In my first congregation, Cleveland, a member gave me the three-volume boxed set, What Luther Says.
Like most newbies, I ran out of sermon material, so I often relied on this set to give me ideas. At some point I also bought the Lenker set.
What Luther Says is one of the best Luther publications because the format makes it easy to use. God be thanked, Luther did not want to write a systematics book. He wrote on the topics of the day.
Reading the selections on the Holy Spirit will teach and support the correct, Biblical view of the Holy Spirit.
Engaging in doctrinal issues will turn this work into a worked-over volume (now that it is one instead of three).
The Lenker/Klug set on sermons of Luther is even better.
Part Two: Holy Communion
J-859
"And just as the Word has been given in order to excite this faith, so the Sacrament has been instituted in order that the outward appearance meeting the eyes might move the heart to believe [and strengthen faith]. For through these, namely, through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Ghost works."
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXIV (XII), #70. The Mass. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 409. Tappert, p. 262. Heiser, p. 123.
Those who have grown up in non-liturgical denominations can understand how unimportant communion has become for the Zwinglians.460 When a Roman Catholic attends a traditional Lutheran communion service, he will respond very favorably to the dignity and Christ-centered nature of the worship. The only real worship service for a Roman Catholic is a Mass, because the Eucharist is dominant in their understanding of Christianity, even though the reasons are warped by Purgatory and the promise of limited forgiveness. In contrast, a non-liturgical Zwinglian service contains only the sermon and some emotional hymns. One Baptist worship professor alienated his pan-denominational audience at Wheaton College by telling the Pentecostals to observe the Sunday of Pentecost, the Evangelicals to have a cycle of Biblical readings, and the entire crowd to consider the value of reciting the Ecumenical Creeds.461 The applause was definitely scattered and hostile.
When I left the Lutheran Church in America, the denomination was moving toward the Episcopalian model of high church Unitarianism. In other words, the ministers believed nothing and each congregation had more doctrinal opinions than members. Nevertheless, rules for the proper conduct of worship were emphasized in many official communications. A 1970s evangelism filmstrip, the grandfather of the video, explained how important a liturgical service and a well prepared sermon were. Some vocal ministers of the LCA and ALC were arguing for every Sunday communion in a legalistic way, but they were talking about worship.462 A few progressives began promoting infant communion, following the Eastern Orthodox. The national LCA conventions redeemed themselves to some degree with their communion services.
Imagine my shock when I joined the Wisconsin Synod and found people repeatedly denouncing more than one congregation as “a page five and fifteen congregation.” Someone had to explain this term to me, because I thought it referred to by-laws. My informant said, “Those are congregations using The Lutheran Hymnal all the time, page five for the normal service and page fifteen for the communion service.” So I asked, “What’s wrong with that?” The WELS pastor said, “They are not being creative in worship.” All too soon I learned what being creative meant. I went to a WELS conference where the worship bulletin cover said that Easter keeps us going and going and going and going, an obvious reference to a battery commercial on TV, one that featured a pink rabbit.463 The Introit for the service was simply invented by the pastor, who is now on the board of the seminary. The Creed could be anything, such as a part of the Small Catechism.
The powerful district mission boards of the Wisconsin Synod, surely no more debased than their LCMS counterparts, could not impress on congregations enough the need to make every visitor happy. Closed communion was converted to “Don’t ask. Don’t tell.” No one bragged about having open communion, but no one mentioned closed communion either. I attended one WELS conference where a pastor explained how congregations could get away from the hymnal altogether—with transparencies on an overhead projector—just like the Assemblies of God. No one really spelled it out, but it was clear that the liturgy was an obstacle in the eyes of the Church Growth groupies.
How far can this trend go? Following are some actual examples.
1. The Wisconsin and Missouri Synods have endorsed Seeker Services, copying Willow Creek Community Church.
2. Lutheran hymns have been set aside in favor of treacle like “Take the world but give me Jesus,” featured in the new WELS hymnal, edited by James P. Tiefel and Iver Johnson.
