:26,28 states: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'" Concerning the bread of the Supper, Jesus revealed that Chris-tians must remember Him when they eat of the bread. "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor. 11:24).

Concerning the fruit of the vine, Jesus said that it represented the blood of the new covenant that Christians have made with Him. He said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor. 11:25). The bread that Jesus used when the Supper was instituted was unleavened, that is, without yeast. It was unleavened because Jesus and His disciples were at the time eating the unleavened bread of the Passover Feast of the Jews (Exo. 34:25; Lev. 7:17). The fruit of the vine was juice from vines, specifically the juice from grape vines (Mark 14:24,25). The New Testament does not say that either the bread or fruit of the vine turn into the literal body and blood of Jesus. Neither does it say that Jesus' body and blood are present in the elements.

The bread and fruit of the vine represent Jesus' body and blood. Jesus used these two physical things — bread and fruit of the vine — to represent two spiritual truths of Christianity. These truths are that He gave His fleshly body and poured out His blood for our salvation. When we partake of the Supper, therefore, we remember Jesus. We proclaim that He died for us. In doing this, we examine ourselves. The Bible says, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). Christians must search their hearts at the time they eat and drink of the Supper. "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup" (1 Cor. 11:28).

Remember the Unity of the Church Another important remembrance involved in partaking of the Supper is to consider the oneness of the body of Christ. The Bible says, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Cor. 10:17). When we partake of the bread, therefore, we must remember the unity of the church. We are one church, one spiritual family, because we have obeyed the one Gospel by immersion into the body of Christ. The Bible says, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…" (1 Cor. 12:12,13).