•I Corinthians 11:23-34
•Concerning Communion
•23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
(I Corinthians 11:23-26, ESV)
•27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
(I Corinthians 11:27-32, ESV)
•33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
(I Corinthians 11:33-34, ESV)
•Main Point
•These verses bring the Corinthians back to the purpose of the Lord’s Supper which is Christ
• They have a responsibility to remember Jesus through active obedience
• By being disobedient they have experience judgment from God because of their abuse of the Eucharist
•Quick Guide
• Lord’s Supper
• Eucharist
• Communion
• All the same!
• Bread and Cup (Elements)
• Body and Blood (Jesus)
•Application Points
•Concerning Communion
•The reason for so many names reflects the differences of doctrine within the Church
•None…has caused as great a divide among the faithful than the understanding of this teaching
• So we will detail the four main views
•The first is the Roman Catholic view which is Transubstantiation
•St. Radbertus (786-860) was the first to really spell out the doctrine of Transubstantiation
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (2)
•The main tenant is that the elements, the bread and cup, physically become the body and blood of Christ
•Trans=change Substantiation=Substance
• “This is my body” “This is my blood”
• This is why in Roman Catholic understanding such a great emphasis is placed on the Eucharist
• This view of what happens during Communion took root and became the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (3)
•The 95 Theses were primarily against Johann Tetzel and the selling of indulgences
• From this came a long back and forth between Rome and Luther
• Luther did not intend to do this from the outset
• The Papacy and other leadership within the Roman Catholic Church rejected any such changes
• Luther taught many doctrine which did not align with the Roman Catholic Church
• Luther argued against Transubstantiation with his own understanding which was Consubstantiation
• Con=With Substantiation= Substance
• Unlike the Roman Catholics who believed the elements were completely altered, Luther argued the bread and cup remained
•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (4)
•Zwingli may not be as well known, but his works are just as significant
•Zwingli started preaching verse by verse through the Bible in 1519
•His dedication to the Scriptures over the authority of the Roman Catholic tradition won out
• In contrast to “Lutheranism” Zwingli taught “Reformed Theology”
• The Reformation was like little wildfires across Europe which the Roman Catholic Papacy could not extinguish
• Why didn’t the Reformation ever coalesce?
• Communion!
•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (5)
•Zwingli had a different interpretation than Luther concerning Communion
• Zwingli sought to separate the concept of Christ being physically present in the Eucharist
•Communion was nothing more than a memorial of the body and blood of Christ
• It is a symbol of a significant spiritual truth
• Christ was as far from the bread and cup as heaven from earth
• Luther and Zwingli met at the Marburg Colloquy in 1529
• Luther wrote “hoc est corpus meum” “This is my Body”
• When Zwingli argued that Luther show evidence for the belief that Jesus’ body was really present, Luther, with great flourish, lifted the table cloth “hoc est corpus meum!”
•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (6)
•Luther wrote a confession with agreements on 14 points
•The 15th, however, was communion and they could not completely agree
•We can understand both sides
• Zwingli was based on reason
•Jesus is, physically, at the right hand of the Father
• It doesn’t make sense that we should be eating the actual flesh and blood of Jesus
•Luther was seeking to be as faithful to the Scriptures as possible
•Likewise, for Luther, they were literally losing Christ
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (7)
•Calvin had fled to Geneva because the King of France was not fond of the Reformation
• Willem Farel put so much fear of God into Calvin that he stayed as pastor of Geneva
• “This man, undoubtedly the greatest of Protestant divines, and perhaps, after St. Augustine, the most perseveringly followed by his disciples of any Western writer on theology…” (New Advent article on John Calvin)
• He agreed with Zwingli that the physical body of Christ was absent from the Eucharist
•He disagreed with Zwingli in that it was only a memorial
•The Spiritual presence of Christ is truly present in Communion
•That we are lifted up to Christ through Communion
•He goes farther than Zwingli, but not as far as the others
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (8)
•Which view makes the most sense Biblically?
•Which view accurately depicts Christ now?
•Which view still gives weight to I Corinthians?
•We know Christ is physically seated at the right hand of the Father
•As Paul says, “We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”
•I find all the arguments about demeaning the body and blood of Christ by physically eating and drinking a strong case against the literal physicalist view
• Many hold to Zwingli’s view that it is nothing more than a memorial
• How could the people be getting physically ill and dying over a memorial?
• Something happens during Communion in which case God is present
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (9)
•To me Calvin’s Spiritual view holds the greatest amount of weight Biblically
•When Jesus says, “This is my body, this is my blood, do this in remembrance of me…” we can know He is present with us through the Holy Spirit
•This stronger view also allows us to take seriously Communion
•That the Holy Spirit is with us is one of the greatest evidences with the fact that Jesus accomplished what was unattainable for us
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (10)
•Since early on in the Christian tradition only those who were baptized were allowed to partake of Communion
• The early Church took seriously the sacraments, and most of Church history has done so also
•It is all meant to bring us back to Christ
•To remember, then, the Words of Jesus and partake with Jesus
•Regardless of one’s view of Communion, I would suspect this is the most important lesson learned
•Christ does not expect us to follow Him half-heartedly
• As we partake…we are being drawn to Christ
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•Application Points
•Concerning Communion (11)
•If we are to truly remember, we should do so fully
•If we simply partake, but do not seek to live according to Christ we show we are far from Him
• We blaspheme by ignoring Communion
•We can also blaspheme by partaking and not living for Him
•Let us be a holy people who seek to honor Christ and truly remember Him
•Let us proclaim with words and deeds
• As we join together, let us give thanks for the body and blood of Christ which is given for us for the full glory of God through His redemption
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•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
•Origins
•Where it begins
•Fall
•What went wrong
•Redemption
•How it is fixed
•Glorification
•Where it at leads
