Cronos noted that Lutherans do not believe, teach or confess consubstantiation. In this he is absolutely correct. They believe in regard to the Lord’s Supper that there is a sacramental union of the body and blood of Christ with the bread and wine of which it is said, in Christ’s stead and at His command and promise, “This is My body ... This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
In an earlier post, RnMomof7 asked:
“Now one more time..is the spiritual less REAL than the physical?”
With all due respect, RnMomof7, your question has nothing to do with what the Scriptures teach in regard to the Lord’s Supper. It is akin to asking, in regard to the composition of the road bed and surface on which one is driving whether the surface which one sees as one drives is more real than the road bed which one does not see.
The Supper of the Lord, by the inerrant testimony of the Lord and His apostles, consists both of that which is seen and that which is unseen, of that which is temporal and that which is eternal, of that which is of the creation and that which is of the Creator. It is something that by its very description and definition defies human logic and explanation. Nevertheless what Jesus says of it is to be believed. There is peril in calling Him a liar. Better than that is to say, “I’m not sure and I don’t understand, but I believe my Lord, who never lies to me or to anyone.”
So, the question is not, “is the spiritual less real than the physical,” but, “what did the Lord say of this which He instituted and commanded for our good and gracious blessing?”
If you want to detach your focus from the Lord’s Supper and ask as a general question, “is the spiritual less real than the physical?”, the answer is no ... providing you understand rightly what the terms physical and spiritual mean. This is no small consideration, for many who call themselves Christian do not properly distinguish these two things.
The Last Supper was actually the Last “passover “ and the 1st Lords Supper.
Gods intervention to end the slavery of His people by the Egyptians held many types that pointed to Christ’s death .
We see as a prime example the final plague God brought on the Egyptians.
Every 1st born was to die at the hand of Gods avenging angel.
God gave specific orders on how the jews were to be protected from that sword of death.
They were to have a perfect Lamb and to slaughter him. They were to spread the blood of that lamb over the drop posts ( in a shape similar to a cross) When the angel saw that blood he would pass over that home and the people inside were preserved from the plague.
God gave specific instructions on how to eat that Lamb, that passover meal was to be a ritual that would be celebrated in remembrance of the grace and salvation of God for His people.
That meal prefigured Christ, on the night Jesus was betrayed they celebrated the meal that prefigured His coming .
Christ OUR PASSOVER LAMB would be slain, and many would be saved that were under His blood.
There was a piece of matzo broken into 3 parts.
One pieces was broken and the hidden piece it was wrapped in white linen ( as Christ dead body was in the tomb ) it is called the aphikomen
When the meal is finished the host breaks off olive-size pieces of matzoh from the aphikomen and distributes them to all. They each eat it, in a reverent manner. Sometimes there is a blessing, “In memory of the Passover sacrifice, eaten after one is sated.”
It was at THIS point during the Last Supper Jesus broke the bread and passed bits to His disciples; however, Jesus added the significant words given in Luke 22:19),
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying,[b] This is my body which is given for you:[/b] this do in remembrance of me.
The symbolic broken matzo wrapped in white linen was the symbolic body of Christ revealed in the passover meal. Jesus was revealing the prophetic nature of the passover and the passover meal.
Consider that Jews had a probation against the eating of blood, yet not one disciple asked Jesus what He meant. That is because they understood when he took the APHIKOMEN into his hands, this broken Matzo that had been hidden in a linen wrap was symbolic of HIM.
Matzo has no leaven, leaven is a sign of sin. Jesus was sinless.
The Matzo had been broken as His body would be broken .
It was wrapped in linen as He would be and be hidden for a time.
This is the exact spot where Jesus proclaimed “This is my body which is given for you.” as he held that broken Matzo
The next step of the ritual meal is drinking from the wine-goblet called the “Cup of Redemption.” That’s when Jesus said,
“This cup is the New Testament (Covenant ) in my blood, which is shed for you.”
The Passover meal was a REMEMBRANCE of the deliverance of the Jews. Just as the passover was a type of Christ so is the Passover meal.
Jesus was telling them this, and He was telling them NOW instead of the remembrance of the passover, their eyes were opened and the meaning revealed NOW they were to do the mean in remembrance of HIM, of His blood, the blood of the Lamb of God.
As He held that bread He was revealing the mystery that the symbolism held.
Think of the words the apostles used
1Cr 11:24 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.
The broken matzo was a type of Christ, who’s body would be broken for them.
Then in the passover tradition
The host now takes the third cup of wine, “the cup of redemption,” or “the cup of blessing,” and offers the main table grace blessing. (In Jewish tradition, the main blessing comes after the meal.) Then they all drink from the third cup.
Luke 22:20,
“Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you’.”
Here is what the apostles and disciples said at the Lords table
1Cr 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?
The were recalling “remembering” the PASSOVER ritual. THEY understood that Jesus was revealing a spiritual truth about the passover being a prophetic meal that prefigured HIM.
The Passover was fulfilled on the day that Christ died, and so from that day forward that meal not longer held a prophetic promise of a future savior, but it was now a remembrance of the completed work of salvation at the cross.
I believe the Lords Supper is both a symbolic remembrance and the real presence of Christ spiritually to those that believe.
http://bbhchurchconnection.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/do-lutherans-believe-in-consubstantiation/
The Supper of the Lord, by the inerrant testimony of the Lord and His apostles, consists both of that which is seen and that which is unseen, of that which is temporal and that which is eternal, of that which is of the creation and that which is of the Creator. It is something that by its very description and definition defies human logic and explanation.very well written. Increasingly i feel as I wade through the RF grime that perhaps the Orthodox when saying the Western Church is too legalist, are correct. They leave a lot as "sacred mystery" -- which doesn't satisfy the modern mind who wants a scientific explanation, but it makes more sense as religion is in a different sphere than science.