Holy communion (the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist) is one of the two sacraments instituted by Christ (Matt 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–23; 1 Cor 11:23–34). In the Reformed tradition whereas Baptism is regarded as the sacrament of initiation into the visible church, the Supper is understood as the sacrament of nutrition (so, Petrus van Mastricht). It is for baptized believers who have made a credible profession of faith before the elders and who have been received as communicant members. There are essentially two views of the Supper present in the broader Reformed tradition. We might distinguish between a higher view and a lower view. Calvin, Beza, Vermigli, as well as the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Westminster Standards articulate a higher view, in which believers are said to be fed, in the Supper, on the body and blood of Christ, through faith, by the mysterious work of the Spirit. The lower view, which is associated with the earlier Zürich Reformation and some American Presbyterians (e.g., Charles Hodge), tends to think of the Supper less in terms of an event in which believers are fed on the body of Christ and more as an event of remembering. The memorial (to the degree that is an accurate adjective) view began to fade already during the life of Heinrich Bullinger (1504–75), who formed a bridge between the earlier Zürich view and the later view represented by J. H. Heidegger at the end of the 17th century.
Table of Contents
- Select Bibliography
- Heidelblog Articles
- Podcasts
- Quotations
1. Select Bibliography
- Bèze Théodore de. A Clear and Simple Treatise on the Lord’s Supper. Translated by David C Noe. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2016.
- Billings, J. Todd. Remembrance, Communion, and Hope: Rediscovering the Gospel at the Lord’s Table. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018.
- Calvin, John. Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper (1541).
- Clark, R. Scott. “The Evangelical Fall from the Means of Grace” in The Compromised Church, ed. John Armstrong (Wheaton: Crossway, 1998), 133–47.
- Gerrish, Brian A. Grace and Gratitude: The Eucharistic Theology of John Calvin. United Kingdom: Fortress Press, 1993 (reprint).
- Keddie, Gordon J. The Lord’s Supper Is a Celebration of Grace: What the Bible Teaches About Communion. Darlington: Evangelical Press, 2000.
- Keister, Lane B. “Intinction: An Historical, Exegetical, and Systemic-Theological Examination,” Mid-America Theological Journal 29 (2018): 149–172.
- Kolb, Robert, and Carl R Trueman. Between Wittenberg and Geneva: Lutheran and Reformed Theology in Conversation. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2017.
- Letham, Robert. The Lord’s Supper: Eternal Word in Broken Bread. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub, 2001.
- Mathison, Keith A. Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub, 2002.
- Mathison, Keith A. The Lord’s Supper: Answers to Common Questions. Orlando, Florida: Reformation Trust, 2019.
- Maclean, Malcolm. The Lord’s Supper. Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2009.
- Nevin, John Williamson, The Mystical Presence: And the Doctrine of the Reformed Church on the Lord’s Supper. Mercersburg Theology Study Series, V. 1. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock, 2012.
- Old, Hughes Oliphant, and Jon D Payne. Holy Communion: In the Piety of the Reformed Church. Powder Springs, GA: Tolle Lege Press, 2013.
- Payne, Jon D. John Owen on the Lord’s Supper. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2004.
- Riddlebarger, Kim. “The Reformation of the SupperThe Reformation of the Supper” in R. Scott Clark and Joel Kim, ed. Always Reformed: Essays in Honor of W. Robert Godfrey (Escondido: Westminster Seminary California, 2010), 192–207.
- Riggs, John W. The Lord’s Supper in the Reformed Tradition: An Essay on the Mystical True Presence. 1st ed. Columbia Series in Reformed Theology. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015.
- Venema, Cornelis P. Children at the Lord’s Table?: Assessing the Case for Paedocommunion. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Reformation Heritage Books, 2009.
- Venema, Cornelis P. The Lord’s Supper and the “Popish Mass”: A Study of Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 80. Explorations in Reformed Confessional Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2015.
- Watson, Thomas. The Lord’s Supper. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2004.
- Waters, Guy Prentiss, and J. Ligon Duncan, eds. Children and the Lord’s Supper: Let a Man Examine Himself. Fearn, UK: Mentor, 2011.
2. Heidelblog Articles
- R. Scott Clark, For Weekly Communion
- R. Scott Clark, The Evangelical Fall From The Means Of Grace
B. B. Warfield, The Fundamental Significance Of The Lord’s Supper (pt 1) - B. B. Warfield, The Fundamental Significance Of The Lord’s Supper (pt 2)
- B. B. Warfield, The Fundamental Significance Of The Lord’s Supper (pt 3)
- Christopher Smith, Created for Union: John Williamson Nevin and the Supper
- R. Scott Clark, The Lord’s Supper Is Not Penance
- R. Scott Clark, Children At The Lord’s Table: A Review
- Cornelius Van Til, The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (part 1)
- Cornelius Van Til, The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (part 2)
- Cornelius Van Til, The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (part 3)
- Cornelius Van Til, The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (Part 4)
- Cornelius Van Til, The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (Part 5)
- Cornelius Van Til, The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (Part 6)
- Amy Warren, Withholding The Chalice in Protestant Practice
- R. Scott Clark, May A Christian College Administer Communion?
