Churches divide over how to
administer the 'Lord's Supper'. The only disqualified Lord's Supper
that I am aware of is the one that was creating the division in 1
Corinthians 11:20. It wasn't what they were eating or drinking or
who administered the meal that disqualified it. It was disregard
for the body at hand that made it, 'not the Lord's
Supper'.
1 Corinthians 11:20-21
ECB 20 So
you are coming together into one place, not to eat the supper of
Adonay: 21 for
in eating, each anticipates his own supper - indeed one is famished
and another is intoxicated.
Jesus even washed his
disciple's feet to show his concern for others in the body. Making
sure my belly is full, while my famished brother in the same room
eats nothing, was not what Jesus demonstrated. Pass the bread and
the wine please. I had to work all week and I'm
famished.
To avoid intoxication many
churches use grape juice instead of wine. That takes care of the
intoxicated brother issue but we still haven't passed the bread to
satisfy the famished brother. Actually we haven't taught the
selfish brother anything either. We just made sure he couldn't
demonstrate his greed more than anyone else at the 'Lord's Supper'.
Surely Paul would approve of a supper where no one can get drunk
and no one can eat any more than any one else and no one is ever
satisfied.
Okay, Americans hardly ever get
famished; we don't go very long without eating. We eat before
church, at church and on the way home from church. Maybe a symbolic
meal and pot luck dinners are the best we can do. Or we could tell
everyone not to eat all day and then come together for a pot luck
dinner to test our manners. But the Lord's Supper did not just
evolve recently in America. It has a history that goes all the way
back to the Lord's last old covenant supper with his disciples. Did
they use unleavened bread? Was it the Passover meal? Barley or
wheat bread? Did they drink red wine? Were they completely unified?
Was there lamb and bitter herbs on the table? How big can the table
be? What about chairs? Are rows of pews with a small table up front
or no table at all okay? Who was there? Is "as often as you do
this" once a year or as often as they ate together? How many times
did they pray? Was there preaching? And what about, "do this in
remembrance of me until I return"? Surely we don't forget Him at
our meals ever. He is the bread that came down from heaven to give
us the real life.
Bread was made daily in each
home except on the sabbath. After a good yeast culture was
established, a small portion of dough was always kept from the day
before. Yeast is everywhere. If you leave the dough on the window
sill long enough it will develop a wild culture from airborn yeast.
Only a good culture will make the bread rise well with good flavor.
In preparation for the week of unleavened bread, all cultured yeast
was eliminated from the whole
city.
As the old man culture, Jesus was buried before dusk on
preparation day
John
19:31
CLV
31 The Jews,
then, since it was the preparation, lest the bodies should be
remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for it was the great day,
that sabbath), ask Pilate that they might be fracturing their legs,
and they may be taken away."
It was at a meal when Jesus
said, "take and eat this is my body". It doesn't say if they ate
leavened or unleavened bread. The Roman Catholic use of unleavened
bread did not begin until the middle ages. Biblically unleavened
bread is for one week out of the year only and it symbolized
leaving Egypt in haste and leaving their old Egyptian culture
behind. In the fulfillment of this type Jesus is burried as the old
covenant culture and is raised as the new covenant culture. When
the Holy Spirit came to raise the Jews at Pentecost they were
required to eat the leavened bread. There was nothing wrong with
the image of God in Jesus. It just had to be transferred into the
new covenant loaf. He was only hid away for three days and then
brought out in the middle of unleavened bread week.
Surprise!
John 20:19-22
CLV
19 It being,
then, the evening of that day, one of the sabbaths, and the doors
having been locked where the disciples were gathered together,
because of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and
is saying to them, "Peace to you!" 20 And
saying this, He shows them His hands also, and His side. The
disciples, then, rejoiced at perceiving the Lord." 21 Jesus, then,
said to them again, "Peace to you! According as the Father has
commissioned Me, I also am sending you." 22 And saying
this, He exhales and is saying to them, "Get holy
spirit!"
1 Corinthians 10:17
LITV
17 Because
we, the many, are one bread,
one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
Purging the leaven symbolizes removing the old culture.
Only believers are part of the one loaf. Unbelievers cannot bring
bad leaven into the loaf; only believers can. The Corinthian
believers still had some unleavening to do.
1 Corinthians 5 (Puffed by bad leaven)
LITV
1 Everywhere
it is heard that fornication is among you, and such fornication
which is not named among the heathen, so as one to have his
father's wife. 2 And
you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned,
that he that did this deed might be taken from your
midst. 3 For
as being absent in body, but being present in spirit, I have
already judged the one who has worked out this thing, as if I were
present: 4 In
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being gathered together with
my spirit also, with the power of our Lord Jesus
Christ, 5 to
deliver such a one to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your
boast is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven
leavens all the lump? 7 Then
purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, even as you
are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover was sacrificed for
us. 8 So
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor
with leaven of malice and of evil, but with unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth. 9 I
wrote to you in the letter not to associate with
fornicators; 10 and
not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the
covetous, or with plunderers, or with idolaters, since then you
must go out of the world. 11 But
now I wrote to you not to associate intimately; if anyone is called
a brother and is either a fornicator, or a covetous one, or an
idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a plunderer, with such a
one not to eat. 12 For
what is it to me also to judge the ones outside? Do you not judge
those inside? 13 But
God will judge the ones outside. "And you shall put out the evil
one from you." Deut. 17:7
John 6:32
LITV
32 Then Jesus
said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you
the bread out of Heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out
of Heaven.
Thy kingdom come
Matthew 26:29
CLV
29 Now I am
saying to you that under no circumstances may I be drinking
henceforth of this, the product of the grapevine, till that day
whenever I may be drinking it new with you in the kingdom of My
Father."
Acts 2:46-47
LITV
46 And
continuing steadfastly with one mind day by day in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, they shared food in gladness
and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God,
and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the
church those being saved from day to day.
Acts 10:40-41
YLT
40 `This one God
did raise up the third day, and gave him to become
manifest, 41 not to all
the people, but to witnesses, to those having been chosen before by
God—to us who did eat with him, and did drink with
him, after his rising out of the dead;
Matthew 18:20
LITV
20 For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their
midst.
His character (His name) hence His presence at the meal is what
makes it communion. The real firstborn of God really poured out His
blood and really broke His body on the real preparation day for the
real Passover feast. Now we can participate in the best fellowship
possible, with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We don't have to
get too technical choosing to re-enact certain elements of the
historical types and exclude the gluten intolerant people from
eating or serving at the fellowship
feasts.
Typically the redemption of the firstborn
man and the birth of the nation brought God's people out of Egypt
and into His presence. In the fulfillment of the types, the
resurrection of the firstborn man on the third day after Passover
led to the rebirth of the nation on Pentecost. It was greed and
disregard for unfortunate members at a meal that made it "not the
Lord's Supper". Allowing gluten free bread won't wreck a fellowship
meal with the new covenant man.
Gluten is a mixture of protiens found in
wheat and barley. It gives elasticity to the bread helping it rise
and keep it's shape. A small percentage of the
population reacts badly to gluten.
Just as yeast causes bread to rise and has been called the
soul of the bread, it also causes wine to ferment, which has been
called the spirit of the wine. Just as the good soul brings the
community life, the good spirit brings joy to the heart. Self
control is another fruit of the spirit.