VII. De Coena Domini
The Controversy Stated
The chapter opens by explaining why the Zwinglian Sacramentarians must be addressed and then defines the central question: whether Christ's true body and blood are truly present in the Supper and received by all communicants, to life for the faithful and to judgment for the unbelieving.
Although the Zwinglian teachers shouldn't be counted among those theologians who acknowledge and profess the Augsburg Confession — after all, when that Confession was presented, they broke away from them — still, since they now craftily push their way into their assembly and try to spread their own error as widely as possible under the cover of that pious confession, we have judged that the church of God must be instructed on this controversy as well. The state of the controversy between us and the Sacramentarians on this article is this. The question is whether, in the holy Supper, the true body and true blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are truly and substantially present, and are distributed with the bread and wine, and are taken by the mouth by all those who partake of this Sacrament — whether they are worthy or unworthy, good or evil, faithful or unbelieving — yet in such a way that the faithful receive from the Lord's Supper consolation and life, while the unbelieving receive it to their judgment.✦✦ The Zwinglians deny this presence and the dispensing of Christ's body and blood in the holy Supper; we, on the other hand, affirm the very same thing.
Two Kinds of Sacramentarians
The confessors distinguish blunt deniers of the real presence from crafty ones who use orthodox-sounding language but reduce Christ's presence to a spiritual power while denying that his body is present with the bread and wine.
To explain this controversy thoroughly, you should first know that there are two kinds of Sacramentarians. Some Sacramentarians are quite blunt: they openly profess in plain and clear words what they feel in their hearts—namely, that in the Lord's Supper nothing more is present than bread and wine, and that these are distributed and received by the mouth. But others are crafty and cunning—and indeed the most harmful of all Sacramentarians: when they speak about the matter of the Lord's Supper, they make splendid use of our own words in part, and they put on a show of believing that they too accept the true presence of the real, substantial, and living Body and Blood of Christ in the sacred Supper; yet they say that this presence and eating is spiritual, accomplished through faith. And these latter Sacramentarians, under these splendid words, hide and hold on to the same crude opinion the earlier ones have—namely, that besides bread and wine, nothing more is present in the Lord's Supper and received by the mouth. For the word 'spiritually' means nothing else to them than the Spirit of Christ, or the power of Christ's absent body, and his merit, which they say is present; but they hold that Christ's body itself is in no way present at all, but is contained only up in the highest heaven: and they insist that we must rise up in the thoughts of faith and ascend into heaven, and that Christ's body and blood are to be sought there—and that in no way in connection with the bread and wine of the sacred Supper.
What We Believe and Confess
The affirmative confession declares the true, substantial presence and oral distribution of Christ's body and blood, insists on the literal force of the words of institution, attributes the presence solely to Christ's almighty power, and requires the public recitation of those words, grounding the whole in Luther's foundational arguments.
AFFIRMATIVE. A confession of sound doctrine concerning the Lord's Supper, against the Sacramentarians. I. We believe, we teach, and we confess that in the Lord's Supper the body and blood of Christ are truly and substantially present, and that together with the bread and wine they are truly distributed and received. II. We believe, teach, and confess that the words of Christ's testament are to be received in no other way than exactly as the words themselves sound out literally: so that bread does not signify the body of Christ as absent, nor wine the blood of Christ as absent; but rather, because of the sacramental union, the bread and wine truly are the body and blood of Christ.✦ III. Now as to the consecration, we believe, teach, and confess that no human action, nor any pronouncement by the minister of the Church concerning the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Supper, is the cause; but that this is to be attributed solely to the almighty power of our Lord Jesus Christ. IV. In the meantime, however, we believe, teach, and confess with one accord that in the observance of the Lord's Supper the words of Christ's institution are by no means to be left out, but are to be recited publicly, as it is written: 'The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?' etc. That blessing, however, is made through the recitation of Christ's words. V. Now the foundations we rely on in this matter against the Sacramentarians are these — which D. Luther placed in his longer confession concerning the Supper of the Lord.