3. ELS missionary Roger Kovaciny is known for singing and dancing in the pulpit with a basket on his head. Using a pistol or gun-case in the pulpit is another famous example of Kovaciny making the Word relevant. ["Just what we need at Thoughts of Faith!"]
Where did this infuriating display of contempt for the Means of Grace begin? First of all, it started with the denial of the efficacy of the Word. If the foundation is wrong, the worship service is turned into a sad, sick parody of praising God. Lutherans should have a national day of shame and contrition for what they have done to worship in the name of evangelism. God has betrayed them, as He does all the reprobate, by denying them the one thing they desire, numerical growth.464
In the past, no one imagined that Holy Communion was an entitlement for anyone who happened to be in church on a given Sunday, those visiting relatives or the curious and the lost, like a Methodist woman who dropped by St. Paul’s in Columbus and was communed with her young son. Yale professor emeritus George Lindbeck, who regularly attended the early service at Bethesda Lutheran Church, New Haven, where I worked as a student assistant, recently wrote an article on this subject: “The Eucharist Tastes Bitter in the Divided Church.”465 Lindbeck pointed out that the divinity school chapel began to use the eucharistic rite of the Church of South India, which was a union of the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregationalist confessions. However, one colleague objected to the words of distribution, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” The dissenter did not believe those words and did not want to participate. Lindbeck wrote: “I had misled him about my belief in the real presence by joining in the old quasi-Zwinglian service just as he felt he had misled others in the opposite direction by eating and drinking in accordance with the new South Indian liturgy. Both of us had in our respective ways borne false witness to our faith and were guilty of mendacity—some would say, blasphemy—by signifying fraudulently with sacred things.” The article’s assumption of ecumenical communion reminds me of the impertinent question asked by a woman at a Greek Orthodox congregation’s open house. She kept saying, “I want to take communion here.” The priest patiently responded more than once, “Then take classes and join if you agree with our confession.” The woman sounded exasperated that the priest took the Lord’s Supper so seriously. No one else does today.
Luther explained why Holy Communion means so much to the individual.
J-860
"For in Confession as in the Lord's Supper you have the additional advantage, that the Word is applied to your person alone. For in preaching it flies out into the whole congregation, and although it strikes you also, yet you are not so sure of it; but here it does not apply to anyone except you. Ought it not to fill your heart with joy to know a place where God is ready to speak to you personally? Yea, if we had a chance to hear an angel speak we would surely run to the ends of the earth."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 II, p. 199.
Holy Communion in the Small Catechism
J-861
VI. The Sacrament of the Altar,
As the Head of a Family Should Teach It
in a Simple Way to His Household466
What is the Sacrament of the Altar?
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.
Where is this written?
The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write thus:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Take, drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
What is the benefit of such eating and drink?
That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.
How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?
It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?
Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.”
Holy Communion in the Large Catechism
J-862
"And all these are established by the words by which Christ has instituted it, and which every one who desires to be a Christian and go to the Sacrament should know. For it is not our intention to admit to it and to administer it to those who know not what they seek, or why they come."
Large Catechism, The Sacrament of the Altar. #2. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 753. Tappert, p. 447. Heiser, p. 210.
J-863
"For it is not founded upon the holiness of men, but upon the Word of God. And as no saint upon earth, yea, no angel in heaven, can make bread and wine to be the body and blood of Christ, so also can no one change or alter it, even though it be misused. For the Word by which it became a Sacrament and was instituted does not become false because of the person or his unbelief. For He does not say: If you believe or are worthy you receive My body and blood, but: Take, eat and drink; this is My body and blood."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #16-17. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 757. Tappert, p. 448. Heiser, p. 211.
J-864
"On this account it is indeed called a food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes also stumble."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #23. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 757. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211f.
