WCF 29.1
Westminster Confession of Faith
29.1. Of the Lord’s Supper
Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein He was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, called the Lord’s Supper, to be observed in His Church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of Himself in His death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto Him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Him, and with each other, as members of His mystical body.
Proof texts
- 1 Cor. 11:23, 24, 25, 26 — [23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, [24] and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [25] In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
- 1 Cor. 10:16, 17, 21 — [16] The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? [17] Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. [21] You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
- 1 Cor. 12:13 — [13] For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For discussion
- The Assembly cited 1 Cor. 11:23, 24, 25, 26 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
- 3 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
- WSC Q96 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
- WLC Q168 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
Read alongside
WSC Q96 · WLC Q168 · WLC Q170 · WLC Q149 · WSC Q88 · BC 8.1 · BC 8.2 · BC 8.3 · HC Q65 · 1689 28.1 · SD 28.1 · IAR 7.1 · SC60 6.1 · SC60 6.2 · SC60 6.3 · SC60 6.4 · SC60 6.5 · SHC 6.1 · SHC 6.2 · IAR 8.1 · SC60 7.1 · SC60 7.2 · SC60 7.3 · SHC 7.1 · SHC 7.2 · SHC 7.3
Leader's notes
A Commentary on the Confession of Faith (A.A. Hodge): This Section teaches us — (a.) Of the time in which, and the person by whom, the Lord's Sapper was instituted. (6.) Of its perpetual obligation, (c.) Of its design and effect. 1st. Of the fact that it was instituted by our Lord in person on the night in which he was betrayed there can be no doubt. The fact is explicitly declared by three of the evangelists (Matt. xxvi. 26, 29; Mark xiv. 22-25; Luke xxii. 19, 20) and by Paul (1 Cor. xi. 23, 25), and it remains to this day a monument of the truth of the gospel history with which it is associated. 2d. That it was designed to be observed perpetually to the end of…
An Exposition of the Confession of Faith (Robert Shaw): In these sections certain dangerous errors and superstitious practices of the Church of Home are condemned ; and we have placed all these sections together, that we may include the leading error, called transubstantiation, which has given rise to the absurd doctrine of the sacrifice of the mass, and the various other tenets and practices here rejected. I. The Church of Rome holds that the words, " This is my body," and, " This is my blood," are to be understood in their most literal sense; and that the priest, by pronouncing these words, with a good intention, changes the substance of the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ; which change is known by…