As a minister who has the privilege of serving the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis, I would love for more Christians to grow in their appreciation and understanding of what it is, what it does, and why we should want it as frequently as possible. Guy Prentiss Waters’ The Lord’s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant does this, and much more.
Part of Crossway’s Short Studies in Biblical Theology, Waters’ book is a concise examination into the biblical theology of the Lord’s Supper. As such, it covers an array of foundational biblical themes for better understanding, appreciating, and participating in the new covenant meal: the Lord’s Supper. Despite the book’s intentional brevity, it is densely packed with all of the essentials for a foundational comprehension of why the Lord’s Supper is indeed a privilege to both serve and to receive.
Content and Structure
Waters begins his study with an introduction to the “Covenant Basics,” a succinct survey of the covenant theology of the Old Testament. For readers of this book who are less familiar with Reformed theology, this will prove to be a particularly helpful section. The main purpose of this opening chapter is to demonstrate the need for additional covenants based on Adam’s failure in the Garden of Eden under the covenant of works. More specifically, Waters establishes our need for Christ, whom each of these Old Testament covenants points to, and who fulfills each of them. As he writes, “We should see all the covenants that God made with humans after the fall in a divinely arranged succession leading to their goal, Jesus Christ” (36).
After laying this important foundation, the author introduces a vital aspect of the biblical covenants with his second chapter, “Covenant Signs.” He details the relationship between each covenant and their accompanying sign(s), which are meant for encouragement, reminders, and confirmation of the things promised in their respective covenants. Waters helpfully compares and contrasts the signs of the old covenant (circumcision and Passover) with the signs of the new covenant (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). There is an especially illuminating section on the Tree of Life and how it relates to the other “meal” signs, which readers will no doubt appreciate.
In his third chapter, Waters digs into “Covenant Meals.” He works from the Pentateuch to the Prophets to the New Testament in order to demonstrate the importance and prevalence of meals in the Holy Scriptures. Helpfully, he covers the important and comprehensive theme of meals in the God’s Kingdom, most particularly, the great eschatological feast in the consummated Kingdom of God. He concludes this section on covenant meals with this:
From Genesis to Revelation, and at many points in between, God uses the image of a feast, a meal, or a banquet to characterize some of the most cherished teachings of Scripture. God provides a bountiful table and invites the undeserving to sit with him there. The table, and all its abundance points to the spiritual blessings that God gives his people—life, joy, and glory. It points to the chief blessing—God himself. The table represents God’s condescension in drawing sinners to himself, redeeming them, and inviting them into communion with him. (83–4)
This sets up the fourth chapter, “The Lord’s Supper,” wherein, after laying the foundation, the author gets to the main thrust: the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Supper as the sign and meal of the New Covenant. He lets the Scriptures speak for themselves as he details the Supper in the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline Epistles, and its redemptive historical importance. An especially helpful aspect of this chapter is when Waters discusses both the vertical and horizontal significance of the Lord’s Supper, particularly from 1 Corinthians. The horizontal communion is a far less often mentioned aspect of the Lord’s Supper, but an important one nonetheless. He also provides a helpful section on proper discernment and coming to the table in a worthy manner.
In the final chapter, the author finishes with some “Conclusions for the Church.” Here, after summarizing the book, he asks and answers three important questions: How is Christ present in the Supper? Who may come to the Supper? How is the Lord’s Supper like and unlike Baptism? Regarding the first, he responds with the Reformed view of the real presence of Christ. With respect to the second, he discusses the topics of self-examination and church discipline. Finally, on the third question, he explains the importance of baptism as a sign of initiation and the Lord’s Supper as a sign of nourishment.
As a summarizing thought of the content and structure of this book, the background and foundational chapters on covenants seem to outweigh the chapters on the Lord’s Supper. Although I do understand the need for both foundational data and brevity in a book meant to be a short survey, I would have liked to have seen a bit more information on the Lord’s Supper in the final two chapters, especially the last chapter. One cannot be upset, however, since the series is called Short Studies in Biblical Theology, and Waters certainly covers his stated objectives as well as those of the series. Perhaps Dr. Waters will pick up and expand on this same topic in a larger, more detailed volume at some point. The church would only benefit if he did.
Recommendation
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely. As Waters does in all of his works, he is clear, profound, thoroughly Reformed, and uses the Holy Scriptures as his foundation for expounding his points. Here, he does an excellent job of introducing two vital doctrines at once—covenant theology and the Lord’s Supper. For that reason, not only would pastors, officers, and students benefit from this, but it would also be a helpful book to use in a study that introduces these topics to a congregation in a book study or theology class. It could also be beneficial as a resource for churches to offer those who are seeking to dig deeper than other short books or booklets on the Lord’s Supper are able to offer. I am glad that I was able to read this book and will be purchasing several to hand out and make available in the church I serve. Many thanks to the author, the series editors, and the publisher for making such an important and unique work available.
©Scott McDermand II. All Rights Reserved.
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Scott McDermand II
Scott McDermand II is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bad Axe, Michigan. He graduated from San Diego State University (BA, History) and earned masters degrees at Westminster Seminary California (MA, Historical Theology; MDiv). He serves on the board of directors of the Heidelberg Reformation Association as secretary. He has a passion for preaching and teaching the Word of God, Biblical theology, Church History, and enjoys fellowshipping with the saints. In his free time, he also enjoys baseball, reading, classical music, eating whatever his wife cooks for him, and walking their two dogs.
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