J-865
"Therefore it {communion}is given for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger. For the new life must be so regulated that it continually increase and progress; but it must suffer much opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy that when he sees that we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by force, he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all devices, and does not desist, until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or yield hands and feet and become listless or impatient. Now to this end the consolation is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #24-27. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 759. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211.
J-866
"For here in the Sacrament you are to receive from the lips of Christ forgiveness of sin, which contains and brings with it the grace of God and the Spirit with all His gifts, protection, shelter, and power against death and the devil and all misfortune."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #70. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 769. Tappert, p. 454. Heiser, p. 214.
J-867
"Therefore, if you cannot feel it {the works of the flesh, Galatians 5:199ff. above}, at least believe the Scriptures; they will not lie to you, and they know your flesh better than you yourself...Yet, as we have said, if you are quite dead to all sensibility, still believe the Scriptures, which pronounce sentence upon you. And, in short, the less you feel your sins and infirmities, the more reason have you to go to the Sacrament to seek help and a remedy."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #76-78. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 771. Tappert, p. 455. Heiser, p. 214.
Against the Word, Against the Real Presence
J-868
(1) "Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide, For round us falls the eventide;
Nor let Thy Word, that heavenly light, For us be ever veiled in night.
(2) In these last days of sore distress Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
That pure we keep, till life is spent, Thy holy Word and Sacrament.
(3) Lord Jesus, help, Thy Church uphold, For we are sluggish, thoughtless, cold.
Oh, prosper well Thy Word of grace And spread its truth in every place.
(4)Oh, keep us in Thy Word, we pray; The guile and rage of Satan stay!
Oh, may Thy mercy never cease! Give concord, patience, courage, peace.
(5) O God, how sin’s dread works abound! Throughout the earth no rest is found.
And falsehood’s spirit wide has spread, And error boldly rears its head.
(6) The haughty spirits, Lord, restrain Who over Thy Church with might would reign
And always set forth something new, Devised to change Thy doctrine true.
(8) A trusty weapon is Thy Word, Thy Church's buckler, shield, and sword.
Oh, let us in its power confide That we may seek no other guide!
(9) Oh, grant that in Thy holy Word We here may live and die, dear Lord;
And when our journey endeth here, Receive us into glory there.”
Nikolaus Selnecker et al.,"Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide," The Lutheran Hymnal, #292, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.
In the name of love, ecumenical communion prepared the way for the next atrocity in Christian worship, the inter-faith service, where various world religions are recognized and treated as equals. Many examples could also be cited where pagan religion has been added to a Lutheran service in the name of providing relevance and excitement. This is especially true in the ELCA and the sisterhood of the National Council of Churches. The Sophia goddess conference wedded female goddess worship to feminist mainline leadership. However, long before all these blasphemies took place, the efficacy of the Word in Holy Communion was denied.
Huldrich Zwingli began the rejection of God’s work through the visible Word by proudly declaring that the Holy Spirit did not need a vehicle like an oxcart. Zwingli did not know theology very well and he was inordinately jealous of Martin Luther. His Swiss Reformation in Zurich anticipated the more refined rationalism of John Calvin in Geneva. Many of Zwingli’s statements are revolting for their block-headed ignorance, but his move to separate the Holy Spirit from the Word was his foundational error. The Book of Concord calls it Enthusiasm. Whenever someone declares that God works apart from the Word and Sacraments, he is an Enthusiast. Granted, some Christian confessions are closer to the efficacy of the Word and less obnoxious in their statements, but the union of the Holy Spirit and the Word, whether visible in the Sacraments or invisible in preaching, cannot be relinquished because it is Scriptural.
J-869
"Whoever denies the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper must pervert the words of Institution where Christ the Lord, speaking of that which He gives His Christians to eat, says: 'This is My body,' and, speaking of that which He gives them to drink, says: 'This is My blood.' [Also 1 Corinthians 10:16]
Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 40. 1 Corinthians 10:16.
