Bible Course - Christian Doctrine

Lesson 11

The Lord's Supper

Lord's Days 28 - 30



The Lord's Supper

In Lord's Days 28 - 30, the second sacrament which Christ Himself instituted is discussed, namely, the Lord's Supper.

Lord's Day 28

Q. 75. How art thou admonished and assured in the Lord's Supper, that thou art a partaker of that one sacrifice of Christ, accomplished on the cross, and of all His benefits?
A. Thus: That Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and to drink of this cup in remembrance of Him, adding these promises (a): first, that His body was offered and broken on the cross for me, and His blood shed for me, as certainly as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup communicated to me; and further, that He feeds and nourishes my soul to everlasting life, with His crucified body and shed blood, as assuredly as I receive from the hands of the minister, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, as certain signs of the body and blood of Christ.

(a) Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-25, 12:13.

The blood of the paschal lamb

In the same night that the nation of Israel departed from Egypt, where they had lived in slavery for several centuries, a lamb was eaten in all Jewish homes by the command of God. The blood of that lamb was applied on the door posts of the houses. That blood served for protection: the angel of destruction, which was going to kill the oldest son in every Egyptian home, would pass by each Jewish home where the blood was applied. That blood delivered from death, not through the power of that blood itself, but because it pointed toward the sacrifice that Christ would one day bring on the cross. That sacrifice of His body and His blood would in truth deliver sinners from the guilt of sin and from the punishment for sin. The lamb and the blood served to strengthen the faith that God would deliver His people.

The Lord gave command to keep the Passover (= passing over) each year from that time on as a sacrament. Then, during the Passover meal, a lamb was again killed and eaten in remembrance of the paschal lamb in Egypt, but also to point to the coming great Paschal Lamb, who would be sacrificed for sin. In this way, the Lord wanted to strengthen faith in the coming Deliverer.

The institution of the Lord's Supper

Christ, on the evening before His death on the cross, knowing what would happen the next day, ate the Passover with His disciples for the last time. At this meal a lamb was eaten, together with bread and wine. After having eaten the Passover lamb, Christ took a piece of bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples to eat. Next He gave them the cup of wine from which to drink. He commanded them from then on to time and again keep the Holy Supper, at which time bread is eaten and wine is drunk, in remembrance of Him, until He comes again on the clouds.

With this Holy Supper, Christ replaced the Old Testament sacrament of the Passover for the New Testament sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

The importance of the Lord's Supper

Christ also explained the significance of this solemn act to His disciples. By the bread the breaking of His body is signified, and by the wine the shedding of His blood on the cross of Golgotha is signified. As the paschal lamb pointed to the future, so now every time the Lord's Supper is administered, the bread and wine point to the past. Both point to the sacrifice of Christ for the atonement of sins. Paul said, "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (1Corinthians 5:7).

The strengthening and maintaining of faith

The Lord's Supper was to serve to the strengthening of the faith of the disciples and of all believers after them. When believers see the repulsiveness of their sins, they are sometimes attacked by fear that those sins are too terrible to be forgiven. However, Christ in the Lord's Supper then assures those believers that they, as certainly as the bread is broken in their sight and the cup communicated to them, may believe that He has permitted His body to be broken and permitted His blood to be shed for all their sins.

By the Lord's Supper their spiritual life, that life through faith in Christ, is maintained. They are spiritually nourished with the crucified body of Christ and spiritually refreshed with His blood. Christ Himself has said, "This is My body which is given for you" (Luke 22:19); "This is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

Bread and wine are signs, that is, are tokens of proof. The Lord's Supper admonishes (that is, reminds) and assures something. As certainly as the believers see and taste bread and wine, so certainly they may know that they are partakers of Christ and of what He merited for them by His death, and that one day they will enjoy everlasting life in perfection with Him.

