Did Peter Ever Teach Communion

Scope

This study limits itself to Peter’s words and ministry. It surveys 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and historical scenes where Peter is present in the Gospels and Acts. The aim is simple. Does Peter ever teach an ordinance of bread and cup, give words of institution, or lay out assembly instructions for a memorial meal

A direct reading of Peter’s epistles

Read 1 Peter and 2 Peter in full. Peter addresses scattered believers facing trials and persecution. His major themes are salvation and hope, holiness in conduct, submission, suffering with Christ, shepherding, vigilance against false teachers, and the promise of the day of the Lord.

Key passages show his focus.

• 1 Peter 1:3 to 9. A lively hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

• 1 Peter 1:13 to 16. Be holy in all manner of conversation.

• 1 Peter 2:4 to 10. A spiritual house and holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices.

• 1 Peter 3:18. Christ also hath once suffered for sins.

• 1 Peter 4:12 to 19. Rejoice in fiery trial.

• 1 Peter 5:1 to 4. Feed the flock of God.

• 2 Peter 1:12 to 15. Stirring up remembrance by written testimony.

• 2 Peter 3:10 to 14. The day of the Lord and holy living.

In all of this Peter never gives any instruction about a communion ordinance. He never mentions a church table, never explains bread and cup, never gives a how to for a memorial, and never attaches promised blessings or warnings to participation in a meal. The vocabulary of 1 Corinthians 10 to 11 is absent from Peter’s letters. His epistles contain no command that an assembly should observe a ritual meal.

Texts sometimes used to imply Peter taught communion

1. Acts 2:42 and Acts 2:46

The Jerusalem believers continued in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread. The very next verse explains the setting. They continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. The language describes daily common meals in homes while they still went to the temple. It does not record Peter instituting a memorial of the cross. It is a picture of community life, not an ordinance lesson.

2. 2 Peter 2:13

False teachers are described as sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. This rebuke shows that shared meals existed among the saints. It does not teach a communion rite. Peter gives no words of institution, no doctrine of elements, and no guidance about bread and cup here. He condemns the shameless behavior of deceivers at meals, not the misuse of a memorial ordinance.

3. 1 Peter 2:5

Believers are a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. This verse does not institute a table service. Peter speaks of spiritual sacrifices, which in Scripture include praise, generosity, and service. He does not connect this priesthood language to bread and cup or to a recurring ritual meal.

4. John 6 and the language of eating and drinking

John 6 records the Lord preaching about believing His words. Peter’s role there is his confession, Lord, to whom shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life, John 6:68. The passage is not Peter teaching an ordinance. It is not an instruction to eat elements. It is a call to believe the Lord’s words.

5. John 21 and feed my sheep

The risen Lord charges Peter to feed His sheep, John 21:15 to 17. This is shepherding and teaching. It is not the institution of a meal rite. Peter later fulfills this in 1 Peter 5:2, Feed the flock of God which is among you. He still does not mention bread and cup.

Why Peter’s silence makes sense

1. Peter’s audience and burdens

Peter writes to strangers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 1 Peter 1:1. They are under pressure and persecution. His letters aim to strengthen hope, anchor holy conduct, guard against false teachers, and keep eyes on the appearing of Jesus Christ. He gives pastoral exhortation for suffering saints. He does not write an assembly manual about ordinances.

2. Peter’s themes

Peter emphasizes the once for all suffering of Christ, the call to holiness, submission to authorities, humility, and shepherding. He spends space on household conduct, suffering for righteousness, and the day of the Lord. When he uses remembrance language in 2 Peter 1:12 to 15, he ties it to established truth by written testimony, not to a memorial meal.

3. Acts shows Peter’s early context

In Acts 1 to 5 Peter is in Jerusalem with a temple centered community. Acts 2:46 shows daily meals in homes and continued presence in the temple. The setting is Jewish believers at Jerusalem, not a Gentile pattern of weekly table instructions. Peter preaches repentance to Israel and the times of refreshing and restitution, Acts 3:19 to 21. His recorded sermons call Israel to heed the risen Messiah. None of those sermons lay out a communion ordinance.

4. Peter’s warnings about feasting abuse

Peter rebukes feasting that becomes a stage for deceit, 2 Peter 2:13. If Peter had a communion ordinance to protect, this would be a natural place to mention it. Instead he exposes the character of the deceivers without any reference to a holy table or to bread and cup. His silence here is telling.

What Peter does emphasize about Christ’s death

Peter proclaims the cross and the blood as the ground of salvation and holy living.

• Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, 1 Peter 1:18 to 19.

• Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, 1 Peter 3:18.

• Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, 1 Peter 2:21 to 24.

He applies the cross to conduct, hope, and endurance in trial. He never attaches that message to a rite of bread and cup in his letters.

Summary conclusions

• Peter never teaches a communion ordinance in 1 Peter or 2 Peter.

• Peter never gives words of institution, never defines bread and cup, and never instructs an assembly to observe a memorial meal.

• References to breaking bread in Acts 2 describe common meals in homes during a temple centered period, not an ordinance lesson from Peter.

• Peter’s own themes explain his silence. He writes to scattered, suffering believers about holiness, hope, submission, shepherding, vigilance, and the coming day of the Lord.

• When Peter speaks of remembrance, priesthood, feasting, or the blood of Christ, none of those passages turn into a table ritual in his pen.

Quick reference list from Peter and Acts

• Audience and aim. 1 Peter 1:1, 1 Peter 1:3 to 9, 1 Peter 5:1 to 4, 2 Peter 1:12 to 15.

• Feasting language used in rebuke, not in ordinance instruction. 2 Peter 2:13.

• Community meals in early Jerusalem. Acts 2:42 and Acts 2:46.

• Temple centered setting with preaching to Israel. Acts 3:19 to 21.

• Cross truths applied to life, not to a rite. 1 Peter 1:18 to 19, 1 Peter 2:21 to 24, 1 Peter 3:18.

That is why, staying with Peter only, we say he does not teach communion. He preaches Christ, grounds believers in hope and holiness, warns of deceivers, and shepherds the flock. He does not deliver a bread and cup ordinance in his epistles.