The Lord's Supper as a means of Grace

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Bill_Vincent

Bill_Vincent

Puritan Board Freshman
Hey all, I have been studying the Lord's supper over the last two semesters in school. I was looking for help on how to prove the Lord's supper is a means of grace and that the Lord is truly present spiritually in the sacraments from the text of scripture. I understand and affirm the logical and theological arguments. However, I still struggle proving from scripture that a memorial view of the table falls short. Any help on rightly dividing the scriptures in that area?
 
Bill,

In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 we read:

"Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread."

If the Lord's Supper was strictly a memorial there would be no sharing in Christ's blood or His body. Certainly there is a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice in the Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), but the sharing aspect is a means of grace in that it strengthens (nourishes) our faith, and brings the body together in a special type of fellowship since, together, we share in the blood and body of Christ.
 
Bill,

Per board rules, please establish your signature. You can do this by clicking on your screen name in the upper right portion of the web page. Go to the tool bar on your left and click on "Signature" under the "Settings" section.

Thanks.
 
Thanks for the reply! That verse is definitely a good starting point.

I updated my signature directly after posting this thread, did I not do it correctly?
 
Herald said:
Bill,

In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 we read:

"Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread."

If the Lord's Supper was strictly a memorial there would be no sharing in Christ's blood or His body. Certainly there is a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice in the Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), but the sharing aspect is a means of grace in that it strengthens (nourishes) our faith, and brings the body together in a special type of fellowship since, together, we share in the blood and body of Christ.
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Being a reformed Baptist, we do not tend to see it in same fashion, but would be interested in reading on how others view this. Do you see the Presence of Christ being with us then in the communion?we would get in a sense spiritualfeeding and nourishing with Him during that time?
 
Dachaser said:
Being a reformed Baptist, we do not tend to see it in same fashion, but would be interested in reading on how others view this.
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You do realize that your response to Herald was directed to a fellow Reformed Baptist, no? How then is it that you and Herald apparently do not "see it in the same fashion"?
 
Ask Mr. Religion said:
You do realize that your response to Herald was directed to a fellow Reformed Baptist, no? How then is it that you and Herald apparently do not "see it in the same fashion"?
Click to expand...
There is an element to the communion that is still a mystery to me, as do not see it as being just a memorial/symbolic, but do not see as being as Catholics/Lutherans do, so what is the spiritual aspect to this was my question ?
 
Under the old dispensation there was the rememberance of sin every year by the annual sacrifice. In the Communion there is the rememberance that Christ has by one offering paid for sin for ever. This becomes spiritual food for the soul through faith feeding on the grace and love demonstrated. Our Lord taught that the cup was a figure of the new covenant in His blood, that is he sealed the everlasting covenant. Faith appropriates that glorious truth and thus it becomes a means of grace. As faith hears the word and that becomes a means of grace, so faith sees the pictorial representation and responds by doing what is exhorted. The rememberance of Him is not a bare memorial of Him, but a rememberance of what He has done for the poor sinner who partakes, even the given of Himself unto death, the death of the cross. It is an additional means to the word, so that our fathers termed it a"strengthening ordinance." Faith also trusts that this will continue "until He comes," and that becomes a stimulant to a lively hope.
 
Dachaser said:
Being a reformed Baptist, we do not tend to see it in same fashion, but would be interested in reading on how others view this. Do you see the Presence of Christ being with us then in the communion?we would get in a sense spiritualfeeding and nourishing with Him during that time?
Click to expand...

The 1689 LBC states in 30.1:

"The supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night wherein he was betrayed, to be observed in his churches, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance, and shewing forth the sacrifice of himself in his death, confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits thereof, their spiritual nourishment, and growth in him, their further engagement in, and to all duties which they owe to him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other."

This portion of the Confession builds a strong case for the Supper being a means of grace.

I don't believe the framers of the Confession believed the Holy Spirit was any more present during the Lord's Supper than He is at any other time in a believer's life, but in order to confirm the faith of believers, and to provide for their spiritual nourishment, and growth in Him, the Holy Spirit, by necessity, must be present.
 
Herald said:
The 1689 LBC states in 30.1:

"The supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night wherein he was betrayed, to be observed in his churches, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance, and shewing forth the sacrifice of himself in his death, confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits thereof, their spiritual nourishment, and growth in him, their further engagement in, and to all duties which they owe to him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other."

