Here is the follow up from yesterdays blog. From an article by Sam Storms, "The Sacraments, part 1."
Protestants outside the Lutheran
tradition understand the words of Jesus ("This is my body . . .
This is my blood") to be a metaphor (in a simile one
thing is said to be “like” or “to resemble” another;
a metaphor boldly declares that one thing is another).
There are literally hundreds of metaphors in the Bible: "All
flesh is grass" (Isa. 40:6); "The Lord is my shepherd"
(Ps. 23:1); "You are the salt of the earth" (Mt. 5:13);
"You are the light of the world" (Mt. 5:14); "I am the
bread of life" (Jn. 6:35); “The seven stars are the angels of
the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20); “the seven heads are seven
mountains” (Rev. 17:9); see also Mt. 13:38; John
8:12; 10:9; 1 Cor. 10:4. I. H. Marshall explains:
“The word ‘is’ . . . can mean
‘signify’ as well as ‘be identical with,’ and there can be
little doubt whatever that at the Last Supper the word was used with
the former meaning. The saying was uttered by Jesus while he was
bodily present with the disciples, and they could see that his body
and the bread were two separate things. One might compare how a
person showing a photograph of himself to a group of friends could
say, as he points to it, ‘This is me.’ In any case, Jesus had
done nothing to the bread which could have changed its character; all
that he had done was to give thanks to God for it, not to bless or
consecrate it in any way” (Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 85-6).
Within Protestantism, however, there
are two variations:
a.
A strictly symbolic view, in which the sacrament is nothing more than
a visible symbol or tangible representation of the body and blood of
Christ; partaking is but an act of remembrance or symbolic
declaration. There is a sense in which we may thus speak
of transsignification or a change in the meaning of
the elements. Prior to their use in the eucharist the bread and wine
aremerely bread and wine. When acknowledged and blessed as the
elements of the eucharist they take on new meaning (although
their substance remains unchanged). We might also refer
totransfinalization (McGrath, Christian Theology, 441)
insofar as the consecration of the elements changes their purpose or
the end for which they exist. McGrath explains:
“Just as a man, on setting off on a
long journey from home, might give his wife his ring to remember him
by until his return, so Christ leaves his church a token to remember
him by until the day on which he should return in glory” (442).
b.
Other protestants, following Calvin, insist that whereas there is no
literal physical presence of Christ in the elements, there is
a spiritual or moral presence. The elements thus
become truly a means or instrument or channel by
which the sanctifying or nourishing or sustaining grace of Jesus
become operative in our lives. There is truly a presence of
Christ in the elements beyond the omnipresence that is
always true. Thus, in saying that the words of Jesus are
metaphorical, I don't deny that in some sense he was providing a
pledge of his personal presence with his people that is to be
recalled and experienced whenever they break bread together. William
Lane explains:
"As certainly as the disciples eat
the bread which Jesus hands to them, so certainly will he be present
with them when they gather for table fellowship. Jesus' first gift to
the disciples was the pledge of his abiding presence with them in
spite of this betrayal and death” (Mark, 506).
The implication is that in spite of
Christ's death and departure from the earth, the bread and wine of
the Supper in some sense serve to mediate his abiding presence with
those who know and love him. The elements not only point to and
recall his death, they also awaken us to the fact that Christ in his
saving and sanctifying power is forever in our midst. Two texts
should be noted:
1 Cor. 10:16-21 - We read in v.
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?" To partake of the elements of the Lord's
table is to come under his influence and power (cf. v. 20); it is to
commune and share with his abiding presence; it is to experience in a
special way all those saving benefits and blessings that Christ's
body and blood obtained for us.
1 Cor. 10:17 also points to
the horizontal dimension of this ordinance. We not only
experience communion with Christ, but also with one another! It was
the custom of the early church to observe the supper by using one
loaf of bread, from which each believer would take a piece. Paul
draws the conclusion from this practice that those who share the one
loaf broken into many pieces are thereby joined together in the unity
symbolized by the original loaf.
C. Insights
from 1 Corinthians 11:23-34
1)
The Lord's Supper is primarily designed to elicit or to stimulate in
our heartsremembrance of the person and work of Jesus.
2)
This remembrance is commanded. Participation at the Lord's table
is not an option.
3)
This remembrance entails the use of tangible elements. It isn't
enough simply to say, "Remember!" The elements of bread and
wine are given to stir our minds and hearts.
4)
It is a personal remembrance. We are to remember Jesus.
The focus isn't any longer on the Jewish passover or the night of his
betrayal or anything else. The focus is Jesus.
5)
In this remembering there is also confession. In partaking of
the elements we declare: "Christ gave his body and blood for
me. He died for me."
6)
In this remembering we also proclaim the Lord's death till he
comes. This, then, is not merely an ordinance that looks to the past.
It is an ordinance of hope that points to the future.
7)
To partake of the Lord's table in an unworthy manner (v.
27) is to take it without regard to its true worth, not
yours. To partake unworthily is to come complacently,
light-heartedly, giving no thought to that which the elements
signify. I. H. Marshall explains:
"In some Christian circles today
the fear of partaking unworthily in the Supper leads to believers of
otherwise excellent character refraining from coming to the table of
the Lord. When this happens, Paul's warning is being misunderstood.
The Lord's Supper is the place where the forgiveness of sin is
proclaimed and offered to all who would receive it. Paul's warning
was not to those who were leading unworthy lives and longed for
forgiveness but to those who were making a mockery of that which
should have been most sacred and solemn by their behaviour at the
meal” (116).
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