John Calvin was an erudite legal scholar before he became a Christian leader, so he lifted Zwingli’s rationalism to a more refined level. He stated this about the Lord’s Supper – that the finite forms of bread and wine cannot contain the infinite of Christ’s body and blood (finitum non capax infinitum, called the extra Calvinisticum).467 If we examine his statements in his Institutes more closely, we can easily find the same mocking tone so familiar in Zwingli. However, few Lutheran pastors read the Institutes, even though they buy and use Calvin’s complete Biblical commentaries.468
J-870
"Calvin was dissatisfied with Zwingli's interpretation of the Lord's Supper, but his own interpretation was also wrong. He said that a person desiring to receive the body and blood of Christ could not get it under the bread and wine, but must by his faith mount up to heaven, where the Holy Spirit would negotiate a way for feeding him with the body and blood of Christ. These are mere vagaries, which originated in Calvin's fancy. But an incident like this shows that men will not believe that God bears us poor sinners such great love that He is willing to come to us."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 185.
J-871
"When the preacher who is administering this holy Sacrament repeats, along with the Lord's Prayer, the words of institution, he first of all is testifying that he does not desire to perform, from his own opinion, a human action and institution; rather, as a householder [steward] of the divine mysteries, he is, in accordance with Christ's command, desiring to administer a holy Sacrament. Accordingly, he sets aside visible bread and wine so that it can be the means and instrument for the distribution and fellowship of the body and blood of Christ. Further, he prays that, in accordance with His institution and promise, Christ would be present in this action, and that by means of the consecrated bread and wine he might distribute Christ's body and blood. Finally, he testifies that by the power of the institution of Christ, the bread and wine in the holy Supper are not [merely] base bread and wine, but rather that Christ's body and Christ's blood are received sacramentally united and present with the bread and wine. He will herewith then point out this institution and ordinance of Christ to the communicants."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 301f.
Communion Texts
KJV Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
It is difficult to improve on Luther’s Small Catechism, but some things need to be noted because of recent developments. One is the use of testament or covenant for the Greek word diatheke. In this context we have to ask about the English meaning of the terms. Testament is clear, suggesting a last will and testament. I can leave my entire fortune to a Lutheran synod, without having a Planned Giving Counselor guide my signature while stepping on my oxygen hose. A last will and testament is a one-sided agreement, made without the permission of the other party. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He did not ask for a mutual agreement. He simply announced what He was doing and what it meant. We often use the term covenant for an agreement between two parties. For instance, when I did an Internet search on the word covenant, the first page found was Reformed and concerned the Covenant of Scotland, quoting Joshua 24:25.469 Covenant has been a favorite term for Calvinists. The term is also used now as a legal term for an agreement among two parties. So it arouses my suspicions to have the new Wisconsin Synod hymnal change the Words of Institution to “This is my blood of the new covenant...”470 The Lutheran Hymnal reads: “This cup is the New Testament in My blood...”
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod has had a long-running debate on the Moment of Consecration. The discussion has provided the benefit of avoiding serious doctrinal issues for years. If the ELS understood and believed in the efficacy of the Word, they would not have a debate or use such a term as The Moment of Consecration, a term which by itself sounds Roman Catholic. I have not participated in the ELS discussions or taken sides, since it seems like a replay of the Spanish Civil War. Obviously, the power of the Sacrament of the Altar comes from the Word. One cannot divorce the Real Presence of Christ from the Word. In the days of the old Synodical Conference, people were taught to think in the following way and they still say, “It is not the body and blood of Christ until the communicant receives it.” That belief would make the reception efficacious in effecting the Real Presence. All my quotations about the Lord’s Supper assume the Real Presence before the reception of the elements. Receptionism has even been critiqued by WELS.
J-872
"It should perhaps be mentioned also that some of our Lutheran teachers limited the real presence to the moment of eating and drinking. This, too, goes beyond the specific words of Christ."
