The Lord’s Supper and Salvation
Is partaking in the Lord’s Supper essential to our salvation? This was the question posed to me recently by a friend of mine. What do the scriptures say about this?
We will start by reading from the Old Testament. Ex. 12 deals with how the Passover should be observed. You may ask, ‘why bother about Passover now?’ Read Cor.5:7, Christ (Messiah) our Passover is sacrificed for us’. The people of Israel were told to sacrifice a lamb on the day of Passover. They were to apply the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their dwellings so that the angel of death would ‘pass over’ their house without harming them. They were to eat the flesh of the lamb that same night. Here we see the first parallel between Passover and Lord’s Supper. The blood of the lamb would deliver Israel from death. The blood of Messiah will deliver us from damnation. John.6: 53 says,’ except ye eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you’.
We will be alive physically but dead spiritually.

 Cor.11: 24-25 says, ‘do this in remembrance of me’. This is a commandment given by Messiah to observe the breaking of bread. This verse, read with John.6.58 makes it clear that when we eat the bread which is the flesh of messiah, we shall live forever.
In the Old Testament days, the people would go to the priest and he would offer sacrifices on their behalf for the atonement of their sins. However the priest was not without sin. So he had to cleanse himself first and then sacrifice on behalf of the people. But now ‘Christ (Messiah) being come an high priest of good things to come..’.(Heb 9.11) by one sacrifice, has washed away all our sins. He is the mediator of the New Testament (Heb.9:15). ‘For if the blood of bulls and of goats…sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ (Messiah) purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God (Yahweh)?’ (Heb.9: 13-14) When do we serve the living God?  Only when we live. When do we live? When we partake of His flesh and blood! The blood of Messiah not only makes us alive, but also gives us salvation. Look in 2 Tim. 2: 10. Salvation is in Messiah.

In Ex. 12, we have read about the Passover lamb. The blood of this lamb, spread on the doorposts, saved that house and its inhabitants. When John the Baptist saw Christ (Messiah) the first time, he proclaimed, ‘Behold the Lamb of God (Yahweh) which taketh away the sins of the world!’ Yes, The Passover lamb could only protect the people from death, but the Lamb of God (Yahweh) can and will take away the sins of the whole world...’in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins ‘ (Eph.1: 29)

In John.6:54 Messiah promised that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life and He will raise him up on the last day. What a wonderful promise and assurance! No amount of doing penance or sacrifices will give us eternal life. This does not mean that all who partake of his flesh and blood will be saved or will have eternal live. Paul cautions us in 1 Cor.11:27-30 that any one who eats and drinks unworthily will be guilty of the Lord’s blood and many had therefore perished. We should examine ourselves, correct ourselves, repent of our sins and come to Him with a clean conscience and then when we take part in the New Covenant, we will be raised up on the last day to meet him in heaven ( 1Thes.4:16-17).

In John6: 56 again Messiah says that he will dwell in a person who eats his flesh and drinks his blood. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God (Yahweh)? (1 Cor. 3:16 )The spirit of God (Yahweh) dwells in you. Now, the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in a dirty place. The word says, be ye holy as I am holy (Lev.11:45) If we want the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, if we want Messiah to be in us , we should be holy, cleansed of all sin. Saints are the habitation or dwelling place of Christ; he does not dwell in their heads and tongues, but in their hearts, and by faith, by eating his flesh, and drinking his blood. This is the means by which men receive him into their hearts, and retain him, and have communion with him.

Meditating upon the cross of Christ gives a begining to our repentance, love, and gratitude. We live by him, as our bodies live by our food. We live by him, as the members by the head, the branches by the root: because he lives we shall live also. He lives in us and we in him; for we are made partakers of the Divine nature: 2Pet.1: 14
Friends, the next time you get ready to take part in the Holy Communion, or the Breaking of Bread or the New Covenant, remember the wonderful promises the Messiah hold out to us. Do not be moved or swayed by un-Biblical theories or words but sincerely examine yourself, repent of your sins, ask Messiah to forgive you and then eat his flesh and drink his blood  claim the promise and He will surely fulfill them!