|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 29
Do then these words of Scripture teach the doctrine of
Consubstantiation? There are persons who talk a great deal about
Consubstantiation, and yet they know not what it means. What is it? It
is a mingling or fusing together of two different elements or
substances, so that the two combine into a third. A familiar example,
often given, is the fusing or melting together of copper and zinc
until they unite and form brass. Applied to the sacrament of the
altar, the doctrine of Consubstantiation would teach that the flesh
and blood of Christ are physically or materially mingled and combined
with the bread and wine; so that what the communicant receives is
neither plain, real bread, nor real flesh, but a gross mixture of
the two.
Again we ask, is this the teaching of the Word? The very same
proofs that convince us that the divine Word does not teach
Transubstantiation, also convince us that it does not teach
Consubstantiation. The simple fact that the earthly elements are
called _bread_ and _the fruit of the vine_, before, during and after
consecration, satisfies us that they remain plain, simple bread and
wine, without physical change or admixture. Consubstantiation is not
the teaching of the Word; neither is it, nor has it ever been, the
teaching of the Lutheran Church. It often has been, and is still
called the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord's Supper, but it is found in
none of her confessions. It was never taught by a single recognized
theologian of our Church. One and all, they have repudiated it and
repudiate it still. The question then is still unanswered What is the
doctrine of the divine Word?
There are many who have a ready and easy answer as to this
doctrine. They say it is only a Church ceremony, one of the old,
solemn rites by which Church members are distinguished from outsiders.
There is indeed no special significance or Grace connected with it.
There is really nothing in it but bread and wine. There is no presence
of Christ at all in this sacrament in any way different from His
general presence. The bread represents or signifies, is a sign, or
symbol, or emblem of Christ's body, and the wine of His blood. The
communicant receives nothing but bread and wine, and while he partakes
of these he remembers Christ's sufferings and death. Whatever special
benefit he is to derive from this sacrament he must first put into it,
by bringing to it pious thoughts, good feelings, deep emotions, tender
memories, and a faith that swings itself aloft and holds communion
with Christ far off in heaven.
This is about the current, popular view of this subject as held
and taught in nearly all the Protestant Churches of to-day, outside of
the Lutheran Church. As a natural consequence of this superficial
view, the whole matter is treated very lightly. There is little, if
any, solemn, searching preparation. In many places there is no formal
consecration of the elements. The table is thrown open to any one who
desires to commune. There are no regulations, no guards, no
disciplinary tests, connected with it. Even unbaptized persons, and
persons who have never made a public profession of faith, are often
permitted to commune. But we digress.
We return to the question: Is the view just noticed in harmony
with and based on the Word? Let us see. If there is nothing on the
altar but bread and wine, why does Christ say, "This is _My body ...
My blood_?" Why not say, This is bread, this is wine? If Christ wanted
us to understand that the bread and wine merely represent or are
emblems of His body and blood, why did He not say so? Did He not know
how to use language? Did He use dark or misleading words in His last
Will and Testament? Why does Paul, in speaking of worthy and unworthy
communing, speak of the body of Christ as present, as a matter of
course? Was he inspired to misunderstand Christ and lead plain readers
astray? If there is nothing more in the sacrament than to remember
Christ, why--as already noticed--did not the writers of the first two
Gospels put in the words, "_Do this in remembrance of Me_?" Or why did
not Christ plainly say, "Take, eat this bread, which represents My
body, in remembrance of Me?" Clearly, the doctrine in question is not
based on the words of Scripture. It cannot be supported by Scripture.
Neither do its defenders attempt to support it by the passages that
clearly speak of this sacrament. If they try to bring in any Scripture
proof, they quote passages that have nothing to do with the subject.
They draw their proofs and supports principally from reason and
philosophy.
Surely a doctrine that changes the words of the institution,
wrests and twists them out of their natural sense, and does violence
to all sound rules of interpretation that must bolster itself up by
the very same methods of interpretation that are used to disprove the
divinity of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and the eternity of
future punishment, is not the doctrine of Christ.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|