Holy Communion
There is a powerful provision for healing available to all believers which has often been overlooked and misunderstood. This provision for healing is not dependent upon prayer, anointing, or the laying on of hands. It is entirely dependent upon our understanding of our faith in the power of the blood and the body of Christ Jesus. This powerful provision for healing is available to every believer through the partaking of Holy Communion.
The Communion table is symbolic of the sacrifice Jesus made for us at Calvary. Matthew 26:26-28 tells us, "Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat: this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'"
The cup is a reminder to us of what Jesus accomplished through His shed blood on the cross ~ the redemption from sin. The bread respresents Jesus' body which was broken for each one of us for our physical healing. According to Isaiah 53:4, Jesus bore our sicknesses and carried our pains in His own body. The stripes that He bore on His own body were for our physical healing. "And by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
Jesus purchased our physical healing through His broken body, just as He purchased our redemption from sin through His blood at Calvary, yet it is up to each one of us to appropriate it in our lives. Salvation is available to anyone who will believe, but each one must make an individual choice to believe. Likewise, healing is available to all believers through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, but we must choose to believe in order to appropriate it by faith.
Paul says in I Corinthians 11:28-30 that when we do not discern the Lord's body, we may become weak and sick, and even die prematurely. Those who partake of the bread without discerning the healing power available through it, will not necessarily receive the benefit from it. When we partake of the bread, we are partaking of the body of Christ. "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." (Ephesians 5:30) As we are one with Him, sickness and disease have no dominion over us. We can be as free from disease as Jesus was.
Partaking of the Lord's Supper should always be observed with reverence and holy respect. A person who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ must repent of his sins and confess Jesus as Savior before receiving Holy Communion. It is essential for those who already have a relationship with Christ to examine their relationship with God and with man, and repent if necessary. This will assure that they are cleansed of all sin and unrighteousness before partaking.
The benefits of redemption should be remembered every time a believer comes to the communion table. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (1 Corinthians 11:26) It is through His death and resurrection that we are free to enjoy wholeness of body, soul and spirit. As you receive Holy Communion, believe that the life of Jesus Christ is working in your body, driving out all sickness and disease. Jesus said, "He who feeds on Me will live because of Me." (John 5:57) Eat of the bread of life often that you may walk in divine health.