Wait a second… I thought Christians were supposed to take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday.
That’s a solid conclusion after studying the New Testament. But then you re-read Acts 2 and suddenly things get confusing. In Acts 2 it says the early Christians were “breaking bread” every day.
So which is it? Did the first century church take the Lord’s Supper weekly or daily?
This question has caused some confusion for Bible readers, and it deserves a careful answer. Because if we truly want to follow the example of the early church, we need to understand exactly what the Scriptures are describing.
In a previous study, by studying how often the apostles and the first century church observed the Lord’s Supper, we concluded that we should partake of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week. If you haven’t read or watched that study yet, I encourage you to do so. Briefly, the evidence points to a weekly observance.
For example, the church in Corinth assembled every first day of the week, and they did so to take the Lord’s Supper. Well, actually, Paul says they didn’t assemble for that purpose, but they should have. The church in Corinth had some issues to work through.
In Acts 20:7, the Bible says that the disciples came together on the first day of the week for the purpose of breaking bread. The phrase “breaking bread” is a synecdoche—a figure of speech where a part represents the whole. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He used unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, but sometimes Scripture refers to the entire meal simply by mentioning the bread.
So when the disciples gathered to “break bread,” they were observing the Lord’s Supper. Acts 20:7 shows the timing and purpose of their assembly. But then many readers notice something earlier in the book of Acts that raises an important question. Acts 2:46 says this about the early Christians:
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.
The “they” in this verse describes the thousands of people who had recently heard and obeyed the gospel in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection. This verse says they were breaking bread from house to house daily.
So naturally someone asks: If Christians were breaking bread every day, doesn’t that mean they were taking the Lord’s Supper every day? At first glance, it might seem that way. But the rest of the verse gives us an important clue: “They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.”
This passage is describing ordinary meals. These new Christians were spending time together, visiting one another’s homes, and sharing food. They were enjoying fellowship together. In other words, Acts 2:46 is talking about common meals.
This shouldn’t surprise us, because the phrase “breaking bread” can simply mean eating food. In fact, the Bible sometimes uses the word “bread” as a general way of referring to food or daily provision. In the model prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to say:
Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11
That’s not referring to the Lord’s Supper, and the prayer is not asking simply for bread alone. In this prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask God for our daily meals—food for life.
Acts 2:46 is describing that same kind of thing. Christians eating meals together in their homes with joy and gratitude.
But now notice something interesting just a few verses earlier.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:42
This verse looks very different from verse 46. Here we read about “the breaking of bread,” and it appears alongside the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, and prayers. These are spiritual practices that defined the life of the early church.
No one needs to be taught how to eat ordinary meals. But the Lord’s Supper was something the apostles taught the church to observe. It was a specific act tied to the apostles’ doctrine and remembrance of Jesus’ death.
In Acts 2:42 the phrase includes the definite article—“the breaking of bread.” It appears to describe a recognized practice among the disciples.
So in Acts 2 we actually see two different uses of the same phrase. In verse 42, “the breaking of bread” refers to the Lord’s Supper—something the disciples continued steadfastly in along with the teachings, the fellowship, and the prayers. In verse 46, “breaking bread” refers to ordinary meals shared from house to house. The context tells us which meaning is intended.
The early Christians were doing both: they were enjoying meals together daily as part of their fellowship, and they were continuing weekly in the breaking of bread as part of their worship and spiritual life.
So when we later read in Acts 20:7 that the disciples gathered on the first day of the week to break bread, that fits perfectly with the pattern we see throughout the New Testament: Christians gathered together as a church on the first day of the week, and one of the central things they did when they assembled was observe the Lord’s Supper.
Acts 2 does not contradict that pattern. It simply shows us another beautiful aspect of early Christian life: believers sharing meals, hospitality, and fellowship with one another day by day. And that picture is actually pretty wonderful. The early church didn’t just see each other once a week for a religious service. They shared their lives together. They prayed together, learned together, worshiped together, and often ate together. But when the church assembled on the first day of the week, they came together for a special purpose: to break bread in remembrance of Jesus. And that remembrance is exactly what the Lord’s Supper is about.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26
The Lord’s Supper is not just about bread and fruit of the vine. It is about remembering the sacrifice of Jesus, proclaiming His death, and examining our hearts before Him. The first century church took that seriously. If we want to follow their example, we should take it seriously as well.