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Basics of the Reformed Faith
What Is The Lord's Supper?
Ever since the night Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, this sacrament has played a central role in the faith and practice of the church. That is why it is odd that many believers think so little
32 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2005
52 people want to read
About the author
Richard D. Phillips
76 books42 followersRichard D. Phillips (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina. He is a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, and coeditor of the Reformed Expository Commentary series.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 17, 2017
5: a sacrament is a sacred worship practice established by Jesus; the Lord's Supper ought to communicate assurance, comfort, and grace
6: two reasons that evangelicals often do not regard the Lord's Supper as being very important: 1) it seems to Catholic, and 2) the Bible is the principal means of grace
6–7: outline of the booklet
The Biblical Institution
7–8: Lord's Supper terminology comes from 1 Cor. 11:20; also called Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:24) and Holy Communion (1 Cor. 10:16); Mass (from Latin missa, for dismissing people at the end of the service) has no biblical support; sacraments are instituted by Jesus, and His words (Matt. 26:26–28) give us the pattern of using bread to signify His body, and wine to signify His blood; we participate by eating and drinking; Paul says to do this until Christ's return (1 Cor. 11:26)
The Lord's Supper and Passover
8: the Last Supper was a Passover meal; both are feasts and focus on a lamb sacrificed for atonement
9: Passover was reserved for the covenant community; outsiders could partake after circumcision; fathers are commanded to use the Passover feast to explain their deliverance
The Lord's Supper as a Sign
10: the bread and wine signify Christ's atoning death
10–11: the Passover is replaced because the Lord's Supper occurred in the midst of Christ's central redemptive work—it fulfills the antitype and includes changes: the Jewish state is dissolved, no altar is required, and no central location is necessary
11: by eating and drinking, we participate in the crucified Christ (union with Christ); just as food and drink sustain the body, so does Christ's sacrifice sustain our souls; the meal signifies communion with each other in Christ, but also separation from the world
The Lord's Supper as a Covenant Seal
12–13: this meal is a covenant renewal; the minister represents Christ, Who sets a meal before His people; as a government seal makes a document official, so the Lord's Supper assures us of our participation in Christ; we are recipients, but we also pledge allegiance/obedience to Christ
Theological Issues
13: earlier Christians better understood how the Lord's Supper was connected to the gospel (some were martyred because they would not assent to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation); the following technical issues do have practical ramifications
The Presence of Christ
14–15: some [e.g., Baptists] believe that Christ is not present in the sacrament (Zwingli gets linked to this, though his "mature thought" may have been more nuanced)—sometimes called a "memorialist" view; pitted against the mystical/magical Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation; no special grace; Calvin viewed this position as over-emphasizing human activity (too rationalistic)
15–17: some (e.g., Catholic transubstantiation, Lutheran consubstantiation) believe that Christ is physically present in the sacrament; Catholic hoc est corpus meum [hocus pocus], and host is adored; Luther rejected transubstantiation, but he believed that Christ's body was still mysteriously present somehow; these views are very literal; at the original Last Supper, Jesus' body was clearly distinguished from the elements (Berkhof: Was Jesus breaking His own body and drinking His own blood?); Lady Jane Grey (in the Tower of London) argued that Jesus said many things about Himself that we do not take literally (e.g., "I am the vine"; "I am the door")—plus, it's absurd to think that the disciples chowed down on Jesus' actual body, which didn't suffer until the next day; Calvin points out that if Christ's body is universally present (in all of the Masses occurring globally and daily), then His human body had divine qualities, which detracts from and cancels His humanity, disqualifying Him as a mediator (Institutes 4.17.19)
17: the Reformed view is that Christ is spiritually (not physically) present
The Efficacy of the Sacrament
18: real grace is conferred; the benefits parallel the benefits of actual eating and drinking: we're "strengthened and fed [spiritually], receiving sustenance and life"; as a sign, it points us to what Christ does for us and strengthens our faith; as a seal, it increases our assurance
18–19: Catholics see the Mass as a sacrifice: "a renewed offering of Christ's death on the cross" (but un-bloody)—it remits sins; this view denies the sufficiency of Christ's once-for-all death; but the Lord's Supper does convey grace to strengthen faith, convey assurance, and nourish us spiritually to help us grow (see WCF 14.1 and 29.1, and WSC 96)
