"The Lord's Supper is a Meal" by Jim Elliff. A Quick Review

 


(I sent this out to my congregation in my weekly letter today, 9 November 2023)

There are many practices that have intruded themselves into the life of local congregations in 2023. Some of those practices have, in some way, eclipsed part of the role of the sacraments. Coffee and doughnuts, for example, have become the place where fellowship and conversation happen more often than not. So, I was delighted to pick up and read a copy of “The Lord’s Supper is a Meal” by Jim Elliff, president and founder of Christian Communicators Worldwide. This teeny 95-page softback is straightforward, moves along easily, and gets to the point quickly.

 

Elliff and I would disagree on a few things, such as the Lord’s Supper really being a means of grace, the role of Gospel ministers being necessary for administering the sacrament, and such. But the author does such a masterful job in drawing out important details about the supper that I found the book rich and useful.

 

Most of Elliff’s time is spent in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, where he explains what happened and what Paul was aiming to correct. Some of the basic highpoints from the book are: (1) The Lord’s Supper was meant to be received often, even weekly. (2) It is a meal that exhibits Gospel fellowship both vertical and horizontal. (3) And it should be a meal that shows division has been healed by Christ’s sacrificial gift to us, for “the Lord’s Supper must be a meal without division” (30).

 

One of my favorite statements is this short paragraph:

“It was particularly the failure in the horizontal fellowship that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 11. When fellowship with others is fractured or forgotten or distorted by status rather than united around Christ, the Lord’s Supper becomes merely one’s own supper. Worse than that, it brings judgment. The meal associated with the sacrifice of Christ must be about our indivisible fellowship built upon the death of Christ” (26).

 

In the end, even with my disagreements about some underlying assumptions the author has, this is a book worth reading and thinking through. I highly recommend it.

 

You can download a free copy of the book here: The Lord’s Supper is a Meal


Pastor Mike

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