Foundations from Christ and God's Word
The confession rests on four pillars: the personal union of true God and true man in Christ; Christ's session at the right hand of God, enabling his ubiquitous presence; the truthfulness of God's word; and God's freedom to be present beyond local, circumscribed limits.
The first foundation is an article of our Christian faith: namely, that Jesus Christ is true, essential, natural, and perfect God and man, in the unity of one person, inseparable and undivided. Second: since the right hand of God is everywhere, Christ, by virtue of his own humanity, is truly and actually seated there; and so he is present and governs all things, holding in his hand and under his feet, as Scripture says, everything that is in heaven and on earth.✦✦ No other human being, not even an angel, is seated at that right hand of God—only the Son of Mary; and from there he is able to bestow the things we have spoken of. Third: that the word of God is not false or a lie. Fourth: that God knows various ways and holds in his own power how he can be somewhere; nor is he bound to that single place which philosophers are accustomed to call 'local' or 'circumscribed.'
Eating with the Mouth
Christ's body and blood are received not only spiritually by faith but also orally, in a supernatural heavenly mode because of the sacramental union, as Scripture and the ancient teachers of the Church bear witness.
VI. We believe, teach, and confess that the body and blood of Christ are received not only spiritually through faith, but also with the mouth — yet not in the manner of Capernaum, but by a supernatural and heavenly mode, by reason of the sacramental union, together with the bread and wine. For the words of Christ clearly bear witness to this, in which he commands us to receive, to eat, and to drink — and that this was done by the apostles, Scripture records, saying: And they all drank from it.✦ And Paul says: The bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ — that is, whoever eats this bread eats the body of Christ.✦ The same truth is attested with great agreement by the most prominent of the Church's most ancient teachers: Chrysostom, Cyprian, Leo I, Gregory, Ambrose, and Augustine.
Worthy and Unworthy Guests
The unworthy communicant who does not believe truly receives Christ's body and blood to judgment, not life; yet weak but penitent believers do not eat to judgment, for the Supper was instituted precisely to console and strengthen trembling faith.
VII. We believe, we teach, and we confess that not only those who truly believe in Christ and who come worthily to the Lord's Supper, but also the unworthy and the faithless receive the true body and blood of Christ — yet in such a way that they receive from it neither consolation nor life, but rather, unless they turn back and repent, that very reception results for them in judgment and condemnation.12 Even though they push Christ away from themselves as their Savior, they are still forced to accept that same one—however unwillingly—as a stern judge. In fact, he exercises his present judgment on those unrepentant guests no less than he brings present consolation and life to the hearts of truly believing and worthy guests. VIII. We believe, teach, and confess that there is only one kind of unworthy guest: those alone are they who do not believe. Concerning this it is written: "Whoever does not believe is already judged."3 And this judgment is heaped up and made heavier by the unworthy use of the sacred Supper. IX. We believe, teach, and confess that no one who truly believes—as long as they hold onto living faith—takes the sacred Supper of the Lord to their judgment, no matter how greatly they struggle with weakness of faith. For the Supper of the Lord was instituted especially for those who are weak in faith, yet penitent, so that from it they might receive true consolation and confirmation of their own weak faith.
The Ground of Our Confidence
The whole dignity of the communicant rests not on human virtue or preparation but solely on Christ's merit, applied to us by true faith and sealed in the Sacrament.
10. We believe, we teach, and we confess that the whole dignity of the guests at this heavenly Supper consists in the most sacred obedience alone and the most perfect merit of Christ. This, then, we apply to ourselves by true faith, and through the application of this merit by means of the Sacrament we are made certain, and we are confirmed in our hearts. Not at all, however, does that dignity depend on our virtues, or on our internal or external preparations.
Errors We Reject
The confessors formally reject all erroneous articles that oppose the simplicity of sound doctrine and sincere confession concerning the Lord's Supper.
NEGATIVE. The rejection of teachings opposed to and condemned by the Sacramentarians. We reject and condemn, by unanimous agreement, all the erroneous articles we are about to recite—those that stand opposed to the remembered simplicity of sound doctrine, to the simplicity of faith, and to the sincere confession concerning the Lord's Supper.
