The Cup of Communion

A word for Easter

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor.10:16)

It is impossible to lay too much stress upon the word "communion" in this very well‑known passage. All too often it is taken to mean an entering into fellowship, a sense of union, of "being together," much as is implied by modern usage of the English word "commune." There was more, far more, than that in the Apostle’s mind when he penned these words. The ceremony he was talking about, the remembrancing from time to time of our Lord’s death, with all that it implies for the Church and for humanity, is something too holy and too sacred to be defined merely in terms of a getting together in the bonds of a fellowship or a family relationship, intimate though these bonds may be. Paul here is reminding his readers that in putting to their lips the chalice which represented the lifeblood of their Lord, slain on their behalf, they were deliberately and knowingly associating themselves with him in the purpose for which He was about to die, the reconciliation of humankind to God. This word communion, koinonia, means to share, to participate, and this implies action, joint action with the One who was about to give his life for the world. That meant in turn that they were consecrating themselves to follow him into death, baptised into his death as Romans 6:3 has it, that they might rise with him in newness of life and thenceforward be associated with him in his destined work of giving life to the world.

The key to the inner meaning of the text is perhaps found in our Lord’s words at the Last Supper, recorded in Matt.26:27‑28. "He took the cup...and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the New testament (Covenant), which is shed for many for the remission of sins." The ceremonial drinking of the cup with him in the knowledge that it represented his shed blood denoted a great thing. It meant that they were to share with him, to be associated with him, in that still future work which was ensured by the shedding of his blood. To drink of his cup meant to follow in the same way, to be devoted to the same end, to be dead to the world in the same sense as was Jesus, and consequently to be joined to him in the resurrection life and be co‑workers with him in all that He is to do for humankind in that resurrection life. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two aspects of our Lord’s sacrifice and death. In the first place He came to earth to give himself a Ransom for all, as Paul states in 1 Tim.2:6, and this is something He must needs do alone, for only He could be acceptable in the sight of the Father as the Redeemer of humanity. When God "so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:1) He did so in light of the fact that no other Redeemer was possible and no other available. It is in Adam that all die, and it is only in Christ that all can be made alive. (1 Cor.15:22) But the making people truly alive involves two things: they must first be raised from the death state into which they have fallen on account of sin, and this is the effect of the Ransom. They must then be restored to the Divine likeness in order that they can enter into the eternity, which is the crown of eternal life, for nothing that is defiled can enter into the Holy City. (Rev.21:27) It is this work of restoration of man in which the followers of Jesus are associated and to which they pledge themselves when they partake of his Cup. It is a cup of dedication, of service, of endurance, of faithfulness even unto death. "If we be dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with him." (2 Tim.2:11‑12) This is why Jesus called his blood the "blood of the New Covenant." There had been an Old Covenant, an agreement with God entered into by Israel at Mount Sinai by virtue of which that people was constituted a holy nation dedicated to proclaiming the promise of Divine salvation to the ends of the earth and so, announcing the coming fulfilment of the Divine purpose. They failed, lamentably, because of unbelief and hard‑heartedness. So, God told them through the prophet Jeremiah that one day He would make a New Covenant, which would succeed where they had failed; when Jesus came He made it clear that its success would be because the power behind it would be the giving of his own life as was foretold in Isaiah 53, and its ministers would be the faithful of the Christian Church, who would endure to the end in a manner that Israel had not.

If we share in the communion cup, then, we who are Christ’s are to be ministers of his in extending the blessings of the New Covenant to whosoever will of all humanity, living and dead alike. Those will then have the opportunity to turn from whatever there is of sin in their minds and lives and serve the living God.