“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:16-17 -

The word rendered ‘participation’ (16) in the NIV is koinonia. Elsewhere this word is translated ‘fellowship’.1 This underlines the truth that remembering our Lord is a communal act: ‘communal participation’ is a good translation to use here. Both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of koinonia (that is, participation with God and with other Christians) are in view. No wonder sharing the Lord’s Supper is a significant event. That’s why celebrating it while continuing to participate in idol feasts as the Corinthians were doing was anathema (vs 14,21).

What does it mean to know koinonia with our Lord as the bread is broken and the wine poured out? Many Protestants speak of the bread and wine as ‘mere symbols’, in reaction against the high church teaching which speaks of the real presence of Christ’s body and blood and calls the table an ‘altar’. There is an alternative view, however, articulated by John Calvin and propounded by later evangelical thinkers such as CH Spurgeon. They and others hold that Communion is a ‘means of grace’. Yes, the bread and the wine are symbols and no, Jesus is not physically present, for he is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Yet, by the Holy Spirit he meets with us. Thus, Spurgeon spoke of the ‘real’ yet ‘spiritual’ presence of Christ at the table and wrote a Communion hymn entitled ‘Amidst us our Beloved stands’. Is this your experience? Next time you share Communion, reach out to him and know rich fellowship with your Lord.

Prayer: These are the gifts of God for the people of God. I thank you Lord Jesus for the bread broken and the wine poured, Christ’s body and blood given for me.

(from Encounter with God).