What does the Lord Christ teach, when he says: “This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me”?

When Christ says: “This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me”, He teaches that

1. The Lord’s Supper is to be celebrated frequently and continually in His Church until He returns on the Last Day.


2. It is to be celebrated in accordance with His institution.


3. The visible means are to be consecrated by repeating the words of institution.
   
   

   1 Cor. 11:26: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.
   
   Acts 2:42: They continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Luther: “Let those who would be Christians make ready to receive this venerable Sacrament often.”

How many types of eating and drinking occur in the Lord´s Supper?

Three types of eating and drinking occur in the Lord’s Supper: natural, spiritual and Sacramental. Natural eating and drinking is regular eating and drinking. In the Lord’s Supper the bread and wine are eaten in a natural manner, like food.

Spiritual eating and drinking is faith in Christ. Through faith we enjoy the fruits of Christ’s work of redemption, forgiveness of sins.

Read Joh. 6:47-58. We are always to engage in this spiritual eating and drinking.

Note: Joh. 6:47-58 does not speak of partaking of the Lord’s Supper, but rather of this spiritual eating and drinking.

Sacramental eating and drinking occurs only in the Lord’s Supper, for only in the Lord’s Supper can we with our mouth receive and in a supernatural manner eat and drink Christ’s true body and blood. This occurs at the same time as we eat the bread and drink the wine.

Do the bread and wine change into the body and blood of Christ in the Lord´s Supper?

The bread and wine do not change into the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, as the Papal Church teaches, but the bread remains bread and the wine remains wine during the entire time. But at the same time, as we eat the consecrated bread, we receive Christ’s true body, and as we drink the consecrated wine, we receive Christ’s true blood.

1 Cor. 10:16: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communionof the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Why cannot Christ´s words “this is my body” and “this is my blood” be understood symbolically?

These words of Christ cannot be understood symbolically, as the rebaptizers and other Reformed churches do, because

1. Our Lord Christ, in the words of institution, tells us that He gives us that body of His, which He has given for us, and that blood of His, which He has shed for us.



2. The Apostle Paul tells us that in the Lord’s Supper the cup is the communion with the blood of Christ, and that the bread is the communion with the body of Christ.
   
   

   1 Cor. 10:16: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communionof the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?




3. The Apostle Paul states, that he that partakes of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner is guilty of sinning – not against the bread and wine – but against Christ’s body and blood.
   
   

   1 Cor. 11:27: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.




4. The words of institution are words of a divine institution and testament.
   
   

   Gal. 3:15: Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuleth or addeth thereto.

Luther: “For as the lips of Christ say and speak, so it is, as He can never lie or deceive.”

Through what power are the true body and the true blood of Christ present in the bread and wine?

Christ’s true body and true blood are present in the bread and wine, through the power of the words of institution, which Christ spoke when He first instituted the Lord’s Super, and which are repeated, when the visible means are consecrated.

For what purpose does our Lord Christ use the visible means in the Lord´s Supper?

In the Lord’s Supper our Lord Christ gives His true body in the bread, and His true blood in the wine, as He states in the words of institution.

What are the visible means in the Sacrament of the Lord´s Supper?

The Lord Christ commanded that the visible means to be used in the Lord’s Supper are to be bread made from grain flour, and wine prepared from grapes.

Assignment: Read Matt. 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:18-20, and 1 Cor. 11:23-25: the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

Who instituted the Sacrament of the Lord´s Supper?

What is the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper? It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself. Where is this written? The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul (the Apostle) write thus: Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup when He had supped, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: Drink ye all of it: this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has all power, who knows all things, and who is able to give us that which He promises. The words with which Christ instituted this Sacrament are called the words of institution.

Ps. 33:4: For this Word of the Lord is right: and all His works are done in truth.

Eph. 3:20-21: Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.