Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 29

Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 29 - Communion = togetherness! 


Questions and answers:


78.       Q – Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ?

A – No.  Just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ’s blood and does not itself wash away sins but is simply God’s sign and assurance, so too the bread of the Lord’s Supper is not changed into the actual body of Christ even though it is called body of Christ in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments.

 


79.       Q – Why then does Christ call the bread His body and the cup His blood, or the new covenant in His blood?  (Paul uses the words, a participation in Christ’s body and blood.)

A – Christ has good reason for these words.  He wants to teach us that as bread and wine nourish our temporal life, so too His crucified body and poured-out blood truly nourish our souls for eternal life.  But more important, He wants to assure us, by this visible sign and pledge, that we, through the Holy Spirit’s work, share in His true body and blood as surely as our mouths receive these holy signs in His remembrance, and that all of His suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally has suffered and paid for our sins.

 


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