Papist and Sacramentarian Abuses
Transubstantiation, the papal sacrifice of the Mass, withholding the cup from the laity, and twisting the clear words of Christ's testament are all condemned.
I. The papist doctrine of transubstantiation: namely, that in the papacy it is taught that the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper lose their substance and their natural essence, and so are annihilated, and that those elements are thus transmuted into the body of Christ, so that apart from the external appearances nothing of them remains. II. The papal sacrifice of the Mass, which is offered for the sins of the living and the dead. III. It is sacrilege to give laypeople only one part of the Sacrament: since, plainly against the expressed words of Christ's Testament, the cup is forbidden to them, and so they are robbed of the blood of Christ. IV. The teaching that the words of the testament of Jesus Christ are not to be understood simply or embraced by faith just as they sound — for they are obscure, and so their true meaning must be sought from other passages of Scripture.
Denials of Christ's True Presence
The confession condemns teachings that reduce the Supper to mere symbols, figures, or seals; that deny Christ's body is truly present with the bread; that confine Christ's body to heaven; that make faith rather than Christ's word the cause of the presence; that tell believers to seek Christ in heaven rather than in the Sacrament; and that make human preparation a ground of worthiness.
V. In the sacred Supper, the body of Christ is not consumed by the mouth along with the bread; but only bread and wine are received by mouth: the body of Christ, however, is consumed only spiritually, by faith assuredly. VI. The bread and wine in the Lord's Supper are only symbols or tokens by which Christians recognize one another. VII. The bread and wine are only figures, likenesses, and types of the body and blood of Christ — Christ being absent from us at an immense distance. VIII. Bread and wine are only signs, instituted for the sake of preserving the memory, which have the character of seals and pledges: by these it is confirmed to us that faith, when it ascends into heaven and is carried up there, becomes as truly a partaker of the body and blood of Christ as we truly eat bread and drink wine at the sacred supper.✦ IX. Our faith concerning salvation is certainly rendered and confirmed in the Lord's Supper — but not by those external signs alone, bread and wine; for the body and blood of Christ are by no means truly present in them. X. In the sacred Supper, only the power, the working, and the merit of the absent body and blood of Christ are dispensed. XI. Christ's body is so enclosed in heaven that it cannot be present at the same time in several or in all places on earth where the Lord's Supper is celebrated, by any means whatsoever. XII. Christ could neither promise nor offer the substantial presence of his own body and blood, since the very property of human nature he assumed can by no means bear or admit this. XIII. That God, even with the full weight of his almighty power, cannot bring it about — dreadful to say and dreadful to hear — that the body of Christ is substantially present in more places than one at the same time. XIV. It is not that almighty word of Christ's testament, but faith in the presence of Christ's body and blood in the sacred Supper, that is the cause. XV. The faithful shouldn't seek Christ's body and blood in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, but should lift their eyes to heaven and seek Christ's body there. XVI. Unbelieving and unrepentant Christians at the Lord's Supper receive not the true body and blood of Christ, but bread only and wine.
A Supernatural Mystery
The confession rejects the demand for external preparation as a ground of worthiness, the adoration of the elements, and crude Capernaitic caricatures of oral eating; it affirms a true yet supernatural eating and drinking of Christ's body and blood, which reason cannot grasp but which is revealed in God's word and received by faith alone.
17. The worthiness of those who come to this heavenly Supper depends not just on true faith in Christ, but also on the external preparation of the people. 18. Those who have and hold true, living faith in Christ can still receive this Sacrament to their judgment, because in their outward lives they are still imperfect. 19. The external, visible elements — bread and wine — are to be adored in the Sacrament. 20. Beyond these, by God's just judgment we set aside all curious questions laced with venomous mockery and blasphemy—things that cannot be spoken of honorably, reverently, and without grave offense—along with the rest of that talk: whenever the Sacramentarians speak crudely, carnally, in a Capernaite fashion, and in utterly abominable ways, blasphemously and with the greatest offense to the Church, about the supernatural and heavenly mystery of this Sacrament.✦45 XXI. We also completely reject and condemn the Capernaitic eating of Christ's body, which the Sacramentarians maliciously fabricate against us—against the testimony of their own conscience, despite our many protests—in order to make our teaching hated by their hearers: as if we teach that Christ's body is torn by teeth and, like any other food, digested in a human body.✦ We believe and affirm, based on the clear words of Christ's testament, a true yet supernatural eating of Christ's body—just as we also teach that Christ's blood is truly, yet supernaturally, drunk.✦ No one can comprehend these things through human senses or reason; therefore, in this matter, just as in other articles of faith, we must take our understanding captive to the obedience of Christ.✦ For this mystery is revealed in God's word alone, and grasped by faith alone.
