The Proclaimer

"Every First Day of the Week"

While most folks understand why the Lord’s Supper is to be eaten (“in remembrance of me,” Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-29), there is confusion over just exactly when the supper is to be eaten.  There is no direct command concerning when the Lord’s Supper should be eaten, but there is an approved apostolic example: “And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). 

The first day of the week (our Sunday) was the day on which Jesus was raised from the dead (John 20:1).  Just as the Sabbath (seventh day of the week, our Saturday) was the day Jews were to remember their deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut. 5:15), so is the first day of the week the day Christians are to remember their deliverance from the bondage of sin.  Jews remembered every Sabbath day, so are Christians to remember Christ’s sacrifice every first day of the week by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. This is the Lord’s day; a day of remembrance; the day Christ was raised from the dead.  I think this argument is valid.  But let’s consider for a moment an argument from the text itself.

Paul told the Corinthians, “Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come” (1 Cor. 16:2).  This passage not only authorizes a common treasury, but the collection of which is to be made “upon the first day of the week.”  In the original Greek, the phrase rendered “upon the first day” is “kata main.”  In Acts 15:21 we see the phrase “kata polin” translated “every city,” and in Rev. 22:2 we see “kata mena” rendered “every month.”  Hence, “kata main” means literally “every first day” (Nestle Interlinear Greek-English N. T., p. 704).

Paul tells these brethren, “when therefore ye assemble yourselves together”  (1 Cor. 11:20) they were partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” (v. 27).  Just when did they assemble themselves together to eat the Lord’s Supper?  We see this identified in 1 Cor. 16:2 as they met every first day of the week (kata main).  Since they met every first day of the week to break bread, Paul tells them to “lay by in store” on this day as well. 

And so, while it is true that Jesus did not tell us when to partake of the Supper at the time He instituted it, that is, what day and how often, the approved example of Acts 20:7 not only binds upon us the first day of the week as the only day authorized by Scripture to partake of it, but it binds upon us every first day of the week.  Also we must remember why apostolic or approved examples are binding in the first place.  They are binding because behind every approved example in the New Testament lies a commandment of God. 

Why do you think the brethren at Troas and at Corinth met on every first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper?  Do you think it was an arbitrary thing?  Absolutely not!  They met on this day every week to partake of the Lord’s Supper because God commanded them to do so.  So why didn’t God record the commandment?  I don’t know, you’ll have to take that up with God.  But could it be that He considered remembering the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord on the day He arose from the dead to be such a fundamental thing that recording the commandment to do so was not necessary?

                                                                                                               -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer