I hope you felt encouraged this past week to take communion at home and actually enjoy it. Years ago, I remember being encouraged to take communion at home once a week. It felt like a completely dead ritualistic work, and I said to myself, “I don’t want to do this… be sad every week.” And I quit! Think of communion as inviting The Holy Spirit, Jesus, and The Father into your home, family, and life. He’s happy to spend time with you, and feel free to just be happy to have Him!
This week, I’ll try to keep it short with talking about communion NOT being symbolic of the blood and body. WHAT? Yes, that’s crazy and completely opposite of what we’re commonly taught at church. Hang on, you’ll see Jesus’ own words.
Most ministers and church doctrine teach communion as symbolic, and they often even state it on their church information. I don’t see that in scripture. I see communion in scripture as being both literal and symbolic.
(Warning: For the Gospel parts, I am using an original Hebrew manuscript translation. The New Testament was NOT written in Greek, but translated from Hebrew to Greek, and then our English Bibles from Greek. I like to use the original Hebrew when I can.)
Matthew 26:26-19 Hebrew Manuscript Translation
26And when they sat to eat Yeshua (Jesus) took the bread, and blessed it, and did a prayer of thanksgiving, and broke it and said, “Take and eat, for this is my body.” 27And afterwards he took the cup, and did a prayer of thanksgiving, and gave it to them, and said, “Drink this – all of you, 28for this is the blood of the new, which will be shed to atone your iniquities. 29And I say to you faithfully that from now and onward, I will not drink of this [smoothness] of the vine until that day that I will drink it with you anew in the kingdom of my Father.”
Communion is symbolic in this natural realm, but in the supernatural realm it’s literal. Let’s look at more of Jesus’ own words on the matter:
John 6:48-59 Hebrew Manuscript Translation
48I am the bread of life; 49your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is he who descended from the heavens in order that he who eats of him will not die. 51I am the bread of life who descended from the heavens – that if someone eats this bread, he may exist for ever. And the bread which I, I will give you is my flesh – for eternal existence.”
That DOES NOT in anyway look to me like it’s symbolic. We, being excellent investigators and thinkers, can see our bread isn’t actually flesh, so we say symbolic. I think we’re missing the spiritual TRUTH of it being His flesh. Let’s read on…
52Therefore the Yehudim disputed among themselves, saying, “How is this one able to give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Yeshua (Jesus) said to them, “Truth I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man, and do not drink his blood, you will not have life; 54but whosoever eats my flesh and whosoever drinks my blood, will have everlasting life –
We are FAR from symbolism. Jesus wasn’t stupid, slow, or speaking with intent to deceive. If He meant that it was symbolic and they took it literal, it would be deceptive for Jesus to continue the parable-like symbolism, right? Jesus keeps repeats Himself confirming that it’s not symbolism.
and I, I will raise him up in the last day. 55For my flesh is the true food, and my blood the true drink. 56He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him. 57As the Father had sent me, and I am alive because of the Father, so he who eats me is alive because of me. 58This is the bread who descended from the heavens – not as your fathers ate the manna and died – whosoever eats this bread will live for eternity.” 59(These things he said in the house of the assembly, teaching in Kephar Nachum.)
We’ve been taught to dismiss this all as symbolic. Today, I want you to see that Jesus was speaking a literal spiritual truth to us. There are certain scriptures in the Bible we don’t understand, or better said we don’t like, so we’re willing to accept made up explanations to make them feel normal. This situation in scripture is one of them. Let me make this feel perfectly normal to you, as being literal, by a revelation of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 2:24 NKJV
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Colossians 2:13-14 NKJV
13…having forgiven you all trespasses, 14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
We believe Jesus literally took the stripes for our healing. We believe He was literally wounded for our transgressions. We believe he was literally bruised for our iniquities. We believe Jesus literally bore our sins in His own body. We believe our sins were literally nailed to the cross. When they were slapping, spitting, beating, wounding, bruising, and hanging Jesus on the cross, no one, NOT ONE PERSON, could see with their natural eyes what was taking place. In the natural realm, no one could see any of it, but in the spirit, we know it as literal truth.
Communion is no different!! You are literally partaking of His body and His blood, not in this natural realm, but in the spiritual realm. Why does it matter? It matters a great deal, because it’s our opportunity to receive everything that belongs to us in the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. It’s our opportunity to literally transfer the curse of the law (such as sickness, captivity, and poverty) back to the cross. Our eyes may see a pita cracker and grape juice, but our spiritual eyes should see the transfer from us to Him, making an exchange with Jesus. His health and life for our broken bodies. His riches for our poverty. It might be difficult to think of communion in this way, but Jesus never said it was symbolic. Religion did! Modern ignorance did!
I’m yelling in bold, because this is good! This is exciting!! This is your peace, your freedom, your healing, your prosperity, your new life, your covenant, your closer walk with the Lord!! These are all things the end time church is struggling with!! Never dismiss communion as symbolic! You are disarming the power of God available to you!
