Essays

“Of primary importance in the Lord’s Supper is what God does, not what we do.  The Lord’s Supper is above all a gift of God, a benefit of Christ, a means of communicating his grace.  If the Lord’s Supper were only a memorial meal and an act of confession, it would cease to be a sacrament in the true sense.  The Lord’s Supper, however, is on the same level as the Word and baptism and therefore must, like them, be regarded first of all as a message and assurance to us of divine grace. … Indeed, the host here, in granting the signs of bread and wine, offers his own body and blood as nourishment and refreshment for their souls.  That is a communion that far surpasses the communion inherent in a memorial meal and an act of confession.  It is not merely a reminiscence of or a reflection on Christ’s benefits but a most intimate bonding with Christ himself, just as food and drink are united with our body.”  (Bavinck, Dogmatics IV, 567).