Q. 76. What is it then to eat the crucified body, and drink the shed blood of Christ?
A.It is not only to embrace with a believing heart all the sufferings and death of Christ, and thereby to obtain the pardon of sin and life eternal (a); but also, besides that, to become more and more united to His sacred body, by the Holy Ghost, who dwells both in Christ and in us (b); so that we, though Christ is in heaven (c) and we on earth, are notwithstanding "flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bone" (d); and that we live, and are governed forever by one Spirit, as members of the same body are by one soul (e).

(a) John 6:35, 40, 47-48, 50-51, 53-54;
(b) John 6:55-56;
(c) Colossians 3:1, Acts 3:21, 1 Corinthians 11:26;
(d) Ephesians 5:29-30, 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:15, 1 John 3:24, 4:13;
(e) John 6:57, 15:1-6, Ephesians 4:15-16.

Eating Christ's body and drinking His blood

Eating of the bread is, as it were, eating the crucified body, and drinking of the wine, as it were, drinking the blood of Christ. He Himself said at one time, "He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life," and "Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life" (John 6: 47, 54).

This strongly expressed, figurative wording is used to make clear that by the eating and drinking in faith at the Lord's Supper, the close and inseparable communion between the believer and Christ is strengthened.

By this two things are emphasized. The Lord's Supper calls to mind that, through the suffering and death of Christ, believers receive the forgiveness of all sins and everlasting life, for they partake of what Christ has merited by His suffering and death. By His death He gives life to believers. In this way, they have communion with His suffering and death. His death is their acquittal.

However, there is also mention made of strengthening the communion of faith with Christ Himself, by the partaking of the Lord's Supper. This communion is so close, that also here a strongly expressed, figurative language is used. Paul said, "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones" (Ephesians 5:30). Christ also once spoke to His disciples, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches" (John 15:5).

One spiritual body

In what does the communion of faith with Christ consist? And how is this communion maintained? Well, the head and all other members of the body of man are governed and directed by one spirit. But now Christ and the believers together form also one spiritual Body: Christ is the Head and the believers are the other members of that Body. Within this spiritual Body dwells one Spirit, the Holy Ghost: He works both in Christ and in the believers. Thus Christ and the believers live eternally by one and the same Spirit. Thus they are governed and led by one and the same Spirit. It is true, Christ according to His human nature is now in heaven and the believers are here on earth. But in respect to His Godhead, majesty, and grace, He is always with His children (Lord's Day 18, Answer 47). And so it becomes true what He promised at His ascension, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:20).

Q. 77.Where has Christ promised that He will as certainly feed and nourish believers with His body and blood, as they eat of this broken bread, and drink of this cup?
A.In the institution of the Supper, which is thus expressed (a): "The Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood; this do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For, as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

This promise is repeated by the holy apostle Paul, where he says: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

(a) Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20.

Christ's own promise

Is the communion with Christ in and through the Lord's Supper a conclusion of the believers, or did Christ Himself also promise this? This Christ promised. Where? He did so when He sat with His disciples at the last Passover. There He said of the bread, "This is My body, which is broken for you" (1 Corinthians 11:24). It was broken by dying on the cross. And of the wine He said, "This cup is the new testament in My blood" (1 Corinthians 11:25). A testament is a covenant. In biblical times, such a covenant was often confirmed by an offering by which blood flowed. In a covenant promises are made. In this covenant (called a new testament) Christ promises that He will shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Paul described it in this way because he had learned it in this way from Christ. Therefore Paul himself, in 1 Corinthians 10, had already pointed to the faithful communion with Christ, which is strengthened by drinking of the wine and eating of the bread at the Lord's Supper. Through the Lord's Supper, the mutual communion between the believers is also strengthened, because they are together partakers of bread and wine.

The cup of blessing

Paul spoke about the cup of blessing, which is blessed. The faithful congregation praises and thanks God for His unspeakably glorious gift. God gave His Son for a ransom: by His sacrifice Christ paid the punishment for all the sins of His children. The cup of blessing (one of the cups of the Passover) was blessed: it was sanctified unto a special use at the Lord's Supper.

