The Power of Communion: More Than Just Remembrance
Communion is one of the most familiar practices in Christian worship, yet many believers approach it as merely a quiet ritual or symbolic remembrance. However, Scripture reveals that communion carries far more power and purpose than we often realize. When Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me," He wasn't just asking us to think about what He did - He was commanding us to participate in what He accomplished.
What Does "Remembrance" Really Mean?
The word "remembrance" in Scripture isn't about mourning or simply looking back. It's about recognition - recognizing the victory Christ won, the triumph He achieved over the enemy, and the glory He released through the cross. Communion isn't a funeral; it's a victory celebration.
When we approach communion with this understanding, it transforms from a passive ritual into an active participation in Christ's finished work. We're not just remembering what happened 2,000 years ago - we're experiencing a real-life moment with Jesus today.
Understanding the Bread: His Body Broken for Our Healing
The Connection Between Broken Bread and Physical Healing
When Jesus held up the bread and said "This is my body which is broken for you," He was establishing an intentional connection between the physical act of breaking bread and the physical reality of His body being broken on the cross.
Isaiah 53:5 tells us: "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." Jesus' body was broken, wounded, and beaten specifically for our physical healing.
Participating in Healing, Not Just Hoping for It
The breaking of Christ's body purchased your healing. Every time you break bread in communion, you're not just remembering that His body was broken - you're receiving the benefits of His broken body, including healing.
This isn't about hope for healing; it's about participating in healing that has already been accomplished. When you eat the bread by faith, you're declaring that the body of Jesus bore your infirmities and carried your sicknesses away.
Understanding the Cup: His Blood Shed for Our Righteousness
More Than Forgiveness - Complete Righteousness
The cup represents Christ's blood shed for the remission of sins, but it goes beyond just forgiveness. When you drink the cup, you're receiving the benefits of His shed blood, which includes both forgiveness and righteousness.
As 2 Corinthians 5:21 states: "For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him." This is legal evidence that you are fully accepted, fully forgiven, fully righteous, and fully restored.
Silencing the Accuser
When we take communion, the enemy loses his foothold in our lives because the blood declares that we have received what Christ accomplished. He loses his ability to accuse because the blood has covered us, and we are clean, holy, and restored.
How Should We Approach Communion?
Stop Treating It as Tradition
We must stop taking communion as just a memorial and start taking it as a receiving time. Stop treating it like a tradition and start treating it as a transaction with God. We need to stop going through the motions and start exercising our faith.
Activate Your Faith
The power of the Lord is present, but it's passive until you activate it with faith. When you believe what God said and join together with Him in communion, that's when the power becomes active and moving in your life.
The Great Exchange in Action
Communion represents the great exchange that God offers us. It's not laying something down for a void - it's exchanging what is broken for what is whole, what is dirty for what is clean, what is weak for what is strong.
When you lay down your weakness, He fills it with strength. When you lay down your worry, He fills it with His peace. This is the covenant participation that communion provides.
Communion as Spiritual Warfare
Proclaiming Victory
First Corinthians 11:26 says that when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." This word "proclaim" means to announce and declare openly. Communion is not silent - it's a proclamation into the spiritual realm of the victory of the cross.
Resisting the Enemy
When you take the bread, you're resisting sickness. When you take the cup, you're resisting condemnation. When you partake, you're pushing back darkness with the revelation of what Jesus accomplished in your life.
Heaven Participates With You
Communion is not taken alone. When you partake of communion, heaven participates with you. When you stand in agreement with the finished work of Christ, all of heaven stands in agreement with you. You step into divine presence and covenantal reality where His power becomes available.
Life Application
This week, change how you approach communion forever. The next time you take communion - whether at church, at home, or in a small group - approach it as a receiving time rather than just a ritual. Before you partake, spend time recognizing what Christ's broken body accomplished for your healing and what His shed blood accomplished for your righteousness.
When you take the bread, break it and hear it break, remembering that His body was broken for your wholeness. Speak healing over your body and command any sickness to leave. When you drink the cup, receive His righteousness and declare freedom from sin and condemnation.
