Lord’s Day 29
Q79. Why then does Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood?
Christ has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that as bread and wine nourish our temporal life, so too his crucified body and poured-out blood truly nourish our souls for eternal life. But more important, he wants to assure us, by this visible sign and pledge, that we, through the Holy Spirit's work, share in his true body and blood as surely as our mouths receive these holy signs in his remembrance, and that all of his suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
John 6:51, 55
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
1 Corinthians 10:16–17
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”
1 Corinthians 11:26
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.”
Romans 6:5–11
“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also of resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with , that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
The questions that deserve our closest attention when treating the Lord's Supper are these:
I. What is the Lord's Supper?
II. What is its purpose?