Foundation and Plain Instruction: The Lord’s Holy Supper

You know, beloved sirs, friends and brothers, that everywhere much is written, preached and said about the Lord’s Supper. But with what knowledge, with what faith, love, peace and unity, and in what manner and order they celebrate it, is plain to see. It is true that the Lord commanded in the New Testament the breaking of bread, or the last Supper, but not in the manner in which you celebrate it. Your Lord’s Supper is open to all, no matter who or what they are: to the greedy, the proud, the frivolous, drunkards, haters, idolaters, debauchees, adulterers, whoremongers and rogues. It is also celebrated, as can be seen, with abominable pomp and splendor, with hypocrisy and idolatry; and besides, it is administered by ministers who seek only worldly honor, ease, and the satisfying of the cravings of their flesh and bodies.

So many of you are so zealous about the Lord’s Supper, but not according to the Scripture, as you shall hear; for your table might more properly be called the devil’s table than the Lord’s table, First Corinthians 10, verse 21. So I ask you for Jesus’ sake to consider, in the true fear of God, to whom, why and for what purpose the Lord instituted, ordained and left this his last Supper to his church; so that it may be to you a living and moving sign; that it may bring to your minds and set before you the Lord’s great and abundant kindness, true peace, the love and union of his church, and the communion of his flesh and blood; and that you may die to unrighteousness and every ungodly work, live to righteousness and godliness, renounce the devil’s table, and sit down at the Lord’s holy table in the church of Christ with true faith, a pious, penitent and regenerated life, and unfeigned brotherly love.

This is what Paul says: “I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; 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. In the same way he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me,” First Corinthians 11, verses 23 to 25.

Here you have Paul’s explanation of the words of the Holy Supper instituted by Jesus Christ, Luke 22, verses 19 and 20. The learned have disputed much about these words; and alas, some of them, through their idolatrous misunderstanding (if we may call it that, and not pride), have disputed at the cost of much innocent blood. What holy Paul says is fulfilled in them: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” Romans 1, verse 22. For they dispute most about the sign, which avails little; but the thing signified, for which the sign was instituted, which avails much, they do not touch. In my opinion they also pay little attention to what the qualifications of the guests or communicants should be, if they are to sit with Christ at his table and celebrate this Holy Sacrament.

There is not a single word commanded in the Scriptures that should give cause for dispute about the visible and tangible sign, or what it signifies. The spiritual judge all things spiritually. For whatever it may be in substance, it can be handled, seen and tasted. But what we should consider most is this: that in our weakness we ought to follow, and conform ourselves as much as possible to, what it signifies, that is, what this sign sets forth, represents and teaches to all true Christian believers.

For this reason we will not trouble the well-meaning and pious reader with jarring, fruitless disputes about the outward sign, as the learned do. We only desire, by the help and grace of the Lord and by the power of the divine word, to show correctly for whom and why Christ Jesus left and ordained this Supper, so that we may not value the visible sign above the reality, and turn away from the truth to images.

To come to a right, profitable and Christian understanding of the Lord’s Holy Supper, what it is, and to whom, why and for what purpose it was commanded, four things in particular should be noted and well considered.

In the first place, we must take care not to do as some do, who make the visible, perishable bread and wine into the Lord’s real flesh and blood. To believe this is contrary to nature, reason and Scripture; indeed, it is open blasphemy against the Son of God, abomination and idolatry. Israel had to keep the passover every year at the appointed time, according to the command of Moses, to commemorate that the Almighty God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, graciously preserved his people from the punishment and plagues when he killed the firstborn of the Egyptians, and by his strong hand and outstretched arm so gloriously and wonderfully led them out and redeemed them from the iron furnace of Egypt and from the dreadful tyranny and dominion of Pharaoh, according to the word of his promise. And so the paschal lamb is called the Lord’s passah, that is, passover: the sign put for the reality. For the lamb was not the passover, although it was called that; it only typified the passover, as was said. In the same way, in the Holy Supper the bread is called the body and the wine the blood of the Lord, Matthew 26, verses 26 to 28. I say the sign is put for the reality,* not that it actually is the real flesh and blood of Christ; for with that he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of his Father, immortal and unchangeable, in eternal majesty and glory. Rather, it is an admonishing type and memorial that Jesus Christ the Son of God has redeemed us from the power of the devil, from the dominion of hell and eternal death, by offering up a spotless sacrifice, his innocent flesh and blood, and has triumphantly led us into the kingdom of his grace, as he himself says, “Do this in remembrance of me,” Luke 22, verse 19. [*]

