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Bible Verses:
(1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ESV)
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lords death until he comes.
(Luke 22:19-20 ESV)
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(Matthew 26:26-29 ESV)
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you,for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
The one establishing: “The Lord Jesus”
The breaking of bread was established by the Lord Jesus; it was not ordained by the apostles. What the Lord established was passed on to us by the apostles. Thus, our breaking of bread is not merely a matter of keeping the teachings of the apostles; it is our receiving of what was ordained and established by the Lord.
The time of establishing: “In the night in which He was betrayed” (1 Cor. 11:23)
The Lord Jesus established the table in the night in which He was betrayed, that is, after He ate the Passover feast together with His disciples for the last time, which was also His last supper on earth. It was on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar (Exo. 12:2-11). The establishing of the breaking of bread at this time is very meaningful.
The purpose for establishing
To replace the Old Testament Feast of the Passover. The lamb typified the Lord Jesus, and its death typified the death of the Lord Jesus. He fulfilled the type of the Passover and His death fulfilled the type of the death of the passover lamb, He abolished the Passover and established the breaking of bread as its replacement. Just as He and His death fulfilled the type of the Passover, His breaking of bread replaced the remembrance of the Passover.
The Meaning of Bread
The bread is a symbol of His body. Every time we break the bread and eat the broken pieces, we demonstrate and announce that the Lord’s body was broken for us and that through His death on the cross, He has become our portion.
Bread in the Bible refers to life. "For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.(John 6:33,35 ESV)". The Lord broke His body for us and distributed it to us like bread. He distributes His broken body to us as the bread of life as our portion in life for our enjoyment.
The Lord Jesus wanted people to receive the life of God within Him, so He needed to die in order to release the life of God from His broken body. Through the death of His physical body, He dispensed the divine life within Him to us. This is the main reason for His giving up His body through His death on the cross. This is the reason He first broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. When we see the bread, when we receive the bread, and when we touch and break the bread, we should realize and, even more, manifest and declare by faith that the body of the Lord Jesus was broken for us, enabling us to partake of the divine life within Him.
The Meaning of Cup
The cup was the new covenant established in His blood, which was being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. The cup refers to His blood poured out for us. His blood was shed for us on the cross. His shedding of His blood was for our redemption so that our sins could be forgiven.
Cup in the Bible signifies a portion. David said, “Jehovah is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup” (Psa. 16:5). Originally, we were evil sinners, and the portion we should have received from God was the cup of His wrath, that is, the suffering of eternal perdition in the lake of fire (Rev. 14:10; 21:8). When the Lord Jesus was crucified, He drank the cup of wrath on our behalf (John 18:11) and received God’s righteous judgment for us, tasting all the sufferings of perdition, shedding His blood, redeeming us from our sins, and establishing a new covenant for us in which we are given the cup of salvation as our cup of blessing (Psa. 116:13; 23:5). In this cup of salvation, God Himself and all that He is becomes our portion—our eternal blessing. Because the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption for us, all that God is and has have become the portion of our cup in God’s salvation.
The cup is a new covenant, and this blessing, ordained by a new covenant, cannot be changed. In this new covenant, God must forgive our sins and dispense Himself and all that He is and has to us because of the blood of Jesus.
The Centeral purpose of bread-breaking
To Remember the Lord: “The Lord Jesus...took bread...broke it and said...this do unto the remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:23-24)
When we come together to break bread, it is not for the purpose of praying to receive grace or to hear a message to be edified; rather, it is to remember the Lord. Thus, the nature of the bread-breaking meeting is different from any other meeting. Other meetings, which have prayer, messages, exhortation, and testimonies as their center, are for us to obtain something. In contrast, our remembrance of the Lord is the center of the bread-breaking meeting, and it is for the Lord to obtain something.
Therefore, in the bread-breaking meeting all the hymns, the prayers of thanksgiving and praise, the reading of Scripture, or the spiritual speaking should center on the Lord and declare the Lord’s person, work, grace, virtues, life and suffering on earth, or honor and glory in the heavens in order that all would remember the Lord Himself.
In the bread-breaking meeting our actions should bring the hearts and minds of everyone to the Lord, causing them to see Him and to offer thanksgiving, praise, worship, and love to Him. In this meeting we should focus on the Lord and behold Him so that we are filled with spiritual feelings about Him, which we can outwardly express in hymns, prayers, Scripture readings, or prophesying, in order to keep the entire attention of the meeting on the Lord Himself and to enable everyone to sense the Lord in remembrance of Him.
