The Greek word for confess is homologeo means to acknowledge or to confess your faith, John the Baptist publicly confesses that he is not the Christ Jn 1:20. Homologeo becomes in itself an act of faith as described by Paul in Romans 10 when he states that confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord, together with believing in your heart about the resurrection, brings about salvation.
How do we partake of the Living Bread? We do it by faith. When we partake of the Communion wafer (or bread), we eat it and acknowledge by faith that we are partaking of spiritual bread, the Bread of Life. The bread is a representation of the spiritual bread. Partaking of the bread is a natural act with spiritual meaning and significance. By faith, we remember what Jesus did for us. By faith, we partake of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. By faith, we celebrate the healing and salvation Christ has provided.
When a believer partakes of the Lord’s Supper, he should do so with full understanding of its significance. Communion, to, too many people, has become only a religious observance. It has a much deeper meaning than that. The Communion table is an emblem of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt 26:26-28).
Primarily, the Church has centred its attention on the wine as an emblem of Jesus’ blood that was shed for sin. We take the emblem of blood & say, "Thank you God, we are delivered from sin,” and that is true! we need to Praise God for it! But the blood is only half of Communion. The bread is an emblem of Jesus’ body that was broken for us. The emblem for His body is just as important as the emblem for His blood.
According to Isaiah 53:4-5, Jesus’ sacrifice covered every area of man’s existence. He bore spiritual torment for sins, mental distress for our worry, cares & fears as well as physical pain for our sickness and disease. The stripes He bore were for our healing. With His stripes we are healed. God gave everything He had to redeem
mankind from the curse. For us to receive only part of His sacrifice is an insult to Him.
When we receive Communion, we are receiving His body and His blood. Every time we partake, we should examine ourselves closely according to 1 Cor 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 eats & drinks
unworthily, eating & drinking is damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
There is much more involved in receiving Communion than most Christians realise. God instituted the Lord’s Supper for a
reason. When you receive it, you should be ready to partake of everything -Jesus' sacrifice provided—salvation, peace of mind, healing, total prosperity in all areas In the past, we have missed the full meaning of Communion by not completely judging ourselves when we have partaken of it. We have been ready to receive His blood and quick to judge ourselves where sin is concerned. We judge ourselves of sin and repent of it. But what about His body? It was broken for us. It was bruised for us. The stripes laid on Jesus’ back were for our healing.
At Communion, we should judge ourselves where sickness
is concerned as well. Jesus purchased our healing at Calvary just as He purchased our salvation. With this in mind, we say, “Lord, it’s not right that I should suffer from sickness and disease. I judge it now as being from Satan, and I reject it. I refuse to receive it any longer. I partake
of the sacrifice of Your body, and I receive the healing that You provided in Jesus’ Name.”
When you partake of Communion, make a point of judging yourself to the fullest extent. Don’t just receive it halfway. Accept everything Jesus’ sacrifice provided. If you don’t examine yourself—if you receive Communion just as a religious exercise—you will be eating and drinking
Unworthily, not discerning the Lord’ body.
Paul wrote, For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (1Cor 11:30).
When you take Communion, I encourage you to release your faith and receive all that the Communion table represents. Perhaps you have done as so many others have done in treating the bread element as an afterthought. But friends, it is as much a part of the Lord’s Table as the cup. It should not be afterthought.
Bodily healing and eternal salvation are offered at the Communion table of blessing. Healing and a brand-new dimension of life belong to you. I encourage you to view Communion as something deeper and more powerful than you’ve ever experienced before.
Some have said that the Old Testament declares that God sent sickness on people. Those who say this usually quote Exodus 15:26, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight... I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Similar Scriptures are Isaiah 45:7, I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things"; and Micah 1:12, For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.
Obviously, these passages in the King James Version of the Bible do not give the true meaning of the original Hebrew, for we know that God doesn't create evil. Evil doesn't come from heaven. God only permits evil; He doesn't create it. Evil could not come from heaven, because there is no evil there. God permitted it to come, but He didn't create it. Nor does He create sickness. He only permits it to come as a result of man's disobedience.
The key to these difficulties lies in the fact that the active verb in the Hebrew has been translated in the causative sense when it should have been translated in the permissive sense.
Dr. Robert Young, the author of Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, and an outstanding Hebrew scholar, points this out in his book Hints and Helps to Bible Interpretation. Dr. Young says that in Exodus 15:26, the literal Hebrew reads, I will permit to be put upon thee none of the diseases which I have permitted to be brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
When you come to the table to partake of the Lord’s Supper, determine in your heart to receive all that the Lord has provided for you!
Acknowledgement Kenneth Copeland.
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