One of the great doctrines of Scripture is the doctrine of union with Christ. The phrase in Christ or related phrases occurs in Paul’s letters over 170 times. It occurs in the book of Ephesians over 30 times. Now for those who are Christ’s this union is the case all the time. But Scripture also teaches us that there are occasions when that union is realized more fully, more richly, more deeply.
The Lord’s Supper is intended to be just such an occasion. You are a Christian all the time. You bear the name of Christ all the time. But to paraphrase one Puritan—in other places we have His Word, in the sacrament we have His kiss.
Now when we partake of Christ this way, take care to remember that Christ is not being parceled out to you. You are receiving a little bit of bread, and a small cup of wine, that is true, but this is a sacramental synecdoche. A synecdoche is a figure of speech where we speak of the whole in terms of the parts or vice versa. For example, when we say many hands make light work, and we are referring to all the people connected to those hands, that is synecdoche.
I bring this up, not as a point of grammar trivia, but so that you might know that you are being presented with the whole Christ. You are not receiving a fraction of Christ here. You are in communion with Jesus Christ Himself. He is a person, and when He engages with you, He is engaged with you. When you partake of Him, you are partaking of Him.
And of course, you cannot be united to the whole Christ without being united to His people. His people are the body of Christ; they are part of the whole Christ. This is why we are called to partake of this sacred meal in faith, hope, and love—but love mostly.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.