The meaning and purpose of breaking the bread in church is well explained in 1 Cor 11:17-34. Probably this is the only place where it is well explained so clearly.The Holy Spirit is asking us to continue this till the second coming of Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul usually praises someone before giving them any instruction which is a godly act. We should always see and praise the good things in others before correcting them. But here Apostle Paul directly points out their condition. “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.” (1 Cor 11:17). So it is imperative that our coming together should always be for the better. When we eat bread and drink from the cup as an obedience to God’s commandment, it is definitely for the better. But for the Corinthian church as well as many churches today it is for the worse. The reasons why something that is better turns out for the worse is explained by Apostle Paul. These reasons may apply to us also. So it is better for us to examine ourselves when we break bread and drink the cup and do it with correct understanding.
“For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it” (1 Cor 11:18). This is the first reason. All believers are purchased by God through Jesus and they do not belong to anyone else. “The man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 02:05,06), “and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price” (1 Cor 06:19,20). But unfortunately, one of the greatest mistake most of the believers make is that they stick to someone and make divisions in the church like the Corinthian believers. The Church has only one head, that is Jesus Christ Himself. So every time when we break bread Jesus is asking us to “do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor 11:24,25). This is reminding us to be one in Jesus Christ. So each time, we should become better in this area. Every believer should submit to the God given authority in the church in Christ Jesus. Only then can he grow as a part of the body of Christ Jesus. Everyone has to utilize the power of God to function as the part of the body of Jesus Christ in unity.
The second reason is that the Corinthian believers were very selfish and they did not have any concern about their other fellow believers. “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 Cor 11:20,21). By our selfishness, the Lord’s Supper can turn into our own supper. The Almighty God came and lived on this earth and died on the cross like the most sinful man to redeem the Church. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” ( 1 Cor 05:21). This is the most sacrificial thing that ever can happen. He is asking all His disciples to break the bread “in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor 11:24,25). So we should break the bread with a sacrificial mind and in submission like Jesus for the building up of the church.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly” (1 Cor 11:26-29)
May God help all of us break the bread and drink of the cup meaningfully.
