Baptist Worship, Ordinances, and Preaching — Unit 5: The Lord's Supper in Practice: Open, Close and Closed Communion

Key Verse

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." (1 Corinthians 11:26, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Describe what the Lord's Supper means and what the church does when it observes it.

2. Explain self-examination in 1 Corinthians 11 and how it guards the Table.

3. State the three Baptist practices of open, close and closed communion, and give the reasons each gives for its position.

4. Plan a Lord's Supper service, including the elements, the words of invitation and the serving of the congregation.

5. Respond kindly to visitors, children, the sick and those under church discipline.

The Voice of This Unit

This unit is written from inside the Baptist tradition, for Baptist pastors. It is conservative and evangelical. The doctrine of the Lord's Supper is taught in Course 2, Unit 4, and the origin of Baptist convictions is told in Course 1. We do not repeat them at length. This unit is about practice. On one question in this unit, who may come to the Table, faithful Baptists have held different views for centuries. We do not hide this. We present open, close and closed communion fairly as Baptist practices, give the reasons of each, and ask each church to decide under Scripture and to say clearly what it does.

What the Supper Is

The Lord Jesus gave the Supper on the night He was betrayed. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples, and then He took the cup (Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:19-20). Paul received the same teaching and passed it to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). From these passages, Baptists teach five meanings.

1. Remembrance. "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). The Supper turns our eyes to the cross.

2. Proclamation. "You proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The church preaches the gospel with bread and cup.

3. Communion. Paul asks whether the cup of blessing is "the communion of the blood of Christ" and the bread "the communion of the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:16). Believers share together in the benefits of Christ's death.

4. Unity. "We, though many, are one bread and one body" (1 Corinthians 10:17). The Supper is a family meal.

5. Hope. Jesus said He would not drink the fruit of the vine again until He drinks it new with His people in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29). We look forward to His coming.

Baptists differ a little on how Christ is present. Most hold the memorial view: the bread and cup are symbols, and Christ is present among His people by His Spirit as He is whenever they gather (Matthew 18:20). Some Baptists, including many of the early Particular Baptists, speak of a spiritual presence, in which believers are truly fed by faith while the elements remain bread and fruit of the vine. Both groups reject the teaching that the bread becomes the physical body of Christ, and both reject the Mass as a repeated sacrifice, since Christ's sacrifice was made "once for all" (Hebrews 10:10). When Jesus said, "This is My body," He spoke as He did when He said, "I am the door" (John 10:9). Course 2 treats this fully.

Self-Examination and the Fencing of the Table

In Corinth the Supper had been spoiled. The rich ate and drank their fill while the poor went hungry, and the church was divided (1 Corinthians 11:17-22). Paul says that anyone who eats and drinks "in an unworthy manner" is guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Then he gives the remedy: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28).

Two points must be made clear to the congregation.

Unworthy manner is not unworthy person. No one is worthy of Christ in himself. The warning is against taking the Supper carelessly, with unrepented sin, with bitterness toward a brother, or without regard for the body, which is the church. Paul's advice is not to stay away but to examine oneself and come rightly. A Christian who feels weak and sinful should come in repentance and faith.

Examination is for everyone. The pastor should lead the church in a time of silent prayer before the Supper. Each person asks: Do I trust Christ alone for salvation? Is there sin I need to confess? Is there a person I must forgive or seek forgiveness from (Matthew 5:23-24)? Because Paul says "let a man examine himself," it is also proper for the pastor to say plainly that the Table is for believers in Christ, and that those who have not yet trusted Him are warmly invited to listen, to pray, and to come to Christ.

Open, Close and Closed Communion

Here Baptists have not all agreed. Writers use these names differently, so a church should define its terms. In this unit they mean the following.

• Open communion: all who profess faith in Christ and are in good standing in their own churches are invited, whether or not they have been immersed.

• Close communion: believers who have been baptized by immersion on profession of faith, and who belong to a church of like faith and order, are invited, including visitors from other Baptist churches.

