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1. The Supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night wherein he was betrayed, to be observed in his churches unto the end of the world for the perpetual remembrance and shewing forth the sacrifice of himself in his death, 1confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits thereof, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him, 2and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him and with each other.
2. In this ordinance Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor any real sacrifice made at all for remission of sin of the quick or dead; but only a memorial of that 3one offering up of himself, by himself, upon the cross, once for all, and a spiritual oblation of all 4possible praise unto God for the same; so that the popish sacrifice of the Mass (as they call it) is most abominable, injurious to Christ’s own only sacrifice, the alone propitiation for all the sins of the elect.
3. The Lord Jesus hath in this ordinance appointed his ministers to pray and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to a holy use, and to take and break the bread, to take the cup, 5and (they communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants.
4. The denial of the cup to the people, worshiping the elements, the lifting them up or carrying them about for adoration and reserving them for any pretended religious use, 6are all contrary to the nature of this ordinance and to the institution of Christ.
5. The outward elements in this ordinance, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation to him crucified as that truly, although in terms used figuratively, they are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent, to wit the 7body and blood of Christ; albeit in substance and nature they still remain truly and only 8bread and wine as they were before.
6. That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ’s body and blood (commonly called transubstantiation) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is repugnant not to Scripture 9alone, but even to common sense and reason; overthrows the 10nature of the ordinance, and hath been and is the cause of manifold superstitions, yea, of gross idolatries.
7. Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this ordinance, do then inwardly by faith, not carnally and corporally, receive and feed upon Christ crucified 11and all the benefits of his death; the body and blood of Christ being not corporally or carnally present in the elements.
8. All ignorant and ungodly persons, as they are unfit to enjoy communion 12with Christ, so are they unworthy of the Lord’s Table and cannot without great sin against him, while they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries 13or be admitted thereunto; yea whosoever shall receive unworthily are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, eating and drinking judgement to themselves.
- 1 Corinthians 11:23,24,25,26 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 10:16,17,21 ↩︎
- Hebrews 9:25,26,28 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 11:24; Matthew 26:26,27 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 11:23,24,25,26 ↩︎
- Matthew 26:26,27,28, 15:9; Exodus 20:4,5 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 11:27 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 11:26,28 ↩︎
- Acts 3:21; Luke 24:6,39 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 11:24,25 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-26 ↩︎
- 2 Corinthians 6:14,15 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 11:29; Matthew 7:6 ↩︎