When To Observe The Lord's Supper?
How often should Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper? If this question were presented to preachers of different churches today, it is certain that answers would vary. In denominationalism, there are different views concerning how often the Lord’s Supper should be observed.
Nevertheless, the Bible is the objective standard of authority that should be consulted for answers. What does the Bible say about the frequency with which the Lord’s Supper is to be observed? Consider an example from the New Testament that shows when early Christians partook of this memorial feast: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7). Notice three key ideas of this verse: (1) The disciples “came together”; (2) The disciples came together “upon the first day of the week”; (3) The disciples came together upon the first day of the week “to break bread.” Also, consider that Paul, an inspired apostle, was present. He sanctioned observing the Lord’s Supper “upon the first day of the week.” If Paul had wanted these early disciples to partake of the Lord’s Supper at some other time, then surely he would have told them. One can safely conclude, therefore, that the time for partaking of the Lord’s Supper is the first day of every week.
However, some object saying that if we partake of the bread and fruit of the vine every week, this memorial loses its significance. Therefore, some do not observe the Lord’s Supper weekly, but observe it monthly, quarterly, twice a year, or at other scheduled times.
A rational and Biblical response to this objection is that the Bible also teaches that early Christians gave of their means “upon the first day of the week” (I Corinthians 16:1-2). If partaking of the Lord’s Supper weekly causes it to lose its significance, then why does giving each week not cause giving to lose its significance? The Bible that teaches Christians to give “upon the first day of the week” is the same Bible that teaches Christians to partake of the Lord’s Supper “upon the first day of the week.”
Further, all agree that Christians “can” partake of this memorial feast each week. On the other hand, not everyone agrees that Christians can observe it monthly, quarterly, or at other varying times. Therefore, why not do that with which all agree and partake of the Lord’s Supper weekly, instead of causing division by observing communion at unscriptural times? If I were a member of a Church that did not partake of the Lord’s Supper each week, I would want to know why. Why not open the Bible to see whether these things are so?
