The Lord's Supper is a memorial of Christ's death—a time to remind yourself of His broken body and shed blood until He comes.
According to Les Feldick's teaching, the purpose is to remind yourself of Christ's death, not to earn salvation or to satisfy physical needs. The bread and cup symbolize His body and blood, and as 1 Corinthians 11:26 states, believers show forth the Lord's death until He returns.
1 Corinthians 11:26 — This verse directly states that eating the bread and drinking the cup shows forth the Lord's death until He comes.
The Bible, in 1 Corinthians 11, records the institution of the Lord's Supper. Paul writes, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."
Les Feldick emphasizes that the Lord's Supper is purely a memorial—a time to remind yourself of Christ's death, His shed blood, and His resurrection. It has nothing to do with salvation; the Corinthians were already saved. Paul received this revelation directly from the Lord, not from the Twelve or any human source. The frequency of observance is not prescribed; it is left to the individual church's discretion.
Les Feldick points out that at the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, but the disciples had no idea what it meant. No explanation was given at that time. The full meaning was not revealed until Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11, and even then, it was only a picture until Christ's death was accomplished.
Les explains that the Corinthians were abusing the Lord's Supper by turning it into a potluck supper, indulging in food and wine to excess. They were more concerned with satisfying physical hunger and getting drunk than with the solemn remembrance of Christ's death. Paul's correction was to remind them of the true purpose: to show forth the Lord's death until He comes.
Les Feldick teaches that the Bible gives no stipulation regarding frequency. Whether a church practices it every Sunday, once a year, quarterly, or monthly, it is up to them. The key is that whenever it is observed, participants remind themselves of the Lord's death.
Institution at the Last Supper
Les shows that at the Last Supper, the disciples had no understanding of what Jesus meant by the bread and cup; no explanation was given at that time.
Purpose as Reminder
Les states the only purpose is to remind yourself that Christ died, His blood was shed, and He arose from the dead—a solemn experience.
Does Not Affect Salvation
Les emphasizes that the Lord's Supper has nothing to do with salvation; believers are saved regardless of their practice of the table.
First Written Explanation
Les notes that Paul's account in 1 Corinthians 11 is the first time the Lord's Supper is explained in Scripture, and it was received by revelation.
Show Forth the Lord's Death
Les teaches that the doctrinal reason is to show forth the Lord's death, with no set frequency—each church decides.
Corinthian Abuse
Les describes how the Corinthians turned the Lord's Supper into a potluck, leading to excesses and the need for Paul's correction.
No Explanation in Gospels
Les stresses that even in the Gospel accounts, Jesus gave no explanation for the cup and bread; it was simply dropped.
Potluck Context
Les explains that the Corinthians were having a potluck supper before the Lord's Supper, which led to drunkenness and hunger imbalance.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
This passage is the primary scriptural basis for the purpose of the Lord's Supper, emphasizing remembrance and proclamation of Christ's death.
Matthew 26:26-28: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, 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.
This records the institution of the Lord's Supper at the Last Supper, but Les notes the disciples did not understand its meaning until later.
No, as Les Feldick explains, the Lord's Supper has nothing to do with salvation. Believers are already saved; participating in the Lord's table is a reminder of Christ's death, not a means of grace.
The bread symbolizes Christ's body broken for believers, and the cup symbolizes His blood shed for the remission of sins. They are to be taken in remembrance of Christ's death.
It means that by partaking of the bread and cup, believers publicly proclaim and remind themselves of the fact of Christ's death until He returns. It is a continual memorial.
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