Understanding Four Views on the Lord's Supper (Counterpoints)

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“But the historic Baptist concept of the Lord’s Supper serves less as a ‘memorial’ than as a sign—a sign pointing both backward and forward.” (Page 30)

“What exactly is the Lord’s Supper? Put very simply, it is an uncomplicated ceremony in which bread and wine are taken by gathered worshipers in a sacred act of communion, remembrance, and thanksgiving.” (Page 15)

“It cannot be overemphasized that Calvin does not teach that the bread and the wine are mere symbols of Christ’s body and blood. In this regard, Calvin is closer to Luther than to Zwingli, for he believed in a real presence of Christ in the Supper. Luther and Calvin differed on the nature of that presence, but they both believed that Christ is really present in some sense in the elements of the bread and wine when they are received by faith.” (Page 62)

“The meal Jesus feeds us then is a sign of an eschatological banquet, with the church acknowledging the ‘already’ and pining for the ‘not yet.’” (Page 31)

“How odd it is that we Christians need to be reminded by a simple and recurring meal. We have been redeemed through the precious blood of our Messiah, Jesus, yet we are prone to forget his great act of sacrifice. But our Lord understands perfectly well our weakness and thus made provision for us to come again and again to this table so that we do not forget.” (Page 11)