Lord’s Supper

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of union (Rom 6:3-5) and communion (1Cor. 10:16) with Christ. As a result, they signify union (1Cor. 12:13) and communion among believers as members of Christ’s spiritual body (1Cor. 10:17). Yet these symbols of unity have often become points of deep division...

U p to this point it has been shown that, for John Knox, the Lord’s Supper is ordained of God; Christ is truly, but spiritually present; and it is a great blessing, but a blessing that is reserved for God’s own people. Knox’s hatred (and that is not putting it too strongly) of the Mass has also...

S o far we have seen Knox’s rich and positive understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Now we turn to consider Knox’s view of what he called “that Papisticall abomination” – the Mass. Knox understood the central place that the Mass occupied in the theology and piety of the Roman Church. He stated that “...

I f the Lord’s Supper is a great blessing, then who should partake of it? In this sacrament, ordained of God, who should come to the table of the Lord? Knox was abundantly clear: "But the Supper of the Lord, we confess to appertain to such only as be of the household of faith, [and who] can try and...

A s we've seen so far in our survey of John Knox's theology of the Lord’s Supper ( part 1 , part 2 , part 3 ), it is ordained by God and Christ is present in the sacrament. It is also an inestimable blessing for God’s people and is for their benefit in many ways. Let me give a number of examples...

J ohn Knox’s position on the Lord’s Supper is most formally set forth in his 1550 A Summary, According to Holy Scriptures, of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper ( Works , 3:71-75.) This short work of only 3 pages is nonetheless full in its contents and provides real insight into Knox’s views. In...

H aving briefly surveyed the debates over the Lord’s Supper at the Reformation ( part 1 ), before proceeding to John Knox (1513-1572), it is important to consider the broader place the reform of worship had at the Reformation. The sacraments, of course, are an important part of worship and so, as...

J ohn Knox gave significant focus to the Lord’s Supper through his life, and there is much in Knox’s teaching that provides fruitful material for theological reflection. As such a series of posts will follow on various aspects of Knox’s understanding of the Lord Supper. However to set the scene...

I n my previous article , I discussed one of Stephen Marshall’s arguments for infant baptism: infants of believers (covenant children) should be baptized because they partake of the spiritual realities signified and sealed by baptism. This is not to say that all covenant children partake of the...

Exuberant over an experience, an oh-so-sweet manifestation of divine providence, you delightedly seek to give God praise in telling your story. “It was such a ‘God thing’,” you proclaim. As you see it, God wove together an otherwise inexplicable combination of events to deliver a wonderful—even...