The Eucharist
Definition of Terms:
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The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is central to early Christian theology, rooted in both Scripture and tradition, and was formally articulated through centuries of Church teaching. At the heart of this belief is the doctrine of transubstantiation, which holds that during the Mass, the bread and wine become the actual Body and Blood of Christ, even though their outward appearances remain unchanged. This understanding of the Eucharist is not a symbolic or metaphorical presence but a substantial and real one, affirmed by Christ’s own words, biblical typology, and the testimony of the early Church.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, and declares, “This is my body,” and similarly with the wine, “This is my blood” (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20). These statements are direct and unequivocal; Jesus does not say, “This symbolizes my body,” but rather identifies the bread and wine with His very person. The intensity of this claim is reinforced in John 6, where Jesus teaches about the Bread of Life. In a lengthy discourse, He tells His followers;
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).
When the Jews challenge Him, He does not retreat or explain His words metaphorically but intensifies them:
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54).
Many disciples, unable to accept this hard teaching, abandon Him. Jesus lets them go, which suggests that His teaching was literal and not symbolic; had it been the latter, He could have clarified the misunderstanding, but He did not. This is the only time when disciples leave him over one of His teachings.
The early Church also saw a deep connection between the Old and New Testament in the Eucharistic theology. The Eucharist is prefigured in the Old Testament by various types and symbols. The Passover meal is one of the clearest types, where a lamb is sacrificed, and its flesh is eaten in order for the Israelites to be saved (Exodus 12). Christ is the true Paschal Lamb, whose sacrifice on the cross redeems humanity. Just as the Israelites had to eat the flesh of the lamb, so too do Christians partake of the true Lamb in the Eucharist. Another significant foreshadowing is the manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16), which sustained the Israelites during their journey. In John 6, Jesus compares Himself to the manna, saying, “Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (John 6:58). This emphasizes that the Eucharist is not merely spiritual sustenance but the true Bread from Heaven that gives eternal life.
The depiction of Christ as both the High Priest in the Letter to the Hebrews and the Lamb in the Book of Revelation reveals the profound mystery of His eternal self-offering to the Father, and it is this continual offering that enables Christians to participate in the same sacrifice as Calvary through the Eucharist. These theological images together illuminate how Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, though a historical event, transcends time and space and is made present perpetually in the life of the Church.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, Christ is identified as the eternal High Priest, one who surpasses the priesthood of the Old Covenant. The author writes,
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11-12).
Christ’s priesthood is unique because, unlike the priests of the Old Covenant who offered repeated sacrifices of animals, Christ offers Himself once for all, but that offering is eternally present. He does not need to offer Himself again and again, because His single offering is perfect and eternal, not bound by time. Hebrews 7:24-25 underscores the eternal nature of His priesthood:
“He holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
The role of Christ as High Priest is inseparable from His role as the sacrificial victim, the Lamb of God. In Revelation, Christ is portrayed as the Lamb who was slain but is now victorious, seated at the right hand of the Father. John describes his vision of heaven: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne” (Revelation 5:6). The fact that Christ is depicted as eternally slain yet standing signifies that His sacrificial death, although it happened once in history, has perpetual efficacy. He continues to offer Himself before the Father in His glorified humanity as both the Priest and the Lamb. This eternal self-offering is central to the Christian understanding of the Eucharist, where the same sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is made present for the faithful to partake.
Because Christ’s sacrifice is perpetual, Christians can mystically participate in it through the Eucharist. In the Catholic understanding, the Mass is not a new sacrifice but a re-presentation of the one sacrifice of Calvary. The Council of Trent articulated this truth, stating that Christ
“left to His beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice… by which the bloody sacrifice which was once to be accomplished on the cross might be represented, and the memory of it might remain until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the remission of the sins which we daily commit” (Council of Trent, Session 22, Chapter 1).
Thus, when Catholics participate in the Eucharist, they are not simply recalling or memorializing Christ’s death, but they are truly entering into the one eternal sacrifice, made present through the liturgy. This understanding is rooted in the words of Christ at the Last Supper. When Jesus said, “This is my body, which is given for you” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20), He was instituting the Eucharist as the means by which His followers would share in His sacrifice. The Church teaches that in the Eucharist, the faithful are united with Christ’s offering to the Father. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
“The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: ‘The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different’” (CCC 1367).