Lord's Day 29

Q. 78. Do then the bread and wine become the very body and blood of Christ?
A. Not at all (a): but as the water in baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ, neither is the washing away of sin itself, being only the sign and conformation thereof appointed of God (b); so the bread in the Lord's Supper is not changed into the very body of Christ (c), though agreeably to the nature and properties of sacraments (d), it is called the body of Christ Jesus.

(a) Matthew 26:29;
(b) Ephesians 5:26, Titus 3:5;
(c) 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:26;
(d) Genesis 17:10-11, Exodus 12:11,13, 13:9, 1 Peter 3:21, 1 Corinthians 10:3-4.

The doctrine of Rome regarding the Lord's Supper

It is clear that the Bible speaks about a very far-reaching, close communion between Christ and believers. They form, so to speak, one Body, led by one Spirit. And this communion is more especially strengthened by the use of the Lord's Supper, where is spoken of the eating of the crucified body of Christ and of the drinking His blood.

This causes the question to arise whether something happens to the bread and the wine; are they possibly changed in a mysterious, magical way into the flesh and blood of Christ, so that His flesh is literally really eaten and His blood drunk? According to the opinion of the Roman Catholic Church, this is indeed true. It is an official doctrine of the church, pronounced in 1215 in a council, that is, a joint communal meeting of all the parts of the church. At the moment that the priest repeats the words of the ordinance ("This is My bodyˇ­"), then, according to Rome, bread and wine change into the body and blood of Christ. According to this opinion, the bread and wine themselves strengthen communion with Christ.

The doctrine of the Holy Scriptures

However, this unbiblical dogma is rejected by the reformed authors of the Heidelberg Catechism. Nowhere in the Bible is there any support for such concepts to be found.

Bread and wine remain common bread and wine, just as the water in baptism remains water and does not change into the blood of Christ. Bread and wine in themselves accomplish nothing, no more than does the water of baptism itself wash away sins.

And yet, there is something very special about the bread and wine (and about the water of baptism). They are elements of a sacrament. A sacrament does not involve any magical change. However, the sacrament does serve as an illustration (a representation) and a warrant (an assurance). This warrant is so strong that the sign and that which is represented by that sign is described by the same word. And therefore, for instance, the bread in the Lord's Supper is called the body of Christ. This will be explained further.

Q. 79. Why then doth Christ call the bread His body, and the cup His blood, or the new covenant in His blood; and Paul "the communion of the body and blood of Christ"?
A.Christ speaks thus not without great reason, namely, not only thereby to teach us that as wine and bread support this temporal life, so His crucified body and shed blood are the true meat and drink whereby our souls are fed to eternal life (a); but more especially by these visible signs and pledges to assure us that we are as really partakers of His true body and blood (by the operation of the Holy Ghost) as we receive by the mouths of our bodies these holy signs in remembrance of Him (b); and that all His sufferings and obedience are as certainly ours, as if we had in our own persons suffered and made satisfaction for our sins to God.

(a) John 6:55;
(b) 1 Corinthians 10:16.

Bread and wine: the body and blood of Christ

Why then are bread and wine called the body and blood of Christ? And why does Paul speak about communion, by the partaking of the Supper, with the body and blood of Christ? It is because there is still something special about the Lord's Supper. First of all, something is being taught us by the Lord's Supper: the bread and wine represent something. They point back to something. A comparison is being made. As common bread and wine serve to maintain our temporal, earthly lives, so our spiritual lives are maintained and our souls truly fed by the crucified body and the shed blood of Christ, because He gives us life by His death. Of this the Lord's Supper is a symbol, an illustration.

The Holy Spirit and Lord's Supper

But there is more: something also happens; not alone by the bread and wine themselves, as if in those would be a special power. It takes place by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

With the mouth we eat the bread and drink the wine, but the Holy Spirit causes us to receive Christ by faith. By the use of bread and wine, the Holy Spirit assures us that we may believe that we have fellowship with the suffering and death of Christ. As certainly as we taste with our mouth the holy signs of bread and wine (which are tokens or proofs), so certainly do we receive the object signified by it. Then the Holy Spirit assures us in our hearts that the body of Christ was crucified for us and His blood shed for us.