• Closed communion: only the members of this local church take part.

The reasons for close and closed communion

Many Baptists, past and present, hold one of the two stricter positions. Their reasons are these.

The order of the New Testament. The pattern is that a person is told to repent and believe, is baptized, and then joins the fellowship and the breaking of bread. Acts 2:41-42 is a good example: those who received the word were baptized, and then they continued in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, "in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." The Great Commission also puts baptism after discipleship and before teaching all that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). If the Supper is for those who have obeyed in baptism, then a believer who has not been baptized as the Bible teaches is not yet ready for it.

The Supper as a church ordinance. Paul writes to the Corinthians of the time "when you come together as a church" (1 Corinthians 11:18) and "when you come together in one place" (1 Corinthians 11:20). The Supper is the action of a local church, so that church should take care of who comes to it.

The link to church discipline. Paul tells the Corinthians not to keep company with a professing brother who persists in sin, "not even to eat with such a person" (1 Corinthians 5:11). If a church can exclude from the Table those under discipline, it should also care about whom it admits.

Close communion welcomes immersed believers from churches of like faith as an expression of unity. Closed communion limits the Table to the members of the church that watches over it. Both do so out of respect for Christ's commands and not out of pride.

The reasons for open communion

Other Baptists have held the open position, and they have done so out of an equal love for Scripture. They give these reasons.

The Table is the Lord's. The Lord's Supper belongs to Christ and not to a denomination. It is for all whom Christ has received, and the church has no authority to shut out one of His people. Paul writes that a man should examine himself (1 Corinthians 11:28), not that the church should examine him for his baptism.

Unity in Christ. The Supper shows our oneness in Christ. They ask whether we should refuse a godly believer simply because he differs on the mode or time of baptism.

Historical examples. John Bunyan, the preacher and author of The Pilgrim's Progress, wrote in defense of this practice in his own church at Bedford. Robert Hall of England, a Baptist preacher of the early nineteenth century, argued for open communion in a famous book on the terms of communion. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, whom we study in Unit 7, held to believer's baptism by immersion for himself and his church, but his congregation at the Metropolitan Tabernacle welcomed believers of other churches to the Supper.

How the stricter Baptists answer

Stricter Baptists reply with respect. They agree that the Table is the Lord's, and for that reason they say that the Lord's own order is what must be followed. They note that the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) calls both baptism and the Supper ordinances of the church, but gives no detailed rule for visitors, so each church decides. They say a church that holds an open position is not wrong in heart. They remind everyone that they are not saying the unimmersed are not Christians. They are saying that Christ gave an order, and that the church should keep it.

How the open Baptists answer

Open Baptists reply that the question is not whether baptism matters, since they too baptize believers by immersion, but whether a church may make the immersion of other believers a test for the Table. They say that Scripture gives the test as faith and self-examination, and that the Table is a place of welcome for Christ's people, not a court of judgment.

A word of counsel

A pastor should not treat his own view as the only Baptist view. Course 3 teaches that each church governs itself, so the congregation, under the Word, settles its practice. We ask that you do four things:

1. Study the passages yourself, with the church's leaders.

2. Adopt a written statement of your church's practice and explain the reasons from Scripture.

3. State the practice kindly each time the Supper is served, so that no visitor is embarrassed.

4. Honor Baptist brothers and sisters who practice differently, and do not break fellowship over this matter.

Planning the Service

The elements

Jesus used bread and the fruit of the vine (Luke 22:18-19). Most Baptist churches use ordinary bread or unleavened crackers. Baptists differ about the cup. In many churches today it is unfermented grape juice, in some it is wine, and the Bible does not command either by name beyond "the fruit of the vine." A pastor should choose with care for the conscience of his people, including any who struggle with alcohol, and should not turn this into a point of quarrel. Some churches use a common cup and others use small individual cups.

How often

The Bible does not set the frequency. The believers at Troas gathered "to break bread" on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Baptist churches commonly observe the Supper monthly or quarterly, and some do so weekly.

