What Does the Bible Say About Communion? #32
The Bible presents communion, also called the Lord's Supper, as a meal instituted by Jesus on the night before his death in which bread and wine are shared in remembrance of his body and blood given for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus commanded his disciples, 'Do this in remembrance of me' (Luke 22:19), and Paul explains that 'as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes' (1 Corinthians 11:26). Communion is both a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice and a proclamation of the gospel, observed regularly by the church as a shared act of worship and unity.
On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus gave his disciples a simple meal that has been repeated by Christians in every generation since. Understanding what communion means biblically matters because it draws believers back, again and again, to the central event of the gospel — Christ’s body broken and blood shed for the forgiveness of sin.
What the Bible Teaches
At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me,” and likewise the cup, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20), directly linking the meal to his coming sacrificial death. Paul passes on this same tradition in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, adding that the church proclaims “the Lord’s death until he comes” each time it shares the meal, giving communion a forward-looking dimension alongside its remembrance of the past. He also highlights its unifying significance in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17: “the bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body,” showing that communion binds believers together, not only to Christ but to one another.
Living It Out
Sharing in communion calls believers to pause regularly and remember, in a tangible way, the cost of their forgiveness and the love behind it, rather than letting the gospel become an abstract idea. Paul also urges believers to examine themselves before partaking (1 Corinthians 11:28), making it a moment for honest self-reflection and confession as well as gratitude. Observed together as a church, communion continually renews both a believer’s personal gratitude toward Christ and their sense of belonging to the larger body he purchased with his own life.
Key References
- Luke 22:19-20
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
- 1 Corinthians 10:16-17