Some Principles for Breaking of Bread Assemblies
ˇ§Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about
three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to
the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer.ˇ¨ (Acts 2:41-42) After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost to the early church, Peter was filled with the power of the Spirit
and proclaimed the Gospel. Jews who listened to the Word were illuminated by
the Holy Spirit, and about three thousand of them repented, turned to Christ
and were baptized that day. From then on, they stayed together and lived the
life of the church. The word ˇ§devotedˇ¨ used by Luke has the meaning of
patiently awaiting and single-mindedly engaging. It refers to believers
continuing to focus on four church activities, that is, obeying the apostlesˇ¦
teaching, mutual sharing and fellowship, the breaking of bread in remembrance
of the Lord, and praying to God with one heart. These were the prime activities
of the early church.
Because the early church fervently loved the Lord, so ˇ§every
day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.ˇ¨ (Acts 2:46) The
assemblies to break bread in remembrance of the Lord were conducted daily in
many homes, and they joined together to share food and meals as well. People
later called these gatherings love feasts (1 Corinthians 11:20-34, Jude 1:12).
It was a common practice in the early church. Although having frequent
congregational love feasts in our church is not feasible, it is still an
admirable affair for some members to dine and have fellowship at home. Our
church though does have weekly assemblies to break bread in remembrance of the
Lord. On the one hand, we observe the instruction of the Lord. On the other, it
is our wish to provide more opportunities for the brothers and sisters to think
of our Lord.
It is because believers in the Corinthian church formed
divisions and cliques and did not share equally at their love feasts, so some
remained hungry while others got drunk, that they messed up the solemn meeting
in remembrance of the Lord. Paul wrote a letter to remind them of rules to
observe at the Lordˇ¦s Table. The writer wants to draw out some principles from
his epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:23-34) that apply when
gathering to break bread:
1. ˇ§Do this
in remembrance of me.ˇ¨ (v. 24) The church must follow the instruction of the
Lord and partake of the unleavened bread and the juice of the grape together,
in remembrance of the Lord dying for our sins and fulfilling the redemption.
The gathering should have our Lord as the focus, not we ourselves as the focus.
So the hymns and Bible passages we share should concentrate on Jesus Christ
Himself, and glorify God through Him.
2. ˇ§For
whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes.ˇ¨ (v. 26) The main course at a Passover Feast should be roasted
lamb, yet Christ did not use the eating of mutton to signify His death. He used
the torn-up bread and the cup decanted of grape juice to depict His death for
us. The bread and the cup are symbols, and emblems of a covenant. It is not as
Catholic dogma alleges, that after blessings by the priest, they automatically
turn into the real flesh and blood of Christ.
3. ˇ§Therefore,
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will
be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.ˇ¨ (v. 27) Eating
the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord in a worthy manner naturally means
that we should remember Him as per His will, so that we do not offend Him. For
whoever does not follow the conduct of repentance, the conduct of separation
from sin, the conduct of trusting in the Son of God, the conduct of baptism
into the Lord, and the conduct of remembrance of the Lordˇ¦s covenant, and yet
eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord, he will bring on himself the
judgment of God.
4. ˇ§A man
ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.ˇ¨
(v. 28) Whenever we remember the Lord, we should self-examine, recognizing that
this is not a common feast. For this is a banquet that satisfies our stomachs,
a gathering that gives satisfaction to the Lord through our thanksgiving and
exaltation, and through it we can enjoy the pleasure of worship. Therefore,
before we attend any assembly to break bread in remembrance of the Lord, we
should distinguish and examine own our spiritual life, so that we do not come
under Godˇ¦s judgment.
To learn the breaking of bread assemblyˇ¦s significance to
our church and the right attitude towards remembering and worshipping the Lord,
refer to the second last page of our ˇ§Peace Hymnalˇ¨.
By: Daniel To
Peace Evangelical Church of Richmond Vancouver
June 4, 2006