A Complete Bible Study on Communion

Communion, also called the Lord’s Supper, is a profound ordinance given to the church by Jesus Christ Himself. It is simple in its elements, bread and the cup, yet weighty in its meaning. When practiced according to Scripture, communion brings believers back to the center of the gospel by calling us to remember the Lord’s death, to examine our hearts, and to proclaim our hope in His return. To understand the true purpose of communion, we must look at its biblical foundation, the way Jesus instituted it, and the warnings and instructions the Holy Spirit gave through the apostle Paul. We also need to clear away common misunderstandings that can shift communion from a Christ-centered memorial into something Scripture never claims it to be.

The First Instance of Bread and Wine

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. (Genesis 14:18-20)

The earliest notable appearance of bread and wine together in a sacred setting occurs in Genesis 14, when Melchizedek meets Abram. Melchizedek is identified as both “king of Salem” and “priest of God Most High,” and he brings out bread and wine as he blesses Abram. Scripture does not yet call this “communion,” but the scene stands out because it connects bread and wine with priestly blessing and worship of the true God.

This moment matters for a Bible study on communion because the New Testament later draws attention to Melchizedek to help us understand Jesus. Melchizedek’s unique position as both king and priest points forward to Christ, who is the rightful King and the eternal High Priest. The connection is not that Genesis 14 secretly describes the Lord’s Supper, but that God was already laying foundational patterns in Scripture that would later find their fulfillment in His Son. Bread and wine appear early, and later Jesus uses bread and the cup to teach His people about His body and blood.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. (Hebrews 7:1-3)

Hebrews does not present Melchizedek as a replacement for Jesus, but as a biblical signpost that helps us see the greatness and permanence of Christ’s priesthood. The Lord’s Supper is always meant to direct our faith to Jesus Himself. Even when we notice early patterns like bread and wine in Genesis, we do so to better appreciate the Lord who fulfills God’s plan, not to turn symbols into mysteries beyond what Scripture plainly teaches.

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)

The true institution of communion is found not in the Old Testament shadows, but in the clear, direct words of Jesus at the final Passover meal with His disciples. The timing is crucial. Passover was the memorial of God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt through the blood of the lamb. At that meal, Jesus intentionally pointed His disciples to a greater deliverance that would be accomplished through His own sacrifice.

When Jesus took the bread and the cup, He was not inviting His disciples into a vague spiritual experience. He was giving them a memorial ordinance tied to the new covenant, grounded in His real, historic death for sins. Notice the language. His blood would be “shed for many for the remission of sins.” Communion, then, is inseparably connected to the cross. It calls believers to remember that forgiveness is not achieved through our works, our religious performance, or our personal resolve, but through the atoning sacrifice of Christ.

Luke’s account highlights the memorial command even more explicitly, showing that Jesus intended this to continue in the life of the church.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:19-20)

Two truths should stand out. First, communion looks back to the giving of His body and the shedding of His blood. Second, it looks forward, because this memorial continues until the Lord returns. Communion is not designed to distract the church from the gospel into ritual. It is designed to keep the gospel central, so that believers repeatedly come back to what saved them and what sustains their hope.

Who Should Partake in Communion?

Therefore 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. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)

Scripture makes it clear that communion is for believers. It is not a casual ceremony for anyone who happens to be present, and it is not an evangelistic tool meant to include unbelievers in a sacred act they do not understand. Communion is a family meal for the family of God, and it assumes the participant has already come to Christ by faith. If a person has not repented and believed the gospel, the most urgent need is not to take communion, but to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

Paul’s warning to the Corinthians shows why this matters. The bread and the cup represent the Lord’s body and blood, and to partake “in an unworthy manner” is to handle a holy memorial with irreverence or hypocrisy. Notice that Paul does not say the believer must be sinless before participating. If that were the standard, no Christian could ever take communion. The emphasis is on self-examination, honesty before God, and proper discernment of what communion is and what it means.

In practical terms, communion is a time for believers to come to the Lord with humility. If we are harboring unrepentant sin, bitterness, or a defiant spirit, communion is not the moment to pretend everything is fine. It is a moment to confess what the Lord is already convicting us about, to seek His cleansing, and to remember that Christ’s blood was shed precisely because we needed a Savior. A fitting companion truth is found in John’s instruction about confession and cleansing, which helps believers approach God with honesty and confidence in Christ.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Communion, then, is not for the spiritually indifferent. It is for those who belong to Jesus and who are willing to take His command seriously: “Let a man examine himself.” It is a sacred moment of remembrance, gratitude, repentance where needed, and renewed faith in the gospel.

