Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09064 The question of whether communion is “just” symbolic often arises from a sense that something deeper ought to be happening at the Lord’s Table than the passing of bread and grape juice. Behind it lies a genuine instinct: if the Lord’s Supper were nothing more than a nostalgic re-enactment, it would be difficult…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09057 The word “ordinance” is the term most Baptists and many other evangelicals use for what other traditions call “sacraments.” The distinction is not pedantic. It reflects a fundamentally different understanding of what baptism and the Lord’s Supper actually are and what they accomplish. The New Testament describes two practices that Christ commanded His…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09006 The Lord’s Supper is the second of the two ordinances Jesus gave to His church. It is practised in virtually every Christian tradition, yet the meaning attached to it varies enormously. Roman Catholics believe the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ. Lutherans hold that Christ is physically present…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 9006 Alongside baptism, the Lord’s Supper is the other ordinance that Jesus gave to His Church. It has been called by various names: the Lord’s Supper, Communion, the Eucharist, the Breaking of Bread, the Lord’s Table. But what exactly is it? What does it mean? And why do we observe it? These are important…