It is obvious from the Holy Scripture that the Lord’s Supper or the breaking of bread was instituted by the head of the church—the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 11:23ff; Lu. 22:19ff). In obedience to God’s word, the breaking of bread is practiced by every local church. But the question with which many churches struggle is—how often should we participate in the breaking of bread?
Honestly, there is no obvious command from the Scripture in regard to how often we need to take the Lord’s Supper. But this doesn’t mean we can break the bread whenever we feel like doing it. By observing the practice of the early church, we can gain an understanding of how often we can participate in the breaking of bread.
Acts 2:42
It is written that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42, ESV). It seems their gatherings were fundamentally governed by these factors: teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.
Observe here—one of the activities to which the early church devoted was to the breaking of bread. The word “devoted” is a strong word. It speaks about constantly and diligently doing something. In fact, the New American Standard Bible translates that "they were continually devoting themselves to...." There is no idea of being “occasional” or “casual” in devoted acts. An act to which we are devoted actually governs what we do.
When the early church was devoted to the breaking of bread, it appears that one primary purpose for which they had gathered was for the purpose of breaking bread in remembrance of the Lord’s death on the cross. It was one of the central activities in their gatherings, just like teaching and praying. Commenting on Acts 2:42, New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce points out, "the regular observance of the Lord's Supper is no doubt indicated." (The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Book of Acts, pg. 79)
I believe, the reason for the early church to continually devote themselves to the breaking of bread is this—it made them to constantly remember and celebrate the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross as His redemptive community.
Furthermore, Acts 2:46 records that the much early believers gathered at homes on a daily basis and broke bread together. How interesting to notice that even when the believers had to gather daily, they would break bread together! They could not imagine coming together as a church without the breaking of bread. To them it seems to be a prime purpose of their gathering.
Like the early church, should we not be devoted to the breaking of bread? Can we imagine coming to together as a church and yet not listen to the teaching of God's word? And how can we neglect to break bread when we come together as a church? Must we not, as a local church, constantly celebrate the Lord’s Supper whenever we come together as a church, at least once a week?
Acts 20:7
This is what is recorded in Acts 20:7, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight” (ESV).
Let us ask two questions. When did the church in Troas gather? On the first day of the week. For what purpose did the church gather? To break bread. Notice here, although Paul intended to talk with them for a long time, it is not written that the church gathered to listen to Paul's message; it is clearly mentioned that the church gathered to break bread. It seems the breaking of break was a central purpose of their coming together as a church.
From this Scripture, it is commonly agreed that the early disciples generally gathered as a church on the first day of the week. But why did they gather as a church? They essentially gathered for the purpose of breaking bread. The breaking of bread, the celebration of the Lord’s victory on the cross as a community, seems to have been a regular activity every time the church had come together.
C. H. Mackintosh, a nineteeth century bible teacher, wrote:
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” (1 Cor. 11:17-20, ESV).
In the above four verses, observe that Paul uses the phrase “when you come together” three times. Now what did Paul say to the Corinthian church that they were not having when they had come together? They were not having the Lord’s Supper. Since the rich Christians were going ahead and taking the Lord’s Supper without waiting for the poor Christians (1 Cor. 11:21-22), Paul said that they were not having the Lord’s Supper as the Lord intended when they had come together as a church.
The participation in the Lord’s Supper is a community celebration in which there are no class divisions—such as rich and poor, slave and free, Jew and Greek. All are one in Christ and all celebrate the Lord’s Supper as one body of Christ.
Although the Corinthian church participated in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner by entertaining class divisions among them, it is important to notice that they had come together as a church to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper seemed to have been a dominant feature of their church fellowship.
Final Words
Although there is no clear command from the Scripture regarding how often we need to break bread, the above Scriptures reveal the practice of how often the early church had the Lord’s Supper. The breaking of bread was an essential purpose for their gathering as a church.
I strongly believe, one primary purpose for the regular gathering of church should be for the participation in the breaking of bread. The Lords’ Supper must be a governing feature of our church fellowship. In doing this, we give the cross of Christ the central place in our church gathering.
In our fellowship, there is no church gathering without the breaking of bread. We break bread every week, sometimes even more than once in a week. I encourage our believers not to miss church fellowship in order not to miss the celebration of the Lord’s Supper as a community.
One reason why we need to go and be a part of regular church fellowship is so that we can participate in the breaking of bread, remembering the Lord’s body and blood offered for us on the cross, along with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
I believe, the Lord wants His church, as His redeemed community, to constantly remember and celebrate His sacrifice and our salvation on the cross through the symbolic act of breaking of bread and drinking of cup. Remember, this is done with a sense of being a community of God, which He purchased by His blood.
Q&A:
If we have the Lord’s Supper every week, don’t you suppose it may become a casual act? Don’t you think people lose reverence towards it? Will it not be better to break the bread once in a month and inform people beforehand to prepare themselves well for their participation in it?