Read the original Latin
Etsi Cingliani doctores non in eorum Theologorum numero, qui Augustanam Confessionem agnoscunt et profitentur, habendi sunt: quippe qui tum, cum illa Confessio exhiberetur, ab eis secessionem fecerunt: Tamen cum nunc sese in eorum coetum callide ingerant, erroremque suum sub praetextu piae illius confessionis quam latissime spargere conentur, etiam de hac controversia Ecclesiam Dei erudiendam iudicavimus.
Status controversiae, quae est inter nos et Sacramentarios, in hoc articulo. Quaeritur, an in sacra Coena verum corpus et verus sanguis Domini nostri Iesu Christi vere et substantialiter sint praesentia, atque cum pane et vino distribuantur, et ore sumantur, ab omnibus illis, qui hoc Sacramento utuntur: sive digni sint, sive indigni, boni aut mali, fideles aut infideles: ita tamen, ut fideles e coena Domini consolationem et vitam percipiant: infideles autem eam ad iudicium sumant. Cingliani hanc praesentiam et dispensationem corporis et sanguinis Christi in sacra coena negant: nos vero eandem asseveramus.
Ad solidam huius controversiae explicationem primum sciendum est, duo esse Sacramentariorum genera. Quidam enim sunt Sacramentarii crassi admodum: hi perspicuis et claris verbis id aperte profitentur, quod corde sentiunt: quod, videlicet, in coena Domini nihil amplius, quam panis et vinum sint praesentia, ibique distribuantur, et ore percipiantur. Alii autem sunt versuti et callidi, et quidem omnium nocentissimi Sacramentarii: hi de negotio coenae Dominicae loquentes, ex parte nostris verbis splendide admodum utuntur: et prae se ferunt, quod et ipsi veram praesentiam veri, substantialis, atque vivi corporis et sanguinis Christi in sacra Coena credant: eam tamen praesentiam et manducationem dicunt esse spiritualem, quae fiat fide. Et hi posteriores Sacramentarii sub his splendidis verbis eandem crassam, quam priores habent, opinionem occultant et retinent: quod videlicet praeter panem et vinum, nihil amplius in Coena Domini sit praesens, et ore sumatur. Vocabulum enim (spiritualiter) nihil aliud ipsis significat, quam spiritum Christi, seu virtutem absentis corporis Christi, eiusque meritum, quod praesens sit: Ipsum vero Christi corpus nullo prorsus modo esse praesens, sed tantummodo id sursum in supremo coelo contineri sentiunt: et affirmant oportere nos cogitationibus fidei sursum assurgere, inque coelum ascendere: et ibidem (nulla autem ratione cum pane et vino sacrae Coenae) illud corpus et sanguinem Christi quaerendum esse.
AFFIRMATIVA. Confessio sincerae doctrinae, de Coena Domini, contra Sacramentarios.
I. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, quod in Coena Domini, corpus et sanguis Christi vere et substantialiter sint praesentia: et quod una cum pane et vino vere distribuantur, atque sumantur.
II. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, verba Testamenti Christi non aliter accipienda esse, quam sicut verba ipsa ad literam sonant: ita, ne panis, absens Christi corpus, et vinum, absentem Christi sanguinem significent: sed ut propter sacramentalem unionem, panis et vinum vere sint corpus et sanguis Christi.