Therefore we may and can believe, and are assured by these signs, that we have received the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We have such a close communion with His suffering and with His obedient life, that it is as if we ourselves suffered the punishment for our sins and have always been obedient to God's law, so perfectly, that God is satisfied by it and therefore grants us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.

Faith, if it is a living faith, also experiences that spiritual communion, for Christ is, in His Godhead, present through His Spirit and with His grace.

Bread and wine as a pledge

In the answer, bread and wine are called pledges. A pledge serves as a guarantee or surety; by the giving of a pledge, someone gives assurance that he will do what he promises. God thus assures His children, by giving the pledges of bread and wine, that He has forgiven their sins and He promises to give them life everlasting.

Christ Himself has said, "For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed" (John 6:55).

Lord's Day 30

Q. 80. What difference is there between the Lord's Supper and the popish mass?
A. The Lord's Supper testifies to us that we have a full pardon of all sin by the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself has once accomplished on the cross (a); and, that we by the Holy Ghost are ingrafted into Christ (b), who, according to His human nature is now not on earth, but in heaven, at the right hand of God His Father (c), and will there be worshipped by us (d) -- but the mass teaches that the living and dead have not the pardon of sins through the sufferings of Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by the priests; and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of bread and wine, and therefore is to be worshipped in them; so that the mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry (e).

(a) Hebrews 10:10,12, 7:26-27, 9:12,25, John19:30, Matthew 26:28, Luke 22:19;
(b) 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 6:17;
(c) John 20:17, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, 8:1;
(d) Matthew 6: 20-21, John 4:21, Luke 24:52, Acts 7:55, Colossians 3:1, Philippians 3:20, 1 Thessalonians 1:10;
(e) Hebrews 9:26 and 10:12,14.

The Lord's Supper and the mass

Question 80 inquires about the difference between the Lord's Supper as the Lord Jesus Christ instituted it, and the mass in the Roman Catholic Church.

The so-called "sacrament of the altar" in the Roman Catholic Church consists of two parts: the mass and communion.

The mass is an offering: the priest time and again offers Christ, in a non-bloody manner, on the altar to God, now in the form of a piece of bread, a wafer, which is blessed. For this Christ's words are pronounced over it, " This is My body that is broken for you." According to the teaching of Rome, the bread of the wafer at that moment changes into the host ("host" means "sacrifice"): the bread has changed into the body of Christ. Christ, according to Rome, is present in the host in His Godhead and in His human nature. Then Christ is offered on the altar anew to God in the host. The congregation looks unto and worships the host. In this way, the congregation takes part in the sacrificial ceremony. In this ceremony, the priest mentions the names of those for whom this offering is being brought. This can even be for people who have already died, but would still be in purgatory.

The repetition in the mass of the sacrifice on the cross is necessary, according to Rome. They say that the congregation can only obtain the salvation merited by Christ on the cross if the bread and wine are repeatedly and actually changed into the body and blood of Christ. In the mass, this change takes place every time anew. The congregation looks on and worships the sacrifice and thus receives a right to the body (and blood) of Christ. After the mass, these are partaken of in the communion.

The communion

The communion is a meal. At that time the priest puts the host, in the form of a wafer which cannot readily be crumbled, on the tongues of those who partake in the communion. The congregation eats this host. Only the priest, who belongs to the spiritual order, eats the host and drinks the wine. The latter is done to prevent the possibility that a drop of the blood of Christ might be spilled.

One sacrifice is sufficient

In the answer to question 80 this concept of Rome is thoroughly rejected. The Bible gives not a single basis for it. The one sacrifice on the cross is sufficient for the forgiveness of all the sins of God's children. No other offer can or may be added unto it, because this would be a denial, a negating of the power of that one sacrifice on Golgotha. And according to His human nature, Christ is now in heaven, and, and we must worship Him only there.