Although the intention to not make the Lord’s Supper a casual act is appreciated, to think the solution to this problem is to celebrate it occasionally is unwise, even unbiblical.
What if I say, let us not pray, worship and study the Word of God daily, for doing these things on a daily basis may cause us to approach these sacred acts with a casual attitude. What about doing it occasionally, perhaps once in a month? I suppose you would strongly disagree with me. You may argue here that we need to change our attitude without having to change the frequency of such important activities.
If praying, worshiping and studying the Word of God daily doesn’t necessarily become a casual act—why should we think the Lord’s Supper becomes a casual act if we do it at least once in a week? And if praying, worshipping and studying God’s word daily becomes a casual act, we need to change our attitude and not its frequency—if the Lord’s Supper becomes a casual act because of weekly celebration, should we not change our attitude than its frequency?
Moreover, remembering what Christ had done on the cross and praising Him for His sacrifice should be a daily meditation of a Christian. In fact, considering how the Lord’s atonement for our sins on the cross delivered us from sin and from hell—we should be thanking and praising Him every moment of our daily life. We can never thank Him enough for the indescribable gift of salvation we have received from Him because of His blood and body which was offered as a sacrifice on the cross.
Let us understand that when we break the bread as a church, we only remember the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross as His community. We not only personally remember and thank Him daily for what He did on the cross, we also celebrate it as His spiritual family.
The only difference between personal reflection and reflecting the Lord’s death as a church is—when we do it as a church, we remember the Lord's victory on the cross as a community with symbolic elements of bread and wine, which represents His body and blood. And community celebration of the Lord's Supper is quite significant because the Lord's ultimate purpose of salvation is to build a community for Himself.
So, here is my point—when reflecting on the cross personally and thanking the Lord daily for His sacrificial death should not make us casual in our remembrance— why should we think the celebration of the Lord’s Supper at least on a weekly basis makes us casual? If we are tempted to become casual, may we change our attitude than its constant practice.
Let us not neglect to devote ourselves to the breaking of bread whenever we come together as a church. Let us give the cross of Christ its due place through the celebration of the Lord's Supper. May the Lord take delight and be glorified as we constantly celebrate the Lord’s Supper as His community until His coming. Maranatha!
Honestly, there is no obvious command from the Scripture in regard to how often we need to take the Lord’s Supper. But this doesn’t mean we can break the bread whenever we feel like doing it. By observing the practice of the early church, we can gain an understanding of how often we can participate in the breaking of bread.
Acts 2:42
It is written that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42, ESV). It seems their gatherings were fundamentally governed by these factors: teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.
Observe here—one of the activities to which the early church devoted was to the breaking of bread. The word “devoted” is a strong word. It speaks about constantly and diligently doing something. In fact, the New American Standard Bible translates that "they were continually devoting themselves to...." There is no idea of being “occasional” or “casual” in devoted acts. An act to which we are devoted actually governs what we do.
When the early church was devoted to the breaking of bread, it appears that one primary purpose for which they had gathered was for the purpose of breaking bread in remembrance of the Lord’s death on the cross. It was one of the central activities in their gatherings, just like teaching and praying. Commenting on Acts 2:42, New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce points out, "the regular observance of the Lord's Supper is no doubt indicated." (The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Book of Acts, pg. 79)
I believe, the reason for the early church to continually devote themselves to the breaking of bread is this—it made them to constantly remember and celebrate the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross as His redemptive community.
Furthermore, Acts 2:46 records that the much early believers gathered at homes on a daily basis and broke bread together. How interesting to notice that even when the believers had to gather daily, they would break bread together! They could not imagine coming together as a church without the breaking of bread. To them it seems to be a prime purpose of their gathering.
Like the early church, should we not be devoted to the breaking of bread? Can we imagine coming to together as a church and yet not listen to the teaching of God's word? And how can we neglect to break bread when we come together as a church? Must we not, as a local church, constantly celebrate the Lord’s Supper whenever we come together as a church, at least once a week?
Acts 20:7
This is what is recorded in Acts 20:7, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight” (ESV).
Let us ask two questions. When did the church in Troas gather? On the first day of the week. For what purpose did the church gather? To break bread. Notice here, although Paul intended to talk with them for a long time, it is not written that the church gathered to listen to Paul's message; it is clearly mentioned that the church gathered to break bread. It seems the breaking of break was a central purpose of their coming together as a church.
From this Scripture, it is commonly agreed that the early disciples generally gathered as a church on the first day of the week. But why did they gather as a church? They essentially gathered for the purpose of breaking bread. The breaking of bread, the celebration of the Lord’s victory on the cross as a community, seems to have been a regular activity every time the church had come together.
