How the Early Church Took Communion
For the early church, Communion was part of the food they ate every day. It was not a religious ceremony, nor was a priest required in order to distribute it. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. Acts 2:46
We can see that it was part of their daily meals, as the Apostle Paul mentions some disorder that was present in the church of Corinth. Therefore when you meet together, 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 another is drunk. 1 Corinthians 11:20-21
So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. 1 Corinthians 11:33-34a
These passages show us that they ate the bread and the fruit of the vine in a simple manner, not religiously. The apostle emphasizes the need of giving this meal the spiritual sense it should have in order for it to produce life and not death. For the early Christians it was important to talk about the Lord’s death and that each of them ponders over his own life and evaluates his walk with the Lord. When one receives the bread passed on to him, he would relive in his own flesh and heart the memory of the painful sacrifice that Jesus made for the world, so that he could live a holy life for Him. This was a meal, feeding oneself spiritually. It was not a religious ceremony, full of protocol and structure. In the Bible there is not a single ritual relating to Communion. There is no priesthood to carry it out. It is the privilege of every believer, and it’s the greatest inheritance that God gave us. How Do We Take It?
We take Communion at home, alone as a family. Many times we get together to do it with other believers. Sometimes, we have to do it on an airplane, a restaurant or in the countryside. No matter where we take it, the Presence of the Lord manifests. Sometimes I have to take it alone because that day no one is with me. Some days we take a long time. We submerge ourselves in meditation about what we are doing. I like to fill myself with His blood, drinking in His wisdom. Every day is a different experience. Most of the time, we do it in the morning, after our time of worship. Other times, we do it at night before going to bed. That way I can enjoy His presence all night long. But there are other times that we don’t take much time, just enough to be in deep contact with our Savior and go on. It is not a ritual. It is life. What is life is not planned; one lives and enjoys the glorious moments it offers. In churches or retreats where we have taught this topic, we put the elements at the entrance so that each person can pick it up, and then we take Communion together during worship or at the end of the service. In this book I tell a small part of the thousands of experiences and revelations that the Lord has given me through Communion. Telling all of them would take many volumes. My prayer is that you can receive from the Lord what He has left us in this marvelous Supper, which is true food and true drink. Thousands of lives have been transformed upon entering in to possess their true celestial inheritance. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. John 6:56-57 Let’s fill the earth with a generation full of Jesus’ life!