Paul wrote, "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God (...) For by one offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:12,14). "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1). The cooperation of the church with Christ's sacrifice for the applying of the salvation merited by this sacrifice is not necessary. It is not the church which provides for the application in the hearts of the believers, but it is the Holy Spirit who does this. He incorporates into the body of Christ, effecting spiritual communion with Christ.

An accursed idolatry

It is with very sharp words, but based upon the Bible, very justifiable words, that the mass is ultimately called an accursed idolatry. For the honor is given to the host, or the bread, which may only be given to God, the Creator. And that is idolatry, rendering divine honor, not to God, but to something which has been created by God. Then we render the equal honor to Creator and creature, and that is contrary the first and second commandments of the holy law of God (Exodus 20:3-5).

The only sacrifice again made visible?

The conception of some modern Roman Catholics is that in the mass it is not so much that the offer on Golgotha is being repeated, but that it is made visible again. But also this view must be rejected as unbiblical. Only what Christ Himself has instituted is biblical, and that is the Holy Supper. By adding human ceremonies to it, the Lord's Supper can only be eclipsed.

Q. 81. For whom is the Lord's Supper instituted?
A. For those who are truly sorrowful for their sins, and yet trust that these are forgiven them for the sake of Christ; and that their remaining infirmities are covered by His passion and death; and who also earnestly desire to have their faith more and more strengthened, and their lives more holy; but hypocrites, and such as turn not to God with sincere hearts, eat and drink judgment to themselves (a).

(a) 1 Corinthians 11:28, 10:19-22.

The marks of a true partaker of the Lord's Supper

After it has been discussed what the Lord's Supper is and is not on the basis of Scripture, there is the question for whom the Lord's Supper has been instituted by Christ. Three marks are mentioned in the answer: an abhorring of self because of sins, a trusting in Christ and His completed work, and a desire to live a more holy life. All three of these must be present in all true partakers. Only then will they really receive what the Lord has promised to give in the Lord's Supper.

a. An abhorring of self
First, an abhorring of ourselves because of our sins. If we have not, by grace, received a new heart, we usually only take delight in ourselves. Then, despite all our shortcomings, we think that we are basically good, or at least mean to do well. Abhorring ourselves consists in having great remorse regarding all our sins, condemning ourselves as persons who are not good, but who to the very core of our heart are thoroughly corrupt. Then we experience and confess that we are prone by nature to hate God and our neighbor (see Lord's Day 2, answer to question 5), and that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness (see Lord's Day 3, question 8).

We of ourselves cannot bring forth this abhorring, because it is in conflict with our self-love. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. He makes persons, who in their own eyes think that they are good, to acknowledge that they are lost because of their sins. And He brings such lost people to Christ. The prophet Ezekiel said, looking upon the the people of Israel who came to themselves when in exile, "A new heart also will I (that is: God) give you, and a new spirit will I put within you (...) And I will put My Spirit within you (...) Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations" (Ezekiel 26: 26-31).

b. A trust in the forgiveness of sins
Next is mentioned the trust that all our sins, even those sinful weaknesses yet remaining after conversion (which prevent us from always doing God's will perfectly) are forgiven for the sake of Christ's suffering and death. This trust is also worked in the heart by the Holy Spirit. Then such a sinner, because of all his sins, only feels himself guilty and condemnable. But at the same time, he believes that God is willing to forgive his sins. Then he believes that it is true, also for himself, what the Lord says, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:34). This trust in not just worked in the heart of the sinner who has already bettered his life. No, He works this in the heart of the sinner who is disheartened because of his sins, when he, by the working of the Holy Spirit, takes refuge to Christ in faith.

