Where is the Lord's Supper first explained in the Bible?
The Lord's Supper is first explained in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 26, where Paul writes to the Corinthians before the Gospels were written. This is the first chronological explanation and quotation of Jesus' words, presenting the bread and cup as reminders of His finished work and death.
Les teaches that this is the first time the Lord's Supper is explained, and he cites a commentator who suggests it is probably the first chronological quotation of Jesus in Scripture because the Gospels had not yet been written. Paul, therefore, could not go back to Matthew or another Gospel writer; before the Gospels existed, he wrote the same words to the Corinthians. First Corinthians 11:26 gives the doctrinal reason: as often as believers eat the bread and drink the cup, they show forth or remind themselves of the Lord's death. Les also points out there is no stipulation from the Apostle about how often a church practices the Lord's Supper—whether often or not as often, weekly, yearly, quarterly, or monthly, that is each church's prerogative.