Understand the biblical meaning of Communion, its roots in the Passover, and its significance for the Christian church.
Quick Summary
The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is a covenantal ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ. Believers partake of bread and a cup as visible signs of His body and blood to remember His sacrificial death, proclaim the gospel, and participate in the benefits of the new covenant until He returns (Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:26).
The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion, is a covenantal act of worship instituted by Jesus Christ in which believers partake of bread and the cup as visible signs of His body and blood. In this ordinance, the church remembers Christ’s death, proclaims its saving significance, and participates in the benefits of the new covenant.
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, He took the cup, declaring, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you”
). The apostle Paul later affirmed that this practice was to continue in the church, adding that “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”
The meaning of the Lord’s Supper is rooted in the Passover. In Exodus 12, Israel was spared from judgment through the blood of a lamb applied to their doorposts. That blood marked them as those who would not face destruction. The meal that followed was not merely nourishment but a memorial of deliverance.
This event established a pattern: deliverance through substitution. The lamb died in the place of the firstborn, and its blood signified protection from divine judgment. The Passover was to be observed continually as a reminder of God’s saving act (Exodus 12:14).
The New Testament identifies Christ as the fulfillment of this pattern. “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Lord’s Supper therefore does not stand alone; it is the continuation and fulfillment of the Passover in light of Christ’s completed work.
The setting of the Lord’s Supper is significant. Jesus established it during a Passover meal, transforming an existing covenantal feast into a new covenant ordinance. The bread and the cup were no longer tied to the Exodus alone but now pointed to His own body and blood.
The bread signifies His body given for His people. The cup signifies the new covenant established through His blood. This covenant language echoes the promise of a new covenant in which sins would be forgiven and God’s people would be restored (Jeremiah 31:31–34).
The command “do this” establishes continuity. The Lord’s Supper is not a one-time event but an ongoing practice of the church, grounded in Christ’s own institution.
The Lord’s Supper is an act of remembrance, but not mere mental recall. When Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), He calls His people to actively recall and reflect upon His sacrificial death. The bread and cup function as visible reminders of a historical event with ongoing significance.
This remembrance is grounded in the reality that Christ’s body was given and His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. It draws the believer back to the cross as the foundation of salvation.
Proclamation
Participation in the Lord’s Supper is also proclamation. Paul states that by eating and drinking, believers “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The act itself becomes a visible declaration of the gospel.
Without words, the church testifies that Christ died, that His death is sufficient for salvation, and that His return is certain. The ordinance therefore functions as a form of embodied preaching.
Participation
The Lord’s Supper also expresses participation in Christ. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16).
This participation does not mean that the elements become Christ’s physical body and blood. Rather, through faith, believers share in the benefits of His sacrifice. The ordinance signifies union with Christ and communion with Him.
The New Covenant Fulfilled
The Lord’s Supper belongs to the new covenant era. Under the old covenant, sacrifices were repeated and could not fully remove sin: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Those sacrifices functioned as shadows pointing forward.
Christ’s sacrifice, however, is final and sufficient. He “has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). The Lord’s Supper does not repeat that sacrifice but remembers and proclaims it.
In this way, the ordinance marks both continuity and fulfillment. It retains the covenantal meal structure of the Passover while pointing to the completed redemption accomplished by Christ.
Worthy Participation and Self-Examination
The Lord’s Supper is not to be approached casually. Paul warns that “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27).
To eat and drink unworthily is to disregard the meaning of the ordinance. This may involve treating it as a mere ritual, approaching it without reverence, or persisting in unrepentant sin. For this reason, Paul instructs believers to “examine themselves” before partaking (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Self-examination does not require perfection but calls for honest reflection, repentance, and renewed faith in Christ. The goal is not exclusion but proper participation rooted in understanding and reverence.
The Role of Communion in the Church
The Lord’s Supper is a corporate act of worship. It expresses the unity of the church: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).
It is also a means of spiritual formation. By regularly participating, believers are reminded of the gospel, strengthened in faith, and oriented toward Christ’s return. The ordinance shapes the identity of the church as a redeemed community.
Living Between Cross and Return
The Lord’s Supper holds together past, present, and future. It looks back to the cross, where Christ gave Himself for sinners. It operates in the present as an act of worship and fellowship. It points forward to His return, when redemption will be fully realized.
Until that day, the church continues to eat the bread and drink the cup, bearing witness to the finished work of Christ and the hope that still lies ahead.
