AV Bible Believers Fellowship

Question: should the bread be unleavened bread?

Yes ma'am. Leaven is a picture of sin in the Bible and since Jesus was sinless, to use leavened bread destroys the picture, to say the least. The church I attended made sure yeast wasn't among the ingredients listed on the box of crackers we used.

we use some kind of pie crust.

I know the bread must be unleavened.I have thought maybe I just shouldn't partake of leavened bread at the Chapel anymore.

(06-27-2010 07:07 AM)MrsHayseed Wrote: [ -> ]I know the bread must be unleavened.I have thought maybe I just shouldn't partake of leavened bread at the Chapel anymore.

I wouldn't. In using leavened bread they're basically profaning the Lord and the ordinance.

I will offer a dissenting opinion. I don't think it matters, although many believers might be more comfortable using unleavened bread. I have nothing but respect for their scruples; I simply don't share them.

I'm aware of the arguments for using unleavened bread: leaven is a type of sin in the Bible. (It is also a type of the Gentiles in places!) As I say, I respect those who prefer unleavened bread. But I think Sister Hayseed would not be displeasing God by partaking of the leavened bread at the chapel. This is not an endorsement or a criticism of the chapel itself; just a very specific issue.

I found an article, written by an Anglican, of all things, that sums up the question very neatly. Rather than link to an Anglican site, I will quote part of it here. He runs to the Greek, of course, and says that "the Greek" doesn't necessitate unleavened bread, but I'm leaving that part out. It's not needed.

I quote:

Quote:We have communion services in churches today because, at the Last Supper, this was the way that Jesus instructed his followers to remember Him; this, of course, was on the night before he died.

At that meal Jesus effectively changed Jewish Passover into Christian Communion, therefore He did one or two things just a little differently. However, He would have almost certainly still used unleavened bread, simply because the Jews followed the Passover instructions in the Old Testament and this is all that probably would have been available on that evening (Exodus 12).

There are some Christians today who believe that we ought to use unleavened bread because Jesus probably did so (although we cannot be entirely sure about that for the reasons I will state later), this is why some congregations use wafers.

However, most Protestant Christians do not use wafers, or unleavened bread, because we have to understand that Christ fulfilled all of the types involved in the Passover. He Himself is our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) who passes over the transgressions of sinners when they daub His blood on the doorposts of their hearts. The wine represented His blood and the bread represented His body, spilt and broken as a complete flesh and blood sacrifice. Likewise, normal leavened bread during the Days of Unleavened Bread (but only during that period), became symbolic of sin for the Jews, so the Israelites were commanded to de-leaven their homes, but, of course, only Christ can redeem us from sin. So our Lord and Saviour fulfilled all of the types involved in Old Covenant Passover and He has brought that particular religious service to a conclusion, being replaced by Christian Communion.

*** Greek stuff, ho-hum ***

But the question has to be asked: If Jesus really wanted us to only use unleavened bread during communion, would He not have inspired these particular texts to describe 'unleavened bread,' rather than simply 'bread'?

Some of the eminent believers who have looked at this very point include John Calvin, Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge, Theodore Beza, and Charles Spurgeon. All of those men concluded that it is not necessary to use unleavened bread at communion (although if one prefers to use it that is no problem). The Roman Catholic Church insists on unleavened wafers, Greek Orthodoxy mostly uses leavened bread and the Lutherans now leave the matter open. The Church of England, Baptists and Presbyterians use normal, leavened bread. Charles Spurgeon wrote:

"After the thanksgiving, it is very clear that our Divine Lord broke the bread. We scarcely know what kind of bread was used on that occasion; it was probably the thin passover cake of the Jews; but there is nothing said in Scripture about the use of leavened or unleavened bread, and therefore it matters not which we use. Where there is no ordinance, there is no obligation; and we are, therefore, left free to use the bread which it is our custom to eat."

So this is best considered as one of the changes which Jesus made as He developed Passover into Christian Communion.

I have added my own emphasis. Theodore Beza was the man who did one of the best editions of the Textus Receptus, and Spurgeon is a well-known Baptist.

MrsH, it looks like you've hit upon an area in which individual soul liberty comes into play.

General trivia - Did you know that Welch's Grape Juice was originally produced for use in the Lord's Supper?

Quote:The story of Welch's began in 1869 in Vineland, New Jersey - when physician and dentist Thomas Bramwell Welch and his son Charles processed the first bottles of "unfermented wine" to use during their church's communion service.

http://www.welchs.com/about-welchs/history

I agree with Sherloc......., uh William on this.

"Oh...alright" she said with a grudge,"that's ONE LESS thing I can hold against my apostate Chapel." ...just when I was getting myself into a fit state to say"see?they say at avvbf it should be unleavened bread!"to my husband.
I won't say nuthin now.