We should consider how the Lord was incarnated for us, how He died for us in the flesh, and how His body was broken for us and dispensed to us, giving us His life. we should consider the sufferings that the Lord experienced on our behalf as our remembrance of the Lord Himself. we should think only of the Lord and all that His love has accomplished for us; we should not think of ourselves or anything concerning ourselves, because we are in a meeting to remember the Lord.
We should consider how we have redemption, forgiveness of sins, sanctification, justification, reconciliation to God, and acceptance by God through the Lord’s blood. We should consider how the blood washes us of our sins, cleanses our conscience, and stops our conscience from condemning us, enabling us to boldly approach God without fear. We should consider how it argues before God on our behalf, speaks better words for us, defends us against the attack of evil spirits, and causes us to overcome our accuser Satan. We should think only of His love, His sufferings, and His accomplishments in the shedding of His blood for us.
The cup that we drink should cause us to remember the Lord and to think of His accomplishments in the shedding of His blood for us; its purpose is not related to the remembrance of our sins, offenses, and trespasses.
To Enjoy the Lord: “Jesus took bread...and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat”; “This is My body which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me”; “And He took a cup...and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood”; “Which is being poured out for you”; “This do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me” (Matt. 26:26; Luke 22:19; Matt. 26:27-28; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25).
When we eat the Lord’s body and drink the Lord’s blood, we are not only receiving but also enjoying Him and all that He accomplished by giving His body and shedding His blood for us. This is our remembrance of Him. Our remembrance of Him through the breaking of bread is not only objective; it is not a remembrance of someone who is outside of us and far away from us but a subjective remembrance of the Lord whom we have received into us as our enjoyment.
When we remember the Lord, we do not merely think about the Lord’s grace, love, virtues, honor, glory, and marvelous works; we actually receive and enjoy Him and all that He is and has.
We should offer up praises and thanksgiving, opening our spirits to receive the Lord and all that He is and has as our inward enjoyment. The more we enjoy the Lord, the more we remember Him. The true meaning of remembering the Lord is enjoyment.
To Display the Lord’s death: “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26)
Every time we eat the bread and drink the cup, we display the Lord’s death for all to see. "A person dies when his blood is separated from his body". when we break bread and place the cup beside the bread, it displays the Lord’s death by spreading out His death before the universe for God, the angels, Satan, the demons, and all creation, including us, to see.
During the bread-breaking meeting our hearts remember the Lord, our spirits enjoy the Lord, and our eyes should look upon His death.
The Lord’s death is the center of His work of redemption. His death solves the problem of sin, satisfies the requirements of the law, and quells God’s righteous wrath, causing us to be reconciled and acceptable to God. The Lord’s death resolves the problems of the old man, the flesh, and the old creation, delivering us from sin, the law, and all the bondage and slavery of the old creation. His death also solves the problem of the devil, Satan, and the world, causing us to boast in triumph over them.
The Lord’s death is all-inclusive. Everything that is opposed to God, incompatible with God, apart from God, or not of God, including sin, the flesh, Satan, the world, and the old creation, was terminated in this death.
To Wait for Christ's Coming: “Until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26)
Our expectation is to expect the Lord’s return, to wait for His return. We remember Him because He left and went into the heavens. But He promised that He would come from the heavens to receive us, so we also wait for Him. we must wait for His second coming in order to have His visible, outward presence.
The Fellowship of the Breaking of Bread
Fellowship with the Lord: “Jesus took bread and blessed it, and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat”; “This is My body which is being given for you”; “And He took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood”; “Which is being poured out for you” (Matt. 26:26; Luke 22:19; Matt. 26:27-28; Luke 22:20)
As we receive the bread and the cup from Him, we have fellowship with Him, and He has fellowship with us. His body and blood enable us to have fellowship with Him; they are the fellowship between us and Him. In this fellowship we contact Him through His body and blood, and we receive everything that He accomplished through the giving up of His body and the pouring out of His blood as our enjoyment.
Fellowship is communion, even an intimate communication, between two parties; in order for two parties to have fellowship with one another, they must have the same life and nature.
Fellowship with All the Saints: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16)
We do not drink the cup and eat the bread individually, and we do not enjoy the Lord’s blood and body by ourselves. Rather, we eat, drink, and enjoy with all the saints.
When we drink the cup and eat the bread, we have fellowship in the Lord’s blood and body with all the saints.
