17. Relationship Words in the Word: Communion

17. Relationship Words in the Word: Communion.

“The blessing-cup which we bless, is it not a (“ koinonia”) communion of, a sharing in, the blood of Christ? Is not the cup of wine for which we thank God a (“koinonia”) joint-participation in the blood of Messiah? And the loaf of bread which we break, is it not a (“koinonia”) fellowship in the body of Christ? And though we are many, we all (“koinonia”) participate with each other by eating from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

“Koinonia” may be the closest Greek word in the ancient world to the modern term “relationship,” and it is biblically described as meaning: fellowship; personal communion; held in common; shared partnership; close companionship; in community; active participation; partakers; deeply united; intimately bonded; dwell or abide within. The word “relationship” is a relatively new word, first used in 1744, that tries to sum up many old ideas. Relationship is very modern word, not even mentioned in the Bible, but the concept is as old as the hills, as ancient as creation, as eternal as the Trinity. So there are a truckload of terms and ideas in Scripture that describe different aspects of relationship, words like fellowship, community, partnership, neighbor, with, union, body, friend, yokefellow. We have biblical titles that describe relationship, like Trinity, Emmanuel and Paraclete. And we can find biblical pictures of relationship in marriage, friendship, companionship, and family. Even the word “knowledge” is a relationship word. There is one Greek term, though, that we’ll discuss later in this series, and it seems to come closest to “relationship,” and that New Testament word is “koinonia.”

Why is the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, called ‘Communion’? Various Study Bible notes and commentaries offer these insights in response to that question about relationship: The eucharistic communion is with Christ and all its participants; By sharing in the Body of Christ, Christians are united to Jesus and one another; The Eucharist makes the unity of the Church a reality; Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all are partakers of the one bread; Because there is one loaf, our many-ness became one-ness; Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us…Rather, we become unified in Him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are, instead He raises us to what He is; By partaking of one broken loaf, the emblem of our Savior’s broken body who is the only true bread that came down from heaven, we coalesce into one body, we become members of Christ and one another; Those who eat the outward elements make a profession of having this communion, of belonging to God and to one another; Communion signifies the participation and fellowship believers have with Christ and with each other through the shared experience of the meal; Communion brings about a spiritual union as believers participate in the reality of Christ’s presence in the elements.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Agape-Love each other. Just as I have agape-loved you, you should agape-love each other.” (John 13:34-35).

Agape Love – Agape love is the supreme of all the loves, and desires the highest good of someone else. Agape is “the highest level of love known to humanity,” (C. S. Lewis), and thus can only come from above with God as its source. Agape love is the ultimate expression of God’s nature, the essence of His character (see Exodus 34). Agape love is not Eros, which is romantic love. It is not Phileo, which is brotherly love. It is not Storge, which is family love. Agape love is the divine love that can only come to us from the heart of God. Agape love is the love shared between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is truly the source of all these other loves, but it is only agape love that is poured into our hearts from the Holy Spirit, to those who believe in Christ. Agape love is an eternal virtue outlasting all the other virtues (1 Corinthians 13:8). Agape love is the primary fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) Agape love, the sacred love of God, is universal, it is a gift of grace, it is highly active, it is sacrificial, and it is unconditional. Agape was translated into Latin as Caritas, and thus agape has long been translated as Charity.

The Communion Sacrament is Rooted in Relationship through the Agape Love Feast. Soon after Jesus returned to His heavenly home to be with the Father, the Christ-followers began to adopt various aspects of the life they shared with Him, to remember His life and ministry on earth, to strengthen their faith in Him, to grow into His life and dwell in Him during His absence. One of those activities that was a centerpiece of their communal life was a weekly meal together. They called this potluck dinner “the Agape,” or the Love Feast. It’s fascinating to consider that the Agape meal was central to their worship together as they sought to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Every week in their house churches, they enjoyed each other’s presence around the table sharing a meal. According to early church documents like the Didache, the Agape meal was their community dinner where everyone brought foods to share, including with those visitors and interested parties who were not Christians. The Love Feast was their regularly scheduled time to bond, a time when they could participate in an activity that was filled with the Spirit of Jesus. The usual order of events was to meet together for the meal in one of the house churches, and towards the end of the meal they would worship through the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The Agape was significant in the life of the early church for many reasons:

