Who Should Take Communion?
THE QUESTION
Who should take Communion? Because the Lord’s Supper remembers the body and blood of Jesus Christ, participation should never become a casual religious custom. The New Testament presents Communion as an observance for believers who can remember Christ, proclaim His death, recognize their fellowship with His church, and examine themselves honestly.
SHORT ANSWER
Those who have personally trusted Jesus Christ should take Communion with understanding, reverence, and self-examination. An unbeliever cannot truthfully proclaim fellowship with Christ through the bread and cup. A believer does not need to be sinlessly perfect, but should approach the table honestly, repentantly, and without contempt for other members of Christ’s body. Churches differ about whether participants must also be baptized or belong to a particular congregation.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
Communion was given to Christ’s disciples and churches
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper among His disciples on the night before the cross. He told them, “This do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Paul later delivered the same command to the church at Corinth. The observance belongs within the life and fellowship of people who confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
Acts 2:41–42 shows the early pattern. Those who gladly received the gospel received baptism, joined the believers, and “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” The text places breaking bread within a believing, taught, and worshiping community.
Participants proclaim the Lord’s death
First Corinthians 11:26 says, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” Taking Communion makes a visible confession. The participant declares that Jesus Christ gave His body and shed His blood, that His death provides the only sufficient sacrifice for sin, and that the risen Lord will return.
Someone who rejects Christ or does not believe the gospel cannot make that proclamation truthfully. The church should explain the gospel and the meaning of the table rather than invite people to perform a ceremony they do not understand.
Participants share fellowship with Christ
Paul calls the cup “the communion of the blood of Christ” and the bread “the communion of the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Communion expresses participation and fellowship. Believers share in the saving benefits of Christ’s sacrifice through faith, and the meal publicly acknowledges that common dependence upon Him.
The elements do not create faith in an unbeliever. Bread and the cup cannot replace repentance, faith, or new birth. Communion has meaning because a believer already looks to Christ and receives the observance as He commanded.
Participants recognize the church body
First Corinthians 10:17 connects the one bread with the one body: “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” Communion is personal, but never merely private. Each participant joins other believers in confessing one Lord and one gospel.
The Corinthian church violated this truth through factions, selfish eating, drunkenness, and humiliation of poorer believers. Paul rebuked conduct that turned a shared remembrance into a display of division. Anyone approaching the table should consider not only a private relationship with God but also his or her treatment of the church body.
Each participant must examine himself
First Corinthians 11:28 says, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” Paul does not say that Christians must achieve sinless perfection before eating. If perfection were the qualification, no believer could ever participate.
Self-examination means coming honestly before God. A believer should reject careless hypocrisy, confess known sin, seek needed reconciliation, remember Christ’s sacrifice, and recognize the seriousness of the church’s shared meal. Notice the direction of Paul’s command: examine yourself, and then eat and drink. Examination should prepare believers for faithful participation rather than become a permanent excuse to stay away.
Children require careful instruction and discernment
The New Testament does not specify a minimum age for Communion. The observance requires participants to remember Christ, proclaim His death, and examine themselves. Those responsibilities call for personal faith and enough understanding to know what the bread and cup declare.
Parents and church leaders should not pressure a child to participate merely because others do. Nor should they use an arbitrary age as if Scripture supplied one. They should teach the gospel, listen for a credible profession of faith, explain Communion, and apply the church’s biblically grounded practice with patience.
Struggling believers should not assume they are automatically excluded
Communion is not a reward for Christians who have performed well enough. It points to Christ’s mercy for sinners. A believer who hates his sin, seeks forgiveness, and depends upon Jesus should not confuse spiritual struggle with unbelief.
At the same time, the table must not become a shelter for stubborn rebellion, contempt, or deception. A person who openly rejects Christ’s authority or refuses to address serious public sin may face church discipline. Such cases require pastoral wisdom and the church’s faithful application of Scripture.
KEY SCRIPTURES—KJV
Luke 22:19–20: “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
Acts 2:41–42: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
1 Corinthians 10:16–17: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”
1 Corinthians 11:26: “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
1 Corinthians 11:28–29: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
Personal faith is foundational
Communion proclaims faith in the crucified and risen Lord. Only someone who personally trusts Jesus Christ can make that confession truthfully.
Understanding should accompany participation
The participant should know that the bread and cup point to Christ’s body and blood. Churches should teach before they invite people to the table.
Imperfection does not equal disqualification
Believers still need grace, correction, and growth. Communion directs them to Christ’s sacrifice; it does not celebrate their flawless performance.
Unrepentant defiance must not become casual participation
Grace never makes deliberate rebellion harmless. Christians should examine themselves honestly and respond to God’s correction instead of treating the table as an empty ritual.
Relationships within the body matter
The Corinthians sinned against one another while sharing the meal. Participants should reject contempt, favoritism, and selfish division and should pursue peace whenever possible.
The church should apply its practice consistently
Church leaders should explain who may participate and why. They should base restrictions upon Scripture, communicate them respectfully, and avoid using Communion to display denominational superiority.
WHERE CHRISTIANS DIFFER
Many churches practice open Communion, inviting every professing believer who is walking honestly with Christ. Others practice close Communion, limiting participation to baptized believers of similar faith and order. Some practice closed Communion, serving only members of that local congregation.
Christians also differ about children. Some churches commune baptized infants or young children as covenant members. Others wait for a personal profession of faith, and some additionally require baptism or church membership.
Scripture clearly connects Communion with remembering Christ, proclaiming His death, fellowship in His body, and self-examination. It does not provide a universal statement resolving every membership boundary or minimum age. Churches should apply the clear principles carefully, while individual believers respect the order of the local church they are visiting.
THE CONCLUSION
Communion is for people who personally trust Jesus Christ and can participate with faith, understanding, reverence, and honest self-examination. Unbelievers should hear and believe the gospel rather than perform a sign of fellowship they do not possess.
Believers need not wait until they feel worthy in themselves. No one comes to Christ’s table on the strength of personal merit. They should come depending upon Jesus, remembering His sacrifice, rejecting careless sin, loving His people, and looking forward to His return.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
- Make sure your hope rests in Jesus Christ rather than in receiving Communion.
- Learn what the bread and cup proclaim before participating.
- Examine your faith, conduct, and treatment of other believers honestly.
- Confess known sin and seek reconciliation where Scripture requires it.
- Do not stay away merely because you feel imperfect; look to Christ’s mercy.
- Respect the biblically explained Communion practice of the local church you attend.
RELATED DISCIPLESHIP LESSONS
- What Is Faith in Christ
- Why Every Christian Needs the Local Church
- Why God Commands Believers to Love One Another