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Eating the Lord’s supper has no value unless the meaning is understood.

John 6:53 Then 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.

The meaning of this is becomes clear in the light of John 4.

John 4:32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

From this we see that ‘to eat’ has the spiritual meaning of ‘to do the will of’. To eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood means to live by Jesus’ commandments. He died for those who will obey his commandments.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Eating of the Lord’s supper, as well as being a memorial of his sacrifice, is an opportunity to examine our lives to see if we are living by his commandments.

AV 1 Corinthians 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

If we don’t understand that eating and drinking represents living by the commandments of Christ, then we are not discerning the Lord’s body and self-examination cannot be taking place.

The first Commandment after hearing the Gospel and believing it is to be baptised.

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved...

This is what happened.

Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

By immersion we are baptised into Christ’s death and rise from the water to begin a new life.

Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

If we have not submitted to the commandment of baptism by immersion for the remission our sins, we haven’t even begun the new life in Christ; we are still in our sins. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood symbolically in bread and wine in this situation is meaningless.

I hope this helps. 

Glenn Smith