Holy Communion and Christian Living
Participation in the Covenant
The Lord Jesus referred to the
blood in the Communion as the "blood of the new covenant." A covenant
is an agreement between two or more parties, and this is God's covenant with
us: by the blood of Christ, given to us on the cross, we are now God's
children.
With such a promise from God, we
ought to live like God's children, trusting him and obeying his commands all
our lives. The apostle Paul prayed that the believers would "lead a life
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians ). Living a Christ-like life is the way to
participate in the divine covenant.
Getting Rid of Sin
Our Lord Jesus Christ offered
himself as a sinless sacrifice. His whole life was pure, and so is the Holy
Communion. As we partake of the Lord's body and blood, we should also resolve
to remove all sin from our thoughts, words, and actions.
"Get rid of the old yeast
that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our
Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us
keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth" (1
Corinthians 5:7,8 NIV). Thus, true participation in the Communion means
participation in God's holiness in daily life.
Daily Communion with the Lord
The Lord Jesus said, "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I
in him" (John ).
In addition to receiving the sacrament, we ought to live in Christ every day
and let him live in us. We need to partake of Christ himself, who is the
"bread of life" (John )
by feeding on his word and his Spirit.
This means that we store God's
word in our hearts and pray to be filled with the Spirit. We must also abide by
and live out his word, just as branches on a vine constantly bear good fruit.
Through daily Bible reading and
prayer, we learn to listen to God and talk with God. As we study and practice
the Word, God also strengthens us with his Spirit. So we become more like him
each day, full of his holiness, compassion, and humility. We become more and
more united with our Lord, just as a wife is united with her husband. "He
who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him" (1 Corinthians ).The communion that pleases God
is our growing relationship with him. We must love the Lord with all our
hearts, making him the center of our lives. Ultimately, it is no longer we who
live, but Christ lives in us. (see Galatians 2:20).
Then we will never hunger or thirst spiritually, but will have strength and joy
in our lives.
Oneness of Christ's Body
The Holy Communion also brings the
participants together as one body. "Because there is one bread, we who are
many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Corinthians ). Division or cliques among
God's people is contrary to the spirit of the Communion.
So as we come together to remember
the Lord's death, we each must learn to consider the good of others. The Lord
gave us his body and blood through self-sacrifice and love; let us also deny
our own interests and learn to love our brothers and sisters.