Therefore, in the Eucharist, Christians are united not only with Christ’s Body and Blood but also with His eternal act of self-offering to the Father. This unity with Christ is also reflected in St. Paul’s teaching on the Church as the Body of Christ. Paul writes;
“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:17).
The Eucharist not only unites the faithful with Christ but also with one another, making the Church truly the Body of Christ. Through communion, Christians participate in Christ’s priestly offering and, as a body, offer themselves along with Christ as a “spiritual sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). This sacrificial dimension of the Christian life is beautifully summarized by St. Augustine, who wrote;
“The whole Church, redeemed by the blood of Christ, is offered to God as a universal sacrifice” (City of God, Book 10, Chapter 6).
Thus, by partaking in the Eucharist, Christians are drawn into Christ’s sacrifice, offering themselves in union with Him to the Father.
St. Thomas Aquinas further explores this mystery, emphasizing that the Eucharist not only re-presents Christ’s sacrifice but also transforms those who receive it into members of His Body. In his Summa Theologica, he writes,
“The effect of this sacrament is the unity of the mystical body, without which there can be no salvation” (Summa Theologica, III, Q. 73, Art. 3).
For Aquinas, the Eucharist is the means by which the Church is made one in Christ and through which believers are incorporated into His eternal offering. Aquinas also emphasizes that the Eucharist, as a sacrament of Christ’s Passion, “contains in itself Christ who suffered” and that it “has an infinite power for the remission of sins” (Summa Theologica, III, Q. 79, Art. 5).
In this sense, Christ’s role as High Priest and sacrificial Lamb is not merely an event in the past but an ongoing reality in which Christians are invited to participate. Every time the Eucharist is celebrated, the faithful enter into the same mystery of Christ’s self-offering, sharing in His sacrifice and receiving the grace of His redemption. This allows Christians to continually offer themselves in union with Christ, as St. Paul urges:
“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).
The Church Fathers, Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote in his letter to the Smyrnaeans (circa 110 AD),
“They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again” (Smyrnaeans 7:1).
This unequivocal statement from one of the earliest Christian leaders confirms that the Real Presence was not a later invention but part of the apostolic faith. Similarly, Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (circa 155 AD), explains,
“For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word…is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh” (First Apology, 66).
These writings demonstrate that the early Christians held a belief in the Real Presence, understanding the Eucharist as a mystery in which Christ truly became present. This understanding was developed further by Thomas Aquinas, who articulated the doctrine of transubstantiation with philosophical precision. In his Summa Theologica, Aquinas writes, “Since Christ’s true body and blood are in this sacrament, it follows that the whole Christ is under each species of the sacrament” (Summa Theologica, III, Q. 76, Art. 2). He explains that the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the substance of Christ’s body and blood, while the accidents (or appearances) remain. For Aquinas, this is a miracle that cannot be fully comprehended by human reason but is accepted on the authority of Christ’s words: “This is my body.” He also reflects on the spiritual fruit of the Eucharist, writing, “The proper effect of this sacrament is the conversion of man into Christ” (Summa Theologica, III, Q. 79, Art. 1). For Aquinas, the Eucharist is not only Christ’s real presence but also a means of transformation for the believer.
Belief in the Eucharist faced significant challenges during the Protestant Reformation. Reformers like Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin developed differing views on the Eucharist. Luther maintained a belief in the Real Presence, but in a modified form known as consubstantiation. He argued that Christ’s body and blood are present “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, but that the substances of bread and wine remain. Luther rejected transubstantiation but retained the conviction that the Eucharist involved more than a mere symbol. In contrast, Zwingli completely rejected the Real Presence, viewing the Eucharist as a symbolic memorial. For Zwingli, Christ’s words at the Last Supper were metaphorical, and the Eucharist served to commemorate Christ’s sacrifice rather than making it present. Calvin took a middle position, rejecting transubstantiation and consubstantiation but affirming a “spiritual presence” of Christ in the Eucharist. He believed that the faithful receive Christ spiritually through faith when they partake of the Eucharist. The Catholic Church responded to these challenges most definitively at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), where it reaffirmed the doctrine of transubstantiation.