The cup and bread enter into us, and they enter into every one of the saints. Every saint partakes of the cup and the bread, so we all partake of His blood and body; that is, we all receive the redemption accomplished by the pouring out of His blood and the life dispensed by the giving up of His body.
Every time we drink the cup and eat the bread, all the saints have fellowship in the Lord’s blood and body. It is not merely a matter between us and the Lord; it is also a matter among all the saints.
The Testimony Of The Breaking Of Bread
The Testimony That We Are Joined to the Lord: “Jesus took bread and...gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took a cup...and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood” (Matt. 26:26-28)
When we receive the Lord’s body given for us and His blood poured out for us, we also testify that we have partaken of both Him and His accomplishments for us and thus are joined with Him. We are now in Him, and He is now in us. The bread that we break testifies that His life was released to become our life.
The Testimony of the Oneness of the Church: “We who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17)
When we break bread, not only do we testify that we are joined to the Lord, but we also testify that we are joined to all the saints and are in oneness with all the saints; that is, we are in the oneness of the church.
The breaking of bread as it relates to the Lord’s supper refers to the Lord’s own body (His body of flesh) and signifies that the Lord’s own body was broken for us; the breaking of bread as it relates to the Lord’s table refers to the Lord’s mystical Body (the church) and signifies that the Lord’s mystical Body is one.
He is the grain of wheat who produced many grains through death and resurrection to form the many grains into one loaf ([John 12:24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.), which is the one Body. As the many grains, we are not scattered; rather, in the Holy Spirit we are one bread, one Body ([1 Cor. 12:13] For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.). Although we are many grains with life, many people with life, we do not exist individually, grain by grain or one by one; instead, all of us have become one bread, one Body. Therefore, the apostle says, “We who are many are one Body.”
Thus, the bread that we break in the aspect of the Lord’s table refers to the entire Body of Christ, including all the saved ones in every time and every place. Peter and Paul are in this bread; Martin Luther, J. N. Darby, George Müller, D. L. Moody, all of us who are saved today, and all those who will be saved in the future are in this one bread. All the saved ones, whether in the past, in the present, or in the future, are in this one bread, and all partake of this one bread.
Therefore, when we break bread, on the one hand, we testify that we are one with the Lord, and on the other hand, we testify that we are also one with all the saints.
We must not break bread only to remember the Lord and display His death; we must also testify that we are one with all the saints in every time and every place. We and all the saints in every time and every place partake of this one bread. Although we are all in different times and different places when we break the bread, we all still break this one bread. In the past Peter and Paul broke this one bread; today we are breaking this one bread. The brothers in China break this one bread, and the brothers in other countries break this one bread. It does not matter that we are in different times or places when we break the bread; we all break one bread because we all belong to this one loaf, and we are all part of the one Body represented by this bread.
The bread that we break represents the one Body of Christ in the universe, so the bread that we break in every time and every place is a representation of the one bread, the one Body. In the universe there is only the one Body of Christ, and this Body is one. Our breaking of only one bread testifies to this fact.
The Discernment Of The Breaking Of Bread
Divisions: “You come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you” (1 Cor. 11:17-18)
When the believers meet together to break bread, they testify of the oneness of Christ’s Body, the church. If those who meet together to break bread have divisions among themselves, or if a bread-breaking meeting is on a sectarian ground instead of the ground of the oneness of the church, the meeting will not match the essential oneness of the church, and it will damage the oneness of the church.
Every time we attend a meeting to break bread, we must discern its ground to determine whether it is a meeting in division or in oneness. Is it a sect, or is it the church? We must discern whether the meeting has a divisive element or a sectarian factor lest we come together for the worse and suffer a loss.
Christ is not divided (1:13); the church is one (12:13). Thus, in the church those who belong to Christ should not be divided or divide into sects, saying, “I am of such and such a church” or “I am of such and such a group”
Mixed Their Own Supper With Lord's dinner: “When therefore you come together in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper; for in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, and one is hungry and the other is drunk” (1 Cor. 11:20-21)
Another reason that some bread breaking is not the Lord’s supper is that some mix this matter with their own supper and make it common.
This was the practice of the Corinthians in Paul’s time. On the one hand, they ate the Lord’s supper, and on the other hand, they ate their own supper. The poor among them went hungry while the rich were drunk with wine. In doing this, they confused the special characteristic of the Lord’s supper and lost the significance of bread breaking.
