Sunday and the Lord's Supper
by
Dave Miller, Ph.D.
[Español]
Shortly before His death, Jesus observed the Old Testament feast of unleavened bread. In the process, He instituted the Lord"s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20), and told His disciples that this "communion" (1 Corinthians 10:16) would be observed in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29). The bread and the fruit of the vine were to function as symbols for the body and blood of Jesus that was offered on the cross as a sacrifice for the world. When is this practice of observing the Lord"s Supper to be done? On
Sunday?
Every Sunday?
Only on Sunday?
To answer these questions, the Scriptures must be approached with a view to determining what they teach. Surely, one key consideration is what the early church practiced under the apostles" guidance. When the New Testament is read, one observes what Christians actually practiced with regard to the Lord"s Supper, and what the apostles thus sanctioned.
A second key factor concerns the significance of the day Sunday. Does the New Testament assign any special meaning to Sunday? One cannot help but take note of the fact that Jesus" resurrection took place on Sunday (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:1; John 20:1). Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection on Sunday (John 20:19,26). Pentecost was a Jewish feast day (Leviticus 23:15 ff.), and it was on this feast day, ten days after the ascension of Jesus, that the church was established"which was a Sunday (see McGarvey, 1892, p. 19; Brewer, 1941, pp. 325-326). The New Testament church assembled on Sunday (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). The Lord"s Supper was observed on that day (Acts 20:7). Certainly, the day Sunday is infused with considerable religious significance.
Another factor to consider is the silence of the New Testament with regard to Saturday having any special significance to New Testament Christianity. Other than Sunday, Saturday would be the only serious contender for a day of religious significance. However, observance of the Sabbath was unquestionably a feature of Judaism"not Christianity"though the infant church was exclusively Jewish, and, in fact, initially reluctant to shed Mosaic practices (Acts 11:19; 15:1,5; 21:12). The same is true with regard to early church history. While certainly not the deciding criteria for New Testament Christians, early church history shows Acts 20:7 is not an incidental reference. Observance of the Lord"s Supper on Sunday reflects the general practice of both the New Testament churches as well as post-first-century churches. For example, the
Didache, written about A.D. 120, speaks of Christians coming together each Lord"s day and breaking bread. Justin Martyr wrote in his
Apology (I, 67), circa A.D. 152, of Christians meeting on Sunday and partaking of the communion.
Still another consideration is the
doctrinal connection between the Lord"s Supper and Sunday. Jesus" death and resurrection were intimately linked when the Lord"s Supper was observed on Sunday (1 Corinthians 11:26). One cannot argue for a Sunday
assembly without arguing for Sunday
communion. In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the Sabbath commemorated the Exodus"the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian bondage. Sunday, in like manner, is the Christian"s day of deliverance. The Lord"s Supper is associated with this redemption and the nature of the church. It is a corporate act"thus done by all members when the assembly comes together on Sunday. The Lord"s Supper on any other day weakens its doctrinal significance (see Ferguson, 1976, pp. 59-62).
SPECIFIC SCRIPTURES
Acts 2:42,46
Ultimately, the issue of frequency of observance hinges on the verses that specifically address the subject [For an excellent analytical treatment of the passages of Scripture that impinge upon the question of the Lord"s Supper, see Warren, 1975, pp. 148-156]. In Acts 2:42, the use of the article "the" (in the Greek) indicates that a particular event is under consideration, as compared to a common meal (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:16). "Breaking bread" is listed with other religious activities carried out by the church. The phrase, "continued steadfastly" (imperfect tense), indicates a customary, habitual practice, although the exact frequency is not given here. But the early church obviously partook more frequently than yearly, since a year had not passed since the establishment of the church.
But what about Acts 2:46? Does it not suggest observance of the Lord"s Supper on days other than Sunday? In order to use Acts 2:46 to support and defend daily observance of the Lord"s Supper, a person would have to both know and be able to prove the following unprovable points: (1) that "day by day" is an adverbial temporal modifier that
necessarily modifies the phrase "breaking bread at home"; and (2) that "breaking bread at home" refers specifically and exclusively to the Lord"s Supper. One would have to
know these two things before one could draw the conclusion that God sanctions partaking of the Lord"s Supper on some day other than Sunday. But one
cannot know or prove these two points. In fact, the grammatical evidence points in the opposite direction.
Arndt and Gingrich call attention to the enclitic particle, "
te," occurring most frequently in the New Testament in the book of Acts. It appears twice in Acts 2:46 to convey the idea of "not only...but also" (1957, p. 807; cf. Robertson, 1934, p. 1179""But
te...
te is strictly correlative"). Thayer identifies the term as a copulative enclitic particle that conveys an inner connection with what precedes. Hence, double use of the term in the same sentence, in this case Acts 2:46, presents parallel or coordinate ideas""as...so" (Thayer, 1901, pp. 616-617).
What these grammatical factors mean is that the use in verse 46 of the correlative conjunction ("
te") serves as a break in thought"a contrast"to guard against leaving the impression that the disciples stayed in the temple twenty-four hours a day (cf. the NIV). The parallel thought or idea conveyed by the double use of "
te," evident throughout the context, is the unity or togetherness that the disciples enjoyed. In other words, they participated together in their
religious activities, but they also continued their togetherness in their
nonreligious acts of domestic socialization.
Luke was informing us that the disciples stayed around the temple almost constantly after the momentous events of Pentecost, no doubt unwilling to miss any of the tremendous activities associated with the establishment of the church. However, they did go to their private homes in order to carry on the routine amenities associated with common meals. "Breaking bread," therefore, in verse 46, refers not to the Lord"s Supper, but to a common meal. The term "food" ("meat," KJV)"a term never used to refer to the Lord"s Supper"is explicative of the expression "breaking bread""further proof that a common meal is under consideration (Jackson, 1991, p. 3).
Insufficient evidence exists to warrant the conclusion that the church can partake of the Lord"s Supper on any day but Sunday. Acts 2:46 provides no authority for partaking of the Lord"s Supper on any day but Sunday.
Acts 20:7
In Acts 20, we find considerable information regarding the early church"s handling of the Lord"s Supper. Nothing in this or any other context indicates that the "many lights" or the "upper room" have anything to do with the Lord"s Supper. Thus the location and surrounding paraphernalia are expedients. As such, they are permanently optional (cf. Warren, 1975, p. 140).
"Break bread" is a figure for eating, which eventually came to have technical application to the Lord"s Supper (see Behm, 1965, 3:730; Klappert, 1976, 2:530; Reese, 1976, pp. 83, 734). The term "to break bread" is a first aorist infinitive. Infinitives in Greek and English denote purpose of action of the principal verb. Thus the primary purpose for the assembly was to partake of the Lord"s Supper. This conclusion also is implied in 1 Corinthians 11:20.
"When" is a stylistic cue used by Luke to denote a regular procedure that the reader would expect and understand (see Gibson, 1990, pp. 4-5). Paul spent a week in Troas, despite a rushed schedule (20:16), in order to share the Lord"s Supper. Suddenly, the disciples" worship was interrupted by the fall of Eutychus from the upper window. However, after Paul miraculously revived him, they were able to complete their worship by partaking of the Lord"s Supper. Why did Paul discourse till midnight? He needed to depart as quickly as possible (20:7). Thus Paul"s pre-midnight preaching corresponded to our Saturday evening (i.e., 6:00 p.m.-12:00 p.m.) which was their Sunday. The post-midnight partaking of the Lord"s Supper was our Sunday morning (McGarvey, 1892, pp. 181-182).
Observe carefully Luke"s terminology in Acts 20:11. He itemized five specific activities that followed the revival of Eutychus: (1) coming up (i.e., returning to the third floor); (2) breaking bread; (3) eating; (4) talking a long while; and (5) departing. The "breaking bread" in this verse refers to the eating of the Lord"s Supper, just as the expression is used back in verse seven. The Greek places the article before "bread" in verse 11, i.e., "
the bread." On the other hand, "eating" refers to a common meal that Paul ate
after the Lord"s Supper was commemorated prior to his departure (cf. Woods, 1976, pp. 350-351; Conybeare and Howson, 1971, p. 546). In any case, the Lord"s Supper was observed on Sunday.
1 Corinthians 11:23-39 and 16:1-2
The main purpose of 1 Corinthians 11:23-39 pertains to the
how of the Lord"s Supper, not the
when. However, frequency and consistency in partaking of the Lord"s Supper is implied in such words as "do this" (vss. 24,25), "as often as" (vss. 25,26), "until" (vs. 26), and "when" (vs. 33).
In 1 Corinthians 16:2, the term "
kata" is distributive, and means "every" (cf. NASB; Arndt and Gingrich, 1957, p. 407). So Paul was invoking weekly contributions for the churches""on the first day of every week." Similarly, the Jews understood that the Sabbath observance""remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8)"applied to
every Sabbath. Paul stated that he gave this same command to the Galatian churches as well (vs. 1).
CONCLUSION
The conclusion to be drawn from this information is definitive and unquestionable. Since Christians met every Sunday (1 Corinthians 16:2), and a central purpose for such assemblies was to observe the Lord"s Supper (Acts 20:7), it follows that the early church partook of the Lord"s Supper
every Sunday. One must gather
all the New Testament has to say on the matter and then logically fit it together. The Bible clearly teaches that New Testament Christians partook of the Lord"s Supper
every Sunday, and
only on Sunday.
REFERENCES
Arndt, William and F.W. Gingrich (1957),
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press).
Atchley, Rick (1989), in Monroe Hawley, "Acts as a Pattern for the Church Today (Part 3)," Audio Cassette (Searcy, AR: Harding University Lectures).
Behm, Johannes (1965), "
klao,
klasis,
klasma,"
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Brewer, G.C. (1941),
Contending for the Faith (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate).
Brownlow, Leroy (1945),
Why I am a Member of the Church of Christ (Fort Worth, TX: Brownlow Publishing).
Conybeare, W.J. and J.S. Howson (1971 reprint),
The Life and Epistles of Paul (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Ferguson, Everett (1976), "The Lord"s Supper and Biblical Hermeneutics,"
Mission, September.
Gibson, Steve (1990), "Ruminations on Acts 20:7,"
The Restorer, 10[1]:4-5, January.
Hood, Kregg (1990), "Establishing Biblical Authority: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Issue (Part 2),"
Image, May/June.
Klappert, Bertold (1976), "Lord"s Supper,"
The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Jackson, Wayne (1991), "The Lord"s Supper in the Early Church,"
The Edifier, 11:3, November 28.
Mayeux, Randy (1989), "Letter to the Editor,"
Christian Chronicle 46:6, June.
McGarvey, J.W. (1892),
New Commentary on Acts of Apostles (Cincinnati, OH: Standard).
Miller, Dave (2003), "Legalism," [On-line], URL:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2265.
Robertson, A.T. (1934),
A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press).
Thayer, Joseph H. (1901),
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1977 reprint).
Warren, Thomas B. (1975),
When is an "Example" Binding? (Jonesboro, AR: National Christian Press).
Woods, Guy N. (1976),
Questions and Answers (Henderson, TN: Freed-Hardeman College).
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Lord's Supper... every week?