Bible Verses:
John 6:50-68
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” 66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Luke 22:19-20
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
1 Corinthians 11:23-29
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.
Church Father Quotes:
St. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.)
“I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ . . . and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible” (Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).
“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 [A.D. 110]).
St. Justin Martyr
“For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus” (First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).
St. Irenaeus of Lyons
“If the Lord were from other than the Father, how could he rightly take bread, which is of the same creation as our own, and confess it to be his body and affirm that the mixture in the cup is his blood?” (Against Heresies 4:33–32 [A.D. 189]).
“He has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own blood, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established as his own body, from which he gives increase unto our bodies. When, therefore, the mixed cup [wine and water] and the baked bread receives the Word of God and becomes the Eucharist, the body of Christ, and from these the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they say that the flesh is not capable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life—flesh which is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord, and is in fact a member of him?” (ibid., 5:2).
Tertullian of Carthage
“[T]here is not a soul that can at all procure salvation, except it believe whilst it is in the flesh, so true is it that the flesh is the very condition on which salvation hinges. And since the soul is, in consequence of its salvation, chosen to the service of God, it is the flesh which actually renders it capable of such service. The flesh, indeed, is washed [in baptism], in order that the soul may be cleansed . . . the flesh is shadowed with the imposition of hands [in confirmation], that the soul also may be illuminated by the Spirit; the flesh feeds [in the Eucharist] on the body and blood of Christ, that the soul likewise may be filled with God” (The Resurrection of the Dead 8 [A.D. 210]).
St. Hippolytus of Rome
“‘And she [Wisdom] has furnished her table’ [Prov. 9:2] . . . refers to his [Christ’s] honored and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever-memorable table of the spiritual divine supper [i.e., the Last Supper]” (Fragment from Commentary on Proverbs [A.D. 217]).
Origen of Alexandria
“Formerly, in an obscure way, there was manna for food; now, however, in full view, there is the true food, the flesh of the Word of God, as he himself says: ‘My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink’ [John 6:55]” (Homilies on Numbers 7:2 [A.D. 248]).
St. Cyprian of Carthage
“He [Paul] threatens, moreover, the stubborn and forward, and denounces them, saying, ‘Whosoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’ [1 Cor. 11:27]. All these warnings being scorned and contemned—[lapsed Christians will often take Communion] before their sin is expiated, before confession has been made of their crime, before their conscience has been purged by sacrifice and by the hand of the priest, before the offense of an angry and threatening Lord has been appeased, [and so] violence is done to his body and blood; and they sin now against their Lord more with their hand and mouth than when they denied their Lord” (The Lapsed 15–16 [A.D. 251]).
St. Aphrahat the Persian Sage
“After having spoken thus [at the Last Supper], the Lord rose up from the place where he had made the Passover and had given his body as food and his blood as drink, and he went with his disciples to the place where he was to be arrested. But he ate of his own body and drank of his own blood, while he was pondering on the dead. With his own hands the Lord presented his own body to be eaten, and before he was crucified he gave his blood as drink” (Treatises 12:6 [A.D. 340]).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
“The bread and the wine of the Eucharist before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, but the invocation having been made, the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine the blood of Christ” (Catechetical Lectures 19:7 [A.D. 350]).
“Do not, therefore, regard the bread and wine as simply that; for they are, according to the Master’s declaration, the body and blood of Christ. Even though the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm. Do not judge in this matter by taste, but be fully assured by the faith, not doubting that you have been deemed worthy of the body and blood of Christ. . . . [Since you are] fully convinced that the apparent bread is not bread, even though it is sensible to the taste, but the body of Christ, and that the apparent wine is not wine, even though the taste would have it so, . . . partake of that bread as something spiritual, and put a cheerful face on your soul” (ibid., 22:6, 9).
St. Ambrose of Milan
“Perhaps you may be saying, ‘I see something else; how can you assure me that I am receiving the body of Christ?’ It but remains for us to prove it. And how many are the examples we might use! . . . Christ is in that sacrament, because it is the body of Christ” (The Mysteries 9:50, 58 [A.D. 390]).
