I have written here before with regards to the church and the office-bearers of the church and the preaching of the church. This will give some background to my claims here.
The signs and seals of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are holy sacraments that have been given to the church. They are to be used under the oversight of the watchmen and stewards within God’s Church. Apart from the context, the mutual love and accountability of the church, the preaching of the Holy Gospel, and everything that Christ has established for the church, they are used in disobedience. These sacraments belong neither to the state nor the family. Christ has given them to His Church.
This is the angle I am aiming at in this article (the ecclesiastical angle). It is only within the context of Christ’s church, that these sacraments become rich with meaning. Obviously, not in and of themselves, but in that they cannot be separated from the Word preached, and in that they are visible signs and seals that point to Christ who is the sum and substance of the sacraments.
What is a sacrament?
Even though the word “sacrament” itself is not used in Scripture, there is no reason not to use it seeing as it is in keeping with the rule of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments. The word “sacrament” comes from the Latin word “sacramentum.” Francis Turretin points out two aspects to the word. First there is an element which means an “oath of allegiance or engagement.” It was used in the Roman military and was commonly used in religious contexts. Apparently, the church Father Tertullian once wrote: “We are called to the militia of God, even then when we responded to the words of the sacrament.” (Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Vol. 3 (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1997), p. 338.) Second, the word “sacramentum” also comes from the word “sacrando” which means “to consecrate” or “to initiate.” We discern the sacraments as that which Christ has set apart as holy and instituted for His Church.
The Roman Catholic Church traditionally has 7 sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist (Lord’s Supper), Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Most of the pastors in the Protestant Reformation only discerned 2 clearly Biblically commanded sacraments in the Scriptures: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A handful of Protestants consider marriage to be a third sacrament. Other Protestants would disagree with this since marriage is a “pre-creation ordinance.” I am inclined to agree with the Protestants who argue in this manner. Some Mennonites have included foot washing as another sacrament. While I am not against foot-washing ceremonies, I would not consider it a sacrament since it is only mentioned in the gospels. Not every practice of the church has to be considered a sacrament. Anglicans and Roman Catholics refer to the Lord’s Supper as the ‘eucharist’. Seeing as ‘eucharist’ simply means ‘thanksgiving’, I have no problem with that term. Most Baptists prefer to speak of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as ordinances rather than sacraments. I am fine speaking of these two signs and seals that Christ has given to His Church as ordinances (they are indeed based on the ordinance of Christ) or sacraments. I prefer the word “sacraments”, since that word more fully captures the full use of baptism and the Lord’s Supper in Scripture and Christian history.
We see the two sacraments laid out clearly in Paul’s first letter to Corinth wherein he discusses baptism extensively in chapter 1 and the Lord’s Supper extensively in chapter 11. Paul was a later convert (Acts 9) and simply passes on the tradition of baptism from Pentecost (Acts 2:37-41), as well as the tradition of participating in the Lord’s Supper that Christ commanded on the night when He was betrayed (Matt. 26:26-28, Mk. 14:22-24, Lk. 22:17-20). Paul clearly states the tradition that he is commanding with regards to the Lord’s Supper in Corinth was a tradition that was handed down to him from Christ Himself (I Cor. 11:23-26).
As an aside, the reason why we use water in baptism is because Christ has consecrated water as the means for baptism. The reason why we use bread and wine and not milk and cookies for the Lord’s Supper, is because our Lord consecrated bread and wine as the sign and seal. And why would anyone invent worship of their own machinations?
Signs and Seals:
If you read through the Heidelberg Catechism which was developed and written at the time of the Reformation, especially by Zacharias Ursinus who also writes an extensive commentary on it, you will find reference to the sacraments as “signs and seals” in Lord’s Day 25, Q&A 66:
Q.What are sacraments?
A.Sacraments are visible, holy signs and seals. They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and seal that promise. And this is God’s gospel promise: he grants us forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace because of Christ’s one sacrifice accomplished on the cross.
