The Lord's Supper Part 1 - The Roman Catholic View

Ever since I partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time when I was 14, I have had a keen interest in studying and learning about this sacrament in the New Covenant.  Like most significant doctrines in Christianity, there are a long list of disagreements over this Supper, disagreements ranging from discussions over the presence of Christ in the sacrament, to the question over who could participate (only professing believers versus believers and their children, a.k.a. paedocommunion), and the effects that come from a faithful participation in this sacrament.  Because of the variety of opinions, I decided to try and get a brief synopsis of some of the major views in the Christian church, written by their respective adherents.  So I picked up this book:

The Lord's Supper; Five Views 

 

The editor, Gordon T. Smith compiles essays from five seminary professors: a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, a Reformed, a Baptist, and a Pentecostal.  These five denominations represent the majority of the groups of believers who call themselves Christians.  I really benefited from this book and wanted to share some of the key statements of each position with you all.  I have tried to be brief but because of the number of views, the original post was tediously long.  So, it seemed good to me to break this down into three parts: the first being the Roman Catholic position, the second being the Lutheran, and the third being the remaining three views and my conclusion.  With that introduction out of the way, here is the first position on the Lord's Supper!


1)  Roman Catholic - written by Brother Jeffrey Gros
     The Roman Catholic position is best summed up in the word "transubstantiation".  This doctrine was and continues to be a hallmark of the Catholic doctrine of the Lord's Supper.  The 1994 Roman Catholic Catechism defines transubstantiation as follows:

"By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change in the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood."

Some key quotes from the essay in the book are taken from page 18,
"The Catholic theologians emphasize the importance of affirming the real presence of Chris and the change of the elements of bread and wine.  The doctrine of transubstantiation has been used to give a theological articulation to this faith.  Although other explanations of this presence would be possible, none has yet been approved by the Catholic Church."  (emphasis added)
             I add the emphasis to bring out another key aspect to Catholic doctrine, the necessity of affirmation by a Church council (most notably the Council of Trent) or a pope.  Additionally, the Catholic doctrine of the Lord's Supper (or Eucharist as they call it) brings into light the idea of "re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice":
"In addition to re-presenting Christ's sacrifice, the Eucharistic sacrifice perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross: At the Lord's Supper, on the night He was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood.  This He did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages until He should come again..." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 19)
               While Roman Catholics vehemently deny that this belief takes away from the final and complete nature of Christ's atonement, they nonetheless uphold the idea that Christ's work is supplemented by the sacrament, a doctrine which we Protestants repudiate.



If you enjoyed reading this article, check out my second article on the Lutheran position!

The Lord's Supper, Part 2 - The Lutheran View

Ever since I partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time when I was 14, I have had a keen interest in studying and learning about this sacrament in the New Covenant.  Like most significant doctrines in Christianity, there are a long list of disagreements over this Supper, disagreements ranging from discussions over the presence of Christ in the sacrament, to the question over who could participate (only professing believers versus believers and their children, a.k.a. paedocommunion), and the effects that come from a faithful participation in this sacrament.  Because of the variety of opinions, I decided to try and get a brief synopsis of some of the major views in the Christian church, written by their respective adherents.  So I picked up this book:

The Lord's Supper; Five Views 

 

 

The editor, Gordon T. Smith compiles essays from five seminary professors: a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, a Reformed, a Baptist, and a Pentecostal.  These five denominations represent the majority of the groups of believers who call themselves Christians.  I really benefited from this book and wanted to share some of the key statements of each position with you all.  I have tried to be brief but because of the number of views, the original post was tediously long.  So, it seemed good to me to break this down into three parts: the first being the Roman Catholic position, the second being the Lutheran, and the third being the remaining three views and my conclusion.  With that introduction out of the way, here is the second view on the Lord's Supper!

