Dr Paul Allen

For Martin Luther , the work of Christ came to sinners outwardly in God ’s institutions and inwardly by the Holy Spirit and faith. Both the outward and the inward were necessary. He wrote: “Now when God sends forth his holy gospel he deals with us in a twofold manner, first outwardly, then inwardly. Outwardly he deals with us through the oral word of the gospel and through material signs, that is, baptism and the sacrament of the altar . Inwardly he deals with us through the Holy Spirit, faith, and other gifts. But whatever their measure or order the outward factors should and must precede. The inward experience follows and is effected by the outward. For he wants to give no one the Spirit or faith outside of the outward Word and sign instituted by him, as he says in Luke 16 [:29], “Let them hear Moses and the prophets.” Accordingly Paul can call baptism a “washing of regeneration” wherein God “richly pours out the Holy Spirit” [Titus 3:5]. And the oral gospel “is the power...

We use some words to explain the sacrament communion: but for the most part, the sacrament is an image. The bread is broken and distributed to those who have received Jesus by faith. We eat together. Then we drink the cup as well. Christ Proclaimed When we introduce the sacrament-communion, we usually connect it with the sermon. Our sermons , of course, range over the whole of Scripture. But it is never difficult to connect them to the Lord’s Supper , because the Lord’s Supper is the whole Bible in summary form. In the Lord’s Supper, God gives us gifts of his good creation, which nourish our bodies, but broken they represent the death of the Son of God , the result of man’s fall into sin. But the image is not only death, but death as redemption — Jesus enduring death for sinners, for us who killed him. And in the Supper, we also look to the future: As Paul says, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). This redemption is the whole meaning of the Bib...

What is necessary to have a church? Might a group of people who claim to be Christians become so unlike what a church should be that they should no longer be called a church? In the early centuries of the Christian church , there was little controversy about what was a true church. There was only one world-wide church, the “visible” church throughout the world, and that was, of course, the true church. This church had bishops and local clergymen and church buildings which everyone could see. Any heretics who were found to be in serious doctrinal error were simply excluded from the church. But at the Reformation a crucial question came up: how can we recognize a true church? Is the Roman Catholic Church a true church or not? In order to answer that question people had to decide what were the “marks” of a true church, the distinguishing characteristics that lead us to recognize it as a true church. Scripture certainly speaks of false churches. Paul says of the pagan temples in Corint...

Painting, 14th century, Flanders. Rogier van der Weyden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” ( v. 25 ). There are many different bodies that call themselves churches, whether or not they are true manifestations of the church of Jesus Christ . How then can we tell when a church in name is also a church in reality, or a house church or even a connect group claiming to be a church? Faced with this same problem, the Reformers and Roman Catholics answered this question very differently. Rome has said that the bishop is the mark of the church, that is, the true church is present when you have a duly consecrated bishop who is part of a line of succession going back to the apostles. Ultimately, a bishop is a true bishop only if he submits to the pope; thus, in Roman Catholicism only Roman Catholic parishes consti...

1 Corinthians 10:14–22 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (v. 16). Given that transubstantiation and consubstantiation are found wanting, it remains for us to try to define how Jesus is present in the Lord’s Supper . Some believe the Lord’s Supper is only a memorial; thus, Christ is not present in a unique way when we take the sacrament . Yet more is going on in the Lord’s Supper than the remembering of our Savior’s death, as important as that may be. For example, this passage speaks of participation or fellowship in the body and blood of Christ when we come to the Lord’s table (1 Cor. 10:16). Something is happening besides the simple remembrance of the cross. Moreover, as Dr. Keith A. Mathison observes, the fact that many of those who took the sacrament in Corinth unworthily became ill or died (1 Cor. 11:29–30) proves “that th...

Mark 14:22–25 “And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body ’” (v. 22). Along with the past and future aspects of the Lord’s Supper , most Christians  have recognized that something happens in the present whenever we partake of the sacrament . To this day, some believers hold that the Lord’s Supper is merely past-oriented, only an opportunity to remember Christ ’s death. Those theological traditions with the most adherents, however, all believe that  Jesus is uniquely present in time and in space when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. Yet it is at this point that unity on this subject ceases, for while most Christians affirm the presence of Christ in the sacrament, there is precious little agreement as to how He is present. In what mode or manner is the Savior with us when we come together at His table in the Lord’s Supper? Is He physically present? Is He spiri...