In the second place, it is to be noted that there is no greater proof of love than that one suffers death for another, as Christ says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” John 15, verse 13. Since this holy sign is a memorial of the Lord’s death, and since death is the greatest proof of love, as was said, we are therefore reminded, when we are at the Lord’s table to eat his bread and drink his cup, not only to proclaim and remember his death earnestly, but also all the glorious fruits of divine love shown to us in Christ: namely, that in the beginning God made man in his image, incorruptible, placed him in Paradise, and made all creatures subject to him. When he was deceived by the serpent, he was cheered and comforted with the promise of a coming Conqueror and Savior, Jesus Christ. God sent Moses and the prophets, who diligently practiced the law and pointed to the promised Christ and his kingdom. Christ Jesus, according to the promise of the Scriptures, finally appeared in this world, a true man, born of the Virgin Mary, and in much misery, affliction and labor preached the saving and gracious word to the house of Israel; sought the lost sheep and brought them to their true Shepherd; and appeased and reconciled us before the Father through his painful death and precious blood, Romans 8, verse 3. As he himself says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3, verse 16.

Oh, wonderful, unsearchable and incomprehensible love of God! He did not send into this unfriendly world an angel, a patriarch or a prophet, but his eternal ALMIGHTY WORD, his ETERNAL WISDOM, the brightness of his glory, in the form of sinful flesh, and “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,” Second Corinthians 5, verse 21.

My good reader, do not understand this as if Christ had been a sinner; by no means. The Scriptures acquit him of all sin. He was the spotless lamb. He knew no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. But Paul calls him sin according to the Hebrew manner of speaking, that is, an offering for sin, as the prophet says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we were healed,” Isaiah 53, verse 5. He gave his life as an offering for sin.

See, worthy reader, all who sincerely believe in this glorious love of God, this abundant, great blessing of grace shown to us in Christ Jesus, are more and more renewed through such faith. Their hearts overflow with joy and peace; they break out with joyful hearts in every kind of thanksgiving; they praise and glorify God with all their hearts, because with a good conscience they have received the Spirit. They believe and know that the Father loved us so much that he gave us poor, wretched sinners his own and eternal Son, with his merits, as a gift and an eternal ransom. As Paul says, the grace and love of God our Savior appeared, not on account of works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, “that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” Titus 3, verse 7.

Here it is fitting to consider how the Righteous died for the unrighteous while we were still sinners and enemies; how the spotless Lamb was prepared for us in the fire of affliction, suffered on the cross, and was offered as an eternal propitiation for our sins; how the Creator of all things was bruised for our sakes, and he who was above all the children of men became the most unworthy, and was counted among evildoers; how the Innocent bore the sins of the whole world, blotted out all our transgressions, and redeemed us with his crimson blood, as the Scriptures declare, “I restored that which I did not take away,” Psalm 69, verse 4. In short, how Jesus Christ through his obedience delivered Adam and all his seed from the consequences of disobedience, and by his painful death restored life again.

The apostle Paul recognized this great and glorious work of divine love, and broke out and said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8, verses 35 to 39.

And this is what John says: Let us love him, for he first loved us. Nature teaches us to love those who love us. And this is the first fruit of the Holy Sacrament, if it is rightly celebrated.

In the third place, we must note that by the Lord’s Supper we are reminded of and admonished to Christian unity, love and peace, which all true Christians should seek and strive for. “For we being many,” says Paul, “are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread,” First Corinthians 10, verse 17.

Just as natural bread is made of many grains, broken by the mill, kneaded together with water, and baked by the heat of the fire, so the church of Christ is made up of many true believers, broken in their hearts by the hammer of the divine word, and baptized with the water of the Holy Spirit and with the fire of pure, unfeigned love into one body, First Corinthians 12, verse 13. And as the natural body is in harmony and peace with all its members, and each member naturally does its duty to promote the good of the whole body, so it is also fitting for the true and living members of the body of Christ to be in harmony, of one heart, one mind and one soul; not quarrelsome and unpeaceable, not spiteful and envious, not cruel and hateful, not malicious, not obstinate or rancorous toward one another, like the ambitious, the covetous and the proud of this world; but in all things toward one another to be patient, friendly, peaceable, and always ready in true Christian love to serve one’s neighbor in every way possible: by exhortation, by reproof, by comforting, by assisting, by counseling, with deeds and with possessions, indeed, with bitter and hard labor, with body and life; ready to forgive one another, as Christ forgives and serves us with his word, life and death. As Paul says, “Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another, if any man has a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. And above all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness; and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in one body; and be thankful,” Colossians 3, verses 12 to 15.