The Symbolic Nature of Communion

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19)

Communion is symbolic in the sense that the bread and the cup are visible reminders of the Lord’s sacrifice. The ordinance is not empty. Symbols in Scripture can be deeply meaningful. But the elements remain bread and the cup, and their purpose is to direct our hearts and minds to the reality they represent: Christ’s body given for us and His blood shed for us.

Jesus Himself gave the interpretive key when He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” The Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal. It is designed to help believers remember, proclaim, and worship. It is also designed to unify the church around the cross rather than around personal status, tradition, or preference.

Paul reinforces the memorial nature of communion when he repeats Jesus’ words and explains what the church is doing when it participates.

And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)

The repeated phrase “in remembrance of Me” is not incidental. It is the stated purpose. Communion is not presented as a repeated sacrifice of Christ, nor as a miraculous transformation of the elements, nor as a means of obtaining salvation. It is a God-given ordinance through which believers remember what Christ has already accomplished once for all.

This remembrance is not merely mental recall. In Scripture, remembrance often includes a responsive heart. We remember the Lord with worship, with gratitude, with renewed surrender, and with renewed love for His people. In that sense, communion is meant to be spiritually formative, not because the bread becomes something else, but because the Spirit of God uses obedient remembrance to center the believer again on the gospel.

Disputing Transubstantiation and Other Views

So Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54)

Different traditions have argued that communion involves a literal change in the elements or a special physical presence of Christ in the bread and the cup. The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation teaches that the bread and wine transform into the actual body and blood of Christ. The Lutheran view of consubstantiation proposes that Christ’s body and blood are present “in, with, and under” the bread and wine. While these positions differ from each other, they share a tendency to go beyond what Scripture actually states about the elements.

A key passage often raised in support of a literal eating and drinking is John 6. Yet John 6 is not a communion service. It is a public teaching moment where Jesus confronts unbelief and calls people to come to Him by faith. In the same chapter, Jesus makes plain that His focus is belief in Him, not consuming a ritual element. The chapter repeatedly ties eternal life to faith, and it explains the spiritual nature of His words.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (John 6:47)

When Scripture itself explains Scripture, we should listen carefully. Jesus uses vivid language to describe the necessity of receiving Him fully, not partially. To “eat” and “drink” in that context communicates personal participation in Christ by faith. This is consistent with the way Jesus often spoke in metaphors to reveal spiritual truth. He said, “I am the door,” and no one thought He was made of wood and hinges. He said, “I am the vine,” and no one thought He was a plant. In the same way, “This is My body” does not require a literal transformation of bread into flesh. It is figurative language tied to a memorial command.

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)

Another major biblical problem with transubstantiation and similar ideas is how they can imply, directly or indirectly, that Christ is being offered repeatedly. Scripture is emphatic that Jesus’ sacrifice is complete, final, and sufficient. Communion points back to that finished work. It does not repeat it, re-present it, or continue it in an ongoing sacrificial way.

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)

Communion should therefore be understood as a holy symbol and a commanded remembrance. It is sacred precisely because of what it represents, not because the elements change their substance. The power of communion is not in mystical transformation, but in gospel-centered remembrance, reverent participation, and obedient proclamation of the Lord’s death and return.

The Seriousness of Taking Communion Unworthily

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. (1 Corinthians 11:17-18)

Paul’s warnings about taking communion unworthily are sometimes quoted without considering the immediate context in Corinth. The Corinthians were turning a sacred remembrance into something careless and divisive. Their gatherings were marked by factions, pride, and selfishness. Some were treating the meeting like a social event where the wealthy ate well while others were humiliated and left hungry. In other words, the problem was not merely private sin in the heart. It was also public disrespect toward the body of Christ and the meaning of the ordinance.

Paul’s correction is sharp because communion is not a trivial ritual. To treat it lightly is to treat the Lord’s sacrifice lightly. That is why Paul says the person who partakes unworthily becomes “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” The issue is not that a believer becomes condemned eternally for a careless communion. The issue is that God disciplines His children when they dishonor what is holy.

For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:30-32)

These verses show the seriousness of God’s corrective discipline. They also show His mercy. “Chastened by the Lord” is not the same as being “condemned with the world.” God disciplines believers so that they will turn back, learn reverence, and walk in holiness. Communion, then, is a moment where the church should slow down and take stock.