W. Gawrisch, Review of Bjarne Wollan Teigen, The Lord's Supper in the Theology of Martin Chemnitz, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1987, 84, p. 155.
J-873
"This precium nostrae redemptionis, that is, this His true body, which He gave into death for our redemption, and this His true blood, which He poured out for our redemption, the Lord Christ takes and distributes to us by means of the consecrated bread and wine so that thereby we might be strengthened and made sure in faith and so that also the promise of the gracious forgiveness of sins applies to us."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 369.
J-874
"This consumption of the body of Christ along with the consecrated wine is in no way to be regarded as a natural eating and drinking, much less as a Capernaitic eating and drinking, since Christ's body and blood are not eaten and drunk as one usually receives and uses other food and drink, [i.e.] in a natural manner for the nurture of the body. Rather, such an eating and drinking takes place in a highly incomprehensible mystery, [in an] unfathomable and genuinely spiritual manner. It is, however, called a sacramental eating and drinking because it occurs only in this Sacrament and is due to the sacramental union of the true body of Christ with the consecrated bread and the true blood of Christ with the consecrated wine."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 336.
J-875
"Human reason, though it ponder,
Cannot fathom this great wonder
That Christ's body ever remaineth
Though it countless souls sustaineth
And that He His blood is giving
With the wine we are receiving.
These great mysteries unsounded
Are by God alone expounded."
Johann Franck, 1649, "Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness" The Lutheran Hymnal, #305, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.
J-876
(1) "An aweful mystery is here To challenge faith and waken fear:
The Savior comes as food divine, Concealed in earthly bread and wine.
(2) This world is loveless—but above, What wondrous boundlessness of love!
The King of Glory stoops to me My spirit's life and strength to be.
(3) In consecrated wine and bread No eye perceives the mystery dread;
But Jesus' words are strong and clear: 'My body and My blood are here.'
(4) How dull are all the powers of sense Employed on proofs of love immense!
The richest food remains unseen, And highest gifts appear—how mean!
(5) But here we have no boon on earth, And faith alone discerns its worth.
The Word, not sense, must be our guide, And faith assure since sight's denied."
Matthias Loy, 1880, "An Aweful Mystery Is Here" The Lutheran Hymnal, #304, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.
J-877
"Draw nigh and take the body of the Lord
And drink the holy blood for you outpoured.
Offered was He for greatest and for least,
Himself the Victim and Himself the Priest."
"Draw Night and Take the Body of the Lord," The Lutheran Hymnal, #307, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.
J-878
"We eat this bread and drink this cup, Thy precious Word believing
That Thy true body and Thy blood Our lips are here receiving.
This word remains forever true, And there is naught Thou canst not do;
For Thou, Lord, art almighty."
Samuel Kinner, 1638, "Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Hast Prepared," The Lutheran Hymnal, #306, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.
A cavalier attitude about the efficacy of the Word in the Lord’s Supper has led to many different episodes shocking to anyone who values the liturgical tradition of the Christian Church, a tradition whose foundation rests upon Old Testament worship. For instance, it has been claimed that pastors at conferences have held communion services where the Words of Institution were deliberately omitted, claiming freedom to change the form of worship, as if the words of distribution are an adequate substitute for the Consecration. Another practice indicative of bad doctrine, common of large churches, is that of keeping most of the bread and wine in the sacristy, to be hauled out like extra bulletins when the supply runs low on the altar. Worse, someone runs back to the cupboard and takes out additional wine and bread. One could argue speciously that the Word is efficacious throughout the church building, but slovenly practices leave the definite impression that the Consecration is meaningless, a message reinforced by communion without the Words of Institution. An altar guild or pastor can easily place all of the elements on the altar or on an area adjacent to the altar. The solution to such problems is not a how-to program, but education about why we show utmost respect and awe for the miracle of Holy Communion, the visible Word.
Efficacy or Church Growth Eyes?
