By Pastor Bruce Oyen
The Lord' supper was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ shortly before his murder. It is referred to in the New Testament in a number of places. One of the most well-known of them is 1 Corinthians 11, in which chapter the apostle Paul gave some important instructions about the subject. Here (in red) is what Paul wrote about it in verses 23 - 26:
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
In these few verses more than one topic could engage our thoughts. But the one I want to focus on is the reference to the Lord's body and blood. Was the Lord saying that the bread and fruit of the vine were literally his body? Or, was he speaking figuratively, meaning that those things represented his body and blood?
We know that this is a subject of discussion that goes back hundreds of years, with some Bible readers taking the literal view, others taking the figurative/representative view. The difference between the two views is of no small consequence.
Not wanting to make this posting too long, let me simply say that I think we should believe the Lord used figurative language when referring to his body and blood, and meant that the bread and fruit of the vine represented his body and blood.
If you want to read more involved arguments in favor of this view, here are some options:
Click on this link to an excellent sermon by the late Bible teacher, H. A. Ironside: http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/massversus.html
Read about it Charles Ryrie's book called, Basic Theology. Here (in red) is what Ryrie wrote about Roman Catholicism's view of this subject, as defined at "The Council Of Trent" (with which he disagreed): "The Council of Trent defined a sacrament as 'something presented to the sense, which has the power, by divine institution, not only of signifying, but also efficiently conveying grace.' By contrast, 'ordinance' (though a synonym of of sacrament in the dictionary) does not incorporate the idea of conveying grace but only the idea of a symbol. Thus the ordinance itself has no inherent power to change those observing it, though God may use it to minister to them." (From the beginning of Ryrie's chapter called, "Ordinances For The Church.")
Read about it H. C. Thiessen's book called Systematic Theology. The following quote is taken from the original edition of that book, not from the unfortunate revision of it by another scholar, in which we find views contrary to Thiessen, at least on Calvinism. Thiessen was not a Calvinist.
Here (in red) is part of what Thiessen wrote on this subject: "We are expressly told that the Lord's Supper symbolizes our Lord's death: 'For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death, till He come' (1 Cor. 11:26). In other words, in the observance of the Lord's Supper the Church reminds itself and the world of the fact that Christ died. Since the mere fact that He died would have little meaning, it is certain that the proclamation also includes a setting forth of the significance of His death. The ordinance is, therefore, intended to keep alive in the Christian the thought of Christ's vicarious sacrifice, and to impress the world with the need of such a sacrifice for sin."
And then, after quoting another author on the subject, Thiessen wrote: "The believer in partaking of the Lord's Supper sets forth in symbol all that the death of Christ signifies, in justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification."
Read about it H. C. Thiessen's book called Systematic Theology. The following quote is taken from the original edition of that book, not from the unfortunate revision of it by another scholar, in which we find views contrary to Thiessen, at least on Calvinism. Thiessen was not a Calvinist.
Here (in red) is part of what Thiessen wrote on this subject: "We are expressly told that the Lord's Supper symbolizes our Lord's death: 'For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death, till He come' (1 Cor. 11:26). In other words, in the observance of the Lord's Supper the Church reminds itself and the world of the fact that Christ died. Since the mere fact that He died would have little meaning, it is certain that the proclamation also includes a setting forth of the significance of His death. The ordinance is, therefore, intended to keep alive in the Christian the thought of Christ's vicarious sacrifice, and to impress the world with the need of such a sacrifice for sin."
And then, after quoting another author on the subject, Thiessen wrote: "The believer in partaking of the Lord's Supper sets forth in symbol all that the death of Christ signifies, in justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification."
At this point, I want to present some verses from the Old Testament, which was written long before the Lord's supper was instituted. These verses shed some light on this subject, because in them we read that literal water was spoken of in a figurative way to refer to the blood of some soldiers. And in the same way, the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ were figurativelyy spoken of in the New Testament.
Read the following quote from 2 Samuel 23:8 - 17. The key verse are 13 - 17. The words in italics are in the translation itself. I did not add the italics. Here (in red) are the verses:
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. 11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. 17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.
Just as David figuratively referred to that water as the blood of his loyal soldiers, so we can say the bread and fruit of the vine used in the Lord's supper figuratively represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Here (in red) is part of what Franz Delitzsch said about these verses in his commentary on 2 Samuel: "The water drawn and fetched at the risk of their lives is compared to the soul itself, and the soul is in the blood (Lev 17:11). Drinking this water, therefore, would be nothing else than drinking their blood."
Here is a link to the website from which this quote was obtained: http://www.godrules.net/library/delitzsch/26delitzsch_c0.htm
Here (in red) is part of what Franz Delitzsch said about these verses in his commentary on 2 Samuel: "The water drawn and fetched at the risk of their lives is compared to the soul itself, and the soul is in the blood (Lev 17:11). Drinking this water, therefore, would be nothing else than drinking their blood."
Here is a link to the website from which this quote was obtained: http://www.godrules.net/library/delitzsch/26delitzsch_c0.htm
If you need the salvation provided by the shed blood of Jesus, the Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." (Acts 16:31) To learn more about obtaining salvation, click on this link to read an excellent message on the subject: http://www.godssimpleplan.org/gsps-english.html
The Bible quotations given above are from The New King James Version, and were obtained from this website: http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-King-James-Version-NKJV-Bible/.
