Unity in Worship

Acts 20:7 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

The casual reader would think "The disciples came together to eat!" However, when the Bible says something, it means things. Were they merely eating or did this "breaking of bread" have significance?

 Luke 22:19 "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.'"

The disciples were "remembering Jesus". The emphasis is on "the breaking of bread", not the eating of the meal. In fact this memorial is not to stave off hunger, but to show love for Jesus.

Speaking of "the breaking of bread" Paul said this:

1 Corinthians 11:34 "And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."

I repeat: What we call "communion", or formal denominations "the Eucharist", is not for satisfying ones own hunger, but to remember Jesus!  Therefore hungry people should eat at home because "the breaking of bread" is not about them!

You see, everything we do is mostly about "us" and less often "others", but communion is for Jesus!

Paul said (1 Corinthians 11:26) "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

There are seven things happening at "the breaking of bread": 1) remembering Jesus, 2) honoring Jesus, 4) putting away the self, 5) demonstrating faith 6) loving Jesus, and 7) celebrating his life!

Yes, communion is Jesus' "celebration of his life" because we do it "until he comes" back!

Nowadays when people die there is no longer a funeral, but "a celebration of life" for the deceased oftentimes followed by a meal. It may be by accident or coincidence, but for Christians a funeral is for "a celebration of life". However, it's not the deceased life which should be celebrated, but the living,  whose name is Jesus. We need to be careful when we celebrate that it doesn't turn into glorifying the deceased, but to remember Jesus himself. When we pattern things after Jesus, the pattern must fit Jesus!

What is it that we are to remember when we break bread? That we can live forever because Jesus died for each of us!  The bread represents "the bread of life" who is Jesus. It's only by Jesus that we can live for eternity. Let's celebrate!

It's Jesus' body which was broken (died) for us. The breaking is in remembrance that he died in our place. Then we are to honor Jesus. He died for us. It's him to whom we are to kneel. We didn't save ourselves; he did it! Give Jesus the credit!

We are to minimize ourselves. Rather than stuff our own idol with good food we are to eat modestly of the bread because the meal is not for us, but for him!  I would venture to say that fasting before taking a small piece of bread would allow us to commune better with God!  Although we eat at the breaking of bread it is to be a sacrifice. How better to offer a sacrifice to God than to offer our own self!

By remembering Jesus with the breaking of bread, it's an act of faith because we are to do it until he comes!   This shows confidence that we believe that he is alive and is coming back! If he cannot do that, then he's not really alive. Breaking of bread is a demonstration that the "hope of salvation' which we have is by true confidence in Jesus: he can do what he says he can do because he died as he said he would... in our place!

Breaking of bread is an act of love. We show love for Jesus in two ways: loving others and loving him directly. The breaking of bread TOGETHER shows that Christians are of one accord, and by focusing this time altogether on Jesus, remembering him as a demonstration of love for him. Doing it together honors him because with togetherness is a pre-condition for his Ghost to be present when we are remembering him!

That's why it's imperative to  reconcile with each other before we break bread together, because we are making a living sacrifice to Jesus!

Matthew 5:23 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."

Whose fault it is of no matter. We are to be reconciled before we commune with Jesus!   What if one breaks bread with other Christians without reconciling with all of them?  They crucify Jesus all over again!

1 Corinthians 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Those who are "unworthy" are Christians who are at odds with other Christians or have unconfessed sins that have not been repented. Grudges are unconfessed sin, There must be unity restored, forgiveness granted, love shown to others and friendships in order! Then accord is there for the reception of the Holy Ghost.

So you don't "feel" any love or closeness to Jesus when you merely eat the wafer and drink of the cup? It's because Christians are not of one accord. The Holy Ghost doesn't come to his own celebration of life unless it's loving people who are there!

Honestly, during communion I often don't feel the presence of the Holy Ghost! I should because he wants to be there! It's HIS life that we are remembering and he should be there to be honored! I don't feel his presence because of one of two things: 1) Either I have unconfessed sins in my heart, or 2) someone in church holds a grudge against me or others! I can do my part, but others can only do theirs! It would be so refreshing if my enemies would come and say "Larry, let's reconcile so that we aren't crucifying Jesus again while we're supposed to be celebrating his life!