III. Iam quod ad Consecrationem attinet, credimus, docemus, et confitemur, quod nullum opus humanum, neque ulla ministri Ecclesiae pronuntiatio praesentiae corporis et sanguinis Christi in Coena, causa sit: sed quod hoc soli omnipotenti virtuti Domini nostri Iesu Christi sit tribuendum.
IV. Interim tamen unanimi consensu, credimus, docemus, et confitemur, in usu Coenae Dominicae verba institutionis Christi nequaquam omittenda, sed publice recitanda esse, sicut scriptum est: Calix benedictionis, cui benedicimus, nonne communicatio sanguinis Christi est? etc. Illa autem benedictio fit, per recitationem verborum Christi.
V. Fundamenta autem, quibus in hoc negotio contra Sacramentarios, nitimur, haec sunt: quae etiam D. Lutherus in maiore sua de Coena Domini confessione, posuit.
Primum fundamentum est articulus fidei nostrae Christianae: videlicet, Iesus Christus est verus, essentialis, naturalis, perfectus Deus et homo in unitate personae, inseparabilis et indivisus.
Secundum: quod Dextera Dei ubique est: ad eam autem Christus, ratione humanitatis suae, vere et reipsa, collocatus est: ideoque praesens gubernat, in manu sua, et sub pedibus suis, ut scriptura loquitur, habet omnia, quae in coelo sunt et in terra. Ad eam Dei dexteram nullus alius homo, ac ne Angelus quidem, sed solus Mariae filius collocatus est, unde et ea, quae diximus, praestare potest.
Tertium: quod verbum Dei non est falsum, aut mendax.
Quartum: quod Deus varios modos novit et in sua potestate habet, quibus alicubi esse potest: neque ad unicum illum alligatus est, quem Philosophi LOCALEM aut circumscriptum appellare solent.
VI. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, corpus et sanguinem Christi non tantum spiritualiter per fidem, sed etiam ore, non tamen Capernaitice, sed supernaturali et coelesti modo, ratione Sacramentalis unionis, cum pane et vino sumi. Hoc enim verba Christi perspicue testantur, quibus praecipit, accipere, edere, bibere: idque ab Apostolis factum esse, scriptura commemorat, dicens: Et biberunt ex eo omnes. Et Paulus inquit: Panis, quem frangimus, est communicatio corporis Christi: hoc est, qui hunc panem edit, corpus Christi edit. Idem magno consensu praecipui ex antiquissimis Ecclesiae doctoribus, Chrysostomus, Cyprianus, Leo primus, Gregorius, Ambrosius, Augustinus, testantur.
VII. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, quod non tantum vere in Christum credentes, et qui digne ad coenam Domini accedunt: verum etiam indigni et infideles verum corpus et sanguinem Christi sumant: ita tamen ut nec consolationem nec vitam inde percipiant, sed potius, ut illis sumtio ea ad iudicium et damnationem cedat, si non convertantur, et poenitentiam agant.
Etsi enim Christum, ut Salvatorem, a se repellunt, tamen eundem, licet maxime inviti, ut severum iudicem, admittere coguntur. Is vero non minus praesens iudicium suum, in convivis illis impoenitentibus, exercet, quam praesens consolationem et vitam in cordibus vere credentium et dignorum convivarum operatur.
VIII. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, unum tantum genus esse indignorum convivarum: ii sunt soli illi, qui non credunt. De his scriptum est: Qui non credit, iam iudicatus est. Et hoc iudicium indigno sacrae Coenae usu, cumulatur et aggravatur.
IX. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, quod nullus vere credentium, quam diu vivam fidem retinet, sacram Domini coenam ad iudicium sumat: quantacunque fidei imbecillitate laboret. Coena enim Domini inprimis propter infirmos in fide, poenitentes tamen, instituta est: ut ex ea veram consolationem et imbecillis fidei suae confirmationem percipiant.
X. Credimus, docemus, et confitemur, totam dignitatem convivarum coelestis huius Coenae in sola sacratissima obedientia et absolutissimo Christi merito consistere. Illud autem nobis vera fide applicamus, et de applicatione huius meriti per Sacramentum certi reddimur, atque in animis nostris confirmamur. Nequaquam autem dignitas illa ex virtutibus nostris, aut ex internis vel externis nostris praeparationibus pendet.
