“Communion”

Monday, June 08, 2015

Thanks for tackling this question earlier. You gave a good explanation of how offering the Lord's Supper twice is consistent with the command to "wait for one another" in 1 Cor 11:33, but your answer left me with a few more questions. We often talk about how we need to have a command, example, or necessary inference for everything the Church does. In this case, I'm not aware of a command or example to have the Lord's Supper twice, and the inference doesn't seem necessary to me. Where is our authority to do this?

Many of the exhortations in 1 Cor 11 imply that communing with our brothers and sisters in Christ is an important aspect of the Supper. Why is it that when we come together we all sing, we all pray, we all meditate on the Scriptures together, but only some of us take communion? It seems like we all should participate, or none of us should. What if only one person comes forward to take communion in the evening? Who are they communing with?

Sincerely, All or Nothing

Dear All or Nothing,

If one person takes the Lord’s Supper, they are communing with the Lord (1 Cor 10:16), the same as if a hundred people took it. The point of the Lord’s Supper is:

1. Proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26).
2. Examine ourselves (1 Cor 11:28).
3. Remember His suffering on our behalf (1 Cor 11:25).

All three of those items are an individual command. The Lord’s Supper is taken individually and offered collectively. In this case, we have to split hairs. A congregation is responsible for offering the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) and to offer it in an orderly way (1 Cor 11:18); the individual is responsible for taking it when it is offered.

The issue of command, example, and necessary inference for all Biblical practices still holds true in this case. Christians are commanded to take the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:24). We have an example of the church offering the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). We necessarily infer that if the churches partook on the first day of the week, we also should do so. The question comes down to how to logistically make that happen. Every congregation must offer the Lord’s Supper in an orderly way, so that all members have opportunity to fulfill the command to partake of it. One congregation offers it only in the morning; another offers it in the morning and at night… both fulfill the Lord’s wishes. As long as it is offered every Sunday, a congregation has the freedom to organize this particular part of worship as they see fit.

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