KJV 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Someone suddenly visiting the remnants of the old Synodical Conference would never know that close communion was once the practice of the entire Christian Church. Paul’s discussion of communion rests upon the efficacy of the Word in the Lord’s Supper, pouring out forgiveness and many blessings upon believers while damning and hardening those who receive Holy Communion unworthily. Proof of this powerful effect can be found everywhere in Christendom. Where the Lord’s Supper has been relegated to a mere ordinance, a human display of piety rather than the reception of God’s grace, Christian doctrine is subordinate to human reason and embarrassing to intelligent people. The lower the view of Holy Communion, the more debased the denomination’s doctrine, a fact admitted ruefully by its own leaders. Once the ELCA had pursued every radical Left advocacy group and every ecumenical mandate, its own leaders began poping and half-poping to escape the ultimate result of Zwinglian doctrine: a church without liturgy, doctrine, direction, or the Sacraments.471
Ask a denomination what it believes about the Lord’s Supper and soon you will find out how frequently and prominently the Sacrament of the Altar is celebrated, if those words can be mentioned at all. The absolute bottom pit of Zwinglianism may be the self-enclosed grape juice and wafer package to be picked up on the way out of church, as seen in various Christian catalogues. The worst extreme needs to be mentioned, because Lutherans have a horrible tendency to veer in the wrong direction. Pietism influenced the Lutherans to participate in Holy Communion less frequently, as infrequently as three times a year. The Temperance Movement caused General Synod Lutherans in the Grape Juice Belt to replace wine with juice in the name of social improvement. When Lutherans start wishing that Holy Communion did not lengthen the service on Sunday nor annoy visitors, they are falling into the slough of despising the Means of Grace.
This passage from Paul promotes a love of the solemn service of Holy Communion. In the Eastern Orthodox service, the priest chants, “The doors. The doors. In wisdom let us attend.” The opening admonition came from the practice of shutting the doors to prevent others from casually hearing or attending the Eucharist.472 There is also evidence from the early Church that Holy Communion was regarded in much the same way. Therefore, if someone cannot discern the body of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, he should not be given Holy Communion. The Church Growth camp followers are so ignorant of God’s Word that they use “discerning the body” to fraudulently promote their concept of Church Growth Eyes. Church Growth gurus are so proud of their Church Growth Eyes that they cannot stop bragging about it. When Lutherans use the term, they appear especially foolish.473
Sacraments Define the True Church
J-879
"But the Church is not only the fellowship of outward objects and rites, as other governments, but it is originally a fellowship of faith and of the Holy Ghost in hearts. [The Christian Church consists not alone in fellowship of outward signs, but it consists especially in the heart, as of the Holy Ghost, of faith, of the fear and love of God]; which fellowship nevertheless has outward marks so that it can be recognized, namely, the pure doctrine of the Gospel, and the administration of the Sacraments in accordance with the Gospel of Christ. [Namely, where God’s Word is pure, and the Sacraments are administered in conformity with the same, there certainly is the Church, and there are Christians.] And this Church alone is called the body of Christ, which Christ renews [Christ is its Head, and] sanctifies and governs by His Spirit, as Paul testifies, Ephesians 1:22..."
Apology Augsburg Confession, VII & VIII. #5. The Church. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 227. Tappert, p. 169. Heiser, p. 71.
J-880
"Of Ecclesiastical Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called."
Augsburg Confession, Article XIV. Ecclesiastical Order. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 49. Tappert, p. 36. Heiser, p. 14.
J-881
"[We are speaking not of an imaginary Church, which is to be found nowhere; but we say and know certainly that this Church, wherein saints live, is and abides truly upon earth; namely, that some of God's children are here and there in all the world, in various kingdoms, islands, lands, and cities, from the rising of the sun to its setting, who have truly learned to know Christ and His Gospel.] And we add the marks: the pure doctrine of the Gospel [the ministry of the Gospel] and the Sacraments. And this Church is properly the pillar of truth, 1 Timothy 3:15."