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 25, Q&A 66, threeforms.org
Again, this language of signs and seals is uncommon in our day, but Biblical. In Genesis 9:12-13, God speaks of the rainbow as a “sign” of His covenant. In Genesis 17:11, God speaks of circumcision also as a “sign” of His covenant. In Romans 4:11, we hear that Abraham received the “sign” of circumcision as a “seal” of His righteousness. What exactly does it sign and seal: well, it signs and seals the promise. You will also find that in Acts 2 in relation to baptism: “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’” (Acts 2:38-39)
It is important then that whether the children of believers or adults who come to faith are baptized, that they rely not on the strength of their own faith or their works or their baptism for salvation, but on Christ for salvation. This is why Peter directs Christians to the finished work of Christ in Acts 2. This is why Paul directs Christians to faith in Christ in His discussion re the Lord’s Supper in I Corinthians 11. It should be commented here that, because the sacraments are a divine gift and a sovereign sign and seal set upon sinful man, that it is not proper to rebaptize a man or a woman who has already been properly baptized in a Christian church in the Name of the Triune God. To do such, is to treat God’s sign and seal as meaningless.
You find a warning against “sacramental presumption” in I Corinthians 10:1-5 when you hear of the participation of Israel in the Old Testament forms of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In spite of their participation in the covenant, yet “with most of them God was not pleased.”
It is important then, that as Christians we take care not to fall into the trap of believing that the sacraments operate “ex opere operato” or “from the work performed,” the idea that the sacraments are effective in and of themselves.
It is of the highest importance to recognize that while the sacraments do not effect grace in and of themselves, that they are indeed a “means of grace,” that the sacraments drive us and our children to find our life in Christ as we rejoice in these visible signs and seals that were given to us in our infirmity and weakness so that we would be nourished in our faith. The Belgic Confession, Article 33 describes it wonderfully:
“We believe that our good God, mindful of our crudeness and weakness, has ordained sacraments for us to seal his promises in us, to pledge his good will and grace toward us, and also to nourish and sustain our faith. He has added these to the Word of the gospel to represent better to our external senses both what he enables us to understand by his Word and what he does inwardly in our hearts, confirming in us the salvation he imparts to us.”
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 33, threeforms.org
The Real Presence of Christ:
So now that we have some faulty definitions out of the way, we should also consider a more modern trend that divests the sacraments of any meaning. We see that in the frequency of re-baptism in the Baptist world as well a purely memorial view of the Lord’s Supper that is not only in the broadly evangelical world, but is also present in Reformed & Presbyterian churches.
Whether or not they taught exactly what modern scholars say they taught, Luther, Calvin and Zwingli have each become identified with a different position on the Supper. What we teach that Zwingli taught has become primarily the majority position in North American Protestantism. What has been taught is largely a deeply and philosophically a metaphysical debate about the elements. Much of it is philosophical sophistry and jargon that has some level of importance. And so I understand why just for the sake of simplicity the memorial position has become most popular, also because it is true, in part.
The memorial position focuses on the command of Christ in I Cor. 11:24-25, to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of Christ. In the meal, the primary cognitive function as we take the bread and wine in obedience to Christ is one of remembering His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. This is definitely an important aspect of the Supper, seeing as it is the clear command of Christ: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (I Cor. 11:24)
But there are also other revealed aspects to the celebration of the Supper which indicate the real presence of Christ, or at least the spiritual presence of Christ, as Calvin argued for. Remember, that part of the debate over the physical presence of Christ in the Supper is in part related to a Lutheran/Reformed debate over the ascension. That is a debate for another day, but for now I will quote Q&A 47-48 of the Heidelberg:
“Q. But isn’t Christ with us until the end of the world as he promised us? A.Christ is true man and true God. In his human nature Christ is not now on earth; but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit he is never absent from us. Q. If his humanity is not present wherever his divinity is, then aren’t the two natures of Christ separated from each other? A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, it is evident that Christ’s divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity that has been taken on, but at the same time his divinity is in and remains personally united to his humanity.”
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 18, Q&A 47-48, threeforms.org
You see then how the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation is refuted, but also how Calvin could so avidly defend the spiritual presence of Christ in the Supper, since Jesus Christ is still never absent from us in His “divinity, majesty, grace and Spirit.” All that said, Christians should be careful to remember that there are deep mysteries here as well.