St. Peter's Basilica at Early Morning (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (v. 25). There are many different bodies that call themselves churches, whether or not they are true manifestations of the church of Jesus Christ . How then can we tell when a church in name is also a church in reality? Faced with this same problem, the Reformers and Roman Catholics answered this question very differently. Rome has said that the bishop is the mark of the church, that is, the true church is present when you have a duly consecrated bishop who is part of a line of succession going back to the apostles. Ultimately, a bishop is a true bishop only if he submits to the pope; thus, in Roman Catholicism only Roman Catholic parishes constitute the true church. Protestants recognize the bi...

English: Roman Catholic church, Târgovişte, Romania (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The two sacraments that Christ Himself instituted are baptism ( Matt. 28:18–20) and the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26–29). Because of our continuing struggle with sin, the visible Word of the sacraments supplements the audible Word of the gospel preached, for God "hath joined [the sacraments] to the word of the gospel, the better to present to our senses, both that which he signifies to us by his Word, and that which he works inwardly in our hearts" ( Belgic Confession , Art. 33). As the preaching of the gospel creates faith, the sacraments confirm that faith within us ( Heidelberg Catechism , Q&A 65), just as circumcision did for Abraham, being "a seal (confirmation) of the righteousness that he had by faith" (Rom. 4:11). To purely administer the sacraments, a church must do so "as instituted by Christ" (Belgic Confession, Art. 29). This means, first, that it re...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Corinthians 10:14–22 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? ( v. 16 ). Given that transubstantiation and consubstantiation are found wanting, it remains for us to try to define how Jesus is present in the Lord’s Supper . Some believe the Lord’s Supper is only a memorial; thus, Christ is not present in a unique way when we take the sacrament . Yet more is going on in the Lord’s Supper than the remembering of our Savior’s death, as important as that may be. For example, today’s passage speaks of participation or fellowship in the body and blood of Christ when we come to the Lord’s table ( 1 Cor. 10:16 ). Something is happening besides the simple remembrance of the cross. The fact that many of those who took the sacrament in Corinth unwo...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God ’s one and only Son”  (John 3:18). There are people in this world who are not saved, but who are convinced that they are. The presence of such people causes genuine Christians to doubt their salvation. After all, we wonder, suppose I am in this category? Suppose I am mistaken about my salvation and am really going to hell? How can I know that I am a real Christi...

Image via Wikipedia “And he brought them all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other” (Gen. 15:10a). What is the role of the sacraments in the Christian life. Even though the ceremony enacted in response to Abram’s request for a sign is not a sacrament , this act of God , like the rainbow (Gen. 9:12–17), has many things in common with baptism and the Lord’s Supper . In his Institutes, John Calvin defines a sacrament as “a testimony of divine grace toward us, confirmed by an outward sign, with mutual attestation of our piety toward him” (4.14.1). Genesis 15:10 relates how God ordered Abram to cut a few animals in half and lay the carcasses in two rows with a path in between (Gen. 15:9–11).  The grace depicted here is God’s absolute commitment to give Abram a land, a name, and offspring. The carcasses and the smoking fire pot (v. 17) serve as the outward signs of the promise while Abram shows his faith by trusting God (v. 6) and doing as He say...

The Lord’s Supper, the meal that unites, has ironically been the source of much division and controversy throughout church history. It was, in fact, the primary source of division among the sixteenth-century Reformers. Numerous books have been written on the doctrine and practice of the Lord’s Supper. The following are some that I have found to be particularly helpful. General Works Robert Letham.  The Lord’s Supper .   Letham’s book is a brief introduction to the Reformed doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. It is a good place to start for those wanting to get a basic grasp of the issues. John Calvin ’s Doctrine John Calvin.  Treatises on the Sacraments .   This volume is a reprint of volume 2 in Calvin’s  Tracts and Treatises .  It contains a number of Calvin’s writings on the Lord’s Supper, although it does not include all of them by any means.  It serves as a helpful supplement to his work on the subject in his  Institutes  and co...