Theodore of Mopsuestia
“When [Christ] gave the bread he did not say, ‘This is the symbol of my body,’ but, ‘This is my body.’ In the same way, when he gave the cup of his blood he did not say, ‘This is the symbol of my blood,’ but, ‘This is my blood’; for he wanted us to look upon the [Eucharistic elements] after their reception of grace and the coming of the Holy Spirit not according to their nature, but receive them as they are, the body and blood of our Lord. We ought . . . not regard [the elements] merely as bread and cup, but as the body and blood of the Lord, into which they were transformed by the descent of the Holy Spirit” (Catechetical Homilies 5:1 [A.D. 405]).
St. Augustine of Hippo
“Christ was carried in his own hands when, referring to his own body, he said, ‘This is my body’ [Matt. 26:26]. For he carried that body in his hands” (Explanations of the Psalms 33:1:10 [A.D. 405]).
“I promised you [new Christians], who have now been baptized, a sermon in which I would explain the sacrament of the Lord’s Table. . . . That bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ” (Sermons 227 [A.D. 411]).
“What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the body of Christ and the chalice is the blood of Christ” (ibid., 272).
The Council of Ephesus
“We will necessarily add this also. Proclaiming the death, according to the flesh, of the only-begotten Son of God, that is Jesus Christ, confessing his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into heaven, we offer the unbloody sacrifice in the churches, and so go on to the mystical thanksgivings, and are sanctified, having received his holy flesh and the precious blood of Christ the Savior of us all. And not as common flesh do we receive it . . . but as truly the life-giving and very flesh of the Word himself.” (Session 1, Letter of Cyril to Nestorius [A.D. 431]).
Non-Catholic Quotes:
J. N. D. Kelly, renowned Protestant historian of the early Church
“Eucharistic teaching, it should be understood at the outset, was in general unquestioningly realist, i.e., the consecrated bread and wine were taken to be, and were treated and designated as, the Savior’s body and blood” –Early Christian Doctrines, pg 440
“Ignatius roundly declares that . . . [t]he bread is the flesh of Jesus, the cup his blood. Clearly he intends this realism to be taken strictly, for he makes it the basis of his argument against the Docetists’ denial of the reality of Christ’s body. . . . Irenaeus teaches that the bread and wine are really the Lord’s body and blood. His witness is, indeed, all the more impressive because he produces it quite incidentally while refuting the Gnostic and Docetic rejection of the Lord’s real humanity” –Early Christian Doctrines pg. 197–98.
Martin Luther, Father of the Protestant Reformation
“Sooner than have mere wine with the fanatics, I would agree with the pope that there is only blood.” (Confession Concerning Christ’s Supper, 1528)
“[S]ince we are confronted by God’s words, ‘This is my body’ – distinct, clear, common, definite words, which certainly are no trope, either in Scripture or in any language — we must embrace them with faith … not as hairsplitting sophistry dictates but as God says them for us, we must repeat these words after him and hold to them” (Ibid.)
“There we have it! This is clear, plain, and unconcealed: ‘I am speaking of My flesh and blood.’ … There we have the flat statement which cannot be interpreted in any other way than that there is no life, but death alone, apart from His flesh and blood if these are neglected or despised. How is it possible to distort this text? … You must note these words and this text with the utmost diligence … It can neither speciously be interpreted nor avoided and evaded” (Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8, 1532).
“I confess that if Karlstadt, or anyone else, could have convinced me five years ago that only bread and wine were in the sacrament he would have done me a great service. At that time I suffered such severe conflicts and inner strife and torment that I would gladly have been delivered from them. I realized that at this point I could best resist the papacy … But I am a captive and cannot free myself. The text is too powerfully present, and will not allow itself to be torn from its meaning by mere verbiage (Letter to the Christians at Strassburg in Opposition to the Fanatic Spirit, 1524).
“Even if we had no other passage than this we could sufficiently strengthen all consciences and sufficiently overcome all adversaries …“… The bread which is broken or distributed piece by piece is the participation in the body of Christ. It is, it is, it is, he says, the participation in the body of Christ. Wherein does the participation in the body of Christ consist? It cannot be anything else than that as each takes a part of the broken bread he takes therewith the body of Christ …“He could not have spoken more clearly and strongly …” (Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and Sacraments, 1525).