Who serves

Most Baptist churches have the pastor lead the service and the deacons help to distribute the bread and cup. No special power rests on the leader. He is a servant who reads the Word, leads in prayer and invites the church.

A simple order

1. A hymn and a short reading from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 or the Gospels.

2. A short message on the cross and the meaning of the Supper.

3. A statement of the church's practice, kindly spoken, and a time of silent self-examination.

4. A prayer of thanks for the bread. The bread is broken and distributed, and the people hold it until all are served, or eat together.

5. A prayer of thanks for the cup. The cup is distributed, and the people drink together.

6. A closing hymn of praise, in the manner of the Lord and His disciples who "sang a hymn" before they went out (Matthew 26:30).

A sample invitation for a close-communion church might read: "This Table belongs to the Lord. We ask all who are believers in Christ, who have been baptized by immersion on their profession of faith, and who belong to a church of like faith, to join us. If you are not yet a believer, we are glad you are here, and we invite you to speak with us after the service about Christ." An open-communion church might say: "This Table belongs to the Lord, and we welcome every follower of Christ, from whatever church, to share it with us." In both cases the words are said without sarcasm.

Particular Situations

Children. A child who has not professed faith in Christ and been baptized should not take the Supper in most Baptist churches. Explain kindly to the parents and the child that he will take part when he trusts Christ.

The sick and homebound. A church may send the pastor or deacons to serve the Supper to a member who cannot attend. Two or three members should be present.

Those under church discipline. Following 1 Corinthians 5, the church does not serve the Table to a person who is under discipline for unrepentant sin, in the hope that he will repent and return (Course 3).

Visitors from the Catholic Church or another large tradition. For many, the Supper is a sacrifice or a sacrament that gives grace. Speak kindly and plainly. Explain that Baptists keep the Supper as a remembrance of Christ's finished work, and that it does not save. Do not mock what they hold dear.

Pastoral Application

Pastor Mateo leads a church that practices close communion. On the first Sunday of the month, a visiting couple from a Presbyterian church in another city comes to worship. They were baptized as infants. During the Supper the husband whispers that they would like to take part.

Before the Supper, Mateo explained the church's practice kindly and said that those who could not join were welcome to stay seated and pray. The couple lets the plates pass. After the service Mateo thanks them for coming. He does not argue. He explains the reasons from Acts 2 and Matthew 28 and listens to the Presbyterian understanding. The husband says he was a little hurt but understands. They do not agree, but they thank him for his honesty. Mateo knows that a neighboring Baptist church practices open communion, and he speaks well of that church. The same Lord is honored in both.

Summary

The Lord's Supper remembers Christ's death, proclaims the gospel, shows communion and unity, and looks to His return. Self-examination guards the Table, since the warning of 1 Corinthians 11 is against careless and divided taking of the Supper and not against weak believers. Baptists practice open, close and closed communion. Close and closed communion rest on the order of baptism before the Supper, the Supper as a church ordinance, and church discipline. Open communion rests on the Table as the Lord's, on unity in Christ, and on the examples of Bunyan, Hall and Spurgeon. Each church should study the matter, adopt a written practice, explain it with kindness, and respect other Baptists. The service uses bread and the fruit of the vine, led by the pastor and served with deacons. Pastors handle children, the sick, those under discipline and visitors with patience and truth.

Further Reading

• The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), Article VII, "Baptism and the Lord's Supper."

• The Second London Confession (1689), the chapter on the Lord's Supper (public domain).

• The New Hampshire Confession (1833), the article on baptism and the Lord's Supper (public domain).

• J. M. Pendleton, Church Manual (1867, public domain), on the Lord's Supper.

• John Bunyan, Differences in Judgment about Water-Baptism, No Bar to Communion (1673), and Robert Hall, On Terms of Communion (public domain), for the open view.

• Course 1 and Course 2, Unit 4, of this specialization; Course 3, on church membership and discipline.

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