This portion of the Confession builds a strong case for the Supper being a means of grace.

I don't believe the framers of the Confession believed the Holy Spirit was any more present during the Lord's Supper than He is at any other time in a believer's life, but in order to confirm the faith of believers, and to provide for their spiritual nourishment, and growth in Him, the Holy Spirit, by necessity, must be present.
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That makes more sense to me, so then the Lord is there with us by His Holy spirit in a special sense, as the memorial causes us to really focus and draw nigh unto Him ?
 
It is not just a memorial or remembrance on our part, but God remembers his covenant with us through the sacrament, like the rainbow. This to me can be seen as God ever remembering His grace to us in Christ and therefore bestowing grace upon us.
 
Dachaser said:
That makes more sense to me, so then the Lord is there with us by His Holy spirit in a special sense, as the memorial causes us to really focus and draw nigh unto Him ?
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No. Not a special sense, but in a real sense. It's enough to say that the Spirit is with us.


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Herald said:
No. Not a special sense, but in a real sense. It's enough to say that the Spirit is with us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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And Jesus would be present to us in the Communion by the presence of the Holy Spirit then, correct?
 
Dachaser said:
And Jesus would be present to us in the Communion by the presence of the Holy Spirit then, correct?
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In John 16:5-15 Jesus reveals that after He goes back to the Father, the Holy Spirit; our Comforter and Helper, will come. The person of the godhead that ministers to us is the Holy Spirit. When our faith is strengthened directly by God, it is the Holy Spirit that does so. So, yes, as a figure of speech we can say that Jesus is present spiritually during the Lord's Supper, but it is more correct to say that the Holy Spirit is actually present, and it is the Holy Spirit that confirms and strengthens our faith. Once we start to bring Jesus, personally, into the Supper, we come close to blurring the lines, and that can lead us into trouble (see 30.6 of the LBC). In 30.7 of the LBC we read that "worthy receivers" feed on Christ "inwardly by faith, and that Christ is "spiritually present to the faith of believers in that ordinance". How is Christ spiritually present? He is present through the confirming work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who is at work. If we go further than that we run the risk of idolatry.
 
Herald said:
In John 16:5-15 Jesus reveals that after He goes back to the Father, the Holy Spirit; our Comforter and Helper, will come. The person of the godhead that ministers to us is the Holy Spirit. When our faith is strengthened directly by God, it is the Holy Spirit that does so. So, yes, as a figure of speech we can say that Jesus is present spiritually during the Lord's Supper, but it is more correct to say that the Holy Spirit is actually present, and it is the Holy Spirit that confirms and strengthens our faith. Once we start to bring Jesus, personally, into the Supper, we come close to blurring the lines, and that can lead us into trouble (see 30.6 of the LBC). In 30.7 of the LBC we read that "worthy receivers" feed on Christ "inwardly by faith, and that Christ is "spiritually present to the faith of believers in that ordinance". How is Christ spiritually present? He is present through the confirming work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who is at work. If we go further than that we run the risk of idolatry.
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I was asking it that way due to Paul at times seemed to blur the distinction between the 2 of them, for did he not say that the Lord is Spirit, and where he is , there is Freedom?
 
Dachaser said:
I was asking it that way due to Paul at times seemed to blur the distinction between the 2 of them, for did he not say that the Lord is Spirit, and where he is , there is Freedom?
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Paul never blurred the line of distinction between any members of the godhead, either seemingly or actually. The context of 2 Corinthians 3:17 (which you paraphrased) removes the veil of the Old Testament, so that those who come to Christ are able to see the work of the Spirit through the Son of God. It's the same thing in the Lord's Supper; we are able to spiritually partake of Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
 
Herald said:
Paul never blurred the line of distinction between any members of the godhead, either seemingly or actually. The context of 2 Corinthians 3:17 (which you paraphrased) removes the veil of the Old Testament, so that those who come to Christ are able to see the work of the Spirit through the Son of God. It's the same thing in the Lord's Supper; we are able to spiritually partake of Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
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Thanks! So the Holy Spirit Himself is the One who is within us, and that is how we experience the presence of Jesus with us then?
 
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