We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Jesus’ suffering and death.
The bread is a symbol of Jesus’ body; and the unfermented wine, a symbol of His spilled blood. Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 17; 11:23-26.
“As He ate the Passover with His disciples, He instituted in its place the service that was to be the memorial of His great sacrifice…
“The unleavened cakes used at the Passover season are before Him. The Passover wine, untouched by fermentation, is on the table. These emblems Christ employs to represent His own unblemished sacrifice. Nothing corrupted by fermentation, the symbol of sin and death, could represent the ‘Lamb without blemish and without spot.’ 1 Peter 1:19.” -The Desire of Ages, pp. 652, 653.
Forgiveness of sin does not occur by partaking of the bread and wine. Being a memorial of Jesus’ suffering and death, it is to serve for the strengthening of the church.
Preparation includes self-examination, acknowledgment, confession of sin, and genuine sorrow for sin.
“The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two monumental pillars, one without and one within the church. Upon these ordinances Christ has inscribed the name of the true God.” -Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 91.
Only one who has made a covenant with God in baptism and has become a member of the church may participate in the Lord’s Supper.
“And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the Passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof.” Exodus 12:43.