Communion: A Memorial, or the Real Presence of Christ?
'Do this in remembrance of me,' Jesus said. 'This is my body,' He also said, and 'unless you eat my flesh, you have no life in you.' Three traditions read those words with real, careful differences.
8 min read · LovingBible
Four words that four traditions read four different ways
At the Last Supper, Jesus held up bread and said two words that have shaped centuries of church division: "this is." "This is my body." Nearly every Christian tradition takes the Lord's Supper seriously. They disagree, genuinely and carefully, on what those two words mean.
The institution, in Jesus's and Paul's own words
Luke 22:19-20
"he took bread... and gave to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.' Likewise, he took the cup... saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.'"
First written to Theophilus and Gentile believers seeking certainty · Luke (physician, companion of Paul), c. AD 60–80 · Gospel · New Covenant
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Paul, passing on what he "received from the Lord": the same words, plus his own conclusion, "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." A proclamation, Paul calls it, whatever else it is.
First written to the church in Corinth, answering their questions and crises · Paul, c. AD 55 · Letter · New Covenant
1 Corinthians 10:16
Paul again, elsewhere: "The cup of blessing which we bless, isn't it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn't it a sharing of the body of Christ?" The Greek word here is koinōnia, participation or communion, stronger language than "symbol."
First written to the church in Corinth, answering their questions and crises · Paul, c. AD 55 · Letter · New Covenant
The verse that raises the stakes further
John 6:53-56
Jesus, before the Last Supper even happened, in a much harder-edged discourse: "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don't have life in yourselves... he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him." Language stark enough that "many of his disciples... no longer walked with him" after hearing it (John 6:66).
First written to a broad audience, 'that you may believe' (John 20:31) · John (the apostle), c. AD 85–95 · Gospel · New Covenant
John 6:63
Jesus's own clarifying line, in the same discourse: "It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life." Read by memorial-view Christians as Jesus explicitly pointing away from literal flesh-eating. Read by real-presence traditions as clarifying how the presence works (spiritually, through the Spirit), not denying it.
First written to a broad audience, 'that you may believe' (John 20:31) · John (the apostle), c. AD 85–95 · Gospel · New Covenant
Where the Greek genuinely carries the debate
The word behind "this IS my body." In Greek, as in English, "is" carries a real range: "this ring is my grandmother's" (represents/stands for) versus "water is H2O" (identical substance). The Greek word itself doesn't settle which sense Jesus intends, that's precisely where the traditions differ.
The word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 10:16 for what happens at the table, stronger and more participatory than a bare symbol, which is part of why even traditions that reject a literal change in the elements still often speak of a real, spiritual communion happening there.
"This is my body." Four words, one Greek verb doing a lot of work, and centuries of careful, faithful readers landing in genuinely different places on what it requires us to believe is happening on the table.
Views the church has held
Memorial view
The bread and cup are symbols that point back to Christ's finished sacrifice; "do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19) is the controlling instruction, and John 6:63 ("the flesh profits nothing") clarifies that Jesus is not describing literal eating. Communion is a real, meaningful act of obedience and proclamation (1 Corinthians 11:26), not a change in the elements themselves. Held broadly across Baptist and much of evangelical Protestantism, associated historically with the Reformer Ulrich Zwingli.
Real presence, spiritual
Christ is truly, spiritually present in the Supper, and believers genuinely participate in Him (the koinōnia of 1 Corinthians 10:16), without the bread and wine becoming His literal physical body and blood. Held historically by Reformed and Calvinist traditions, associated with John Calvin, who taught believers are spiritually lifted by the Spirit to feed on Christ, rather than Christ physically descending into the elements.
Real presence, substantial
The bread and wine truly become (or, in Lutheran theology, are joined with) Christ's actual body and blood, taking "this is my body" and John 6's "eat my flesh" close to their most direct sense. Catholic theology describes this as transubstantiation (the substance changes, though appearance doesn't); Lutheran theology describes "sacramental union," Christ's body and blood present in, with, and under the bread and wine. Held by Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran traditions, among the largest bodies of Christians worldwide.
What holds across every view
Whichever way a tradition reads "this is," every serious Christian reading of these texts treats communion as something far more than a casual snack, worth real preparation, real self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:27-29), and real reverence. The disagreement is about the mechanism of Christ's presence, not about whether the table matters.
Examine it for yourself
Read Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, and John 6:22-66 together, in full. Notice how much weight every single tradition places on approaching the table seriously. Then bring your questions to your own church's elders or priest, this is a question tied closely to how your specific tradition practices communion, worth understanding in that context.
Examine it yourself
Type this question (or your own) into LovingBible and see the passages, in English, Greek, and Hebrew. No verdict. You decide.
Open LovingBible →Quick questions
What does 'this is my body' actually mean?
The Greek word for 'is' (estin) carries a real range of meaning, from literal identity to representation, the way English 'is' works in both 'water is H2O' and 'this ring is my grandmother's.' Faithful, careful Christian traditions read Jesus's words at different points on that range, from purely symbolic (memorial view) to a real, spiritual participation (Reformed) to an actual change in the elements (Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran).
Does John 6's 'eat my flesh' language prove communion involves Christ's literal body?
It's genuinely debated. Real-presence traditions lean on the stark, repeated language in John 6:53-58. Memorial-view Christians point to Jesus's own clarification two verses later, 'the flesh profits nothing... the words I speak to you are spirit and life' (John 6:63), read as pointing away from a literal-flesh reading toward a spiritual one.
What's the difference between the Catholic and Lutheran view of real presence?
Both affirm Christ is truly, substantially present, but describe the mechanism differently. Catholic theology (transubstantiation) holds the substance of the bread and wine actually changes into Christ's body and blood, while the appearance remains. Lutheran theology (sacramental union) holds Christ's body and blood are present 'in, with, and under' the bread and wine, which remain truly bread and wine.
How should I decide what I believe?
Read Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 10:16 and 11:23-29, and John 6:22-66 in full, Berean-style (Acts 17:11). This is a question closely tied to your specific church tradition's practice, so bring it to your own pastor, priest, or elders rather than settling it here.
Keep examining
LovingBible never hands down a verdict. Read every passage in its full context, pray, and confirm with your local church and pastor. Scripture references open in the World English Bible (public domain).