NEGATIVA. Contrariae et damnatae Sacramentariorum doctrinae reiectio.
Reiicimus atque damnamus unanimi consensu, omnes erroneos, quos iam recitabimus, articulos, ut qui commemoratae piae doctrinae, simplicitati fidei, et sincerae confessioni de Coena Domini repugnant.
I. Papisticam Transsubstantiationem: cum videlicet in Papatu docetur, panem et vinum in sacra Coena substantiam atque naturalem suam essentiam amittere, et ita annihilari: atque elementa illa ita in Christi corpus transmutari, ut praeter externas species nihil de iis reliquum maneat.
II. Papisticum Missae sacrificium, quod pro peccatis vivorum et mortuorum offertur.
III. Sacrilegium, quo Laicis una tantum pars sacramenti datur: cum nimirum contra expressa verba Testamenti Christi, calice illis interdicitur, atque ita sanguine Christi spoliantur.
IV. Dogma, quo docetur, quod verba Testamenti Iesu Christi non simpliciter intelligenda et fide amplectenda sint, uti sonant: ea enim obscura esse: ideoque verum eorum sensum ex aliis scripturae locis petendum esse.
V. Corpus Christi in sacra Coena non ore una cum pane sumi: sed tantum panem et vinum ore accipi: corpus vero Christi spiritualiter duntaxat, fide nimirum, sumi.
VI. Panem et vinum in Coena Domini tantummodo symbola seu tesseras esse, quibus Christiani mutuo sese agnoscant.
VII. Panem et vinum tantum esse figuras, similitudines, et typos, corporis et sanguinis Christi, longissimo intervallo a nobis absentis.
VIII. Panem et vinum tantummodo signa, memoriae conservandae gratia, instituta esse, quae sigillorum et pignorum rationem habeant: quibus nobis confirmetur, quod fides, cum in coelum illa ascendit, et evehitur, ibi tam vere corporis et sanguinis Christi particeps fiat, quam vere nos in sacra coena panem manducamus, et vinum bibimus.
IX. Fidem nostram de salute certam reddi et confirmari in coena Domini, non nisi signis illis externis, pane et vino: nequaquam autem vere praesentibus vero corpore et sanguine Christi.
X. In sacra coena duntaxat virtutem, operationem, et meritum absentis corporis et sanguinis Christi dispensari.
XI. Christi corpus ita coelo inclusum esse, ut nullo prorsus modo, simul, eodem tempore, pluribus aut omnibus locis in terris praesens esse possit, ubi coena Domini celebratur.
XII. Christum, substantialem corporis et sanguinis sui praesentiam neque promittere neque exhibere potuisse, quandoquidem id proprietas humanae ipsius naturae assumtae nequaquam ferre aut admittere possit.
XIII. Deum ne quidem universa sua omnipotentia (horrendum dictu et auditu) efficere posse, ut corpus Christi, uno eodemque tempore in pluribus, quam uno tantum loco, substantialiter praesens sit.
XIV. Non omnipotens illud verbum Testamenti Christi, sed fidem praesentiae corporis et sanguinis Christi in sacra Coena causam esse.
XV. Fideles corpus et sanguinem Christi non in pane et vino coenae Dominicae quaerere, sed oculos in coelum attollere, et ibi corpus Christi quaerere debere.
XVI. Infideles et impoenitentes Christianos in Coena Domini, non verum corpus et sanguinem Christi, sed panem tantum, et vinum sumere.
XVII. Dignitatem convivarum in hac coelesti Coena non ex sola vera in Christum fide, sed etiam ex praeparatione hominum externa pendere.
XVIII. Eos etiam, qui veram et vivam in Christum fidem habent, eamque retinent, nihilominus hoc sacramentum ad iudicium sumere posse: propterea quod in externa sua conversatione adhuc imperfecti sint.