We cannot eat the Lord’s supper as if it were an ordinary meal or consider the breaking of bread to be a common thing. We must preserve the holy nature of the Lord’s supper, and we must honor the high significance of the breaking of bread; otherwise, we will change the nature of the Lord’s supper, causing it to equal nothing and become a matter of loss rather than profit.
In An Unworthy Manner: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27)
The unworthiness spoken of in this verse includes at least the two matters that were previously mentioned: divisions and treating the Lord’s supper as something common. Whoever is in division or treats the Lord’s supper as something common breaks bread in an unworthy manner. This kind of bread breaking makes one guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. If we break bread in division on a sectarian ground, we bring the element of division into our breaking of bread and damage the testimony of the oneness of His mystical Body, the church.
If, in our breaking of bread, we do not enjoy Him, remember Him, display His death, or await His coming, we are eating His bread and drinking His cup in an unworthy manner. A nominal Christian without the Lord’s life or an unsaved false believer cannot remember the Lord, display His death, or await His coming, so if such a person eats the Lord’s bread and drinks His cup, he is unworthy and is guilty of His body and blood. We should not do this either.
We must prove and discern
We must know that the bread is not a bread of division, that the meeting is not treating the Lord’s supper as something common, that we ourselves are not divisive, that we are not in disagreement with the brothers and sisters, and that we are not taking the Lord’s supper lightly and eating it loosely.
We also must know that the bread represents the Body of Christ and testifies to the oneness of the church.
Furthermore, we must see whether we have any problems or disaccord with any saint who is a member together with us. There cannot be any separation between members. Everything must be so clear before we eat the bread and drink the cup.
The Discipline Of The Breaking Of Bread
“Come together...for the worse”; “Come together for judgment”(1 Cor. 11:17, 34)
If we do not eat the bread and drink the cup in an approved manner when we come together to break bread, we are guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. This is to come together for the worse, and it brings judgment and condemnation upon ourselves. If we have a divisive element, if we break bread on a sectarian ground, or if we treat the Lord’s supper as a common meal when we break bread, we bring condemnation and judgment upon ourselves and will be disciplined.
“Eats and drinks judgment to himself”(1 Cor. 11:29)
If we do not discern whether the bread we break represents the Lord’s physical body given up for His mystical Body, if we do not discern whether the bread represents the entire Body of Christ, the whole church, and if we break bread loosely, we eat and drink condemnation and judgment to ourselves. This will cause us to be condemned and disciplined.
Because of this many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep(1 Cor. 11:30)
Since some did not eat the bread and drink the cup in an approved manner, the Lord caused them to become physically weak as a warning. When they disregarded the warning of their physical weakness and continued to be guilty of the Lord’s body and blood, He gave a stronger warning by allowing some to become physically sick.
When they disregarded the stronger warning of their physical sickness without proving and discerning themselves, there was a final discipline of death. This is very serious. This should be a warning to all of us.
The Ones Breaking Bread
“Gave it to the disciples”(Matt. 26:26)
When the Lord established the matter of bread breaking, He gave the bread and cup to His disciples. The disciples, who received the Lord’s salvation and life, belonged to the Lord. Only those who have this kind of relationship with the Lord and who know the Lord as their salvation can remember the Lord and declare His death through the bread and the cup.
How can those who have not received the Lord’s salvation, who have not been brought into a life relationship with the Lord in His salvation, remember the Lord? How can those who have not received the redemption accomplished by the Lord’s giving up of His body and shedding of His blood declare His death through the bread and the cup? Those who are not saved cannot and should not break bread.
Nominal Christians, who have only been ritually baptized without obtaining the Lord’s life, and false believers, who have only a name but not the reality, cannot and should not break bread. Some think that Judas was present when the Lord established the breaking of bread. This is not so. In the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and John all tell us that Judas, who betrayed the Lord, left before the Lord established His supper (Matt. 26:17-28; Mark 14:17-24; John 13:2, 21-30). Only Luke is different (22:14-23). This is because Luke’s record is according to the order of morality, but Matthew, Mark, and John are according to the order of history. All the authoritative Bible expositors attest to this. Before the establishment of the breaking of bread, Judas left. How could the Lord require one to remember Him who had not received Him as Savior, who did not have a relationship with Him in His salvation?
Therefore, only those who have received the Lord’s salvation, who have the Lord’s life, and who belong to the Lord are able and qualified to break bread in remembrance of the Lord.
“All those who believed...breaking bread”(Acts 2:44, 46)
Those who break bread should be those who believe. The believers are those who have received the Lord’s salvation through faith, partake of His life, and belong to Him.