2) Lutheran - written by John Stephenson

   The Lutheran position bears some resemblances with both Reformed positions and, strangely enough, the Roman Catholic position.  Luther and his theological heirs created and coined the term "consubstantiation" in order to express their unique doctrine of Christ and the Lord's Supper.  The Lutheran Confession (The Book of Concord) defines consubstantiation as follows:
"The Sacrament of the Altar is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself." (emphasis added).  While this view may look very close to Roman Catholicism, there is a subtle difference in the word "under".  My understanding of this complex doctrine is that Christ's body and blood truly come and infuse the bread and the wine, so that the believer really does consume the Lord's body and blood.  The analogy is used of a bar of iron which is placed in the furnace.  The heat surrounds the bar of iron, infusing it with energy and making it hot and turn bright red.  Thus Lutherans believe that they consume Christ literally yet in a distinctly different way from the Roman Catholic position.  Personally, I think the line is very fine, but if they insist on the difference, so be it.
    Some key quotes from the essay are taken from page 50,
"For Luther - and the Book of Concord - the sacramental presence is realized in the divine service at the consecration of the elements, which occurs through the celebrant's pronouncing the words of institution over the elements 'in Christ's person and name.'  We speak the divine, almighty, heavenly, and holy words which Christ Himself spoke at the supper with His holy lips and commanded us to speak.  For as soon as Christ says, 'This is My body', His body is present through the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.  If the Word is not there, it is mere bread; but as soon as the words are added they bring with them that of which they speak."  This is why the Lutheran Church has such a carefully laid out liturgy for the celebration of the Lord's Supper.
"Luther insisted that the Lord's body and blood are not present in the same way as the elements themselves, occupying space and bounded by it.  Rather, the body and blood are supernaturally present and in such a way that each tiniest portion of consecrated bread and wine is the Lord's whole body and whole blood." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 52)
Finally, and perhaps here the difference between Lutherans and Catholics is most clearly shown, Lutherans do join the rest of their Protestant brothers in affirming the once-for-all nature of Christ's sacrifice.
"To the extent that Roman Catholics teach that the celebrant actively offers the really-present body and blood [of Christ] to the Father for the living and the dead, Lutherans react in horror that 'synergism' has swamped what we call the 'divine monergism'.  That is to say, man is now cooperating towards his own justification, rather than simply passively receiving the fruits of the work uniquely and solely accomplished by the God-man, Christ Jesus."  (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 53) With this statement, we can breathe a little easier around our Lutheran brothers, though we still have significant disagreement with them over Christ's presence in the Supper.


If you enjoyed reading this article, check out my third article on the remaining three positions! 

The Lord's Supper, Part 3 - The Reformed, Baptist, & Pentecostal Positions

Ever since I partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time when I was 14, I have had a keen interest in studying and learning about this sacrament in the New Covenant.  Like most significant doctrines in Christianity, there are a long list of disagreements over this Supper, disagreements ranging from discussions over the presence of Christ in the sacrament, to the question over who could participate (only professing believers versus believers and their children, a.k.a. paedocommunion), and the effects that come from a faithful participation in this sacrament.  Because of the variety of opinions, I decided to try and get a brief synopsis of some of the major views in the Christian church, written by their respective adherents.  So I picked up this book:

The Lord's Supper; Five Views 

 

 

The editor, Gordon T. Smith compiles essays from five seminary professors: a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, a Reformed, a Baptist, and a Pentecostal.  These five denominations represent the majority of the groups of believers who call themselves Christians.  I really benefited from this book and wanted to share some of the key statements of each position with you all.  I have tried to be brief but because of the number of views, the original post was tediously long.  So, it seemed good to me to break this down into three parts: the first being the Roman Catholic position, the second being the Lutheran, and the third being the remaining three views and my conclusion.  With that introduction out of the way, here is my final article on the Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal positions!

3) Reformed - written by Leanne Van Dyk
     This position is the one held by yours truly, so I naturally enjoyed this article the most.  Basically, the historic Reformed position can actually be subdivided into three types: Parallelism advocated by Heinrich Bullinger, Memorialism advocated by Ulrich Zwingli, and Instrumentalism advocated by John Calvin.
Memorialism is by far the most common in Protestant circles (both Reformed and non-Reformed).  Simply stated, memorialism is "a symbolic or representational approach.  The bread and wine indicate a spiritual reality, and the Holy Spirit is active in the sacrament as the Spirit is in the whole life of the community of believers.  But the sacrament is primarily a sign that points beyond itself tot he reality of the risen and ascended Christ." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 68-69)
Heinrich Bullinger took Zwingli's position just one step further, trying to bring harmony between Zwingli and Calvin.  He believed that the Lord's Supper, "'is an holy action instituted unto the Church from God, wherein the Lord, by the setting of bread and wine before us at the banquet, doth certify unto us His promise and communion, and sheweth unto us His gifts and layeth them before our senses.'  The affirmation of divine gracious activity in the Lord's Supper signals an important difference from Zwingli, who understood the [church] congregation, in its acts of dedication and gratitude, to be the primary subjects in the sacrament." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 72)

