What is the Lord's Supper?

What the Lord\'s Supper is not: It is not a way of regaining saving grace or salvation. It is not a re-sacrificing of Christ. His death two thousand years ago is sufficient to save us. According to one view, baptism washes away original sin and, to use one illustration, fills the bathtub with grace. Every time a believer commits a sin, grace leaks out of the bathtub. If it leaks out entirely, salvation would be lost. This is a faulty view. It makes communion into another work and strips the cross of its saving power.

What the Lord\'s Supper is: It is a sign. Historically, Protestants believe that the grace received in communion is not a grace that saves (for we are already saved) but a grace that restores the believer\'s confidence in the Word\'s declaration that we are Not Guilty before God. In this case, it acts as a sign that continually reminds us that we are secure in Christ, that the price has been paid, and that we stand before a Holy God forgiven and free. Moreover, we are part of God\'s Covenant Family.

Along with being a sign, communion is also a seal - proving to us that the outward and visible sign of God\'s promise of forgivness also takes place inwardly and invisibly. Communion seals through the Holy Spirit our union with Christ. With this union comes all of Christ\'s benefits. Communion, then, is like a refueling station - not in the sense that we need brownie points with God, but in the sense that we need to recover lost steam, motivation, and ability. We are weak and our hearts become cold. Communion enables us to feed on Christ and His benefits the same way our bodies feed on bread and drink for a long journey. In a real sense, then, the Lord\'s Supper literally nourishes and protects our souls for the long pilgrimage of faith.

The Lord\'s Supper, then is much more than a mere memorial. It not only symbolizes something great, it is something great. As one author says so well,

It is the actual nourishment of Christ Himself who offers His boby and blood for spiritual food. To those wearied by a tough week at the home or office, or to those whose conscience never lets them forget a sin they have committed during the week, the sacrament of holy communion is there to communicate Christ and His forgiveness. There is no conscience that cannot be instructed and overcome by this powerful sacrament.

Finally, the Lord\'s Supper is to remind the church of its destiny as a pilgrim people, dependent on His sustaining grace, and longing for the day when we will be hungry no more. The Lord\'s Supper is a down payment, the firstfruits of what is promised for us in eternity.