Author : Keith Sharp
I had a phone conversation with a friend recently occasioned by some material I had sent him concerning the Sabbath versus the first day of the week. He mentioned he wasn’t opposed to worshiping on the first day of the week but didn’t view it as essential because there is no New Testament command to do so.
Actually we can sing (Ephesians 5:18-19), pray (Acts12:12), and preach and teach the Word of God (Acts 5:42) any or every day of the week. But the church took a collection (1 Corinthians 16:1-2) and ate the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7) exclusively on the first day of the week.
Concerning when to eat the Lord’s Supper, we have only the example of Acts 20:7: “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7).
Let’s address two questions. Is the first day of the week the only day we can eat the Lord’s Supper? Must we do this each first day of the week?
We must have authority from the Lord Jesus Christ for all that we do. “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). To do something “in the name of the Lord” is to do it “in recognition of the authority of” that person (Vine. 425; cf. Acts 4:7,17-18). To act without His authority is to commit lawlessness (Matthew 7:22-23), i.e., sin (1 John 3:4), and to leave God (2 John verse 9).
One way the Lord makes His will known to us is approved examples recorded in the New Testament. “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Philippians 3:17; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Philippians 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7,9).
This doesn’t mean we must follow every detail recorded in the New Testament. The disciples assembled in an upper room to eat the Lord’s Supper (Acts20:8). But the Master revealed that how we worship is what is important, not where (John 4:19-24).
But the first day of the week has great spiritual significance. The Lord arose from the dead on the first day of the week (Mark 16:9). Since the Day of Pentecost always fell on a first day of the week (Leviticus 23:15-16), and the events of Acts chapter two occurred on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), this is the day on which the kingdom of Christ began (cf. Mark 9:1; Acts1:6-8; 2:1-4) and Christ began to reign as King (Acts2:29-36). It is the day on which the gospel of Christ was first preached (Acts 2:32,36,38,40), that people were first saved through Him (Acts 2:40), that the church began (Acts2:40), and that the New Testament became binding (Hebrews 9:15-17; Luke 24:46-49). Now those things all have great, spiritual significance.
Thus, although there is only one passage indicating when we are to eat the Lord’s Supper, this is not at all an isolated bit of information. It is simply one of many indications that the first day of the week has spiritual significance in the New Testament. It is “the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10), the day the Lord has set aside on which we come together as His people to remember what He did for us.
Revelation chapter one verse ten is the only biblical occurrence of the phrase “the Lord’s day.” Some contend this is another way of saying “the day of the Lord” and refers to the day of judgment of the book of Revelation. The phrase “day of the Lord” is found 23 times in the Bible and uniformly refers to a day of judgment: the judgment of ancient nations (e.g., Isaiah 13:6), the Old Testament judgment of Israel (e.g., Amos 5:18) and of Jerusalem (e.g., Ezekiel 13:5), the A.D. 70 judgment of Israel (e.g., Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20), and the final judgment (e.g., 2 Peter 3:10).
However, there is no proof the phrases “day of the Lord” and “Lord’s day” are meant to be identical. If John had meant to say “the day of the Lord,” he could have used that very phrase, which is a formula for a day of judgment, but he did not.
Rather, this seems to be parallel to First Corinthians chapter eleven verse twenty. The “Lord’s supper” is the supper that peculiarly belongs to the Lord, in that it is eaten in memory of Him (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The “Lord’s day” is the day that peculiarly belongs to the Lord, in that we remember Him on this day. The Lord’s day is the first day of the week. It is also the day on which the church takes a collection from its own members (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
The only day on which we can come together to eat the Lord’s Supper with divine approval is the first day of the week.
But must we do so each first day of the week? The only inspired information we have is that the disciples came together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). It doesn’t say quarterly, semi-annually, or Easter Sunday. It just says the first day of the week. Every week has a first day. If we follow the example of the first century disciples, we come together to eat the Lord’s Supper on that day.
The Lord commanded Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus20:8). They kept every Sabbath day.
When I was growing up in Conway, Arkansas, there was a permanent sign on U.S. Highway 65 coming into town from the south on which the times the various civic clubs met were posted. One sign read, “Rotary Club Meets Wednesday.” Every time Wednesday came around, Rotary club met. No one had to ask which Wednesday.
There is a permanently recorded, divinely approved example that states, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7). We shouldn’t have to ask which first day of the week. Every time the first day of the week comes around, the Lord’s disciples should come together to remember what He did for us.
The church is charged to raise its funds by a free will offering of its own members on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians16:1-2). It is directed to come together on the first day of the week to eat the Lord’s Supper. Why do denominations engage in fund raisers every day of the week and meet to eat the Lord’s Supper only once in a long while? Do you think maybe they’re more interested in money than in what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross?
Work Cited
Vine W.E, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
