Lowell, Arkansas
2026
What Lutherans Believe
About the Lord’s Supper
Introduction
Jesus Christ instituted (first authorized and implemented) the Lord’s Supper on the night He was betrayed, also known as Maundy Thursday. This occurred during their celebration of the Passover festival.
I Corinthians 11:23-25 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: 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, after the meal, He also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
The Real Presence
In the Lord’s Supper there is
– comprehended in and connected to the Word of God –
a mysterious, miraculous joining of the bread and wine
with the body and blood of Jesus.
I Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?
Luke 22:19-20 19 He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of e.” 20 In the same way, He took the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is being poured out for you.
We say that these four “elements” (bread & wine; Christ’s body & blood)
are “in communion” with each other at one and the same time.
In other words, the very body and body of Jesus are really and truly present
(we refer to this as “the Real Presence”) in, with, and under the bread and wine.
The Lord’s Supper is given for the following purposes/blessings………..
For the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28 For this is My blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
As a way of remembering Christ and His death for us (I Corinthians 11:25-26 25 In the same way, after the meal, He also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament 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.
As an expression of our unity with our Lord (I Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?
As an expression of unity with our fellow believers(I Corinthians 10:17 17 Because there is one bread, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
The three chief – and differing – views on the Lord’s Supper:
The following quotes are part of the Roman Catholic Church’s statement of belief concerning the Lord’s Supper. They come from the decrees of the Council of Trent (Catholicism’s reaction to the Lutheran Reformation and its reaffirmation of Catholic doctrine). The Catholic church’s position is referred to as “Transsubstantiation.” They believe that once the priest consecrates (speaks God’s Word) over the bread and wine…….the bread is permanently changed into Christ’s body and the wine is permanently changed into Christ’s blood, AND that the bread and wine therefore cease to exist.
Section IV, Canon II (Concerning Transubstantiation) – “If anyone says that in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of bread and wine remain, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and denies the wonderful and unique conversion of the total substance of the bread into the body and of the total substance of the wine into the blood, so that only the appearance of bread and wine remain which conversion the Catholic Church very fittingly calls transubstantiation, let him be anathema (eternally condemned).
Section II, Canon V (Concerning the purpose of Communion) – “If anyone says, either that the foremost fruit of the holy Eucharist is the forgiveness of sins, or that no other effects results from it, let him be anathema.”
Calvinist/Arminian (Reformed) churches – John Calvin (1509-1564) lived at the time of the Reformation. Among his followers today are the many Protestant/Reformed churches (e.g. Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Church of Christ, Assemblies of God). Calvin and his followers taught that the bread and wine merely symbolize, or represent, Jesus’ body and blood. This viewpoint – falsely built upon human reason (i.e., “the only thing a person senses/tastes in the Lord’s Supper is the bread and wine, so that’s all that can be there) is sometimes referred to as “Representationism” Calvin believed and taught the following about the Lord’s Supper:
“What is a sacrament? It is the external symbol, by which we in turn attest our piety toward him (the Lord), as well before Him and angels as before men” …..”In the same scope at which our sacraments aim, also those of the Old Testament look, namely that they direct us to Christ, or rather as images represent Him.” (Calvin’s Institutes)
Lutheran Churches – Martin Luther (1483-1546) led a reformation of the church of his day, seeking to correct all the false teachings and Biblical abuses of which the Catholic church was guilty. In contrast to the false teachings of Catholicism and the Reformed churches regarding the Lord’s Supper, Luther taught what Scripture teaches: namely, “The Doctrine of the Real Presence.” He states concerning the Lord’s Supper:
“What is the Sacrament of the Altar?
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in and under the read and wine which we Christians are commanded by the Word of Christ to eat and to drink. And as we have said of Baptism that it is not simple water, so here also we say the Sacrament is bread and wine, but not mere bread and wine, such as are ordinarily served at the table, but bread and wine comprehended in and connected with the Word of God. It is the Word (I say) which makes and distinguishes this Sacrament, so that it is not mere bread and wine, but is and is called, the body and blood of Christ…….It is true, indeed, that if you take away the Word or regard it without the words, you have nothing but mere bread and wine. But if the words remain with them, as they shall and must, then, in virtue of the same, it is truly the body and blood of Christ. For as the lips of Christ say and speak, so it is, as He can never lie or deceive.”
Large Catechism, The Sacrament of the Altar 8-10, 13-14
The Christian Church’s historic and Biblical practice of “Close Communion”
(Close as in close friends, not as in closed doors). To the best of our abilities, we follow the Lord’s guidelines by:
1. Expecting that our communicants be Christians.
Communicants are to be baptized children of God (Galatians 3:26-29) who trust in Jesus as their Savior from sin. Jesus gave the Lord’s Supper to his disciples who were to celebrate it in remembrance of Him. I Corinthians 11:23-25
Galatians 3:26-29 26 In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is not Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one and the same in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise.
I Corinthians 11:23-25 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: 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, after the meal, He also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
2. Expecting that our communicants recognize what they are receiving.
This Sacrament is not just bread and wine, but the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Christ’s “Real Presence”). God is very clear here: The Lord expects knowledgeable and believing people at his altar.
I Corinthians 11:29 29 For if anyone eats and drinks in an unworthy way because he does not recognize the Lord’s body, he eats and drinks judgment on himself.
3. Expecting that our communicants examine themselves prior to communing.
Again, the Bible is clear in I Corinthians 11:27-28: 27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the Lord’s body and blood. 28 Instead, let a person examine himself and after doing so, let him eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
* Do I see myself as lost in my sins?
* Do I believe that Jesus is my Savior from sin?
* Do I desire, with the Holy Spirit’s help, to serve my God instead of a life of sin?
* Do I believe that I will be receiving Christ’s very body and blood in this Supper, together with the bread and the wine?
God asks for careful consideration of such questions, and an unqualified “YES” from the heart of we are to come to His Supper.
4. Expecting that our communicants be fully one in faith with each other and must not be willfully clinging to false teachings – including holding wrong beliefs about the Lord’s Supper.
God tells us in Romans 16:17: 17 But I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the teaching that you learned, and keep away from them.
I Corinthians 11:27-29 27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the Lord’s body and blood. 28 Instead, let a person examine himself and after doing so, let him eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For if anyone eats and drinks in an unworthy way because he does not recognize the Lord’s body, he eats and drinks judgment on himself.
It would be a lack of love to let an erring person wander from the truth of the Word, or remain in his/her spiritual ignorance without bothering to warn him/her.
Communion is also a sign of our unity with Christ, as well as our unity with our fellow church members – a unity that is evident from our being fully agreed in everything that His Word teaches. On the other hand, if no real unity exists it would be wrong and deceitful to pretend that it does.
I Corinthians 10:17 17 Because there is one bread, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
John 8:31-32 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you remain in My word, you are really My disciples. 32 You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Matthew 28:20 ……20 and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I [ Jesus ] have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.”
Acts 2:42 2 They continued to hold firmly to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers.