Using God's Name

. . . for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

The Holy Supper

What is it?

In the small catechism, Luther described the Last Supper this way:

"Instituted by Christ himself, it is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, given to us Christians to eat and to drink."

Jesus Himself instituted this sacrament on the night before His death, when He took bread and said this is my body, and took the cup of wine and said this is my blood.

NAB Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

In these words of promise, we see Jesus gives us His own true body and blood in this sacrament, for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus does not mention changing the bread and the wine into His body and blood, nor does He say they merely represent His body and blood. But rather His true body and blood are in, with, and under the bread and the wine.

NAB 1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

What do we receive?

Because the presence of the true body and blood depend upon the promise of Christ and His intention, and not our faith, even those who do not believe these words receive the body and blood of Christ. However, Scripture warns that those who partake of communion without believing in the true presence is guilty of sinning and in danger of sever judgement.

NAB 1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

Jesus offers those who trust in His word great benefits through the presence of His body and blood.

Christ sacrificed His life, both body and blood, so that we might be restored to a right relationship with God. The main blessing of the sacrament, is this forgiveness of sins that Jesus won with his body and blood for us upon the cross. This blood forgives our sins.

NAB 1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Where there is forgiveness, there is also life and salvation, as Luther reminds us in the small catechism.

"What is the benefit of such eating and drinking? Answer: We are told in the words ‘for you’ and ‘for the forgiveness of sin.’ By these words the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given to us in the sacrament, for where there is forgiveness of sins, there are also life and salvation."

IN this sacrament Christ gives us His victory over sin and hell. He not only forgives our sins of the past, but also gives us the strength to live each day as a child of God. Through this sacrament God works to strengthen our faith in Christ and to resist sin which harms us.

NAB 1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
NAB Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Therefore, it is appropriately called the food of the soul since it nourishes and strengthens the new man. While it is true that through Baptism we are first born anew, our human flesh and blood have not lost their old skin. There are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and the world that we often grow weary and faint, at times even stumble. The Lord's Supper is given as a daily food and sustenance so that our faith may refresh and strengthen itself and not weaken in the struggle but grow continually stronger. For the new life should be one that continually develops and progresses. Meanwhile it must suffer much opposition. The devil is a furious enemy; when he sees that we resist him and attack the old man, and when he cannot rout us by force, he sneaks and skulks about everywhere, trying all kinds of tricks, and does not stop until he has finally worn us out so that we either renounce our faith or yield hand and foot and become indifferent or impatient. For such times, when our heart feels too sorely pressed, this comfort of the Lord's Supper is given to bring us new strength and refreshment.

-- Martin Luther’s Large Catechism

Communion is a Confession of Faith

When we join together to partake of this sacrament, we make a public confession of our faith in Christ and our unity in the Gospel. This is one of the reasons the Missouri Synod practices close communion, for one cannot give a profession of unity when in fact because of differences of teaching there is disunity.

NAB 1 Corinthians 10:17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
NAB 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
NAB Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

Dr. Barry quotes these words in his explanation of our practice in his document, What about Fellowship in the Lord’s Supper.

"Close communion seeks to prevent a profession of confessional unity in faith where there is, in fact, disunity and disagreement. It would be neither faithful to the Scriptural requirments for admission to Holy Communion {1Cor 11:27 and following; 1Cor 10-:16-17} nor helpful to fallen humanity if the Christian Church welcomes to its altars those who deny or question clear Scriptural teachings. . . So it is not that a Lutheran congregation wants to bar fellow-saints from the blessings of the Eucharist when they practice Close Communion. It is not that they want to be separatistic, or set themselves up as judges of other men. The practice of Close Communion is prompted by love and is born of the heartfelt conviction, on the basis of Scripture alone, that we must follow Christ's command. This means refusing the Lord’s Supper to those whose belief is not known to us. It is not showing love to allow a person to do something harmful, even though he may think it is for his own good. It also menas if they are members of a Christian body which departs from the full truth of the Scripture in some of its doctrines, that we must not minimize the evil of this false teaching by opening our fellowship to any and all Christians who err in the faith. {Deffner, Why Close Communion? p. 14}