During the Last Supper, Jesus took a loaf of bread and broke it, saying to the disciples, “Take, eat; this is My body.” This story is told multiple times in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 26:26: “While they were eating, Jesus took [a loaf of] bread and blessed [it] and broke [it]; and giving [it] to the disciples, He said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’ ” (cf. Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24). This article will examine the symbolism of communion (a.k.a. “the Lord’s Supper” or “the Eucharist”), with a special focus on the meaning of the phrase “this is My body.” But before explaining how communion is to be correctly understood, this article will examine a common but incorrect interpretation of communion, and will explain why it is erroneous.
The Catholic understanding of communion (Eucharist) is centered on a doctrine called “transubstantiation.” There is also a similar Lutheran doctrine called “consubstantiation.” According to the doctrine of transubstantiation, when the priest consecrates the bread and wine during the Mass, the bread and wine are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ, changing their substance, while maintaining the appearance and taste of bread and wine. This doctrine claims to interpret literally the phrase “this is My body.”
There is, however, a linguistic problem with the argument that the only literal interpretation of the phrase “this is My body” is that the communion bread is literally transformed into the body of Jesus. The problem is that the semantic domain of the verb “to be” in English is not exactly the same as the semantic domain of the verb εἰμί in Greek. Ancient Greek did not have a verb equivalent to the English verb “to represent.” Because of this, the verb “to be” (εἰμί) is often used in Greek where in English we would use the verb “to represent.” In other words, the verb εἰμί in Greek includes the semantic function of the English verbs “to be” and “to represent.”
There are many examples of this use of the verb “to be” (εἰμί) in the New Testament. Galatians 4:25 is a clear example. In the NASB, that verse contains the phrase, “this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia.” Obviously Hagar is not literally Mount Sinai in Arabia—Hagar is a woman! For this reason, the CSB translates the phrase this way: “Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia.”
The book of Revelation frequently uses the verb “to be” (εἰμί) in the sense of “represent.” For example, Revelation 19:8 says in the NASB, “the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Obviously fine linen cannot literally be the righteous acts of the saints. Thus, the CSB translates this phrase, “the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.”
Another example is Revelation 17:12, which says in the NASB, “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings.” A king cannot literally be a horn, so the NABRE translates this phrase, “The ten horns that you saw represent ten kings.”
To cite only one more example from the book of Revelation, Revelation 17:15 says in the NASB, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” Once again, it is not possible to interpret the metaphor literally, which is why the NABRE translates the verse this way: “The waters that you saw where the harlot lives represent large numbers of peoples, nations, and tongues.” See also Revelation 1:20; 17:9-10, 18.
Jesus also frequently used the verb “to be” (εἰμί) to make a metaphorical comparison, especially when interpreting His parables. An example is Mark 4:15-20, which says in the NASB, “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” The NLT changes the verbs to “represent”: “The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” See also Matthew 13:19-23, 37-39.
Thus, the use of the verb “to be” (εἰμί) in Greek with the meaning of “represent” is well documented. “This is My body” means “This represents My body,” since Christ distributed to the disciples pieces of a loaf of bread; the disciples did not cut off pieces of Christ’s body. It is also clear that the bread and wine in the Catholic Mass never loses the physical properties of bread and wine, which means it does not change its substance and become flesh and blood. Nevertheless, all English Bible translations have “this is My body” so as not to contradict the doctrines of transubstantiation and consubstantiation. In the same way, when Jesus said regarding the cup, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24), the meaning is, “This represents My blood of the covenant.”
The doctrine of transubstantiation is based on a simple linguistic error. The theologians of the Roman Catholic Church did not recognize the linguistic phenomenon whereby the Greek verb “to be” (εἰμί) is used to signify a metaphorical connection, and they also lacked the common sense to see that the literal interpretation of this metaphor does not make sense. Thus, the Catholic Church finally declared in the Council of Trent that “this is My body” must mean that the bread in the Eucharist is literally changed into the body of Jesus. Nevertheless, a basic understanding of language use and of the Greek language is sufficient to refute the supposed exegetical basis of the doctrine of transubstantiation.
Transubstantiation is not merely a theoretical error—it has significant practical implications, implications that have to do with salvation. A logical implication of transubstantiation would be that Christ is resacrificed every time that Christians celebrate communion. (This is why the bread and wine are placed on an altar in the Catholic Mass.) Moreover, if Christ is resacrificed in the communion service, this would imply that participation in communion is necessary in order to receive the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice, i.e., the forgiveness of sins. A person would have to physically eat the body of Jesus and drink His blood in order to receive God’s saving grace. These theological implications are clearly contradicted by many verses in the New Testament. Nevertheless, many people think that their participation in communion (or the Eucharist) gives them forgiveness of sins, and this is exactly what is said in the liturgy of some churches.
The Bible teaches clearly that we receive the forgiveness of all of our sins at the moment of our conversion, including all of our past, present, and future sins. Acts 10:43 says, “To Him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes on Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” Acts 13:38-39 says, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” There is no verse anywhere in the New Testament that says that forgiveness of sins is received through participation in communion.
The Bible teaches that God’s saving grace is received through faith, not through communion. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one may boast.” Romans 5:1-2 says, “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
The Bible also teaches that Christ was sacrificed once for all time, which means it is not possible to resacrifice Christ in a communion service. Hebrews 10:12-14 says, “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” First Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring us to God.” Romans 6:9 says, “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.”
So the bread and the cup in the communion service are symbols, and the Bible explains the symbolism. When Christians eat the communion bread, they are portraying their spiritual union with the body of Christ. First Corinthians 10:17 says, “Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” (In the first century, communion was celebrated with a single loaf of bread, which was broken apart, and a piece distributed to each believer.) When Christians drink from the communion cup, they are portraying their participation in the benefits of Christ’s death, especially the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:27-28 says, “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (In the first century, communion was celebrated with a single cup, from which each believer drank a little.)
Thus, we do not participate in communion in order to receive God’s saving grace or the forgiveness of sins. Communion is a ritual for believers, that we do in order to show that we already are part of the body of Christ, and we already have full forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ. Communion is also something that we do in order to proclaim visually to the world the theological truths of the gospel. First Corinthians 11:26 says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
In conclusion: the bread and the cup are representations of the body and blood of Jesus; they are not the actual flesh and the actual blood of Jesus. Communion is a commemoration of the earthly life and death of Christ; it is not a resacrifice of Christ. Christ said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor 11:24-25), not “do this to resacrifice Me” or “do this to obtain forgiveness of sins.” We learn better when we can learn visually and physically, so it is a great blessing that Christ has given us a visual, tangible, and simple way to portray and proclaim the profound theological truths of the gospel. When we participate in communion, we are proclaiming that Christ delivered up His body and shed His blood in our behalf, we are saying that we have received complete forgiveness of sins through His death, and we are showing that we are part of the body of Christ—that is, the church.
Enjoy this content? Buy me a coffee, or support this blog via a PayPal donation.
TruthOnlyBible 