Bible glossary

What Does ‘Communion’ Mean in the Bible?

Communion is the sharing of bread and cup that Jesus gave His followers, remembering His body and blood given for them and sharing in His life.

Also called the Lord's Supper, communion goes back to the night before Jesus died, when He took bread and wine and told His friends to keep sharing them in remembrance of Him. The bread stands for His body given, the cup for His blood shed.

It is a remembering that is also a sharing: believers proclaim His death, receive His grace afresh, and are drawn together as one people. Christians differ on exactly how Christ is present, but they share this table as a gift from Him.

Key verses

“And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:24

“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.”
1 Corinthians 11:26

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
1 Corinthians 10:16