Question 79: Why, then, did Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood?

 

Question 79: Why, then, did Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood? 

And why does the Apostle Paul call the Lord's Supper a "real participation (direct eating and drinking)" in the body and blood of Christ?

Answer: There is sufficient reason for this. Christ wants to teach us that just as bread and wine nourish our bodily life, so his crucified body and shed blood truly nourish our souls to eternal life. But more importantly, he wants to assure us that, just as we actually receive and eat these holy symbols in remembrance of him, so we too, through the work of the Holy Spirit, participate in the Lord's real body and blood by this visible sign and pledge. He also counts his sufferings and obedience as our own, as if we had personally suffered and paid the penalty for our sins.

Matthew 26:26-28 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”

Jesus broke the bread and said, "This is my body," and gave the cup, saying, "This is my blood, the blood of the covenant." The covenant here is the word of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:32-34: "It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they broke, although I was an husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this will be the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 'No longer will they teach each other, and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more," declares the LORD.

Through the covenant, God promised to forgive all sins and not remember them. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts." This means that God will establish His temple in the soul through the law of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:1-2: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death."

The saints' participation in the covenant means believing that they died on the cross with Jesus Christ and were resurrected with Him. Baptism is precisely this. The Eucharist is a memorial service that reminds the saints that they are the covenant people.

The reason believers take the Lord's Supper is to remind them that they are free from sin and under the law of the Holy Spirit. It is said that the bread and wine, symbolized by Jesus' crucified body and shed blood, truly nourish the believer's spirit toward eternal life. This expression refers to the gradual transformation of the soul toward eternal life. However, the expression "the soul is gradually nourished" is unbiblical.

The Greek word psuche has been variously translated as soul, life, and mind. Acts 2:26 says, "For you will not abandon my soul (psuche) to Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption." Psuche is the physical body.

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life (psuche), what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” The Revised Version translated it as “life,” but the English Bible translated it as “life.”

Mark 14:34 “And he said to them, ‘My soul is deeply sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and keep watch.’”

Regarding the part that says, “Just as we actually receive and eat these holy symbols, we too, through the work of the Holy Spirit, are assured of participating in the Lord’s real body and blood by visible symbols and pledges.”

Through the Eucharist, the saints do not participate in the actual body and blood of the Lord. Rather, through baptism, they have already participated in the death on the cross (the torn body and shed blood) and the resurrection (the new life in the body and life from heaven). Therefore, through the Eucharist, the saints give thanks for this and reaffirm what they have engraved in their hearts.

If believers partake of the Lord's body and blood every time they take communion, they will continue to endure suffering, and even today, they will need the flesh and blood of Jesus. Therefore, we see believers repenting of their sins daily and seeking forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. This is a mistaken belief.

“It means that the Lord’s suffering and obedience are considered our merit, as if we had personally suffered and paid the price for our sins.” “Participating in the Eucharist” does not mean that the Lord’s suffering and obedience are considered our merit, as if we had suffered and paid the price for our sins. We must clearly understand that participating in the Eucharist is a remembrance of what has already happened.