The Time of the Breaking of Bread
“Continued steadfastly...in the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42).
The early believers continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. Continued steadfastly in the original Greek denotes “continued without ceasing,” which means “always.” Always breaking bread is the pattern that the early believers left for us, and we should follow them.
“Day by day...breaking bread” (Acts 2:46).
The early believers continued steadfastly in breaking bread to such an extent that they broke bread day by day. At that time the believers were on fire for the Lord and loved Him deeply; therefore, they spontaneously wanted to break bread day by day in remembrance of Him. This tells us that the more often we break bread to remember the Lord, the better.
“On the first day of the week...gathered together to break bread” (Acts 20:7).
At first, the early believers broke bread day by day, but later as it became a long-term practice, they broke bread once a week on the first day of the week.
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, the day of the Lord’s resurrection; it is also the beginning of the week, which symbolizes that the old things have passed away and a new life has begun. Breaking bread in remembrance of the Lord on this day is most appropriate because even though we break bread to declare the Lord’s death, we remember Him in resurrection. We break bread in the realm of resurrection, and we remember the Lord based on the life of the new creation. Thus, it is not only a convenient time but also very meaningful to come together to remember the Lord on the day in which old things passed away and new life began, the day of the Lord’s resurrection.
“Supper” (1 Cor. 11:20).
Since breaking bread is to eat the Lord’s supper, it is best that it is held in the evening in order to fit the name. Moreover, in the evening all the things of the day are finished and our personal burdens are laid aside, so our hearts are light and our spirits are happy. This is the most appropriate attitude in which to remember the Lord and to sense His presence as we touch Him. This, however, is not a law. If it is too difficult to arrange the meeting in the evening, or if it is not convenient, we can do what is convenient and hold the meeting in the morning or at midday.
The place of the breaking of bread
“Breaking bread from house to house” (Acts 2:46).
The earliest believers broke bread in many of the believers’ homes. At that time there were many people, so it would have been inconvenient with regard to both time and space for them to gather together to break bread in one place; therefore, they spontaneously split up into different homes for this practice. This shows that if there are many believers in one place, they may divide themselves among different homes to break bread.
“When therefore you come together in the same place...to eat the Lord’s supper” (1 Cor. 11:20).
It is permissible for the believers in one locality to divide themselves among homes and break bread, but it is more appropriate and more flavorful if everyone can come together in the same place to break bread. Thus, the early believers came together in the same place to eat the Lord’s supper. Today when we break bread, we may either split up or all come together as bestfits our need.
After breaking the bread
“As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
Those who break bread in remembrance of the Lord should long for the Lord and await His coming. Therefore, after we break bread, we should long for the Lord’s appearing and live a life of waiting for the Lord. If we only break bread in remembrance of the Lord every week but do not live a life of desiring His coming and waiting for Him, we are not in accordance with the meaning of breaking bread.
“You cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the demons’ cup; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the demons’ table” (1 Cor. 10:21).
After partaking of the Lord’s table, we cannot partake of the demons’ table; after drinking the Lord’s cup, we cannot drink the demons’ cup. According to the preceding verses, the demons’ table and the demons’ cup refer to the things sacrificed to idols. After breaking bread, we cannot eat anything sacrificed to an idol.
The demons’ table and the demons’ cup refer to idol sacrifices. But is not worldly enjoyment also a demons’ table? Is not worldly prosperity a demons’ cup? Since we have enjoyed the Lord Himself and all that He is and has at His table, how can we go back to desire worldly pleasures? Since we have been satisfied by the Lord at His table, how can we go back to Satan to obtain anything? How can we return to Satan’s world to obtain the pleasure that Satan gives to people? After breaking bread, we should not lust after the world and its enjoyment.
“Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8).
In the time of the Old Testament, the Israelites kept the Feast of the Passover and immediately followed it with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, during which they eliminated every bit of leaven from their lives (Deut. 16:1-4). Since the breaking of bread in the New Testament replaced the Passover in the Old Testament, we should be like the Israelites after the Passover and eliminate all leaven from our lives. Leaven refers to all evil and malice, to all things that can corrupt man. After breaking bread, we should remove all sin, evil, and every corrupting thing from our lives, and we should no longer keep the old living that we had before we were saved. We should not have any of our former evil, our old leaven; rather, we should live a holy, sinless life by the Lord’s holy, sinless life, that is, by the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We should truly be those who keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread so that we can be those who are entirely in accordance with the meaning of breaking bread.
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