C. H. Mackintosh, a nineteeth century bible teacher, wrote:
It should be the special aim of Christians to show that the breaking of the bread is their grand and primary object in coming together on the first day of the week. They should show that it is not for preaching or teaching that they assemble, though teaching may be a happy adjunct, but that the breaking of bread is the leading object before their minds. It is the work of Christ which we show forth in the Supper, wherefore it should have the first place.1 Corinthians 11:17-20
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” (1 Cor. 11:17-20, ESV).
In the above four verses, observe that Paul uses the phrase “when you come together” three times. Now what did Paul say to the Corinthian church that they were not having when they had come together? They were not having the Lord’s Supper. Since the rich Christians were going ahead and taking the Lord’s Supper without waiting for the poor Christians (1 Cor. 11:21-22), Paul said that they were not having the Lord’s Supper as the Lord intended when they had come together as a church.
The participation in the Lord’s Supper is a community celebration in which there are no class divisions—such as rich and poor, slave and free, Jew and Greek. All are one in Christ and all celebrate the Lord’s Supper as one body of Christ.
Although the Corinthian church participated in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner by entertaining class divisions among them, it is important to notice that they had come together as a church to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper seemed to have been a dominant feature of their church fellowship.
Final Words
Although there is no clear command from the Scripture regarding how often we need to break bread, the above Scriptures reveal the practice of how often the early church had the Lord’s Supper. The breaking of bread was an essential purpose for their gathering as a church.
I strongly believe, one primary purpose for the regular gathering of church should be for the participation in the breaking of bread. The Lords’ Supper must be a governing feature of our church fellowship. In doing this, we give the cross of Christ the central place in our church gathering.
In our fellowship, there is no church gathering without the breaking of bread. We break bread every week, sometimes even more than once in a week. I encourage our believers not to miss church fellowship in order not to miss the celebration of the Lord’s Supper as a community.
One reason why we need to go and be a part of regular church fellowship is so that we can participate in the breaking of bread, remembering the Lord’s body and blood offered for us on the cross, along with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
I believe, the Lord wants His church, as His redeemed community, to constantly remember and celebrate His sacrifice and our salvation on the cross through the symbolic act of breaking of bread and drinking of cup. Remember, this is done with a sense of being a community of God, which He purchased by His blood.
Q&A:
If we have the Lord’s Supper every week, don’t you suppose it may become a casual act? Don’t you think people lose reverence towards it? Will it not be better to break the bread once in a month and inform people beforehand to prepare themselves well for their participation in it?
Although the intention to not make the Lord’s Supper a casual act is appreciated, to think the solution to this problem is to celebrate it occasionally is unwise, even unbiblical.
What if I say, let us not pray, worship and study the Word of God daily, for doing these things on a daily basis may cause us to approach these sacred acts with a casual attitude. What about doing it occasionally, perhaps once in a month? I suppose you would strongly disagree with me. You may argue here that we need to change our attitude without having to change the frequency of such important activities.
If praying, worshiping and studying the Word of God daily doesn’t necessarily become a casual act—why should we think the Lord’s Supper becomes a casual act if we do it at least once in a week? And if praying, worshipping and studying God’s word daily becomes a casual act, we need to change our attitude and not its frequency—if the Lord’s Supper becomes a casual act because of weekly celebration, should we not change our attitude than its frequency?
Moreover, remembering what Christ had done on the cross and praising Him for His sacrifice should be a daily meditation of a Christian. In fact, considering how the Lord’s atonement for our sins on the cross delivered us from sin and from hell—we should be thanking and praising Him every moment of our daily life. We can never thank Him enough for the indescribable gift of salvation we have received from Him because of His blood and body which was offered as a sacrifice on the cross.
Let us understand that when we break the bread as a church, we only remember the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross as His community. We not only personally remember and thank Him daily for what He did on the cross, we also celebrate it as His spiritual family.
The only difference between personal reflection and reflecting the Lord’s death as a church is—when we do it as a church, we remember the Lord's victory on the cross as a community with symbolic elements of bread and wine, which represents His body and blood. And community celebration of the Lord's Supper is quite significant because the Lord's ultimate purpose of salvation is to build a community for Himself.
So, here is my point—when reflecting on the cross personally and thanking the Lord daily for His sacrificial death should not make us casual in our remembrance— why should we think the celebration of the Lord’s Supper at least on a weekly basis makes us casual? If we are tempted to become casual, may we change our attitude than its constant practice.
Let us not neglect to devote ourselves to the breaking of bread whenever we come together as a church. Let us give the cross of Christ its due place through the celebration of the Lord's Supper. May the Lord take delight and be glorified as we constantly celebrate the Lord’s Supper as His community until His coming. Maranatha!
_________________________________________
Enquiries:
messageforourage@gmail.com (or) cstephendavid@gmail.com
Enquiries:
messageforourage@gmail.com (or) cstephendavid@gmail.com
Thank u bro for motivating and encouraging message to celebrate Lord's supper in meaningful and worthy manner.
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