MONDAY, OCTOBER 22
1 Corinthians 10:14-17
Hebrews 7:27

“… he offered up himself.”

THE MEANING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER (II)

There are four major views concerning the Lord’s Supper.

1. Transubstantiation. This view is held by the Roman Catholics. It teaches that the bread and the cup become the literal, physical body and blood of Christ during the Lord’s Supper. When one partakes of the Lord’s Supper, he is drinking the real blood and eating the real flesh of Christ.

This view fails to consider the context of the words of Christ in John 6:53. When Christ was speaking to the hearers, He was not talking about literally eating His flesh, otherwise He would be advocating cannibalism. Rather, Christ was exhorting His hearers to have true faith and communion with Him. It is a spiritual partaking of Christ’s body and blood.

This view also stands in contradiction to Hebrews 7:27, where God’s Word teaches us that Christ’s sacrifice is once and for all, and therefore He cannot be crucified afresh. This view is therefore heretical and ought
to be rejected.

2. Consubstantiation. This view is held by the Lutherans. This view rejects that the bread and the cup magically become the physical body and blood of Christ during the Lord’s Supper. The bread is still bread, and the wine is still wine.

However, this view teaches that the physical body and blood of Christ is present somewhere in, with and under the bread and the cup. It still fails to take into account the context of John 6:53 and thus must be rejected.

THOUGHT: Why do I partake of the Lord’s Supper?
PRAYER: Father, I thank Thee for instituting the Lord’s Supper.