Westminster Larger Catechism (Q 168-169)

Dear Church Family,

This past Sunday, in our weekly Sunday school lessons in the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC), we studied and discussed questions 168-169. Here is a brief review.

WLC 168  What is the Lord’s supper?
A. The Lord’s supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, his death is showed forth and they that worthily communicate feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace, have their union and communion with him confirmed; testify and renew their thankfulness, and engagement to God, and their mutual love and fellowship each with other, as members of the same mystical body.

Having concluded our study of the sacrament of baptism (WLC 165-167), we turn now to study the sacrament of the Lord’s supper (WLC 168-175), and we begin with the definition and purposes of the Lord’s supper. As a sacrament of the New Testament (or new covenant), the Lord’s supper was immediately instituted by Christ at the Passover meal with His disciples (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20). The actions of the Lord’s supper are simply summarized as the “giving and receiving bread and wine.”

Interestingly, there is only one place in the Old Testament where we find the phrase “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31). Thus, when Jesus refers to the cup which is poured out for His people as “the new covenant in my blood,” (Luke 22:20), He was connecting the promises of Jeremiah 31:31-34 to their fulfillment and fruition in Him as manifested in the Lord’s supper. These promises include God’s writing His law upon the hearts of His people, an extension of the benefits of salvation to all peoples, and the once-for-all forgiveness of sins.

The writer of Hebrews quotes the entirety of these verses from Jeremiah (Hebrews 8:8-12), but tells us that this promise of a new covenant which was made to “the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” has been fulfilled in Jesus. Through His high priestly ministry in the true heavenly tabernacle, Jesus is the mediator of new and better covenant which has been enacted on better promises (Hebrews 8:1-7).

The purpose of the Lord’s supper is to show forth Jesus Christ’s death (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). And those who worthily partake by faith of the Lord’s supper receive the many blessings including: spiritual nourishment and growth in grace by feeding upon Jesus’ body and blood (Matthew 26:26-28), and the confirmation of their union and communion with Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:14-16). Believers who partake in the Lord’s supper also testify and renew their thankfulness and engagement to God (1 Corinthians 10:21), and renew their mutual love and fellowship with the other members of Christ’s mystical body the church (1 Corinthians 10:17).

WLC 169  How hath Christ appointed bread and wine to be given and received in the sacrament of the Lord’s supper?
A. Christ hath appointed the ministers of his word, in the administration of this sacrament of the Lord’s supper, to set apart the bread and wine from common use, by the word of institution, thanksgiving, and prayer; to take and break the bread, and to give both the bread and the wine to the communicants: who are, by the same appointment, to take and eat the bread, and to drink the wine, in thankful remembrance that the body of Christ was broken and given, and his blood shed, for them.

There are two points regarding the Lord’s supper that are highlighted in this question and answer. First, just as the sacrament of baptism is to be administered by a minister of the Gospel (WCF 28.2), so too, the ministers of Christ’s word are to administer the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 11:23). They are to set apart the bread and cup from common use through the words of institution, thanksgiving, and prayer. In his commentary on the Westminster Larger Catechism, Johannes Vos writes:

“Christ has appointed ‘the ministers of his word’ to administer the Lord’s Supper. While this truth is not stated in the biblical accounts of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, it follows from other portions of the Scriptures which speak of officers being ordained to have charge of the work and worship of the visible church. Ministers of Christ are called ‘stewards of the mysteries of God’ (1 Cor. 4:1-2; Titus 1:7). The word steward means a person officially entrusted with the oversight, care, of administration of something. As the sacraments are certainly part of the ‘mysteries of God,’ it follows that they have been committed to the stewardship of the ministers of Christ. The same truth follows by analogy form the Old Testament, in which the sacrifices, ritual, tabernacle, and its contents and worship were entrusted to the priests and Levites. While there is of course a true sense in which every Christian is a priest of God, yet so far as official responsibility for the preaching of the Word and administration of the sacraments is concerned, the ministers of Christ are the New Testament counterpart of the priests and Levites of the Old Testament.” (Johannes G. Vos, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2002), 486.)

The second thing that is highlighted in this question and answer is that the actions of the Lord’s supper as given in Scripture (1 Cor. 11:23-24; Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20) are not to be altered, added to, or subtracted from. The old covenant was administered through many complex and outwardly showy ordinances (e.g., sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover lamb, etc.); however, the blessings of the new covenant are dispensed through the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments which are fewer in number, are simpler, and contain less outward glory (WCF 7.6). In some traditions, the sacraments are often administered with much ostentatious flourish and pomp. Terry Johnson reminds us, however:

“It is important that the communion service be conducted with simplicity and dignity. Care should be taken that no rituals or movements be added to the service that distract attention from the administration of the bread and cup. The minister should face the congregation from behind the table, the hose should not be elevated or adored, bread and not wafer should be used, and the elders should serve the people at tables or in pews. Anything that implies change in the substance of the elements should be avoided. Only actions that reinforce the spirituality of the Supper should occur.” (Terry Johnson, Leading in Worship (Oak Ridge, TN: The Covenant Foundation, 1996), 18.)

Conclusion

Next Sunday, we will examine the ways in which some traditions have corrupted the Lord’s supper, as well as delve into how the Bible teaches that Christ is spiritually present with His people in the sacrament. I hope you will join us on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am in our continuing study of the Westminster Larger Catechism!

The Lord be with you!
Pastor Peter M. Dietsch