John Calvin, Protestant Reformer
“If there is nothing in heaven or earth of greater value and dignity than the body and blood of our Lord, it is no small error to take it inconsiderately and without being well prepared.” (Calvin’s Short Treatise on the Holy Supper).
“the substance of the sacraments is the Lord Jesus . . . It is necessary, then, that the substance should be conjoined with these, otherwise nothing would be firm or certain. Hence we conclude that two things are presented to us in the Supper, viz., Jesus Christ as the source and substance of all good; and, secondly, the fruit and efficacy of his death and passion.” -John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 11. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“all the benefit which we should seek in the Supper is annihilated if Jesus Christ be not there given to us as the substance and foundation of all.” –-John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 12. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“in order to have our life in Christ our souls must feed on his body and blood as their proper food. This, then, is expressly attested in the Supper, when of the bread it is said to us that we are to take it and eat it, and that it is his body, and of the cup that we are to drink it, and that it is his blood. This is expressly spoken of the body and blood, in order that we may learn to seek there the substance of our spiritual life.” -John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 13. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“Thus it is with the communion which we have in the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. It is a spiritual mystery which can neither be seen by the eye nor comprehended by the human understanding. It is therefore figured to us by visible signs, according as our weakness requires, in such manner, nevertheless, that it is not a bare figure but is combined with the reality and substance. It is with good reason then that the bread is called the body, since it not only represents but also presents it to us . . . the sacraments of the Lord should not and cannot be at all separated from their reality and substance.” –John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 16. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“We must confess, then, that if the representation which God gives us in the Supper is true, the internal substance of the sacrament is conjoined with the visible signs; and as the bread is distributed to us by the hand, so the body of Christ is communicated to us in order that we may be made partakers of it. Though there should be nothing more, we have good cause to be satisfied, when we understand that Jesus Christ gives us in the Supper the proper substance of his body and blood, in order that we may possess it fully, and possessing it have part in all his blessings.” –-John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 17. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“. . . feeding on his own substance.” -John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 18. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“. . . the reality and substance of the Supper . . . “ -John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 30. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“. . . the presence and conjunction of the reality with the sign (of which we have spoken, and will again speak) is well understood.” –-John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 43. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“Zuinglius and Œcolompadius . . . forgot to show what presence of Jesus Christ ought to be believed in the Supper, and what communion of his body and blood is `there received’ . . . Luther thought that they meant to leave nothing but the bare signs without their spiritual substance. Accordingly he began to resist them to the face, and call them heretics.” -John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 56-57. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“. . . on receiving the sacrament in faith, according to the ordinance of the Lord, we are truly made partakers of the proper substance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.” -John Calvin’s ‘Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper’ 60. The 1536 and 1539 Edition. MONERGISM BOOKS: A Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity by John Owen, Copyright © 2020
“The presence of Christ in the Supper we must hold to be such as neither affixes him to the element of bread, nor encloses him in bread, nor circumscribes him in any way, (this would obviously detract from his celestial glory;) and it must, moreover, be such as neither divests him of his just dimensions, nor dissevers him by differences of place, nor assigns to him a body of boundless dimensions, diffused through heaven and earth . . . But when these absurdities are discarded, I willingly admit any thing which helps to express the true and substantial communication of the body and blood of the Lord, as exhibited to believers under the sacred symbols of the Supper, understanding that they are received not by the imagination or intellect merely, but are enjoyed in reality as the food of eternal life.” –Institutes on the Christian Religion
(Beveridge translation) Book IV, 17:19.
“We say that Christ descends to us, as well by the external symbol as by his Spirit, that he may truly quicken our souls by the substance of his flesh and blood.” Institutes on the Christian Religion
(Beveridge translation) Book IV, 17:24.
“Still I am free to confess that that mixture or transfusion of the flesh of Christ with our souls which they teach I repudiate, because it is enough for us, that Christ, out of the substance of his flesh, breathes life into our souls, nay, diffuses his own life into us, though the real flesh of Christ does not enter us.” Institutes on the Christian Religion
(Beveridge translation) Book IV, 17:32.