19–20: the Reformed view is the grace is communicated/conferred by the Holy Spirit and received by faith (we feed on the redemptive benefits of Christ's work); the Catholic view is that "by the doing it is done" (ex opere operato)—the sacrament remits sins (except for mortal sins) even without faith because the elements themselves have changed in substance; Lutherans say that faith is required, but that the sacrament works because of the substantial change of the elements
The Necessity of the Sacrament
20–21: Catholics/Lutherans believe that this sacrament is necessary for salvation; Reformed folks deny this—the grace is available elsewhere; Berkhof shows that many are saved in the Bible without this sacrament; however, it is necessary in the sense that it is commanded (it contributes to "our spiritual nurture and our proper Christian growth")
Pastoral Considerations
Presentation of the Lord's Supper
21: Phillips seems to prefer weekly communion (see p. 26) [Second Pres doesn't practice this]
22: "Ministers should realize the Lord's Supper's great pastoral value in personally confronting each person present with the reality of his or her own relationship to Jesus Christ"; those in attendance must make a decision whether or not to partake; ministers should warn against partaking unworthily (unbelief, works righteousness, no repentance), but should also encourage those of weak faith; the Lord's Supper is an altar call: "weary Christians are called to revival and unbelievers are confronted with the consequences of their alienation from Christ"
22–24: redemptive themes include Passover (deliverance from bondage, redemption from Egypt/sin, pilgrim status), the Last Supper (two cups [fellowship/gladness, wrath], wedding feast of the Lamb), and the history of redemption (past [remembrance], future [second advent], present [Israel seeking provision in the desert, pilgrims sojourning to Canaan]; "Like Abraham coming to Melchizedek from the weariness of his battles, we come to Christ to be fed, provisioned, refreshed, and renewed")
Restricted Communion
25: John Murray: "it is for disciples"; the table should be "fenced"/protected
25–26: those who should refrain from partaking include unbelievers, unworthy/unexamined/unrepentant believers (not those whose repentance is weak), and believers under discipline or with unresolved hostility toward other believers; "the sacrament is a real participation in the church's spiritual unity"; frequent communion helps guard the unity of the church; Calvin: "we reciprocally bind ourselves to all the duties of love..."; we should constantly seek reconciliation, and for this reason "the celebration of the sacrament should be publicized in advance"
26–28 (paedocommunion—minority view): arguments in favor: logic of baptism applies (covenant members), children partook of the Passover meal, and Paul's warning regarding discerning the Lord's body is for adults; responses: communion involves personal faith, communion is different from Passover in significant ways (celebrated more than once a year) and some feasts were restricted to particular covenant members, and Paul is willing to exclude some covenant members (including those who do not come with a proper understanding)
28: hint at the appropriateness of a class for communicant membership
Worthy Partaking of the Lord's Supper
28–29: based on 1 Cor. 11:27–28; preparation is more than doctrinal assent; however, we receive the sacrament by faith, not works; Calvin: be sensitive to those with sensitive consciences (see worthy partaking in his Institutes 4.17.42; "God's grace is for sinners and not the righteous, for the weak and not the strong, for bad people and not good people" (cf. Calvin)
6: two reasons that evangelicals often do not regard the Lord's Supper as being very important: 1) it seems to Catholic, and 2) the Bible is the principal means of grace
6–7: outline of the booklet
The Biblical Institution
7–8: Lord's Supper terminology comes from 1 Cor. 11:20; also called Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:24) and Holy Communion (1 Cor. 10:16); Mass (from Latin missa, for dismissing people at the end of the service) has no biblical support; sacraments are instituted by Jesus, and His words (Matt. 26:26–28) give us the pattern of using bread to signify His body, and wine to signify His blood; we participate by eating and drinking; Paul says to do this until Christ's return (1 Cor. 11:26)
The Lord's Supper and Passover
8: the Last Supper was a Passover meal; both are feasts and focus on a lamb sacrificed for atonement
9: Passover was reserved for the covenant community; outsiders could partake after circumcision; fathers are commanded to use the Passover feast to explain their deliverance
The Lord's Supper as a Sign
10: the bread and wine signify Christ's atoning death
10–11: the Passover is replaced because the Lord's Supper occurred in the midst of Christ's central redemptive work—it fulfills the antitype and includes changes: the Jewish state is dissolved, no altar is required, and no central location is necessary
11: by eating and drinking, we participate in the crucified Christ (union with Christ); just as food and drink sustain the body, so does Christ's sacrifice sustain our souls; the meal signifies communion with each other in Christ, but also separation from the world
The Lord's Supper as a Covenant Seal
12–13: this meal is a covenant renewal; the minister represents Christ, Who sets a meal before His people; as a government seal makes a document official, so the Lord's Supper assures us of our participation in Christ; we are recipients, but we also pledge allegiance/obedience to Christ
Theological Issues
13: earlier Christians better understood how the Lord's Supper was connected to the gospel (some were martyred because they would not assent to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation); the following technical issues do have practical ramifications
The Presence of Christ
14–15: some [e.g., Baptists] believe that Christ is not present in the sacrament (Zwingli gets linked to this, though his "mature thought" may have been more nuanced)—sometimes called a "memorialist" view; pitted against the mystical/magical Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation; no special grace; Calvin viewed this position as over-emphasizing human activity (too rationalistic)
15–17: some (e.g., Catholic transubstantiation, Lutheran consubstantiation) believe that Christ is physically present in the sacrament; Catholic hoc est corpus meum [hocus pocus], and host is adored; Luther rejected transubstantiation, but he believed that Christ's body was still mysteriously present somehow; these views are very literal; at the original Last Supper, Jesus' body was clearly distinguished from the elements (Berkhof: Was Jesus breaking His own body and drinking His own blood?); Lady Jane Grey (in the Tower of London) argued that Jesus said many things about Himself that we do not take literally (e.g., "I am the vine"; "I am the door")—plus, it's absurd to think that the disciples chowed down on Jesus' actual body, which didn't suffer until the next day; Calvin points out that if Christ's body is universally present (in all of the Masses occurring globally and daily), then His human body had divine qualities, which detracts from and cancels His humanity, disqualifying Him as a mediator (Institutes 4.17.19)
17: the Reformed view is that Christ is spiritually (not physically) present
The Efficacy of the Sacrament
18: real grace is conferred; the benefits parallel the benefits of actual eating and drinking: we're "strengthened and fed [spiritually], receiving sustenance and life"; as a sign, it points us to what Christ does for us and strengthens our faith; as a seal, it increases our assurance
18–19: Catholics see the Mass as a sacrifice: "a renewed offering of Christ's death on the cross" (but un-bloody)—it remits sins; this view denies the sufficiency of Christ's once-for-all death; but the Lord's Supper does convey grace to strengthen faith, convey assurance, and nourish us spiritually to help us grow (see WCF 14.1 and 29.1, and WSC 96)
19–20: the Reformed view is the grace is communicated/conferred by the Holy Spirit and received by faith (we feed on the redemptive benefits of Christ's work); the Catholic view is that "by the doing it is done" (ex opere operato)—the sacrament remits sins (except for mortal sins) even without faith because the elements themselves have changed in substance; Lutherans say that faith is required, but that the sacrament works because of the substantial change of the elements
The Necessity of the Sacrament
20–21: Catholics/Lutherans believe that this sacrament is necessary for salvation; Reformed folks deny this—the grace is available elsewhere; Berkhof shows that many are saved in the Bible without this sacrament; however, it is necessary in the sense that it is commanded (it contributes to "our spiritual nurture and our proper Christian growth")
Pastoral Considerations
Presentation of the Lord's Supper
21: Phillips seems to prefer weekly communion (see p. 26) [Second Pres doesn't practice this]
22: "Ministers should realize the Lord's Supper's great pastoral value in personally confronting each person present with the reality of his or her own relationship to Jesus Christ"; those in attendance must make a decision whether or not to partake; ministers should warn against partaking unworthily (unbelief, works righteousness, no repentance), but should also encourage those of weak faith; the Lord's Supper is an altar call: "weary Christians are called to revival and unbelievers are confronted with the consequences of their alienation from Christ"
22–24: redemptive themes include Passover (deliverance from bondage, redemption from Egypt/sin, pilgrim status), the Last Supper (two cups [fellowship/gladness, wrath], wedding feast of the Lamb), and the history of redemption (past [remembrance], future [second advent], present [Israel seeking provision in the desert, pilgrims sojourning to Canaan]; "Like Abraham coming to Melchizedek from the weariness of his battles, we come to Christ to be fed, provisioned, refreshed, and renewed")
Restricted Communion
25: John Murray: "it is for disciples"; the table should be "fenced"/protected
25–26: those who should refrain from partaking include unbelievers, unworthy/unexamined/unrepentant believers (not those whose repentance is weak), and believers under discipline or with unresolved hostility toward other believers; "the sacrament is a real participation in the church's spiritual unity"; frequent communion helps guard the unity of the church; Calvin: "we reciprocally bind ourselves to all the duties of love..."; we should constantly seek reconciliation, and for this reason "the celebration of the sacrament should be publicized in advance"
