The Lord's Supper (17)
If we want synonyms for "eat" and "drink," we find them in John 6 in such concepts as believe (vv. 29, 35, 47), come (v. 35), see (v.40), hear and learn of (v. 45). All indicate a response to Jesus. The terms eat and drink stress that this feeding by faith is to be as real as literal eating.
James Boice
http://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/the-lord-s-supper The Supper is rightly viewed as a means of grace. The efficacy of the sacraments ...resides not in the faith or virtue of the minister but in the faithfulness of God. As the preaching of the Word makes the gospel audible, so the sacraments make it visible, and the Holy Spirit stirs up faith by both means.
The Last Supper is meant to picture not only the fulfillment of past promises of God and the present impending death of Jesus, but just as much the assured future of an even greater meal in the coming kingdom of God.
In the ordinance believers commemorate the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on their behalf. They celebrate the forgiveness of their sins through the blood of Christ (Matt 26:28), the establishment of God's new covenant with them, and their hope of one day eating this meal in the presence of God For the Glory of God (161)
Calvin himself in Geneva did not have the authority often attributed to him... Calvin's influence was moral and informal... For example, he preferred to have the Lord's Supper given weekly, but he allowed the will of the majority of the pastors in Geneva to prevail. Thus the Lord's Supper was celebrated only once every three months.How Should We Then Live?, 122
He who comes to the Lord's table with faith in Christ, may confidently expect to have his faith increased by receiving the bread and wine. But he who comes without faith has no right to expect a blessing. Empty he comes to the ordinance and empty he will go away.https://gracegems.org/Ryle/l22.htm
Myriads of members of Christian churches never go to the Lord's table. They would be ashamed perhaps to be known as open breakers of the ten commandments. Yet they are not ashamed of breaking a plain command of Christ!https://gracegems.org/Ryle/l22.htm
The bread that the believer eats at the Lord's table, is intended to remind him of Christ's body given to death on the cross for his sins. The wine that he drinks, is intended to remind him of Christ's blood shed to make atonement for his transgressions. The whole ordinance was meant to keep fresh in his memory the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and the satisfaction which that sacrifice made for the sin of the world.https://gracegems.org/Ryle/l22.htm
By implication, the fact that the Supper is a family meal reinforces a distinction between the church and those who are not part of the church. That is, Jesus does not invite all humanity to his Table. He invites his disciples to come. When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are declaring to one another and to the world around us that we are no longer part of the world. By the grace of Christ, we have been brought out of the world and into the family of God.The Lord\'s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant (Short Studies in Biblical Theology) (p. 96). Crossway.
When we come to Christ in the Supper, we are not fundamentally doing something for him. He is, rather, doing something for us. He is supplying needy souls with the grace of the gospel. He is furnishing what we need from the resources of his sacrificial death on the cross. He is pledging to bring each of his children home to the messianic banquet where we shall enjoy in full what we now enjoy in part - life and blessing from, with, and in our Savior.The Lord\'s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant (Short Studies in Biblical Theology) (p. 95). Crossway
As important as it is to understand the significance of the Lord's Supper, it's just as important that we understand it is a supper we are celebrating. The sacramental feast is a meal, not a sacrifice. The last sentence in the previous paragraph is essential, not only because of the first clause (about Christ's presence), but also because of the last word. In celebrating Communion, we come to a table, not to an altar. Among all the critical rediscoveries during the Reformation, it is easy to overlook the importance of recovering the Lord's Supper as a covenantal meal (not a re-presenting of Christ's atoning death) with all the elements (bread and cup) distributed to every believer (no longer withholding the cup from the laity). The Lord's Supper acts as a family table where we can enjoy fellowship with each other and with our Host, partaking of the rich feast of blessings purchased for us at the cross.https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/kevindeyoung/2015/10/29/the-reformation-gave-us-a-seat-at-the-table/
Calvin believed the Supper was a feast of remembrance, but he believed it was a feast of communion too. He believed in a real presence, a real spiritual presence whereby we feast on Christ by faith and experience his presence through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, by faith, we "share in his true body and blood" (Q/A 79).https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/kevindeyoung/2015/10/29/the-reformation-gave-us-a-seat-at-the-table/
We speak of the real presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the service as we know it now, and we seek to respond to him and serve him. We readily admit that there are times when this is difficult and the Lord does not seem to be present. Whether because of sin, fatigue or simply lack of faith, Jesus often seems to be far away. Though we continue on in Christian life and in service, we long for that day when we will see him face to face and be like him (1 Jn. 3:2). The communion service is a reminder of that day. It is a foreshadowing of the great marriage supper of the Lamb. It is an encouragement to faith and an impulse to a higher level of holiness. http://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/the-lord-s-supper
The past significance of the Lord's Supper is made clear by the word remembrance. In the Lord's Supper we look back to the Lord's death. We remember his substitutionary atonement, first of all; it is this that the broken bread, representing the Lord's broken body, and the wine, representing his shed blood, most clearly signify. Atonement has to with our being made right with God. Substitutionary means that this was achieved by the death of another in our place. http://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/the-lord-s-supper
Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein He was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, called the Lord's Supper, to be observed in His Church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of Himself in His death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto Him; and, to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Him, and with each other, as members of His mystical body.Westminster Confession (29.1)
in the Lord's supper we witness a remarkable transformation. Whereas Israelites would bring their offerings to YHWH, the divine Host, and eat them in his presence, in the Lord's Supper the divine Host offers himself for our spiritual nourishment (John 6:54-58)For the Glory of God (159)
Calvin maintained an intermediate position. Like Zwingli, he denied the bodily presence of the Lord in the sacrament, but in distinction from the former, he insisted on the real, though spiritual, presence of the Lord in the Supper, the presence of Him as a fountain of spiritual virtue and efficacy.Systematic Theology, 646
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