Max A Forsythe
Christ covenant reformed (PCA)
4787 Palmer Road S.W. - Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-3315

Copyright 2004

A Visible Word
For the Lord’s Day: the 26th of January 2003
 

Introduction: One of the particular trials and tribulations of having grown to maturity within the context of the old liberal church – is the fact, that so little of substance was ever explained to us about the doctrines of the faith, living faithfully before the Lord and why it was we did and even continue to do certain things. And as I have shared more often than some of you would like – any of the old scholarly books which might have better instructed us, these were hidden away in the attic of the Seminary or ignored outright by the progressive leaders who would reimage the precious church of our Lord Jesus Christ and thereby drag the pure white vestal clothing through the bloody mire of an outright barbaric rejection of the faith once given to the saints.

While it is a great comfort to me in my later middle age to sense where the younger generation is studying far beyond the usual course and library of every Seminary, there is always the underlying fear of not being able to catch up and teach a substantial lesson for those whose foundations in the faith are far greater than many of my poor instructors of a generation ago. Many of the questions and discussion ongoing around here are just barely comprehendible to me and I could well wish those necessary debates upon the barbaric rams who once supposed themselves “wise” in the matters of faith – in order that they might have been exposed before the sheep were so sourly shorn and managed into a stable of pretensions only.

That being said, I will explain the emotional moment as indicating the fear and trembling that I have sensed in coming to a monthly celebration of our Lord’s Supper. And it is well that we should move in this direction – since I have had nothing but Presbyterian tradition and habit to defend the familiar quarterly practice. And therefore, it is my intention that month by month in the coming year – that we endeavor to look into the means of grace implicit in the supper and to explain from scripture and from the observations of the Doctors of the faith the details behind the table, the elements and His presence – in so far as we are able to comprehend as much as the Lord will allow us to know. The subject for today is: The Visible Word, and as a beginning text to develop that idea, I would turn to 2 Corinthians 4: 1-6:

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Development: One of the issues being raised before the Reformed churches in our first decade of the present century is how to regard the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the questions being raised about the mystical union therein have led a handful of enquirers to leave the quiet simple plainness of the Reformed observance back into a more majestic mystique which surrounds the ritual being practiced by the Greek Orthodox Church and related denominations. Of course, there has historically been a great divide between the Eastern and Western Churches which reaches back into antiquity.

In our Western minds perhaps the only noticeable difference in the contemporary church is that some congregations are into a process called “intinction” which to my understanding is completely foreign to the Presbyterian system of celebration adopted from the Scottish Kirk. In case you are unfamiliar with this practice as I was until five years ago, The Oxford American Dictionary defines it as: “the dipping of the Eucharistic bread in the wine, to enable the communicant to receive both elements together.” Our purpose today is not to enter into a discussion of that radical interpretative practice of the biblical text, but to focus upon what is most familiar in our fairly common upbringing.

Calvin himself observed and allowed considerable freedom in the celebration: “But as for the outward ceremony of the action –whether or not the believers take it in their hands, or divide it among themselves, or severally eat what has been given to each; whether they hand the cup back to the deacon or give it to the next person; whether the bread is leavened or unleavened; the wine red or white – it makes no difference. These things are indifferent, and left at the church’s discretion.” (Institutes 4-XVII-43)

We have always used an Old World recipe for unleavened bread which is at least a hundred and fifty years old. On at least one occasion – we used a very common bread with nary an eye being batted. So would Calvin allow leavened or unleavened bread with out censure or question. A friend in a new church which cannot yet afford trays for cups and bread, simply arranges the elements on the table and having the congregation come forward to gather around the table are served directly from their until their common heritage can once more be afforded.

One thing that our session did early on was to deal with an observation that once the elder handed the tray to the first person in the row – the elder technically was no longer serving each and every person. At times, we have opened up the seating arrangement to make the elder’s service easier and more significant, but as we have just read from Calvin – this is not an item of high notice in the grand scheme of things. Neither are the paper cups with which we had to substitute on Lord’s Day long ago when the supply of the usual cups ran down.

The purpose of this explanation is to certify that every word, movement and element does not have to satisfy a detailed scrutiny! In fact the mass production plastic or glass cups only came into use in this country after the Civil War and the motivation for the demise of the one cup being passed around the congregation was primarily oriented in public health concerns. Older established churches which date back to the Nineteenth Century will generally have in storage an elaborate silver tankard for pouring and at least one or more cups for serving.

But throughout all of these examples, even “intinction,” there is the common thread of two elements displayed on the table and presented to the body of the Church allowed to receive them. “Bread” and the fruit of the Vine are the two elements whether or no the word “Wine” is used or avoided these many years since our Churches on this continent went through the Prohibition phase in American History.