And so we must consider that there is not only one verse in Scripture that teaches on the Supper as a memorial meal. We also see that it is participation or fellowship in Christ Himself (I Cor. 10:1-4, 16). Calvin spoke about the spiritual presence of Christ in the celebration of the Lord’s Table. In remembering, this is also a proclamation of the victory of Christ on the cross, and statement on His coming and final victory (I Cor. 11:26). When we seek the things that are above where Christ is, when we lift our hearts up to the Lord by faith, we truly do dine on Christ and with Christ (Col 3:1-4).
The Sacraments and Christian Unity:
The focus of the sacraments is on Christ. But these sacraments also teach us about the unity of the church. The sacraments are visible signs and seals and so when the church gathers visibly to worship Christ, they also bind us together in a very unique way.
This was Paul’s main concern with the church in Corinth. His concern was the way in which baptized and communicant Christians were treating each other was teaching something about Christ, and what it was teaching was not true. It was heresy because it caused a division away from Christ.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:12–15: “What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.” The unifying factor is that they all have been baptized into the name of Christ. But baptism does not only unify the church in the sense that our primary teacher is Christ and not Paul/Apollos/Cephas. It also unifies the church in the sense that all the ethnicities of the earth are unified in Christ: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:27-28) Baptism is the fundamental sacrament that binds Christians together in a visible manner as a Christian people who are living in obedience to Jesus Christ and seeking to serve the Lord who has saved us from our sins.
Paul continues with the Lord’s Supper. Paul draws clear lines between the Body of Christ and the body of Christ (the Church) in I Cor 10:16-17. He points out the oneness that arises in the body of Christ (the Church) when we participate in Christ: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (I Cor. 10:17) Paul uses the same language to speak of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to Corinth that he uses to speak also of baptism to Galatia. He writes: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 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.” (I Cor. 12:12-13)
This is why the sin of social divisions were so concerning in Corinth and ethnic divisions were so concerning in Galatia. It was a sin against the Church and so was also a sin against Christ who gave His life for the church (Rom. 14:15).
As the Word is preached, as the sacraments are used properly, as the chaff is separated from the wheat, the Lord is knitting us together as one body in Christ.
A Sacramental Picture of the Church:
Imagine the Church as a large estate. While the Master is away, He has set stewards and overseers and watchmen over that estate (Matt. 16:17-19). All that those men want is to be faithful in his teaching but also in his use of the sacraments and spiritual discipline (I Cor. 4:1-9). Think of baptism as the visible sign and seal that is the right of entry. Think of the Lord’s Supper as the Table of that estate right at the center of the home. It is a place of fellowship in Christ and with each other as the baptized body.
Peter makes it clear that the church is born of the preaching of the Word of God (I Peter 1:22-25), Biblical teaching is an element of worship (I Cor. 2, Acts 2:42, II Tim. 4:2)). Yet, the sacraments shape it visibly in a unique way as a community that is in Christ. The sacraments are not optional, they are very clearly commanded in Acts 2 and I Cor. 11 and other passages. These sacraments lose their power and their meaning apart from the Word preached. You see how tied together the imagery of baptism and the Word are in a passage like Ephesians 5:26: “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,” Nevertheless in combination with fidelity to all the commands of Christ, they become a powerful means of grace within the Church, and a powerful testimony to the world of our love for Christ.
Conclusion:
Some of the practical conclusions that we have arrived at in my current congregation in Grande Prairie, Alberta, is that if you are baptized with water into the Name of the Trinity and are a member of a Christian of a Christian Church in good standing, we welcome you to the Table. We baptize babies of believers as members of Christ’s covenant and congregation. We also baptize new believers and their babies. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis.
As the Church uses the sacraments in faith towards Christ and His Word, the Church will be shaped in a Biblical manner. Those sacraments are a constant and visible reminder of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His Lordship over all things. They teach us constantly about Christ and His Church and the visibly bind us to one another. They teach us about our loyalty to Christ and one another as a constant reminder and call to fidelity. When the civil authority claims any authority over the preaching and sacraments and worship of the Church we warn them not to tread on things that are holy – for the sake of their own souls (and ours). When they become an expression of modern Christian individualism and fragmentation in the church, we warn men to use them according to Christ’s command not their own imaginations. At the end of the day, they should drive us to faith in Christ and obedience to His commands.
Addendum: This is a series on ecclesiology that I am posting to Kuyperian Commentary, but also has been posted to nathanzekveld.substack.com