And again: in the natural body the more honorable members, such as the eye, the ear, the mouth and so on, do not despise the less honorable members because they are lower; and the lower members do not envy the higher members because they are higher; but every member in its place is peaceable and contributes to the good of the whole body, whether its function is high or low. So it is also in the church of the Lord. Paul says: Some he appointed apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Let everyone take care not to boast of what he is, has or possesses, for it is all the grace and gift of God. Let everyone attend to his duty, “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” Ephesians 4, verses 12 and 13.

This also is set forth in the Holy Supper; but how the world, which calls itself Christian, lives up to it is shown by their fruits and actions.

In the fourth place, we must note that the Holy Supper is the communion of the body and blood of Christ, as Paul says, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” First Corinthians 10, verse 16.

Since, then, it is a communion, as was said, we would exhort all of you as brothers to examine yourselves earnestly: Have you been made partakers of Christ? Are you flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone? Are you in Christ, and Christ in you? For all who would worthily eat of this bread and drink of this cup must be changed in the inner man, and converted and renewed in their minds, through the power of the divine word and the working of faith. They must become new creatures, born of God, and carried over from Adam into Christ; they must be of a Christian disposition, patient, peaceable, merciful, affectionate, truly humble, and obedient to the word of the Lord. The proud, ambitious, selfish and carnal heart must be circumcised; the evil eye must be plucked out; the ear that delights to hear evil must be closed; the unprofitable, backbiting tongue must be bridled; the unclean, bloody hand must be cleansed; the impure, unchaste flesh must be restrained, and so on. They must wage a crusade against the world, the flesh and the devil; their loins must be girded about with truth, with the breastplate of righteousness put on and their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. They must be armed with the shield of faith, with the helmet of salvation, and with the sword of the Spirit. They must be led by the Spirit of God, so that they may become sincere Christians; and they must strive with all their powers to be, in their weakness, of one mind with Christ Jesus, Romans 8, verse 14.

When Christ instituted and celebrated the Holy Supper with his beloved disciples, he said, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer. Then he took the bread, broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you. Likewise also the wine: This cup is the New Testament in my blood, and so on; do this in remembrance of me, First Corinthians 11, verses 24 and 25. It is as if he had said: See, dear children, the love that I have had for you and for the whole human family, and shall always have for you, has compelled me so far that I left the glory of my Father, came into this world of affliction, and am here as a poor, miserable servant to serve you. For I saw that you all belonged to Satan, and there was no one to redeem you; that you had all gone astray like wandering sheep, and there was no one who cared for you; that you were the prey of devouring wolves, and there was no one to ransom you; that you were wounded unto death, and there was no one who could heal you. Therefore I came from heaven and became a poor, weak and dying man, like you in all things, except for sin. In my great love I sought you zealously, and I found you helpless, loathsome and miserable, indeed half dead. I have shown you the services of my love so heartily: I bound up your sores; I wiped off your blood; I poured wine and oil into your festering wounds; I set you free from the jaws of the bears and lions of the pit; I laid you on my shoulders and led you into the tabernacles of peace; I covered your nakedness; I had compassion on you in your misery; I fulfilled the law for you; I took away your sins; I proclaimed to you the peace, the grace and the favor of my Father; I made known to you his good will; I showed you the way of truth; and I have powerfully testified to you by my unheard-of signs and great miracles that I am the true Messiah, the promised Prince and Savior.

See, beloved children, I have been with you this long, taught my Father’s word, and admonished, reproved and comforted you in his name; but now my hour is at hand; this night I shall be betrayed. All that the prophet said of me has come to its end. But since I can no longer serve you with my doctrine and life, I will at last serve you with my painful sufferings, my body, blood, cross and death.

And this is the reason I have called you to this Supper: so that I might institute a memorial for you in the use of bread and wine, so that after my death you might come together from time to time and commemorate the gracious favors of my ardent love, so abundantly shown to you; and especially that I loved you so dearly that I offered my body and shed my blood for you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. By my death I have obtained for you everlasting reconciliation, grace, mercy, favor and peace with my Father, as I told you, namely, “Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many,” Matthew 20, verse 28.