XIX. Externa visibilia Elementa, panis et vini, in sacramento adoranda esse.
XX. Praeter haec, iusto Dei iudicio relinquimus omnes curiosas, sannis virulentis tinctas, et blasphemas quaestiones, quae honeste, pie, et sine gravi offensione recitari nequeunt, aliosque sermones: quando de supernaturali et coelesti Mysterio huius sacramenti, crasse, carnaliter, Capernaitice, et plane abominandis modis, blaspheme, et maximo cum Ecclesiae offendiculo, Sacramentarii loquuntur.
XXI. Prorsus etiam reiicimus atque damnamus Capernaiticam manducationem corporis Christi: quam nobis Sacramentarii contra suae conscientiae testimonium, post tot nostras protestationes, malitiose affingunt, ut doctrinam nostram apud auditores suos in odium adducant: quasi videlicet, doceamus, corpus Christi dentibus laniari, et instar alterius cuiusdam cibi, in corpore humano digeri. Credimus autem et asserimus, secundum clara verba Testamenti Christi, veram, sed supernaturalem manducationem corporis Christi: quemadmodum etiam vere, supernaturaliter tamen, sanguinem Christi bibi docemus. Haec autem humanis sensibus aut ratione nemo comprehendere potest: quare in hoc negotio, sicut et in aliis fidei articulis, intellectum nostrum in obedientiam Christi captivare oportet. Hoc enim mysterium in solo Dei verbo revelatur, et sola fide comprehenditur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.11.27-1Cor.11.29 — So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1Cor.11.28 — But let a person examine himself, and in this way let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 1Cor.11.29 — For the one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
- ↩John.6.53-John.6.54 — So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." John.6.54 — The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
- ↩Matt.26.26-Matt.26.28;Mark.14.22-Mark.14.24;Luke.22.19-Luke.22.20;1Cor.11.23-1Cor.11.25 — While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Matt.26.27 — And taking a cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. Matt.26.28 — For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Mark.14.22 — And while they were eating, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, 'Take; this is my body.' Mark.14.23 — And he took a cup, and having given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. Mark.14.24 — And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many." Luke.22.19 — And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' Luke.22.20 — In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." 1Cor.11.23 — For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 1Cor.11.24 — and having given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 1Cor.11.25 — In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
- ↩1Pet.3.22 — who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, with angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to him.
- ↩Eph.1.20-Eph.1.22 — which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places Eph.1.21 — far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come Eph.1.22 — And he put all things under his feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church.
- ↩Matt.26.27 — And taking a cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you.
- ↩1Cor.10.16 — The cup of blessing that we bless — is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break — is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
- ↩1Cor.11.23-1Cor.11.26 — For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 1Cor.11.24 — and having given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 1Cor.11.25 — In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 1Cor.11.26 — For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
- ↩John.6.52-John.6.59 — The Jews therefore argued among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" John.6.53 — So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." John.6.54 — The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John.6.55 — For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. John.6.56 — The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. John.6.57 — Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will live because of me. John.6.58 — This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever. John.6.59 — He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
- ↩John.6.52 — The Jews therefore argued among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
- ↩John.6.55 — For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
- ↩2Cor.10.5 — We destroy arguments and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin sumtio is a variant spelling of sumptio (reception/taking). Rendered as 'reception' to capture the act of receiving the sacramental species, distinct from percipiant (they receive back, i.e., the spiritual effect).
- 2 ↩The construction ita tamen ut...sed potius ut sets up a contrast between what the worthy receive (implied consolation and life) and what the unworthy receive (judgment). The two ut-clauses are result clauses; the adversative sed potius marks the turn.
- 3 ↩Candidate allusion to John 3:18 (Qui non credit, iam iudicatus est); final resolution deferred to Moses stage.
- 4 ↩The rare Latin noun 'sannis' (mockery, jeering) is rendered as 'mockery' to capture the venomous and scoffing tone intended by the author.
- 5 ↩'Capernaite fashion' translates 'Capernaitice', an adverb referring to the crude, purely physical misunderstanding of eating Christ's flesh by the synagogue-goers in Capernaum (John 6:52-59).
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