The Wittenberg Trail
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Martin Luther
"He who receives a sacrament does not perform a good work; he receives a benefit. In the mass we give Christ nothing; we only receive from Him."
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The
Lord's Supper
The
Lord's Supper is a Means of Grace
"The means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works on us to create faith and spiritual growth are evangelical. That is, they bear the Gospel of forgiveness through Christ. ...Their purpose is to communicate grace, the unmerited favor of God that grants eternal life.
In the sacrament of Holy Communion, all of Lutheran spirituality is crystalized: God acts, objectively, through matter, embodying the Gospel and promising the forgiveness of sin. And, more than that - or rather, making all of these efficacious - is the real presence of Jesus Christ. This is another astonishing claim, one which many Christians draw back from, but one that is at the pulsing heart of Lutheran evangelicalism." Veith
Holy Scripture
There are different views of the Lord's Supper among Christians. As you continue on the Wittenberg Trail, here is information on how Lutherans understand the Lord's supper."Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)
"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:26-28)
The Christian Cyclopedia defines the Lord's Supper as:
"* Names of this Sacrament.
Names by which this Sacrament is known are derived partly from Scripture (Breaking of Bread, Mt 26:26 and 1 Co 10:16; Holy Communion, 1 Co 10:16–17; Lord's Table, 1 Co 10:21; Lord's* Supper, 1 Co 11:20; Eucharist [from Gk. eucharistesas, “when He had given thanks”], 1 Co 11:24), partly from ch. usage (e.g., Sacrament of the Altar).
* Institution of the Lord's Supper:
Mt 26:17–28; Mk 14:22–24; Lk 22:19–20; 1 Co 11:23–25. These accounts agree in all essentials, but supplement each other in details. All quote Christ's words: “This is My body.” With regard to the cup, Mt and Mk emphasize the blood of the NT, given with the cup; Lk and Paul stress the blessing given with the cup, the forgiveness of the new covenant, procured by the blood of Christ, which is offered to the communicant in the Sacrament.
* Real Presence.
The words of institution, “Take, eat; this is My body,” clearly state: “With this bread I give you My body.” So these words are explained 1 Co 10:16. There is no transubstantiation* of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, nor any consubstantiation* or impanation.* In, with, and under the bread and wine a communicant, also an unbelieving communicant (1 Co 11:27–29), receives Christ's true body, given into death, and His true blood, shed for sins. This is the point of controversy bet. Luths. and Ref. The question is not whether Christ is present acc. to His divine nature in the Sacrament, or whether the soul by faith is united with Christ (spiritual eating and drinking), or whether the believing communicant receives the merits of Christ's shed blood by faith (all of which is acknowledged as true by both Luths. and Ref.). In Luth. terminology the eating and drinking of Christ's body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine is called sacramental eating and drinking. The Ref. deny that the words of instit. should be taken in a literal sense, or that in, with, and under the bread and wine the true body and blood of Christ are really present. The Ref. teach instead the real absence of Christ's body and blood in the Sacrament by resorting to a figurative, or symbolical, interpretation. Karlstadt sought the figure in “this,” H. Zwingli* in “is” (making “is” mean “represents”), J. Calvin* and others in “body” (making “body” mean “the sign of My body”), and others (e.g., W. Bucanus, B. Keckermann, and H. Zanchi) in the entire statement. The multifarious attempts to pervert the proper sense of the words are but so many evidences of the persistent refusal of the words to yield to perversion.
* Elements in the Sacrament.
The heavenly elements in the Sacrament are the true body and the true blood of Christ; the earthly elements are true bread and true wine, for which no substitutes should be used, since the use of any substitute makes void, or at least renders uncertain, the Sacrament (Mt 26:29; Mk 14:25; Lk 22:18; 1 Co 11:21). Jesus used not unfermented grape juice but wine, used in the OT on festive occasions (Gn 14:18; Jb 1:13; Is 5:12). Bread and wine are received in a natural manner; the body and blood of Christ, though received orally, are received in an incomprehensible, supernatural manner. The Sacrament should be received by all communicants sub utraque specie (“under both kinds”), acc. to Christ's instit. In RC practice the celebrating priest receives the bread and wine, other communicants usually only bread (sub una specie, “under 1 kind”).
* Purpose of the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is essentially an application of the Gospel, with all its spiritual blessings, in a sacred act. It offers, conveys, and seals to the communicant forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation; strengthens faith; promotes sanctification through strengthening of faith; increases love toward God and the neighbor; affords patience in tribulation; confirms hope of eternal life; and deepens union with Christ and His mystical body, the ch. (1 Co 10:17). It also serves a confessional purpose (Acts 2:42; 1 Co 10:20–21; 11:26). All these blessings are mediated through the Gospel-promise in the Sacrament (“Given and shed for you for the remission of sins”) and are apprehended by faith in the divine promise. The words “This do in remembrance of Me” do not mean merely that the communicant is to remember the absent Christ, who atoned for his sins; they invite the communicant to accept the forgiveness offered in the Sacrament (“Do this in remembrance of Me” means: remember Christ's blessings and accept them by faith). The Lord's Supper differs from the preaching of the Gospel, which is addressed to all hearers, believers and unbelievers, and from Absolution, which is individually addressed to believers, to the believers as a penitent group, in that the Sacrament offers forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation individually to each communicant under pledge of Christ's body and blood, received with the bread and wine. Since the Sacrament may be received unto damnation (or judgment; 1 Co 11:29), close Communion should be observed, the pastor as the steward of the mysteries of God (1 Co 4:1) admitting only such as are able to examine themselves (1 Co 11:28)."
Articles:
Responding to Real Absence Arguments
More Responding to Real Absence Arguments
The Holy Supper of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Which Churches Have the Lord's Supper? Which Churches Do Not?
Early Church on the Bodily Presence
It's Not Ours But the Lord's Supper!
Lord's Supper: We are not ashamed of their ardent struggle
The Real Presence of Our Lord's Body and Blood in the Sacrament: It's benefit as the Medicine of Immortality
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The Wittenberg Trail Online Community
Are the Bread and Wine really Jesus' body and
blood?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
Are the Bread and Wine merely symbols?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
What does the "real presence" mean?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
What do we physically receive in the Lord's
Supper?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
How is the Passover related to the Lord's
Supper?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
What is close/closed Communion?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
How should one prepare for the Lord's
Supper?
Rev.
Ernie Lassman, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in
Seattle, WA, posted this video on both his
church website and
on
YouTube.
Visit
The Wittenberg Trail