Study of Denomintions 08/29/2010

A Study of Denominations
Cont. from last week

The Lord's Supper


The Bread and the Fruit of the Vine

Many denominations teach that the Lord's Supper can be made up of leavened bread and wine. Is this what the New Testament shows?

We must remember that the Lord's Supper was instituted during the Passover. When God commanded the Passover in Exodus 13, He mandates that the bread be unleavened in verse 3:

And Moses said unto the people, "Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten."


Thus, the bread that Jesus broke was unleavened, since it was eaten during the Passover. Concerning the "fruit of the vine," the text itself shows what should be used: the fruit of the vine! In the Greek, the phrase used is genematos tes ampelou; this refers to grape juice, not wine (which is more consistently rendered in Greek by oinos). While some may deny that the ancients had the ability to stop fermentation, ancient literature does attest to the consumption of unfermented grape juice. Therefore, there is no reason to deny the New Testament example for the Lord's Supper being unleavened bread and grape juice.
When Should the Lord's Supper Be Observed?
Part A: Weekly

Many denominations teach that the Lord's Supper ought to be observed four times yearly, or maybe monthly; some even believe it ought to be observed daily. How often do we see the Christians in the New Testament observing the Lord's Supper?

We see the example of Paul and other Christians in Acts 20:6-7 :

And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we tarried seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.


Let us consider what we can learn from this text:

1.Paul stayed for seven days; of those seven, the Christians gathered on the first day of the week. The stay of seven days is significant, for we read in verse 16 that Paul was hastening to return to Jerusalem.
2.This particular first day of the week does not seem to have any special connotations; it is a first day of the week that comes between the Passover and Pentecost (cf. Acts 20:6 , 16 ).
3.Their purpose for gathering was to break bread.

"Breaking bread" is metonymy for an entire meal; while it can refer to a common meal (cf. discussion of Acts 2:46 below), it also can refer to the Lord's Supper ( 1 Corinthians 10:16 ). The purpose of this assembly, as we have seen, was to have this meal. Furthermore, we see that after Paul preaches, he "breaks bread" in Acts 20:11 :
And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.


There is no reason to assume that anyone else is eating except for Paul, and that this breaking of bread is not the purposed meal of verse 7. Based on all of this evidence, the best conclusion is that the "breaking of bread" in Acts 20:7 refers to the Lord's Supper, and not a common meal. Likewise, since there is no evidence that this particular first day of the week had any special meaning, we can deduce that the disciples were in the habit of partaking of the Lord's Supper on each first day of the week.

Argument: In Acts 2:46 , we see the first disciples breaking the bread daily. This validates the need of partaking on a daily basis.

Answer: First, the text:

And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they did take their food with gladness and singleness of heart.


Context is the best way of deciding whether "breaking bread" refers to the Lord's Supper or a common meal. In this context, the wording shows that these Christians were not partaking the Lord's Supper daily, but eating their meals together daily: "breaking bread...,they did take their food...". The Lord's Supper is most probably in view in Acts 2:42 , where the discussion focuses on more spiritual events.

Argument: Paul establishes that the Lord's Supper can be partaken at any time based on 1 Corinthians 11:26 .

Let us consider 1 Corinthians 11:26 :

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come.


Paul is not here telling the Corinthians how often to partake; instead, he is telling them what happens when they partake. "As often as" does not determine how often one actually partakes: it simply establishes that whenever the Lord's Supper is taken, the death of the Lord is proclaimed. We have to look elsewhere to determine how often is "as often as", and the best evidence comes from Acts 20: they met on the first day of the week, which by all evidence seems to be their normal assembly time ( Acts 20:7 , cf. 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 ), and by all accounts they assembled weekly for that purpose. 1 Corinthians 11:26 complements, and does not contradict, the message from Acts 20.

Part B: On the First Day of the Week