Questions for Reflection:
Have I been treating communion as just a tradition rather than a powerful transaction with God?
What areas of my life need the healing power that Christ's broken body purchased?
Am I fully receiving the righteousness that His shed blood provides, or am I still carrying guilt and condemnation?
How can I activate my faith more intentionally during communion to participate in what Christ accomplished rather than just remembering it?
Remember, communion is covenant participation, not just covenant remembrance. It's your opportunity to enforce what Christ accomplished and receive the fullness of what He purchased for you through His body and blood.
Summary
Pastor Mike delivered a powerful message on the true meaning and power of communion, emphasizing that it's not merely a symbolic ritual but an active participation in Christ's finished work. He explained that when Jesus said 'do this in remembrance of me,' He was commanding believers to participate in what He accomplished, not just remember it. The pastor taught that communion is a covenant transaction where believers receive healing through the broken bread (representing Christ's broken body) and forgiveness/righteousness through the cup (representing His shed blood). He emphasized that communion is spiritual warfare, a proclamation of victory, and a place where God's power is activated through faith. The message concluded with the congregation taking communion while actively declaring and receiving healing and righteousness.
Intro Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You this morning with open hearts and minds, ready to receive what You have for us in this time together. We ask that You would prepare our hearts to be receptive to Your truth and help us to lay aside any distractions or preconceived notions. Holy Spirit, we invite You to move among us and speak to each person according to their need. Help us to be open to what You want us to learn and apply from our discussion today. We trust that You have something specific for each of us, and we surrender our time to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Ice Breaker
What's one tradition or ritual from your childhood (holiday, family, or cultural) that you later discovered had a deeper meaning than you originally understood?
Key Verses
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Isaiah 53:5
1 Peter 2:24
Matthew 8:17
2 Corinthians 5:21
Colossians 1:21-23
1 Corinthians 10:16
Questions
ow has your understanding of communion changed after hearing this message? What did you previously think communion was about?
Pastor Mike emphasized that communion is 'participation' rather than just 'remembrance.' What's the difference between these two approaches?
The message taught that Christ's broken body purchased our healing. How does this truth impact the way you might approach communion in the future?
What does it mean that communion is 'spiritual warfare'? How can taking communion be an act of resistance against the enemy?
Pastor Mike said communion is a 'transaction with God' rather than just a tradition. What are we giving and what are we receiving in this transaction?
How does understanding communion as 'legal evidence' of what Christ accomplished change your perspective on taking it?
The pastor mentioned that communion should be approached with faith, not just as a ritual. What role does faith play in making communion powerful in our lives?
What practical steps can you take to ensure you're 'discerning the Lord's body' when you take communion, rather than just going through the motions?
Life Application
This week, commit to taking communion with a new understanding. Whether at home or in church, approach it as an active participation in Christ's finished work rather than just a memorial. Before taking the bread, specifically declare healing over any area of sickness or weakness in your body. Before taking the cup, specifically receive forgiveness and righteousness, declaring freedom from any guilt or condemnation. Practice 'activating your faith' by speaking out loud what you're receiving through communion.
Key Takeaways
Communion is not just symbolic remembrance but active participation in Christ's finished work on the cross..
The broken bread represents Christ's broken body, which purchased our physical healing and wholeness.
The cup represents Christ's shed blood, which provides forgiveness, righteousness, and freedom from condemnation.
Communion is spiritual warfare - a proclamation of victory that dismantles the enemy's footholds in our lives.
Faith must be activated when taking communion to move from passive ritual to powerful transaction with God.
Ending Prayer
Father God, we thank You for the incredible gift of communion and for opening our eyes to its true power and meaning. Help us to never again approach Your table as merely a tradition, but always as a place of receiving Your healing, forgiveness, and righteousness. Give us faith to actively participate in what Christ accomplished for us. When we take the bread, help us to receive the healing that His broken body purchased. When we take the cup, help us to fully embrace the forgiveness and righteousness that His shed blood provides. May communion become a powerful tool in our lives for maintaining health and defeating sin. We declare that we are healed, forgiven, and made righteous through Christ's finished work. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.