Beloved reader, take note of the word of the Lord and of this institution. For where this Holy Supper is celebrated with such faith, love, devotion, peace and harmony, and with such sincerity of heart, there Jesus Christ is present with his grace, Spirit and promise, and with the merits of his sufferings, misery, flesh, blood, cross and death; as he himself says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” Matthew 18, verse 20. But where the pure knowledge of Christ, living faith, the new life, Christian love, peace and harmony do not exist, there is no Lord’s Supper, but a despising and mocking of the blood and death of Christ, a comfort for the impenitent, a seductive hypocrisy, and open blasphemy and idolatry; as, alas, we know and see by the world.

Oh, delightful assembly and Christian banquet, commanded and ordained by the Lord himself, where there are no carnal pleasures to gratify the flesh and the appetites, but where the glorious and holy mysteries are set forth by the visible signs of bread and wine, and are sought and desired by all true Christian believers.

Oh, delightful assembly and Christian banquet, where there is no unseemly, slanderous mockery and no trivial songs are sung; but where the pious Christian life, peace and harmony among all the brothers, and besides these the joyful word of divine grace, his gracious kindness, favor, love, service, tears, prayers, cross and death, are set forth and taught with heartfelt thanksgiving and devout joy.

Oh, delightful assembly and Christian banquet, to which, according to Scripture, the impenitent and the proud despisers are not invited, such as whoremongers, rogues, adulterers, debauchees, the frivolous, robbers, liars, cheats, tyrants, shedders of blood, idolaters, slanderers and so on; for such are not the people of the Lord. The invited are those who are born of God, the true Christians, who have buried their sins and walk with Christ in a new and godly life; those who crucify their flesh; who are led by the Holy Spirit; who sincerely believe in God; who seek, fear and love him, and in their weakness willingly serve and obey him. Such are members of his body, flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.

Oh, delightful assembly and Christian banquet, where there is no gluttonous eating and drinking, and the ungodly vanity of piping and drumming is not heard; but where hungry consciences are filled with the heavenly bread of the divine word and with the wine of the Holy Spirit, and where peaceful, joyful souls sing melodies before the Lord.

Wake up, O you who sit in darkness and walk in the region and shadow of death. Wake up, I say, and see that the supper you have held until now is not the supper of Christ but of antichrist; not the table of the Lord but the table of the devil. For it is generally administered only by open deceivers and worshipers of idols, and received by a people who are still entirely obstinate and carnally minded, unbelieving and rebellious against the word of God. And besides, they believe it to be the real body and blood of the Lord, and celebrate it with such unseemly, heathenish pomp and splendor. O abomination and idolatry!

Beloved reader, I bear witness to the truth in Christ and do not lie: the Holy Supper of Christ is not to be administered by a deceiver, nor received by an impenitent and obstinate sinner. It does not require such a gorgeous and splendid display as that with which the world usually celebrates it: no golden vessels, no hypocritical show of confessions, absolution, bowing, beating the breast, and so on. It must be celebrated with a broken heart, true penitence, a humble mind, unfeigned, ardent love, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Again I say, wake up, and think about what I write. God’s work is not imitating a dead letter; it is not trifling; nor is it the sounding of many bells and organs, and singing. It is a heavenly power, a living moving of the Holy Spirit, which warms the hearts and minds of the believers; fills them, comforts, anoints, encourages, awakens and enlivens them; and makes them joyful and happy in God. For this is the true nature and power of the Lord’s word, if it is rightly preached, and of his Holy Sacraments, if they are rightly used.

It is therefore high time to pay attention to the word of the Lord. For all who are earthly and carnally minded are not born of God and his word; they are obstinately opposed to the Lord’s word, do not love their neighbors and are not ready to help them, and are not in the communion of God; therefore they cannot be members of his body or guests at his table. For Paul says, To be carnally minded is death. Christ says, Those who are not born from above cannot see the kingdom of God. Samuel says, Disobedience is as iniquity and idolatry. John says, He who does not love his brother (neighbor) abides in death. And again, He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In short, without love all preaching, all faith, baptizing, celebrating the Lord’s Supper, prophesying and suffering are in vain.

