THE DOCTRINE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

A look at God’s Word by

Gary Ray Branscome

   While those who partake of the Lord's Supper receive God's promise of forgiveness in Christ, whenever men assume that what is promised comes to us without faith in Christ, the truth of the gospel is obscured. Therefore, before examining what the Bible says about the Lord's Supper, we need to remind ourselves that forgiveness comes to us only through faith in what Christ did for us on the cross (Galatians 3:6-22). In other words, even though God uses the Lord's Supper (just as He uses preaching) to give us His promise of forgiveness, it is only through personal faith in Christ that we receive what is promised (Romans 5:2, Galatians 3:22). With that fact in mind, let us look at what the Bible says.

TAKE EAT THIS IS MY BODY
    Matthew 26:26  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
    Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
    Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
    1 Corinthians 11:23-24 the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
[Comment: While all four accounts (quoted above) include the words, "this is My body," the fact that Christ was physically present with His disciples when He made that statement tell us that He was not giving them His physical body. At the same time, to say that what we receive merely represents Christ's body is to say that it is not Christ's body, and that is the opposite of what Christ actually said. Therefore, Christ's words must have a deeper meaning, which should become clearer as we go.]

THIS CUP IS THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MY BLOOD


    Matthew 26:27-28 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
    Mark 14:23-24 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
    Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
    1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
[Comment: By referring to the cup as the "new testament in My blood," Christ makes it clear that the new covenant consists of His sacrifice (His shed blood) not a new set of rules. His words then tell us that he is giving us the blood that was shed for us, and faith is believing that His blood was shed for us. Thus, the ceremony promises us Christ's body and blood as the atonement for our sins, while faith receives what is promised (Galatians 3:6,22). ]

WORTHY OR UNWORTHY
1 Corinthians 11: 27-32 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
[Comment: Since we are justified by faith, it is faith in Christ (not works) that makes us worthy to partake. Therefore, those who humbly confess their sin (like the publican) are worthy to partake, while those who think that they are worthy, are not (Luke 18:11-13). In fact, that is essentially what the words "if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" tell us. The publican judged himself, while the Pharisee did not.]

THE DISCOURSE AT CAPERNAUM


John 6:51-59  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
[Comment: Since Christ had not instituted His Supper when he made these statements, He was not talking about His Supper. Furthermore, the grammar is entirely different. In these verses, He calls His body "bread" (which is a metaphor), yet in the Lord's Supper He calls bread His "Body" (which is the opposite of a metaphor). In fact, calling bread His "body," is the equivalent of saying, "that door is me" instead of saying "I am the door." Since there is no such figure of speech, such a statement must either be true, or it is absurd.
    However, while Christ was not talking about His Supper in these verses, what He said does cast light on that Supper, because He equates faith in His sacrifice with eating His body and blood (compare John 6:40 and 6:54). In other words, all who trust in Him, in effect, receive His body and shed blood (His sacrifice) as the atonement for their sins.]

CONCLUSION


    All of God's promises, including those that He has connected with the lord's Supper, were given for a reason, and those who contradict Christ's words make those words "of none effect," thus hindering the work of the gospel (Mark 7:13). In regard to the question of how we receive what is promised to us in the Lord's Supper, Martin Luther had this to say:
Now this treasure is conveyed and communicated to us in no other way than through the words "given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." In these [words] you receive the double assurance that it is Christ's body and blood, and that it is yours as your treasure and gift… And inasmuch as He offers and promises forgiveness of sins, there is no other way of receiving it than by faith… that which is given in and with the sacrament cannot be grasped nor appropriated by our body. This is done by faith in the heart, which discerns this treasure and desires it. (Large Catechism)