As From the Head
True Communion is based on the principle of personal breaking and giving, where we give ourselves to others as members of the body of Christ.
G.W. North emphasizes that true Communion is rooted in the act of personal breaking and giving, urging believers to move beyond being mere receivers to becoming givers. He highlights the importance of recognizing our role as suppliers in the body of Christ, where each member contributes to the whole. North challenges the conventional understanding of Communion, suggesting that we should discern the body of Christ and actively participate in sharing and giving to one another. By doing so, we can experience a deeper and more meaningful connection with Christ and each other. This enlightened approach to Communion allows us to partake from one another as we reflect the unity of the body of Christ.
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All real Communion is and must forever be based upon the principle of personal breaking and giving. Too readily we fill the place of the receiver only, when we ought also to be the giver. Any person wishing to be in communion with another must be ready to take the position of supplier, and not primarily the place of the suppliant. Having first received of Him, we ought, as He, to break the bread in order to give to others also. That is the way Communion, THE Communion, is established.
We normally break off our own piece and eat it and pass the loaf on to the next person; or else perhaps give it back to the person who handed it to us. Perhaps also we believe that symbolically we are passing the body of Christ from one to another. But O how much we miss and forfeit thereby, for He is trying to show us that we should break and give to others. Ought we not to discern 'the body of Christ' as Paul exhorts us and know what it is and that we are particular members of it? We must do this thing. We are not to try and remember Him hanging with unbroken body on a tree, wounded, cursed and dying, crying out in agonised bewilderment as untold contradictions meet in His mind, crowning His baffled head with unanswered and unanswerable enigmas.
We must understand the mystery in our hands and give ourselves with the bread we break and pass on to others, for that is the communion of the body. By this means we partake from one another as from the Christ who is the Head of the body in each member. If we were to do it like this, we should receive from one another in an entirely new way, for this kind of enlightened reform would bring us more nearly to the meaning of the real Communion.
Sermon Outline
- The Principle of Personal Breaking and Giving
- The Way of True Communion
- Understanding the Mystery of Communion
- Give ourselves with the bread we break
- Partake from one another as from Christ
Key Quotes
“Any person wishing to be in communion with another must be ready to take the position of supplier, and not primarily the place of the suppliant.” — G.W. North
“We must understand the mystery in our hands and give ourselves with the bread we break and pass on to others, for that is the communion of the body.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We should strive to take the position of supplier in Communion, rather than just being a receiver.
- Breaking the bread in Communion is a symbol of giving ourselves to others, and we should do it with intention and purpose.
- By giving ourselves in Communion, we can deepen our understanding of the body of Christ and our place in it.