They Might Not Be as Separate and Apart as You Think

Over time, the modern American church has accumulated a large number of stock phrases that worship leaders use (sometimes without even realizing it). You’ve probably heard any number of these: a prayer before a sermon asks God to grant the preacher a “ready recollection of the things he has prepared”; a closing prayer asks God to “guide, guard, and direct us” before asking Him to “bring us back at the next appointed time”; a sermon ends with “come as we stand and sing”; on and on the list could go. One of the more commonly used expressions serves to mark a boundary between two actions in worship: the Lord’s Supper and the church’s opportunity to “lay something aside” as a monetary contribution to the Lord’s work (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). This expression, “separate and apart,” is meant to create a continental divide between these two actions, a divide that someone years ago felt was so clear and so important that some long-forgotten person(s) created a habit of emphasizing it twice (since “separate” and “apart” both mean the same thing).

There are of course good reasons to keep these two actions of worship separate in our minds (if not in our worship services). For starters, the Bible does not join them together. There is no command or example of the Lord’s Supper ever immediately being followed by an opportunity to give. The insistence of many worship leaders to keep these actions together “as a matter of convenience” (a statement which has itself become another stock phrase) has led some people see the contribution as kind of a “part three” to the Lord’s Supper. While it is very appropriate to give back to the Lord in light of all that He has given to us, we shouldn’t walk away from the Lord’s Supper thinking that the event it memorializes either demands a financial contribution or could ever be repaid with one. What the Lord has given us truly stands “separate and apart” from anything we might give Him.

Recently though, a worship leader did something that got me thinking about the whole “separate and apart” idea again. He introduced the Lord’s Supper with a PowerPoint slide that said, “Communion.” It’s an accurate description of the Lord’s Supper, since it is one of a number of ways this action of worship is described in Scripture. In speaking about the Lord’s Supper, Paul says, “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). “Communion” is a word that is more commonly translated “fellowship” (e.g., Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 8:4; Ephesians 3:9; Philippians 1:5; 2:1; 3:10; 1 John 1:3; 1 John 1:6-7), and describing the Lord’s Supper as communion reminds us of the rich fellowship we enjoy with Jesus because He saved us.

Well, I think it was just an accident, but on this particular Sunday “Communion” stayed on the screen, as the worship service shifted gears, and the prayer leader introduced the opportunity our congregation would have to give. This is what got me thinking. You see, the word translated “communion” is actually used on a few occasions in Scripture to refer to a financial offering made by Christians. When Paul anticipated the Corinthians contributing to the needy saints in Judea, he described it as a “liberal sharing” (NKJV) or “contribution” (ESV, NASB), which is the same word translated elsewhere as “communion” or “fellowship.” Romans reveals that the Corinthians did as Paul hoped; he describes the offering of both Macedonia and Achaia (where Corinth was) as “a certain contribution,” with the word “contribution” once again being translated from that same word (Romans 15:26). And, when Paul speaks of the Philippians’ “fellowship” (NKJV) or “partnership” in Philippians 1:6, he likely has reference to their financial contributions to his work for which he later thanks them in greater detail (Philippians 4:15-18).

Let me reiterate, the Lord’s Supper and the collection taken up on the first day of the week are NOT the same thing even though the same term describes them. Instead, the fact that the term fellowship is used to describe them both is an indication of how rich the idea of fellowship is. When John says, “we have fellowship with one another,” describing both the connection between fellow Christians and the connection between Christians and God, he is describing an intimate, relational connection that manifests itself in mutual sharing and cooperative effort. The Lord’s Supper is a fellowship meal that serves as a solemn, needed reminder that we have been “baptized into His death,” and that it is His death that allows us to “walk in newness of life” with God and with each other (Romans 6:3-4). Our financial contribution is an opportunity to pool our resources to become “God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9) and further His work in this world.

We’re used to thinking of the Lord’s Supper as “communion,” but what about our Sunday offering? How should it change the way we give to know that the money we give is another way to celebrate the connection we have with Jesus and each other? Even though Scripture warns against it, too often giving can be done “grudgingly or of necessity” (2 Corinthians 9:7), and we can treat our giving more like a donation to a charity than a contribution to an effort. But really, the latter is what it is, and what we give becomes a real way to be connected to efforts that we may never physically be a part of. Because the Philippians contributed to Paul’s work, he considered them, as he put it, “partakers [a compound word formed by the prefix “with” and the word “fellowship” – PWS] with me of grace” (Philippians 1:7). Everything Paul did, they too did. Whenever we are “willing to share [again, a word etymologically linked to ‘fellowship’ – PWS]” our money and resources, we lay “a good foundation for the time to come” and “lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

Though we do need to be careful to make sure our stock phrases don't become "vain repetitions" (Matthew 6:7), it’s not wrong to emphasize in whatever way we choose that the Lord’s Supper and the contribution are two separate actions that we undertake in worshipping God and obeying His Word. However, it’s worth remembering from time to time that both things are ways we celebrate and participate in the rich fellowship that we enjoy as Christians.

-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org