Paul gives a simple, wise instruction: “Let a man examine himself.” This examination is not meant to create fear-driven introspection that forgets grace. It is meant to bring honest alignment with the gospel. If we are in sin, we confess and turn from it. If we are in conflict with a brother or sister, we pursue peace as much as possible. If we have been treating holy things as common, we repent and return to reverence. Proper communion is not rushed. It is thoughtful, worshipful, and centered on Christ.

Part of “discerning the Lord’s body” includes recognizing that the ordinance is about Jesus, not about us. Yet it also connects to the reality that believers are one body in Christ. This is why divisions, contempt, and selfishness in the church setting are so opposite to what communion proclaims. The bread and cup declare a Savior who gave Himself for His people. Our participation should reflect that same humility and love.

Relevant Scriptures and Reflections

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

The New Testament gives several passages that deepen our understanding of communion without changing its basic purpose. The Lord’s Supper involves remembrance, proclamation, fellowship, and unity. When Paul speaks of “communion” in 1 Corinthians 10, he is describing a real participation and sharing in what Christ accomplished. This does not require a change of substance in the elements. Rather, it speaks of spiritual fellowship. Believers come together around one Savior, one gospel, and one sacrifice, and the ordinance visibly preaches that unity.

John 6 in Context: Receiving Christ by Faith

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

John 6 is frequently pulled into communion debates, but the chapter itself tells us how to read its language. Jesus uses strong imagery to confront superficial interest and to call people to true faith. He explains that His words are “spirit” and “life,” and He insists that the decisive issue is believing in Him. Therefore, when He speaks of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, the point is not a ritual act that grants life, but a wholehearted reception of Christ and His sacrifice by faith. Communion, in turn, is a memorial ordinance for those who already believe, reminding them again of the sacrifice that saved them.

Acts 2: The Early Church and the Breaking of Bread

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)

The early church was marked by devotion to the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, prayer, and “the breaking of bread.” While the phrase “breaking of bread” can sometimes refer to ordinary meals, Acts 2:42 places it in a spiritual context alongside teaching and prayers. This shows that remembering Christ together was a steady practice in the life of the church. Communion was not treated as an occasional novelty, nor as a private mystical experience, but as a communal act of worship grounded in apostolic teaching.

This also highlights an important balance. Communion is personal in that each believer examines himself, but it is not private in the sense of being detached from the body of Christ. The Lord’s Supper is one of the ways the church gathers around the gospel as one people, giving thanks for one Savior.

Hebrews 10: Once-for-All Sacrifice and Finished Work

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:11-12)

Hebrews 10 is one of the clearest passages for guarding communion from becoming a repeated sacrifice. Old Testament priests offered sacrifices continually, but those sacrifices could never fully remove sin. Jesus, however, offered one sacrifice “for sins forever” and then sat down, signaling completion. Communion does not add to His work, extend His work, or repeat His work. Instead, it proclaims that His work is finished and sufficient.

This is why viewing communion as a memorial matters so much. A memorial does not recreate the event it remembers. It honors and proclaims it. The Lord’s Supper points believers to a completed cross and an empty tomb, and it strengthens the church’s focus on the gospel that saves.

Communion as Proclamation and Hope

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)

This verse beautifully summarizes the forward and backward look of communion. We look back to the Lord’s death, remembering that His body was given and His blood was shed for the remission of sins. We also look forward “till He comes,” because communion is connected to the believer’s hope in the return of Christ. Each time the church takes the bread and the cup in a worthy manner, it is preaching the gospel to itself and to all who observe. It is a proclamation that Jesus died, that His death matters, that salvation is found in Him, and that history is moving toward His return.

My Final Thoughts

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)

Communion is a beautiful act of worship that Christ gave to His church. When practiced according to Scripture, it keeps believers anchored to the cross, thankful for forgiveness, and alert to the Lord’s coming. It is not a mystical transformation of the elements, and it is not a repeated sacrifice. The bread and the cup are holy symbols, set apart by Christ’s command, that remind us of His broken body and shed blood. They direct our attention away from ourselves and back to the finished work of Jesus.

Communion is also serious. Paul’s instruction to examine ourselves is not meant to push believers away from the table in despair, but to bring us to the table with reverence, honesty, and gratitude. If we have been careless, the Lord calls us to discern what we are doing. If we have been in sin, the Lord calls us to confess and turn. If we have been divisive or unloving, the Lord calls us to remember that we are one body because of one Savior.

As you come to the Lord’s table, come remembering that salvation was purchased at great cost, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Come with thanksgiving. Come with a heart that values the unity of the church. And come with hope, because every faithful observance of communion quietly but powerfully proclaims the gospel: Jesus died for our sins, He rose again, and He is coming back.