26–28 (paedocommunion—minority view): arguments in favor: logic of baptism applies (covenant members), children partook of the Passover meal, and Paul's warning regarding discerning the Lord's body is for adults; responses: communion involves personal faith, communion is different from Passover in significant ways (celebrated more than once a year) and some feasts were restricted to particular covenant members, and Paul is willing to exclude some covenant members (including those who do not come with a proper understanding)
28: hint at the appropriateness of a class for communicant membership
Worthy Partaking of the Lord's Supper
28–29: based on 1 Cor. 11:27–28; preparation is more than doctrinal assent; however, we receive the sacrament by faith, not works; Calvin: be sensitive to those with sensitive consciences (see worthy partaking in his Institutes 4.17.42; "God's grace is for sinners and not the righteous, for the weak and not the strong, for bad people and not good people" (cf. Calvin)
June 7, 2017
Really short, but really good. Phillips has done a great job of summarising some complex issues and debates. My favourite sentence: "Here (Lord's Supper) is the true altar call ministers are to set before the assembled people, where weary Christians are called to revival and unbelievers are confronted with the consequences of their alienation from Christ."
February 10, 2019
Excellent little booklet. I'm marking it as recommended although I'm not in 100% agreement on the Reformed perspective (perhaps a little more Zwinglian with leanings toward Calvin's view).
November 25, 2021
Good and helpful discussion of the Lord's supper. Tackles the major views of the Lord's presence in the supper, who should partake, and practical applications for communicants.
May 22, 2023
Helpful
January 13, 2024
Helpful introduction to the Reformed understanding of the Lord's Supper. Similar in length to Sprou's booklet of the same title, though a bit more practical.
March 6, 2017
Very good.
July 22, 2016
Rick Phillips does an outstanding job of setting the tone for the way that all Protestants ought to view and prepare to partake of the Lord's Supper- with a sober, earnest approach to His table and the elements and a proper understanding of its significance. Though Phillips writes from an unapologetically Reformed Presbyterian perspective, there is much benefit from readers of other denominational perspectives even if you do not agree with him on all the details. This is a good, solid booklet and a very quick & helpful read. Having said all that, if you're going to read only one short book on the Lord's Supper, I would suggest instead that you read 'Understanding the Lord's Supper' by Bobby Jamieson.
December 30, 2013
Amidst debate over how and when to observe the Lord’s Supper (and even what happens when we do), it is clear that Jesus commanded His followers to practice it. This brief booklet outlines the major differences concerning particulars but focuses mainly on Christ’s clear instruction. Phillips’ most helpful contribution is his discussion of the pastoral applications of celebrating communion. Speaking from a wealth of experience, he encourages a proper and necessary participation in the Lord’s Supper.
March 21, 2025
This is a great, short booklet on the Lord’s Supper. Phillips looks at the main views regarding the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper (the memorialist view, transubstantiation, and the spiritual presence of Christ) as well as explaining the efficacy of the sacrament. This is great for laypeople to read in order to increase their enjoyment and understanding of the Lord’s Supper; it is also great for pastors who administer the sacrament to read in order to increase their ability to explain the significance and uniqueness of the table.
November 29, 2010
This is one of those short, booklet-style books that is designed to offer a quick overview. It does that, and I suppose it does it acceptably-- certainly, it is far better than nothing. I found myself feeling shorted on every point, but that is a problem of format and length, not content (which was excellent). Low marks, therefore, are for the choice to make this booklet TOO short.
January 29, 2016
Good, short overview of the Lord's Supper from a "spiritual presence" perspective. Leans on Berkhof, Warfield, et. al.
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Regarding frequency & importance he writes, "Evangelicals therefore make the mistake of defining themselves in opposition to Rome instead of in conformity to the Bible."
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Regarding frequency & importance he writes, "Evangelicals therefore make the mistake of defining themselves in opposition to Rome instead of in conformity to the Bible."
December 1, 2011
Good introduction and overview of a standard Reformed view of the Lord's Supper. Especially refreshing was Phillips' view of the importance of the Supper, and his appreciation of Calvin's theology of communion.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews