Common Question: Is the church to partake of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday?

First off, indeed Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22.19). The two major texts declaring Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper are in Matthew 26.26-29 & Luke 22.14-22. In Matthew 26, when Jesus instituted the Supper after eating the Passover with the disciples, in v. 29 He said, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” So, what happened? In the ensuing chapters, Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried, and crucified. Three days later he was resurrected. Then for 40 days, in resurrected form, He continued on with the disciples (Luke 24 & Acts 1), where He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them (the apostles). He then ascended back up into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God where He would rule over His Father’s spiritual kingdom, the church.

It was in Acts 2 when the apostles were in Jerusalem, and when the day of Pentecost had fully come they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is when Peter preached the first gospel sermon based upon the reality of the death, burial & resurrection of Christ. As a result, 3,000 people were baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2.37-41). In v. 42 it says, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and prayers.” The “breaking of bread,” of course, is an idiom that refers to the Lord’s Supper. What day did this start? On Sunday, which is the first day of the week. Why? It is because the Day of Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week – according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 23.15-16). When Passover was complete they were to count seven Sabbaths, and the day after the seventh Sabbath (which would be the first day of the week, Sunday) was known as the Day of Pentecost. It was called Pentecost because 7 x 7 = 49 (seven Sabbaths) and the next day, the 50th day, was Pentecost – “pente” meaning fifty. The fact is, the church was established on the first day of the week. Interestingly, Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week (Mark 16.1-8). The Sabbath (Saturday) was for the Jews under the Old Law, the law that was abolished (Colossians 2.13-17), where Paul said in v. 16, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Under the Old Law, the Jews had strict dietary regulations and had to observe special feast days and new moons, and had to keep the Sabbath day holy. But that Old Law was fulfilled as it was nailed to the cross! The Old Law is no longer binding, for we are under the new law, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What do we have so far? Christ’s newly established church began partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 2), and this is the only day that we have any record of them doing so. In fact, in Acts 20.7 it says, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.” Furthermore, Christians were commanded to give (the contribution) on the first day of the week, as Paul instructed in 1 Corinthians 16.1-2: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches in Galatia, even so you also must do. Upon the first day of every week let each of you give as you have been prospered, so that there will be no gatherings as I come.” Why on the first day of the week? That’s when Christians assembled to worship and remember the death of Christ by partaking of the Lord’s Supper, an assembly we are not to “forsake” (Hebrews 10.25).

In the New Testament Sunday (the first day of the week) was significant: Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week; the church was established on the first day of the week; Christians partook of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week; and, Christians took up the contribution on the first day of the week. And remember, the Sabbath was under the old law, which was nailed to the cross (again, Colossians 2.13-17; see also 2 Corinthians 3.1-18).

Now, why “every” first day of the week? When Paul quoted Jesus verbatim in 1 Corinthians 11.23-25 (please read it), he followed by instructing in v. 26, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Yes, we are to do it often. If we do not have to partake of it every first day of the week, do we even have to assemble every Sunday, an assembly we are told not to forsake (again Hebrews 10.25)? With the denominations, who was it that decided to do it on a monthly basis? This is an arbitrary action, a decision made by men and not founded upon the Scripture. If we can arbitrarily decide to do it intermittently, once a month, then we have the right to do it once every six months, once a year, once a decade, or even once in a lifetime. If not, why not? The very reasoning that allows for a monthly observance would allow for a yearly observance and so on. That’s an absurd position. Christians in the New Testament assembled to worship God and remembered the sacrifice of His Son regularly, not sporadically! Common sense should tell us that when we assemble every Sunday we should partake of this memorial supper in memory of Christ. Why would we not want to do it every Sunday? Some have suggested that it becomes more meaningful by doing it monthly or less. Would they dare apply that to the contribution? No, they pass the baskets around every Sunday! How about prayers or singing, or even the preaching? No way, but they have reduced the observance of the Lord’s Supper to once a month – not because of scriptural precedent, but because that is what they want to do! I do not know anyone who thinks it is wrong to partake of it every week. It’s the only practice that is consistent with the example of the early disciples.

Here’s an analogy: under the old law the Jews were told to “keep the Sabbath day holy” (Exodus 20.8). That was God’s simple commandment. Now I ask, which Sabbath day were they to keep holy? Could it be one Sabbath out of the month? No, it was to be every Sabbath! When the Sabbath came around every week they were to keep it holy. God didn’t have to say “every Sabbath,” because it was understood when the Sabbath came they were to keep it holy. By the same token, when Sunday (the first day of the week) comes what are faithful Christians going to do? They are going to assemble together and remember the wonderful gift of God, the sacrifice of His Son, by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. I can have absolute confidence in the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper knowing that I am not violating any principle of Scripture. But, we have absolutely no precedent for doing so on a monthly basis or less, a decision that was arbitrarily decided upon by human reasoning and not the Bible!

In brief:

1. Jesus was resurrected on Sunday (Mark 16.l-8)

2. The church was established on Sunday (Acts 2.1-47)

3. The early Christians partook of the Lord’s Supper on Sunday (Acts 2.42; Acts 20.7)

4. The church took up the contribution every Sunday (1 Corinthians 16.1-2)

5. The church assembly was not to be forsaken (Hebrews 10.25)

These passages and principles support a weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper, whereas fallible human reasoning has opted for a less frequent observance, a conclusion that cannot be validated by the Scripture.

Brent T. Willey, Evangelist & Elder