We therefore admonish all who wish to celebrate this Supper to learn rightly what the true Supper is, what it signifies, how and for what purpose it is to be used, and who are to partake of it; and then also to examine themselves well, as Paul teaches, before they eat of this bread and drink of this cup, so that they do not comfort themselves with the visible sign and go astray concerning the reality the signs represent. For those who do not know Christ and his righteousness, do not believe him and his word, and do not walk according to it, but according to the superstitious doctrines and commands of men, and yet partake of the Lord’s table, eat and drink damnation to themselves.

All who have received the word of the Lord through faith and acknowledged it to be true, and have transgressed it again, and have not continued to walk in the truth they acknowledged, but are walking again on the broad way, have returned to the love of the world, reject Christ and his word, and rely on the seductive doctrines, the interpretations and the false promises of the learned: such people have no part at the Lord’s table, for they are without God, as John says, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God,” Second John 1, verse 9.

All who walk in the pride of their hearts and despise their neighbor because of poverty, distress and affliction, and do not know that they themselves are poor mortals, seed of Adam, food for worms and a wilting flower, indeed dust and earth, whether they are emperor, king, rich or learned: all who sit at the Lord’s table with such a proud heart eat and drink damnation to themselves.

All who boast of the Lord’s Spirit, name, covenant, word, knowledge, merits, grace, blood and death, and yet reject his holy counsel, doctrine, command, ordinance and his blameless example, despise and grieve his Holy Spirit, hate, cheat and speak falsely against their neighbor, and sit at the Lord’s table, eat and drink damnation to themselves.

All who love houses, lands, possessions, friends, children, the world, favor, ease of the body, honor and this life more than they love Christ and his word, and come to the Lord’s table, eat and drink damnation to themselves. Christ says, He who loves anything more than me is not worthy of me and cannot be my disciple, Matthew 10, verse 37; Luke 14, verse 26.

And this is the sum of the whole matter: all who would sit at the Lord’s table with the disciples and guests of Christ, whether rich or poor, high or low, must be sound in the faith and blameless in conduct and life. No one is excepted, neither emperor nor king, prince nor earl, knight nor nobleman. Indeed, as long as they err in doctrine and faith and are carnal and blameworthy in their lives, they are by no means to be allowed to partake of the communion of the Holy Supper with the pious; for they are not in Christ, and therefore must remain outside until they are truly converted to Christ, walk in the ways of the Lord, and are of one spirit and one faith with Christ and his church. For the Lord’s Supper is a communion of the flesh and blood of Christ, which is not to be given to the ungodly and hardened, but to sincere, penitent Christian believers, as a pledge of reconciliation.

If anyone makes a good appearance before men, but is inwardly proud, greedy, carnal and without the Spirit of God, he is not judged by the church but by the Lord himself, the Searcher and Trier of men’s hearts and reins, as the Scripture says. We therefore admonish all who would go to the Lord’s table to examine themselves before they partake of it; for all who eat of this bread and drink of this wine unworthily eat and drink damnation to themselves, First Corinthians 11, verse 29. [Note 1]

This, beloved sirs, friends and brothers, is how the Holy Supper instructs and admonishes us. First: the bread, as the body of Christ, which he offered for us, and the cup, the blood of Christ, which he shed in great love for the remission of our sins.

In the second place, we are admonished to union, love and peace, which must exist among all true Christians according to the spirit, doctrine and example of Christ; for Paul says, “We being many are one bread and one body,” and so on.

In the third place, we are admonished to a pious and blameless life, to true regeneration, which is of God, and to all righteousness, thanksgiving, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For it is a communion of the blood and body of Christ, in which no one has a share, or can have, unless he becomes a humble, peaceable, pious Christian, dead to sin and born of God according to his word. Whoever is in Christ, and Christ in him, flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone, is a true partaker of the body and blood of Christ; as Paul says, “We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,” Hebrews 3, verse 14.

See, beloved readers, here you have the true instruction concerning the Lord’s Holy Supper, with its meaning, fruit, power and nature, and its guests, as the mouth of the Lord ordained it and the holy apostles left and taught it to us; and with what knowledge, faith, love, unity, peace and piety, and according to what practice and order, it should be celebrated in the church of God.

Compare the supper of the world with this, and you will learn which is the true one; what an abomination antichrist has made of it, what sorceries he has practiced with it, and how we poor sinners, with all our forefathers, have for hundreds of years, like idolatrous Israel of old, burned incense to the bronze serpent and danced before the golden calf. O my faithful reader, fear God, examine the Scriptures with sincerity, and believe the truth.