A biblical order of the administration of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper would provide a meaningful framework for the exercise of proper shepherding of the flock at the high and holy moment of the distribution of the elements of the Lord’s supper.

Introduction

It’s a celebration, a festive moment in the life of the church. So should not everyone be able to serve the elements of the Lord’s supper? Sometimes in a special celebration, everyone enjoys having young children pass out snacks and sweets as they move about among the people. So perhaps even children should be allowed to serve the bread and the wine?

But the Lord’s supper is a very special celebration. As Jesus indicated, by sharing these simple elements, you show forth the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor. 11:26). Remembering the death of the Lord Jesus makes this moment more sacred than any other celebration and remembrance. Because of its uniqueness, it binds all participants in the fellowship of Christ’s love. It also provides a distinctive opportunity for encouraging the whole body of believers in their life of discipleship to Christ. So who should serve the elements of the Lord’s supper?

The distinctive role of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper in deepening the discipleship commitments of every member of Christ’s church deserves special notice. Three marks essential to identifying a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ have been emphasized since the time of the protestant reformation: the true preaching of the Word, the true administration of the sacraments, and the true exercise of discipline.^[i]

As each prospective participant in the Lord’s supper presents himself for receiving the bread and the wine, the ongoing validity of a person’s profession is being publicly reaffirmed. While baptism serves as the one-time sacramental entry into the community of the covenant, the Lord’s supper serves as the sacrament of ongoing continuation in the life of God’s redeemed people.

Who is responsible for determining a person’s readiness to receive the Lord’s Supper?

To confirm the validity of a person’s participation in this high and holy moment, the prospective communicant is instructed specifically by Scripture to “examine himself” (1 Cor. 11:28). He must search his soul to be sure that he has no unconfessed sin for which he has not repented. Otherwise, he “drinks damnation to himself” (1 Cor. 11:29).

But self-testing is not the only evaluation that should be made. Otherwise the society of the church would be like a civil community that had no traffic regulations. Each person would decide for himself by his own personal judgment as to whether or not he should stop his automobile before entering a busy intersection. Each person would make his own judgment as to whether he should drive at 25 or 50 miles per hour in an elementary school zone. With such a perspective in operation, clashes and crashes among citizens of the community would be inevitable.

The people responsible under God for maintaining moral purity and sound faith among the congregation have an equal responsibility for making a decision at the time of the celebration of the Lord’s supper. Is this person approaching the table of the Lord a repentant sinner whose lifestyle continues to reaffirm his profession that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior from sin? Does he display by word and deed his ongoing faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners as the only way of salvation?

But who is to make this evaluation? It is unthinkable that each and every member of a congregation would have the right and the boldness to deny to any other member of the congregation access to the Lord’s table.

This kind of evaluation can be performed only by the elders of the church as they meet in a body to consider these type issues. The “ruling elders” have been recognized by the congregation as manifesting the gifts of the Spirit necessary for governing the church. The “teaching elder,” the pastor, has been formally called by the congregation. These elders are the ones responsible for “shepherding the flock of God” (1 Pet. 5:2). In some cases only the elders of the church would know that a particular person was under their discipline. Only they would be aware of the fact that a certain person should be denied access to the Lord’s table until he or she has clearly repented of their erroneous ways or beliefs. In addition, it would take some strength – strength provided by virtue of the authority of the office of elder – for a person distributing the elements to actually deny a particular individual access to the Lord’s table. But if any and all members of the congregation are allowed to serve the elements of the Lord’s supper, then the “discipling” essential for the well-being of the church has been seriously weakened.

It must be admitted that rare are the instances in which a church member is actually denied access to the Lord’s table in the practice of today’s protestant churches. Yet it does happen on occasion. Yet whenever the elders serve the Lord’s supper, they are concretely exercising their oversight of the congregation. Still further, each time members of the congregation are welcomed to the celebration at the Lord’s table by the recognized leaders of the church, they are receiving significant spiritual encouragement. These godly leaders are confirming their people’s ongoing faith-profession. The congregation also experiences the blessing of becoming more intimately acquainted with their elders by the public presence at each celebration of the Lord’s supper.

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