Let’s see how the disciples reacted to Jesus speaking LITERAL TRUTH, continuing on from above, John 6:60-69, Jesus keeps speaking literally…
60Then many of his talmidim (disciples) said, “This – this word is hard; who is able to obey it?” 61And when Yeshua (Jesus) heard their measure of faith he said, “Who will terrify you 62when you see the Son of man ascending where he had been first? 63It is the Ruach (Holy Spirit, Breath of God) that makes alive; the flesh does not benefit any one. The words that I spoke to you are Ruach {Holy Spirit} and life; 64but some of you are those who do not believe!” (For Yeshua {Jesus} who knows former things, knew whom they were who believed, and who would deliver him up.) 65And he said, “Because of this have I said to you that no one is able to come unto me, except if it is given to him of my Father.”
Did you see it? His words, concerning eating His flesh and drinking His blood, that He spoke are Holy Spirit and life. Our Greek translation in NKJV says, “Spirit and life.” Communion is Holy Spirit and life. That bread and juice you’re taking, it is alive!! Again, in no way anything Jesus is saying indicates symbolism. To hold on to symbolism, it would have to be said that the Holy Spirit and life are also symbolic, which is what’s actually weird and unbiblical.
66Because of this many of his talmidim (disciples) returned back, and many did not walk with him anymore. 67Then Yeshua (Jesus) said to twelve who remained, “Do you also want to go?” 68So Shimon Keipha (Simon Peter) answered, “Adon (Lord), to whom can we go? The words of everlasting life are yours! 69And we believe you, and we know that you are Mashiach (Messiah), the Son of El (God).” 70Then Yeshua (Jesus) answered them, “Did not I, I choose you twelve? – One of you is an adversary!” 71(And he said this of Yehudah Ish-Qeriot {Judas Iscariot} – that this one would betray him, who was one of the twelve.)
After Jesus told his disciples they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood, they left Him and followed Him no more. That would have been the perfect time for Jesus to claim symbolism! But it was some pretty hardcore insisting on Jesus’ part! That’s why we must take it literally in the spiritual realm!!! I encourage you next time you read John 6:48-69 ask for revelations. The Lord will open your understanding even further. When we’re inquisitive He will share something extra.
We’ll skip over to Paul’s revelation of communion, Corinthians 11:27-32 and then we will end for this week. There was a lot of pounding in your head communion is literal, but it wasn’t me! Jesus is the one repeating Himself over and over, because it’s so important! In Hebrew they stressed importance by repeating. If you count how many times Jesus says eating and drinking Him is literal, we ought to print it out and put it on our fridge. Hehe
27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31or if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
If communion was purely symbolic, then why is Paul telling us that Christians partaking unworthily are guilty, then judged, and sentenced with weak, sick, and death? Think about that for a while. Communion isn’t pure symbolism. On the flip side of this, if you take communion in a worthy manner, you can be blessed, strengthened, healed, and filled with more of His life. Right? Why would there be a punishment on one side, and no blessing on the other. It’s like we talked about above, you can make that exchange with Jesus, the curse of the law for a blessing. Jesus won the victory, it’s our job to enforce it.
Think about this, if someone keeps crying, “I’m so unworthy…” as they’re taking communion, they’re saying, “I’m guilty.” What does the judgment guilty carry? Paul said it’s “weakness, sickness, and death!” Don’t give place to a devil. If you examined yourself….
You are innocent and you are worthy!
Never announce to the enemy that you are guilty and open to be judged with weakness, sickness, and death. Say it out loud, “I am innocent, and I am worthy!” Hold fast to that confession.
After I was inspired to write about those partaking unworthily, I was praying, and the Holy Spirit brought something to my mind. A particular pastor of a church I attended as a young adult for a while either allowed or taught, it was going on before I got there, two deacons to pray horrible unworthy-unworthy-unworthy of your body and blood crying drama prayers over communion. The third deacon was more positive. I witnessed it for 3 years. One deacon died of brain tumors, the pastor died of cancer, and the other deacon died of a heart attack. The third deacon had a heart attack, he’s older now, but as far as I know he’s alive. All 3 of them crying unworthy died young. Don’t get me wrong!! Personally speaking, I’m not saying anything against them!! The pastor was a kind patient caring man, but his doctrine was way off and it affected other people. There is absolute truth in scripture. Examine yourself, judge yourself, and take communion literally in the spiritual realm as WORTHY!
I’m going to end here for this week. I got overly excited about communion, and wanted to make sure you walk away with the understanding that communion is “Holy Spirit and life.” The next part is as equally as exciting. These are life changing revelations from the Holy Spirit. Just making some small adjustments in understanding can give you better results in your prayer life. Next week, we’ll continue on with another reason why communion is important. Then we’ll finish up with yeast or no yeast, which will be a fascinating lesson from the Old Testament.
Holy Spirit, please let the understanding that we are innocent, worthy, and welcome at the throne sink down deep into our hearts and become revelational knowledge that comes alive inside us in a new way!
Christi
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