Lastly, and this is the position that I adhere to, Calvin systematically laid out the idea of the Lord's Supper being an instrument of grace; one of the means of grace.
"Calvin has three primary affirmations on the Lord's Supper.  First, Calvin affirms the divine origin of all goodness, all graces, all gifts.  The Lord's Supper is a gift of God for the purpose of supporting and nourishing the faith of the community of believers...Second, the Lord's Supper always points beyond itself to Jesus Christ...Third, the prominent role of the Holy Spirit....For Calvin, everything depends on the Spirit.  Neither sermon nor sacrament will point to Jesus Christ without the action of the Holy Spirit."  For Calvin, the mere memorialism of Zwingli failed to capture the true power and nourishment of which Christ spoke when He said that, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." (John 6:53).
"Calvin made a bolder sacramental claim, that although Christ is in Heaven, we are nourished in the Lord's Supper by His body and blood as the food of our souls, united to Him in the Spirit....The Lord's Supper is not under the control of the church, the minister, or the people.  Instead, the grace of the Lord's Supper is always a fresh gift of God through the Holy Spirit."
(The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 78-79)
In closing, we of the Reformed persuasion hold that "the holy Supper we are about to celebrate is a feast of remembrance, of communion, and of hope...We celebrate in remembrance for the past revelation of God throughout history and especially in Jesus Christ.  We celebrate in communion by being united to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We celebrate in hope by glimpsing in the sacrament a foretaste of the great heavenly banquet, when all saints and angels together will join in the praise of God.  In this way, the congregation truly receives the gifts of God for the people of God." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 82)

4) Baptist - written by Roger Olson
Whenever one tries to encapsulate a Baptist position, it is daunting due to the wide variety of Baptists (over 56 varieties in the USA alone) and the independence of each church.  There is no one confession which can be appealed to (as the Westminster Confession for Presbyterians) or one body or head which issues definitive declarations (the Pope for Catholics).  But a general definition can be given.  Mr. Olson proposes this definition,
"The almost constant theme of...baptist confessional statements is that the Lord's Supper is a memorial or commemoration that also has the effect of bringing the believer into encounter and union with Christ through the Holy Spirit when faith is present.  There is little or no hint of anything special about the elements beyond their symbolic representation of Christ's death and proclamation of His return." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 100)
"Thus the Lord's Supper is a way of communing with each other and with Christ; it is a communal event of memory and proclamation that strengthens the unity of the church.  There is no special priesthood that officiates; any believer can lead in the Lord's Supper as a priest unto God...so the Lord's Supper draws faithful participants closer to Christ and each other." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 108)  This is basically Zwingli's memorialism, which I mentioned earlier.

5) Pentecostal - written by Veli-Matti Karkkainen
    You might be surprised that the Pentecostal churches have a distinct doctrine of the Lord's Supper to the Reformed and Baptists.  The truth is that there is very little difference and what difference does exist is challenging to identify as the Pentecostal church is still in the process of defining their theology of the Lord's Supper.  However, this statement from the United Pentecostal Church International Articles of Faith seems to encapsulate the views pretty well:
"We do not believe superstitiously that the bread and wine actually become the physical body and blood of Christ, nor do we believe that there is any virtue in the physical elements themselves apart from their power as figures to point us to the deeper reality which they typify.  We do believe, however, that an act of faith in partaking of the elements results in the real operation of the Spirit in us to strengthen us in the inner man and to heal us in our physical bodies.  We, furthermore, believe that the reality which the Lord's Supper signifies is our daily 'bread' of which we partake day by day." (emphasis added, The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 124)  I added emphasis because the healing nature of the Lord's Supper is something which the Pentecostals bring out in their worship service more so than any other Protestant denomination.  Oftentimes, this phrase will be used during the Lord' Supper, "There is healing at the Table!".

-Conclusion-

Hopefully, those of my readers who persevered to this point will be glad to see that my conclusion is brief.  All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this little book (148 pages total).  My understanding of my own beliefs about the Lord's Supper was greatly improved and I felt that I was able to get an overview of the five most common belief systems of this sacrament, written by the men (and woman) who wrote their articles.  Reading a Roman Catholic explanation or Lutheran explanation of the Lord's Supper helps you avoid constructing straw men and incorrect assumptions about their beliefs.  As always, we must go back to the Scriptures when we try to state what we believe about the ordinances of God.  Lastly, I would urge all my readers not to lose sight of the awe and reverence we should have for this gift of God, despite all the disagreement.  To quote The Lord's Supper; Five Views, one last time...
"The two disciples on the road to Emmaus declare, 'We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.' (Luke 24:21), and in response Jesus does two things: He explicates for them the story of redemption, the story of the cross, and then He meets them in the breaking of the bread.  From the moment of despair, Jesus takes His disciples to the Word and then to the Table.  At the Lord's Supper, we do look back, remembering the once-for-all gift of salvation in Christ Jesus.  And in this meal we are conscious of present realities...But it is vital that we also remember that the Lord's Supper is an act of anticipation.  It is but a foretaste of a meal that is yet to come.  In times of despair and disillusionment, this meal is God's unique gift through which we remember that evil and darkness do not have the last word.  We are increasingly made one with Christ as we abide in Him, and we are made one with one another in the fellowship of the Spirit.  And in this event, in the practice of the Lord's Supper, we surely know that evil does not have the last word!"

"While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.'"  Matthew 26:26-28