1. When the early believers in Christ decided to call this communal meal “the Agape,” it was the logical thing to do. One of Jesus’ favorite words was agape, which defined His identity and mission and ministry. Everyone knew that if you wanted to follow Jesus, if you truly wanted to live in Christ, then agape would become your lifestyle of choice, your identity as a Christ-follower. I have my doubts that the Apostles got together and brainstormed a list of possible titles for their worship meal together, and then rolled the dice, and settled on Agape because it seemed like there was nothing better to use. The Apostles knew Jesus better than anyone, and so what other word best describes their Savior? Agape was the only option. Jesus urged them all to love each other the way He loved them! Agape, all the way.
2. The Love Feast continued the high value that Jesus placed on sharing meals. Christ was indeed the King of the Table and Lord of the Feast during His ministry. He enjoyed the interaction around the table, the opportunity to rub shoulders with a wide variety of people, everyone from Matthew’s outcasts to the leaders of the Pharisees. Sharing a meal in that culture was a sign of acceptance and respect and friendship, which of course characterized Jesus quite well. And too, many of Christ’s parables focused on the meal and food and the joyful act of sharing food together, such as the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14; the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-31, and the Great Supper in Luke 14:15-24. Eating a meal together as believers might even seem like they were stepping into one of Jesus’ stories. One would expect that many fond memories would be recalled of simply eating with Jesus, whether around a table or around the campfire. Jesus’ fondness for food and fellowship around the table was well known, and He even developed a reputation with the religious establishment as “a glutton and a winebibber.” (Luke 7:34). Eating together brought joy to Jesus, and so it’s no surprise that it brought joy to His followers as well.
3. The Agape meal was a natural lead-in to the high point of the worship service, the Lord’s Supper. The communal meal led perfectly into Communion, which is the ultimate Love Feast. In their life together, the Christians earnestly “broke bread” together in the Eucharist in remembrance of the Savior, and as an act of obedience to what He instructed the disciples to do when He was gone from their midst. What better way to live into the Presence of Christ than to go from sharing bread and wine together to partaking of the Body and the Blood together?
4. One New Testament scholar observed that the Agape feast was enjoyed in the spirit of Christ’s parable of the Great Supper in Luke 14:13-24. In this story, the generous host asked his servants to invite “the poor and the crippled, the lame and the blind.” And while you’re at it, the host said, don’t forget to go out into the highways and byways and hedges and invite complete strangers and traveling foreigners to come and eat with us. After all, the host wanted to spread the joy and the festivity, and he wanted his house to be full of guests hunkered around a hearty meal. Perhaps the Great Supper story was the prototype for the Agape meal?
5. The Agape was a prime example of what Jesus valued so highly … Fellowship! The Greek word for that idea is “koinonia,” and it came into play first in Acts 2:42, 46, 47: “All the believers devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, to fellowship (Koinonia), to sharing meals including the Lord’s Supper (“breaking of the bread”), and to prayer. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and they shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. ”Koinonia is a term that only applies to spiritual matters, and it happens when people share something in common that bonds them together. And certainly the followers of Jesus had a lot to share together… their new life in Christ; their need to build each other up; a desire to forge spiritual relationships; offer support and encouragement for each other; material blessings like food, clothes, sustenance; the profound spiritual blessings to rejoice together in their common forgiveness in Christ, their destiny in the New Kingdom with Jesus; the amazing blessing of having the Holy Spirit in their midst; and the “fellowship of suffering” (Philippians 3:10) that all Christians shared as they picked up their cross daily and followed Jesus.
6. The Love Feasts reminded all the early believers that they would have no fellowship at all were it not first for their fellowship with God. The shared companionships of the believers were rooted in their intimate fellowship with God. “We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard, so that we may have fellowship (koinonia) with you. For truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ”(1 John 1:3). In other words, the union that the believers experienced together at the Agape meals is impossible without their primary union with Christ. The community they celebrate together is based on their togetherness with Jesus. We are first called to be partners with Christ, companions with Christ, which then allows us to experience koinonia with each other. Communion with God is the source for communion with each other. The relationship with God enables us to enjoy relationships with each other. The Agape meal joined with the Lord’s Supper confirms that important truth… “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we then have fellowship (“Koinonia”) with one another.” (1 John 1:7).