This trust must be there, although it can be strong or weak. Time and again, this trust is attacked within, because of the remaining weaknesses. But time and again this trust also directs itself by renewal to Christ and His grace. It can be like the father of that seriously sick child. He came to ask for the recovery of his child. Jesus said to him, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." And straightway the father cried out, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9: 23-24). Faith is not always sure of itself, but it is sure of the promises of God, who for Christ's sake is willing to forgive all sins. A person does not need to have a great, strong, assured faith to be allowed to partake at the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper serves specifically to strengthen faith. However, he who partakes of the Lord's Supper must have a genuine, living faith.

c. The life in thankfulness
The third mark is mentioned as the desire to strengthen faith (also by the use of the sacrament) and to be more holy. He who knows the seriousness of sin and the wonder of forgiveness also cannot desire anything else. This is also worked by the Holy Spirit: "And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27). Self-examination commanded

Alas, there are always hypocrites in the Christian congregation. They are hypocrites who do say (and sometimes think it for themselves) that they abhor themselves because of their sins, and believe that they are forgiven them, and that they desire to live more holily, but for whom in reality it is not true. They are not delivered from their self-love and the love of sin. They have not been converted to God with an upright heart, but they act as if they have been.

When such hypocrites partake of the Lord's Supper, they eat and drink judgment to themselves. This is the judgment of hardening: they are increasingly more convinced of their opinion about themselves, and they become less and less receptive to the biblical admonition to examine themselves to see if they are truly children of God. This judgment is not the judgment: such hypocrites can also still be converted unto God, just as Paul, in his self-conceit, was exposed by Christ (Acts 9).

The Lord's Supper always summons to self-examination, "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28).

Q. 82. Are they also to be admitted to this supper, who, by confession and life, declare themselves unbelieving and ungodly?
A. No; for by this, the covenant of God would be profaned and His wrath kindled against the whole congregation (a); therefore it is the duty of the Christian church, according to the appointment of Christ and His apostles, to exclude such persons, by the keys of the kingdom of heaven till they show amendment of life.

(a) 1 Corinthians 11:20,34, Isaiah 1:11, 66:3, Jeremiah 7:21, Psalm 50:16.

The unbelievers and ungodly excluded

The believer must examine himself if he can worthily partake of the Lord's Supper. But may the church also examine the persons who desire to partake of the Lord's Supper? And may the church may also exclude people from the Lord's Supper? May persons be excluded who either in doctrine or in conduct are not genuine Christians, but who are unbelieving and ungodly?

The church may not judge the uprightness of the heart in self-examination. They must in a judgment of love admit everyone who appears to be a genuine Christian.

However, the church may judge according to what the mouth says and what conduct in life reveals. He, who, in doctrine or conduct, clearly acts contrary to the confession of being a genuine Christian, must in fact be excluded from Holy Supper. He or she must be excluded by the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Christ gave these keys to Peter and in him (not to the pope, but) to the church, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19).

The desecration of the covenant

By the admission of unbelieving and ungodly people, the holy covenant of God will be desecrated. The Holy Spirit then withdraws His richly-blessed workings. Then a spiritual darkness, apostacy, and error will come into the congregation, and then the wrath of God will also come upon the congregation. Schisms, heresies, and the unworthy use of the Lord's Supper were tolerated in Corinth. Paul then wrote to the congregation, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11: 30).

What the keys consist of is explained in the next Lord's Day of the Catechism.

Questions to go with Lesson 11 (Lord's Day 28-30).

  1. What two things are emphasized in the Lord's Supper? (Answer 76)
  2. What does the blessing of the bread and wine at the Lord's Supper signify? (Answer 77)
  3. Which church teaches that upon the blessing of the bread and wine, these change into the body and blood of Christ? (Answer 78)
  4. Why is this opinion rejected in the catechism? (Answer 78)
  5. What is experienced by believers at the Lord's Supper? (Answer 79)
  6. Does this happen by a magic power which is present in the tokens, or by something else? What then? (Answer 79)
  7. How is Christ present at the Lord's Supper? (Answer 79)
  8. Why are bread and wine fittingly called "pledges"? (Answer 79)
  9. What does the priest do during mass? (Answer 80)
  10. Why must worshipping the host be rejected as idolatry? (Answer 80)
  11. Which three marks does the true partaker of the Lord's Supper have? (Answer 81)
  12. What are hypocrites? (Answer 81).
  13. Why may "Christians" who teach an unbiblical doctrine or live an ungodly life not be allowed to partake of the Lord's Supper? (Answer 82)