How do I know which church is the one the Lord intended? And what about the Eucharist being the real body and blood?

Answer:

There is only one source of truth: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17). Therefore, if you are looking for truth, you need to open your Bible and learn from it. Compare what you find within its pages to the things practiced and taught by any church you are looking at and see if it matches the Bible's teachings or not. Even the Apostle John warned, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (I John 4:1). Though I can't speak for every congregation, you will generally find that members of the church of Christ welcome people who are willing to open their Bibles, study its teachings, and apply what they learn to their lives. It is what as always been encouraged, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15).

One our website you will find numerous articles on various topics. Take your Bible and check the verses cited. Read the context of the verses to make sure they are being used properly. Use your cross-reference to find related verses and see if it is consistent with other teachings of God.

The word "Eucharist" is a Roman Catholic term. You won't find it in the Bible. But there is something similar called the "Lord's Supper" or sometimes "the breaking of bread." If you read the passages regarding the supper that Jesus instituted as a memorial of his death, the verses do not say that his memorial becomes his literal body and blood. Before Jesus died on the cross, he taught his disciples how to partake of His supper. "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."" (Luke 22:19-20). Now, at the time which he was offered the bread and the fruit of the vine, he had not yet died on the cross. Still, he stated that his body was given for them and his blood was shed for them and that in partaking they will remember his death. He could speak of his death as if it had already happened because of the certainty that it would happen. In other words, he was using a figure of speech in referring to his death. In the same way, he told the disciples that the bread was his body and the cup was his blood. Was he speaking literally as he stood whole before them? Or, was he again using a figure of speech (a metaphor) to say that these emblems represented his body and blood? The later makes perfect sense and doesn't require straining the meaning of Christ's words.

Looking back on the event, Paul gave the Corinthians instructions concerning the Lord's Supper. "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (I Corinthians 11:23-27). There is no indication that Jesus or Paul referred to the bread and cup as anything more than a metaphor for the body and blood of Christ. Notice that even after partaking, Paul still calls it the bread and the cup -- nothing changed in its physical properties. But if partaken in an unworthy manner, it reflects back on what they represent -- the body and blood of the Lord.