Application: In these two elements we have a special witness to the gospel and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a book entitled Given For You, author Keith Mathison delves into the Reformed understanding of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. It was from his research that I caught our title for today and the concept behind it: “Calvin also followed Augustine by defining sacraments as “visible words” of God.” Calvin even goes so far to add “the sacraments bring the clearest promises; and they have this characteristic over and above the word because they represent for us as painted in a picture from life.”

Therefore you and I may understand the ongoing celebration of the Lord’s Table as something we ordinarily cannot experience because we were not there in the first century when Christ appeared. To that end we may call the sacrament: The Visible Word and thereby do no injury to the sacrament or the revealed words given to us in the two Covenants.

But, just exactly what do we mean by a sacrament when we look upon the bread and the wine laid out before us? Is the table covering meant to be like the veil worn by Moses or is it only a means to protect the elements from insects, coal dust or other contaminants which might detract from our enjoyment? I do not have a ready answer for that question!

But let us consider The Visible Word in its sacramental sense from our confessional foundation. We begin with Calvin’s definition of what a sacrament is: “It seems to me that a simple and proper definition would be to say that it is, an outward sign by which the Lord seals on our consciences the promises of his good will toward us in order to sustain the weakness of our faith; and we in turn attest our piety toward him in the presence of the Lord and of his angels and before men. Here is another briefer definition: one may call it a testimony of divine grace toward us, confirmed by an outward sign, with mutual attestation of our piety toward him. Whichever of these definitions you may choose, it does not differ in meaning from that of Augustine, who teaches that a sacrament is ‘a visible sign of a sacred thing,’ or ‘a visible form of an invisible grace,’ but it better and more clearly explains the thing itself.”

The Westminster Larger Catechism defines the same in these words: “A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his Church, to signify, seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant of grace, the benefits of his mediation; to strengthen and increase their faith, and all other graces: to oblige them to obedience; to testify and cherish their love and communion one with another; and to distinguish them from those that are without.”

Here we pick up on our text for today in 1 Corinthians 11: 24-25 from which we should carefully understand that “the sacraments are intended to signify, seal, and exhibit the benefits of Christ’s work of redemption,” as Williamson and Vos report it.  In addition the same two scholars insist that “a sacrament involves the use of ‘sensible signs,’ that is, material elements such as water, bread, wine, and certain actions by which these elements are used.” Further, “a sacrament, with its ‘sensible signs,’ is for the purpose of portraying sealing, and applying Christ and his redemption.”

If I may be so bold as to use an ongoing controversy in the church as a means of example I will mention the ongoing arguments that we have in examining candidates on the issue of using pictures of Christ or dramatic performances in the teaching and preaching of the gospel of grace.

What we have here in the table, the elements and the sharing of them are The only Visible Word and drama enacted allowed by the scripture and any other performance of a like kind would only trivialize The Visible Word demonstrated in the sacrament of the Last Supper. Here is enacted in the best sense of that word, the only tangible sign and seal that you may have in the church apart from the institution of Baptism where real water is used! The Bread and the contents of the cup are real; they can be seen, tasted and consumed for their nutrients alone.

However, for this to be a sacrament – much more than meets the eye is going on. For all of the elect who have grown in grace and knowledge – there is the real presence of our Lord and Savior just as he was in the midst of the disciples so many centuries ago. In larger churches, you may worship and even participate in the Lord’s Supper not knowing everyone in the room who participates. And afterwards you may meet a friend later in the week not knowing for certain if they were there!

Certainly, there are many times when we participate in the Supper and not realize that Christ is here present – but every one in a while, our spiritual perceptions are enhanced and we know beyond a shadow of a doubt His real presence. Take those precious moments and treasure them, you will normally not realize His presence every time. But whether we know or not, He is still here and while our spiritual senses are very often dulled – the sign and the seal of the sacraments are just as effective – if we confess His Name, seek forgiveness for our sins and strive our best to live a life worthy of His interest.

Williamson and Vos would encourage us in these words: “the sacraments are to signify the benefits of Christ’s mediation unto those that are within the covenant of grace. In the Lord’s Supper the bread signifies the body of Christ and the wine signifies his blood. The Lord’s Supper as a whole signifies the believer’s participation in the benefits of Christ’s redemption.” Thus and thereby “spiritual realities are represented by material elements and external actions.”

So as we come to The Visible Word in just a few minutes, let us mediate on Christ and so realize the real spiritual presence of our God, “ who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Battles, Ford Lewis. Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Mathison, Keith A. Given For You.
Williamson & Vos. The Westminster Larger Catechism.
The Westminster Confession & Catechisms.
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