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Communion
In plain words
Communion is the meal of bread and wine, or grape juice in many churches, that Christians share to remember Jesus' death until He comes.
The night before He died, Jesus ate a meal with His friends. He took bread and said it was His body, given for them. He took a cup of wine and said it was His blood, poured out for them. Then He said: "do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19-20).
Christians have done this ever since, in many forms and with many names: Communion, the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, breaking of bread. It is a simple, physical way to remember that Jesus died for you and that you belong to His family. You can see, touch and taste it.
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Paul passes on what Jesus did and adds that each time we eat and drink, "you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Communion looks back to the cross, around at the church family, and forward to Jesus' return. The first Christians gathered for it regularly (Acts 2:42).
Paul also warns against taking it carelessly, which in Corinth meant ignoring the poor at the table. It is not a reward for good people, but a meal for forgiven people. Practically: before you take it, pause, confess what needs confessing, and make peace with others where you can.
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The Greek koinonia, used in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, means sharing or participation. The bread and cup are a sharing in the body and blood of Christ, and because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body. The meal grows out of the Passover, which remembered God's rescue from Egypt.
Christians differ on what happens in the bread and wine, how often to celebrate, and who may take part; ask your local church how they understand it and follow their guidance. All agree that it points to Christ, unites His people and is to be received with faith.
My verses
And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.