“Jesus took some unleavened bread called matzah, and gave thanks to God. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ After supper He took another cup of wine and said, ‘This cup is the New Covenant between God and His people – an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.’” (Luke 22:19-20).

Feasting on Communion. The holy Eucharist is our heavenly banquet. There is a spiritual reality to God’s presence in the Body and Blood of Jesus in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. It can be described as a physical point of contact with spiritual reality, or material matter that is a channel of God’s grace to the believer. In this great mystery, the bread and wine are offered to God, and the Holy Spirit transforms those elements to the presence of Jesus, His flesh and blood. The outer, visible substance of the bread and wine are unchanged, but the inner reality, the “essence,” is transformed into the spiritual substance of the glorified Christ. Physical food is transformed into spiritual food. Through those physical elements we contact a divine reality, we encounter Jesus through the actions of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we could look on Eucharist as the mystery of combining both metaphor and reality. This sacrament is a remembrance of Christ’s death, a celebration of our forgiveness, a memorial to His passion and sacrifice. But then again there is also a reality to Communion, a spiritual reality. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast!” (1 Cor. 5:8, and BCP). The Incarnation revealed to us the miracle of how something physical could be spirit-bearing, so why not the elements of Communion as well? The Bread and Wine are indeed spiritual food for those who receive in faith. “Truly, truly, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53).

Active Remembrance. When Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” He wasn’t limiting remembrance to merely a mental activity. Jesus was referring to the biblical understanding of remembrance, that remembering involved personal experience. Remembering something always brought with it the purpose of bringing the past into the present, of having the person doing the remembering participate in the memory. Jesus wants the New Covenant to be brought into the current reality whenever we remember His body and blood. Jesus intended the Communion act to have an impact on the person who is doing the remembering. He wants the body and blood of the past sacrifice to remain real and effectual, taking effect now as surely as it did during Christ’s Passion. The elements of Communion, through faith in Jesus and the work of the Spirit, are intended to become a part of our spiritual digestive system, a vital part of who we are in our current spiritual walk with God. The body and the blood of the past is intended to become present to us now in its original power and fullness, real spiritual food, enabling us to grow in the Lord. The life that the Father gives to the Son passes to us through the Eucharist! The mystery of the mutual indwelling… We have Christ in us, and we are in Christ. A Holy Communion that extends into a communion with each other.

The Messianic Banquet. The Eucharist is often described as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, the Supper of the Lamb. The Wedding Supper in heaven continues to be inaugurated in the Eucharist, reminding us of that glorious meal awaiting all those who believe in Him. Based on Isaiah 25, all Jews then and now expect and yearn for a messianic banquet at the coming of God’s kingdom. “And the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh Sabaoth, will prepare a lavish banquet of rich food for all peoples on this mountain; a delicious banquet of aged wine, succulent food with choice meat, and well-strained wines. He will swallow up death for all time. And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces. And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for Yahweh has spoken; And it will be said in the day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9). The deep spiritual meanings of all earthly marriages are now made clear. God has revealed what Scripture has been pointing toward, and what the angels have been anticipating… the spiritual romance of Groom and Bride, the union of the Lamb and the Church (Revelation 19:6-9). The Lord has been yearning for this eternal union to be spiritually consummated. He has desired this fulfillment of spiritual intimacy. After coming to the Bride’s house on earth, the Groom has now led the wedding party to the house of the Father, the home of the Groom, for the marriage celebration. This is the time prophesied by Jesus at the Last Supper, when He said, “I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:25). It is now time for the Groom to lift the cup of new wine.