BIBLICAL BRIEFS 52
The use of communion is strictly only for those who are part of the Body of Christ, thus, those who are born-again. This is not meant for people who are merely religious, or are part of a church, or who were baptised as babies, and so forth. Due to the fact that believers often fail to discern the Body, they sometimes literally tend to share the communion table with gentiles (how religious they apparently may appear)! In 1Cor. 10:18-21 Paul very strongly expresses himself against this naivety when using communion. He points out unequivocally that the communion table becomes a covenant table and thus an altar. If you partake communion together with those who are not born-again, you as the “body” have intimacy with demons (verse 20)! Verse 21 says: “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” In Jud. 1:12 those who are not born-again are referred to as “stains on your love feasts”, they feast with you without any respect, they care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, twice dead, and uprooted. Remember, we are here speaking about good church-going people, those who practise religion without having a relationship with the Head, Jesus – thus, they are not part of the Body. Therefore Paul urgently warns in 1Cor. 11: 29 that we must “discern the body of the Lord”. Because we seldom do it, he says: “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number have died.” (v. 30). Much of the strength of believers that has been devoured by strangers, happens without them noticing it (Hos. 7: 9); many share others’ diseases merely by having communion together; there are even people who died due to this! I personally only use communion together with those whom I undoubtedly know as having been born-again. The use of communion in large gatherings where people do not even know one another, clearly causes a tremendous problem. Never use communion unless you surely know those with whom you are sitting at the covenant table.
Dr. Tom Gouws
