The Value of Holy Communion in the Life of Christians in the Christ Apostolic Church
Chapter One
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To find out the impact of holy communion in the life of a Christian
- To know the significant of the holy communion in Christian life
- To find out believe of Christians in the Christ Apostolic Church about holy communion
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
HOLY COMMUNION
REMEMBER the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts xx. 35. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. St. Matt. v. 16. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. St. Matt. vi. 19, 20. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. St. Matt. vii. 21. He that soweth little shall reap little; and he that soweth plenteously shall reap plenteously. Let every man do according as he is disposed in his heart, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Cor. ix. 6, 7. While we have time, let us do good unto all men; and especially unto them that are of the household of faith. Gal. vi. 10. God is not unrighteous, that he will forget your works, and labour that proceedeth of love; which love ye have showed for his Name’s sake, who have ministered unto the saints, and yet do minister. Heb. vi. 10. To do good, and to distribute, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Heb. xiii. 16. Whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 1 St. John iii. 17. Be merciful after thy power. If thou hast much, give plenteously; if thou hast little, do thy diligence gladly to give of that little: for so gatherest thou thyself a good reward in the day of necessity. Tobit iv. 8, 9.
When a believer partakes of the Lord’s Supper, he should do so with full understanding of its significance. Communion, to many people, has become only a religious observance. It has a much deeper meaning than that. The Communion table is an emblem of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28). Primarily, the Church has centered its attention on the wine as an emblem of Jesus’ blood that was shed for sin. We take the emblem of blood and say, “Thank God, we are delivered from sin,” and that is true! Praise God for it! But the blood is only half of Communion. The bread is an emblem of Jesus’ body that was broken for us. The emblem for His body is just as important as the emblem for His blood. According to Isaiah 53:4-5, Jesus’ sacrifice covered every area of man’s existence. He bore spiritual torment for sins, mental distress for our worry, care and fear as well as physical pain for our sickness and disease. The stripes He bore were for our healing. With His stripes we are healed. God gave everything He had to redeem mankind from the curse. For us to receive only part of His sacrifice is an insult to Him. When we receive Communion, we are receiving His body and His blood. Every time we partake, we should examine ourselves closely according to 1 Corinthians 11:28-29. “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” There is much more involved in receiving Communion than most Christians realize. God instituted the Lord’s Supper for a reason. When you receive it, you should be ready to partake of everything Jesus’ sacrifice provided—salvation, peace of mind, healing, total prosperity. In the past, we have missed the full meaning of Communion by not completely judging ourselves when we have partaken of it. We have been ready to receive His blood and quick to judge ourselves where sin is concerned. We judge ourselves of sin and repent of it. But what about His body?
Chapter Three
HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION
The Holy Eucharist is the most important of the seven sacraments because, in this and in no other sacrament, we receive the very body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. Innumerable, precious graces come to us through the reception of Holy Communion.
Holy Communion is an intimate encounter with Christ, in which we sacramentally receive Christ into our bodies, that we may be more completely assimilated into his. “The Eucharist builds the Church,” as Pope John Paul II said (Redemptor Hominis 20). It deepens unity with the Church, more fully assimilating us into Christ (1 Cor. 12:13; CCC 1396).
Christ in the Eucharist also strengthens the individual because in it Jesus himself, the Word made flesh, forgives our venial sins and gives us the strength to resist mortal sin. It is also the very channel of eternal life: Jesus himself.
In John’s gospel, Jesus summarized the reasons for receiving Holy Communion when he said:
CHAPTER FOUR
Holy Spirit and Holy Communion
Many Christians, particularly in the Western world, are of the opinion that nothing certain can be said about the Holy Spirit and its workings. This notion probably derives from John 3:8, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The Spirit and those born of the Spirit cannot be grasped—like the wind. This understanding seems to correspond with the observation that in the Bible the word for spirit ( in the Old Testament and pneu’ma in the New Testament) can also denote the wind. Yet, the fact that we cannot dominate and define the Spirit does not mean that we cannot talk about it. The proverbial admonition to “strive for the knowledge of God” holds true also for the Holy Spirit. Many living and fast growing churches, especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, concentrate in their piety exactly on God’s Spirit and its workings.1 But what do we confess when we testify in the creed to our belief in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God? As with the wind, we can recognize the Spirit in its workings. The biblical sayings about the pouring out of the Spirit (Joel 2; the story of Pentecost in Acts 2) belong to the most important among the more than 300 biblical references that talkabout the Holy Spirit in a clear and definite way.2 Just as rain gives life to an entire region, so the “poured out” Spirit of God renews the life relations of human beings. They are brought into living new relations—to God and to each other. According to the promise in Joel, in this new community of saints, constituted through the Holy Spirit, there is equal place for men and women, old and young, and for socalled free persons and menservants and maidservants (in those days probably male and female slaves). In the Old Testament frame of mind, such a prospect is sensational. Thus, the group of people who normally have the say can no longer determine for others their understanding of God or define their faith.
Chapter Five
Participation in Christ’s body and his blood during celebration of Holy Communion
‘When Christians gather to celebrate Holy Communion, they engage in ritual behavior that involves interaction with a variety of symbols’ (Kubicki 2006:61). If liturgy is approached from this vantage point, we have to realise that liturgy in itself is an ensemble of signs or actions where the dominant value lies in the order of signification of meaning (Kubicki 2006:63). In particular, liturgy should support the central idea of Holy Communion, namely that a believer never receives Christ’s gifts apart from receiving Christ himself (Horton 2009:400). Horton, in his intriguing discussion on Calvin’s view on the Word and sacraments, indicates that it is pivotal that one should understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, all that he has done for the salvation of his children is of no value to us (Horton 2009:398–400). There should be a sense of connection between the frequent celebrations of Holy Communion (action) and our realisation of its meaning (signification). Wilson and Taylor (2015:15) relate to this view and indicate that signs and symbols enrich people’s lives in that God uses what is common to prepare participants in liturgy for what has depth and meaning.
Chapter Six
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusion
The article started by asking whether cognisance of the lenses of cognition and recognition of the deeper message of Holy Communion could enrich the conscious appropriation of salvation while celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion. This article responded positively to the research question and a framework of four quadrants emerged, namely participation, cognition, recognition and celebration. In order to address this issue, interviews were held. People acknowledged that they understood the essence of Holy Communion but often struggled to remember it while celebrating Holy Communion. It also became evident that cognition and recognition should be considered as bifocal lenses. The view on celebration is stretched further towards participation, while celebration is aimed at participation in daily life. The essence of what is happening within the one quadrant inevitably leads towards change in the other quadrants. Participation in the body and in the blood of Christ in Holy Communion without thorough cognition and the vividness of recognition could seriously endanger a festive celebration of Holy Communion and also the appropriation of salvation. The celebration of Holy Communion without the cognition of the meaningfulness of true participation could lead to formalism. The celebration of Holy Communion without recognition (remembrance) could lead to a ritual of mere thinking of what happened thousands of years ago and blind spots about the continuation of liturgy could occur
Recommendation
The purpose of communion is to “receive from Christ the nourishment and strength and hope and joy,” said pastor and theologian John Piper. They “come from feasting our souls on all that He purchased for us on the cross; especially His own fellowship. It is recommended that Christian take part in Holy Communion
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