- R. Scott Clark, Should You Give Yourself Communion At Home?
- R. Scott Clark, On Profession Of Faith And Communion
- R. Scott Clark, Virtual Communion Is Not Communion
- R. Scott Clark, Should Lay People Administer The Sacraments?
- R. Scott Clark, If We Baptize Infants Why Do We Not Also Commune Them?
- R. Scott Clark, The Difference Between Magic And Ministry
- R. Scott Clark, Fed By Christ or the Person Next to Me?
- R. Scott Clark, Is Efficiency A Virtue In The Church?
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 65: Faith, Union With Christ, And The Means Of Grace (1)
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 65: Faith, Union With Christ, And The Means Of Grace (2)
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 65: Faith, Union With Christ, And The Means Of Grace (3)
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 75: The Supper Is More Than A Memory (1)
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 75: The Supper Is More Than A Memory (2)
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 75: The Supper Is More Than A Memory (3)
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg Catechism 76: Embracing, Communing With, And United To Christ
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 77: As Don Says, It’s In The Bible
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 78: Against Transubstantiation
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 79: A Metaphor Is No Joke
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 80: We Don’t Need Any Footnotes
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 81: Who May Come To The Table?
- R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg 82: The Jeopardy Of The Supper
- R. Scott Clark, Prima Facie Evidence Against Intinction
- R. Scott Clark, Between Magic And Mere Memory
- R. Scott Clark, What Do We Mean By Sacrament, Sign, And Seal?
- R. Scott Clark, He Is A Pastor, Not A Priest
- Resources On Reformed Piety
- Resources On Prayer
- Resources On Preaching
- Resources On Fencing The Lord’s Table
- PCA General Assembly Rulings On Virtual Communion
3. Podcasts
- With Presbycast On The Christian Sabbath And Intinction
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 75—How Does The Lord’s Supper Signify And Seal To Believers That We Partake Of Christ’s One Sacrifice And All His Benefits?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 80—The Difference Between The Lord’s Supper And The Pope’s Mass
- Heidelminicast: Belgic Confession Art. 35—The Reformed Churches Confess That Believers Are Fed By The Proper And Natural Body And Blood Of Christ In Holy Communion
- With Presbycast On Virtual Communion—UPDATED
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 75—How Does The Lord’s Supper Signify And Seal To Believers That We Partake Of Christ’s One Sacrifice And All His Benefits?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 76—What Does It Mean To Eat The Crucified Body And Drink The Shed Blood Of Christ?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 77—Where Has Christ Promised To Nourish Believers With His Body And Blood As Surely As We Receive The Elements?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 78—Is Transubstantiation True?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 79—Why Does Christ Call The Bread His Body And The Wine His Blood?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 80—The Difference Between The Lord’s Supper And The Pope’s Mass
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 81—Who Are To Come To The Lord’s Table?
- Heidelminicast: Heidelberg Catechism 82—Are The Obviously Impenitent And Unbelieving To Come To The Lord’s Table?
- Heidelminicast: Belgic Confession Art. 35—The Reformed Churches Confess That Believers Are Fed By The Proper And Natural Body And Blood Of Christ In Holy Communion
4. Heidelquotes
- Calvin On The Proper Practice Of The Lord’s Supper
- Waters Contra Intinction: We Must Observe The Sacraments In The Way Christ Instituted Them
- Cyril: We Gather On The Eighth Day With Christ And Receive His Body Sacramentally
- Riddlebarger On The Reformed Altar Call
- Bullinger on Communion in Two Kinds
- Trent on Communion in One Species
- A Minister Not A Priest
- Where We Agree With The Eastern Orthodox Against Mere Memorialism
- Guy De Bres on Reformed Agreement with the Lutherans
- Bullinger on Communion in Two Kinds
- From The Eleven Articles Of 1559 On The Lord’s Supper
- Synod of Herbon (1586): Weekly Communion Most Corresponds To Christ’s Ordinance
- Owen Gives Us Theological Reasons To Object To Intinction
- Waters Contra Intinction: We Must Observe The Sacraments In The Way Christ Instituted Them
- Herman Witsius Contra Intinction
- Intinction Has Led To Removal Of The Cup From The Laity
- NW Georgia Presbytery (PCA) Denies Theistic Evolution and Intinction
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