Apology Augsburg Confession, VII & VIII. #20. The Church. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 233. Tappert, p. 171. Heiser, p. 73. 1 Timothy 3:15.
J-882
"That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake. They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparation and works."
Augsburg Confession, V. #1-2. The Ministry. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 31. Heiser, p. 13.
J-883
"This power {the Keys} is exercised only by teaching or preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, according to their calling, either to many or to individuals. For thereby are granted, not bodily, but eternal things, as eternal righteousness, the Holy Ghost, eternal life. These things cannot come but by the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments, as Paul says, Romans 1:16: The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Therefore, since the power of the Church grants eternal things, and is exercised only by the ministry of the Word, it does not interfere with civil government; no more than the art of singing interferes with civil government."
Augsburg Confession, XXVIII. #8. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 85. Tappert, p. 82. Heiser, p. 23. Romans 1:16.
J-884
"Now, it is not our faith that makes the Sacrament, but only the true word and institution of our almighty God and Savior Jesus Christ, which always is and remains efficacious in the Christian Church, and is not invalidated or rendered inefficacious by the worthiness or unworthiness of the minister, nor by the unbelief of the one who receives it."
Formula of Concord, SD VII, #89. Holy Supper. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1003. Tappert, p. 585. Heiser, p. 272.
Benefits of Holy Communion
J-885
"Besides this, you will also have the devil about you, whom you will not entirely tread under foot, because our Lord Christ Himself could not entirely avoid him. Now, what is the devil? Nothing else than what the Scriptures call him, a liar and murderer. A liar, to lead the heart astray from the Word of God, and blind it, that you cannot feel your distress or come to Christ. A murderer, who cannot bear to see you live one single hour. If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every moment aimed at you, you would be glad to come to the Sacrament as often as possible."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #80-82. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 771f. Tappert, p. 456. Heiser, p. 214.
J-886
"However, you will be sure as to whether the Sacrament is efficacious in your heart, if you watch your conduct toward your neighbor. If you discover that the words and the symbol soften and move you to be friendly to your enemy, to take an interest in your neighbor's welfare, and to help him bear his suffering and affliction, then all is well. On the other hand, if you do not find it so, you continue uncertain even if you were to commune a hundred times a day with devotions so great as to move you to tears for very joy; for wonderful devotions like this, very sweet to experience, yet as dangerous as sweet, amount to nothing before God. Therefore we must above all be certain for ourselves, as Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:10: 'Give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 II, p. 211.
J-887
"Accordingly, we say that by virtue of the institution, the holy Supper was established by Christ and was used by the believers chiefly to this end: that the promise of the gracious forgiveness of sins should be sealed and our faith should thus be strengthened. Then, too, we are incorporated in Christ and are thus sustained to eternal life; in addition, subsequently, other end results and benefits of the holy Supper come to pass. Yet, both of the fruits indicated above always remain the foremost."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 369.
J-888
"O living Bread from heaven,
How richly hast Thou fed Thy guest!
The gifts Thou now hast given
Have filled my heart with joy and rest.
O wondrous food of blessing,
O cup that heals our woes!
My heart, this gift professing,
In thankful songs overflows;
For while the faith within me
Was quickened by this food,
My soul hath gazed upon Thee,
My highest, only Good."
Johann Rist, 1651, "O Living Bread from Heaven," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #316. Matthew 26:26-29.
J-889
(1) "Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray
That we may feed on Thee today;
Beneath these forms of bread and wine
Enrich us with Thy grace divine.
(2) The chastened peace of sin forgiven,
The filial joy of heirs of heaven,
Grant as we share this wondrous food,
Thy body broken and Thy blood.
(3) Our trembling hearts cleave to Thy Word;
All Thou hast said Thou dost afford,
All that Thou art we here receive,
And all we are to Thee we give."
Henry E. Jacobs, 1910, "Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #314. 1 Corinthians 10:17.
