A Restoration View Of The Lord's Supper

Churches that make up the Restoration movement share a desire to be called Christians only, with no further label and no exclusive doctrines. Therefore, a church of the Restoration movement will call itself Christian or a church of Christ in the generic sense, not the sectarian sense. The Restoration plea is to restore the unity and practice of New Testament Christianity. Restoration churches have pursued differing options in how to carry out that plea, but all of the churches share a common heritage in the Restoration movement. Furthermore, they also share a common view of the Lord's Supper.

Restoration churches look to uphold the ordinances of Christ, but have little regard for the ordinances of the later church. They seek direct command or apostolic precedent for church polity and practice. Hence, their practice of the Lord's Supper is generally an attempt to emulate the first-generation church's practice. The following is a summary of the theological position of the Restoration movement's approach to the Lord's Supper: It is instituted by Christ as an open, weekly memorial meal, which symbolizes the body and blood of Christ. Christ is present in the meal, but only spiritually. The meal provides opportunity for believers to commune with the Lord as they celebrate an enactment of the very center of the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:3–4). What follows is a further explanation of this summary. The Supper Was Instituted by God. The Supper was not a later addition of the church. Jesus himself said, "Do this." Therefore, it is a binding practice. However, in the eyes of Restorationists, later church practice made the meal an elaborate religious rite. Restorationists' practice is as simple and straightforward a service as possible within the corporate assembly. The Supper Is Open. Churches of the Restoration movement practice open Communion. That is, a communicant need not be a member of the group to participate. Many of the churches print a notice in the bulletin to that effect. They make it known that if one is an immersed believer, they are neither specifically invited nor barred from the Table. Each person partakes according to his or her own conscience. The Supper Is Celebrated Weekly. Jesus did not specify how often to eat; only to remember him by it. However, there seems to be apostolic precedent for at least a weekly Lord's Supper in the book of Acts (Acts 2:42; 20:7). Furthermore, Restorationists will be quick to point out that the breaking of the bread was perhaps the primary reason for the assembly of the church at Troas. "On Sunday, we all met together to eat the Supper of the Lord" (Acts 20:7, Simple English Bible [seb]). Some Restoration movement churches even call their Sunday services "Lord's Supper Assemblies" or some such title to clearly represent this sentiment. Some of the churches resist allowing the Lord's Supper to be served at any time other than the Lord's Day; but at the very least, virtually none of the churches celebrate less often than once a week. The Supper Is a Memorial. Jesus said, "Eat this to remember me," and "Drink this to remember me. Every time you drink this, you will be remembering me" (1 Cor. 11:24–25, seb). The aspect of Jesus that is remembered is multifold, but mostly it has to do with his being an atoning sacrifice for sin (1 John 2:2). The Supper Is a Meal. The meal involves breaking unleavened bread (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16). Some churches use small individual pieces of bread for convenience and public health, while others use larger loaves from which members actually break a piece. The meal also involves "the fruit of the vine." Restorationists see little consequence in whether it is wine or grape juice. However, members are able to serve themselves at the Feast, and this they see as significant. Each Christian is invited to approach the throne boldly, with no mediator other than Jesus himself. Many of the churches also give attention to the symbolic detail of using the loaf for the Communion service. "Though there are many of us, we are one body. There is one loaf, but all of us share this one loaf" (1 Cor. 10:17, seb). A few even use one cup, since one cup is mentioned in the Gospel accounts. Almost invariably churches will use bread without leaven, based on Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 5:6–8. The Supper Symbolizes the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord said, "?This bread is my body?" (Matt. 26:26, seb). Restorationists do not see the bread as literally Christ's body, but as the footnote in the Simple English Bible says, it represents his body. He did not say, "This becomes my body," but that it is. The bread, then, is a memorial of Calvary. Likewise, the fruit of the vine symbolizes the blood of Christ. Jesus said, "This is my blood" (Matt. 26:28). Again this is understood metaphorically. Since he was still physically present with them at the institution, he must have meant this in a spiritual sense. Christ Is Spiritually Present. Jesus had promised that "Wherever two or three people have gathered in my name, I am there" (Matt. 18:20, seb). In the same sense, Christ is also there at the meal. There is no need for invoking his presence; Restorationists acknowledge him as there, in the assembly, in the bread, in the cup, and in the heart. In a real sense, Christ is present at the table, but only in a spiritual sense. The meal then involves discerning the body and blood of the Lord. "If someone is eating and drinking without recognizing the meaning of the body of Christ, he is condemning himself by eating and drinking!" (1 Cor. 11:29, seb). The Communion service involves a clear recognition of not just the presence of Christ, but also the meaning of his sacrifice. The service also might involve recognizing that the church is the physical body of Christ and the person's relationship to that earthly body (see 1 Cor. 10:17, seb). The Supper Is a Time of Communion. "The cup of blessing which we bless is the sharing of Christ's blood, isn't it? When we all break off a piece of bread, it is the sharing of Christ's body isn't it?" (1 Cor. 10:16, seb). Christ actually became sin for us, so we can become right with God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21, seb). Thus Restorationists understand Christ's presence in a physical meal to mean that they have more intimate contact with the forgiveness offered through the body of Christ. The Supper then involves a time of self-examination. "Each person must look deeply into his own heart. Then he should eat the bread and drink from the cup in the right way" (1 Cor. 11:28, seb). Participants are to make certain that they approach the meal in holiness, that they are recognizing the substitutionary atonement of Christ for their sins, that they are determined to honor Christ in their lives, and that they are confessing and renouncing sin in their lives. Forgiveness does not come from the Table itself, but forgiveness is celebrated in the feast. The cup is also a new covenant between God and humankind. Jesus said, "This cup is God's new agreement in my blood which is being poured out for you" (Luke 22:20, seb). An agreement is made between two parties. One party agrees to give the other party forgiveness and eternal life, and the second party agrees to die to self and serve the Master/Giver. In the Lord's Supper, the covenant is renewed weekly. The Supper Is a Celebration. "The cup of blessing which we bless is the sharing of Christ's blood, isn't it?" (1 Cor. 10:16, seb). The Communion service is more than a memorial service for an honorable death; it is a personal celebration of rejoicing, thanksgiving, and blessing. While Restoration churches would cringe at the use of the word Eucharist for the Lord's Supper, they would readily embrace the positive concept of this celebration. The Supper Enacts the Center of the Gospel. "Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you are telling about the Lord Jesus' death, until he returns" (1 Cor. 11:26, seb). The proclamation is not so much one of evangelistic preaching as it is confession in the assembly. Through participation in the meal, Christians glory or boast in the cross (Gal. 6:14). The Cross is the center of the proclamation, as it is of the gospel (1 Cor. 1:23). The proclamation looks forward as well as backward. Paul writes, "You are telling about the Lord Jesus' death, until he returns" (1 Cor. 11:26, seb). The Supper is a memorial of his death; and it is to be a perpetual memorial interrupted only by his return. Restoration movement churches celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, for that seems to be apostolic practice. They take openly, in keeping with the Restoration plea for unity in essential matters. They take simply, reflecting their bias away from later developments (corruptions) of the church. And they take commemoratively, recognizing Christ's spiritual presence, but otherwise seeing the meal as a symbolic memorial of his death.