Heidelberg 75-77 Lord's Supper

¹⁹Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Lk. 22)

Thoughts: The Lord's supper is an ordinance and a sign, but it also is a comfort to us- assuring us of the Lord's presence.  There has been much debate about exactly how Christ is present.  But can we not agree that Christ comes when we celebrate Him- in some form- however mysterious and undefined?  To take the supper is to renew our commitment to Christ who gave Himself for us- body and blood. It affirms our faith that we believe He not only lived and died but that His sacrifice is not an academic exercise or merely an example, but a sacrifice of love that effects me to the core.  My forgiveness comes at His expense.  That is my comfort in life and death.  I am set free from my failures and mistakes by the one who could condemn me for them.  The Good News of the Gospel is not just that God cares- but that God came and cares and did something to allow us to come to Him fully.   

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your body and blood given for me.  May I take your supper with utmost seriousness, but also with astounding joy.  Keep me from taking this gift of yours for granted.  

Q & A 75

Q. How  does the holy supper remind and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his benefits?

A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him. With this command come these promises:1 First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup shared with me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

1 Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25

Q & A 76

Q. What does it mean  to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood?

A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and  hereby to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.1 But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body.2 And so, although he is in heaven3 and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.4 And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as the members of our body are by one soul.5

1 John 6:35, 40, 50-54
2 John 6:55-56; 1 Cor. 12:13
3 Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 11:26; Col. 3:1
4 1 Cor. 6:15-17; Eph. 5:29-30; 1 John 4:13
5 John 6:56-58; 15:1-6; Eph. 4:15-16; 1 John 3:24

Q & A 77

Q. Where does Christ promise to nourish and refresh believers with his body and blood as surely as they eat this broken bread and drink this cup?

A. In the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was  betrayed, took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is [broken]* for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”1 This promise is repeated by Paul in these words: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”2

1 1 Cor. 11:23-26
2 1 Cor. 10:16-17