The sermon by Eric Bechler on the Lord's Supper, based on the 1689 SLBC Chapter 30, Paragraph 5, explains the outward elements of communion—bread and wine—as instituted by Jesus during the Passover, which are used to symbolize His body and blood. The sermon references biblical passages from Matthew and 1 Corinthians to discuss how these elements were set apart and ordained by Christ. The speaker addresses the controversies regarding the type of bread and wine to be used but emphasizes the symbolic nature of these elements. Further, the sermon critiques the doctrine of transubstantiation, arguing that bread and wine remain unchanged in substance and nature, merely representing Christ's sacrifice. The sermon concludes by affirming the continued practice of the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus' death until His return.

Okay, on this paragraph there's a lot of sections to it. I thought I'd just go through each of the subsections of this paragraph and talk a little bit about each one, just so that we are clear what the passage is talking about. The outward elements. We talk about the outward elements of communion of the Lord's table, bread and wine. There's only these two elements.

Jesus had sent some of the disciples to prepare a place for celebrating the Passover. At this Passover supper, Jesus initiated the Lord's Supper. Of the elements of the Passover, unleavened bread and wine were included among other things. These are the two items that are mentioned by Christ in Matthew chapter 26. Colton read these.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples saying, take and eat, this is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." So here we see in Matthew that the bread and this fruit of the vine were used and specifically identified for use by Christ himself. As with everything, there's controversies.

We won't necessarily go through any of those today. There's controversies with the bread, whether it should be unleavened, common bread, or even other things that represent bread, as also with the wine, the fruit of the vine. Is it really wine? Is it grape juice? Is it wine mixed with water?

We're not going to go into all of that, but for us it's good enough to identify that the outward elements here were bread and wine. The next couple of words, outward elements, in this ordinance, Paul tells us what this ordinance is called from 1 Corinthians 11, 20. Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper you eat. When Paul was saying this, he was rebuking the Corinthian Church here for their gatherings in the subsequent verses 21 through 22, maybe. For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal.

While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have your own hounds in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this?

No, I will not." And then Paul goes on to clarify how the Lord's Supper should be conducted. So we hear, despite it's a rebuke, we see Paul actually identifying what we're doing here as the Lord's Supper, this ordinance. The next phrase, duly set apart to the use ordained by Christ. We're going to be going to the same passages mostly through all of these, but this is clearly taken from 1st Corinthians 11, 23 through 26, for I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread.

And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after Seppri took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." So again, it's clearly set apart and ordained by Christ.

Have such relation to Him crucified, is the next phrase we'll look at. When we look at this, there's a number of passages connecting Christ as our Passover lamb who is sacrificed for us. In 1 Corinthians 5, 7 through 8, "'Purge out therefore the old leaven, "'that you may be a new lump as you're unleavened. Even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Tying Christ to Him crucified.

We also see this as we administer the Lord's Supper, that we do this in remembrance of me in 1 Corinthians 11, 23, and through 25. What are we remembering? We're remembering his sacrifice, his death. And we continue in this until he returns from 1 Corinthians 11.26. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death until he come.

The next phrase, sometimes called by the name of things, they represent to it the body and blood of Christ. Again in 1st Corinthians and Matthew and Mark we see the elements representing Christ's body and blood. In 1st Corinthians 10-16, 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? In Matthew 26, and as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, break it, and gave it to the disciples and said, take eat, this is my body.

And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remembrance of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." And finally in Mark 14, while they were eating, he took some bread and after a blessing he broke it and gave it to them and said, take it, this is my body. And when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them. They all drank from it. And he said to them, this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.

So we see here the connection where we have the names of the things that are called by the things that they represent. We look at the bread and the wine representing Christ's body and blood. In the last passage here of this paragraph, in substance and in nature they still remain truly and only bread and wine. This will be covered in more detail next week in talking about transubstantiation, the error that the elements change the actual body and blood of Christ, which when you look at it is a source of the idolatrous veneration of the elements that we talked about last week, the idea that the bread and the wine change contradicts our senses, the senses of sight, of smell, of taste, feeling, what is before us doesn't change in any way that we can validate. It is also a contradiction to reason.

A substance is known by its qualities, whether something's cold, wet, hot, dry, rough, these kind of things. Taking a position that the elements change in substance but its qualities aren't changed is unreasonable and is a difficult thing to grasp. Christ's physical body cannot be in both heaven and throughout the earth at the same time. Think of all the churches gathering on Saturdays and Sundays having church and celebrating the Lord's table. We know Christ is at the right hand of God, so there's a contradiction there.

So as Jesus himself distributed the bread, his body, and the cup, his blood, these associations must mean represents or symbolizes not an actual change in those items. Thus the bread and wine in substance and in nature remain just that bread and wine. Thank you.