What Is Communion For?

The short answer: Jesus gave it to His followers so that they would remember His death, share in Him together, and look forward to His return. Christians agree on that much. They differ about what exactly happens when the bread and wine are shared, and this chapter sets out the main views fairly.

It goes by different names: Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, the breaking of bread. In some churches it happens every week, in others once a month. Some use wine, some grape juice; some use a single loaf, some small wafers. But almost every church in the world does it, because Jesus told them to.

Where it comes from

On the night before He died, Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples. Paul tells what happened: “The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” Then He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (1 Corinthians 11:23–25). The first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

Where Christians agree

• It looks back. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Communion keeps the cross at the centre: Jesus’ body given and His blood poured out for us.
• It looks forward. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Every Communion is a reminder that the story isn’t over.
• It draws us together. “Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body” (1 Corinthians 10:17). You don’t take Communion alone. You share it with Christians of every age and background.
• It calls for honesty. “Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). That isn’t about being perfect. It’s about coming to Jesus without pretending.
• Jesus is no stranger at His own table. Every view below believes that Christ meets His people in it somehow.

Where Christians differ

The disagreement is about Jesus’ words “This is My body”, and what Paul meant when he asked, “And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16).

A memorial. Many Baptist and independent churches see Communion mainly as a remembrance and a proclamation. The bread and wine are signs, like a photograph of someone you love. Christ is present by His Spirit as He always is with His people, and the meal helps believers remember Him with gratitude and renew their trust.

Spiritual presence. Presbyterian and Reformed churches, and many Anglicans, believe that Christ is truly present in Communion, not inside the bread and wine but by His Spirit, so that believers who receive it in faith are really fed by Him. It is more than a reminder; it’s a means God uses to strengthen faith.

Real presence. Lutherans believe Christ’s body and blood are truly present in, with and under the bread and wine. Catholic and Orthodox Christians go further, believing the bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood. For them, Communion is the very heart of worship.

These views are held by people who love Jesus and take His words seriously. This book won’t settle which is right. Churches also differ on who may take Communion, for example whether you need to have been baptised first, so it’s worth asking your own church.

Why it matters for you

Whatever view your church holds, Communion is a gift. Jesus knew we forget. We get busy, distracted, discouraged. So He gave us something to see, touch and taste, a meal that says: He died for you, He is with you, and He is coming back.

After He rose, two disciples walked with Jesus without recognising Him until He sat at their table, “took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it”, and “their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus” (Luke 24:30–31). That’s what this meal is for.

Think about it: Next time you’re at Communion, which matters most to you right now: looking back, looking forward, or being joined to others?

Go deeper: Till He Come by Charles H. Spurgeon — these are addresses Spurgeon gave at the Lord’s table; in this one, on Jesus’ promise “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you”, he tells believers they are not orphans, because the living Christ comes to them by His Spirit, and remembers times at the table when the bread and wine “assisted my faith”. Start with chapter 19, “The Believer Not an Orphan”.