Article XXVIII
The Lord’s Supper
Believers truly feed on Christ in a heavenly and spiritual manner.
The Article
OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
THE Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another; but rather is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ’s death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ. Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions. The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
In modern English
The Lord's Supper expresses the love Christians should have for one another. It is also a sacrament of our redemption through Christ's death. For those who receive rightly, worthily and with faith, the bread we break is participation in Christ's body, and the cup of blessing is participation in his blood. Transubstantiation—the change of the substance of bread and wine—cannot be proved from Scripture. The Article judges that it contradicts Scripture's plain words, undermines the nature of a sacrament and has given rise to many superstitions. Christ's body is given, received and eaten in the Supper in a heavenly and spiritual way. Faith is the means by which it is received and eaten. Christ did not establish the sacrament to be reserved, carried around, lifted up or worshipped.
Scripture readings
- 1 Corinthians 10:16–17
- 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
- John 6:35
Understand the teaching
A meal centred on Christ’s death
Article XXVIII describes the Lord's Supper as a sacrament of our redemption through Christ's death. Christian fellowship belongs to the meal, yet its centre is the saving work of Jesus. He gives the bread and cup to his disciples in connection with the body given and blood shed for them. The church receives these gifts in grateful dependence, remembering his death and proclaiming its meaning until he comes again.
First Corinthians 11:23–26 places the supper within the tradition Paul received concerning Jesus' final meal with his disciples. The command to remember concerns a continuing act of worship grounded in an event already accomplished. The meal does not add to the cross or repeat its sacrifice. Article XXXI will develop that point more fully. Here the emphasis is upon receiving the benefits of redemption through the means Christ appointed. The supper directs a hungry and dependent church towards the Saviour who has given himself for its life.
Real participation through the Spirit
The Article describes the bread and cup as a partaking of Christ's body and blood for those who receive rightly and with faith. This follows the language of 1 Corinthians 10:16. An Anglican reading should take participation seriously. At the table, believers receive genuine spiritual nourishment from Christ. The Holy Spirit makes communion with the risen Lord a present reality as faith receives his promise. Calling this spiritual does not make it imaginary or merely emotional.
The Article specifies a heavenly and spiritual manner of reception and identifies faith as the means by which Christ is received. That gives a clear direction for understanding his presence: the believer truly feeds upon Christ without requiring his body to be locally enclosed within the bread. The ascended Jesus remains the living giver of himself to his people. Our senses encounter bread and wine, while faith receives the reality to which his appointed signs and words direct us.
Why the Article rejects transubstantiation
Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic doctrine that the substance of bread and wine becomes the substance of Christ's body and blood while the sensible appearances remain. Fair discussion requires this distinction; Catholics are not claiming that communicants ordinarily see or taste human flesh. Article XXVIII nevertheless rejects that explanation as lacking scriptural proof, contradicting Scripture's plain words and undermining the nature of a sacrament. It also associates the doctrine with superstitious practices.
An Anglican explanation observes that Paul continues to speak of bread in his teaching about the meal, while sacramental signs can signify and communicate a reality without ceasing to be signs. Christians differ over the force of Jesus' words identifying the bread with his body. The Article's answer combines real participation with heavenly and spiritual reception. It declines a theory of material transformation while affirming genuine communion. This balance should keep Anglican teaching from drifting towards either an unexplained physical localisation or a thin account of the meal as only mental recollection.
Faith, reverence and proper use
The concluding sentence says that Christ did not ordain the sacrament to be reserved, carried about, lifted up or worshipped. Its historical concern includes the development of eucharistic practices that shifted attention towards viewing or adoring the consecrated elements. The Article directs attention towards the action Jesus appointed: taking, eating and drinking within the church's grateful remembrance of him. Different Anglican traditions have subsequently debated the implications for particular practices, including reservation for the sick.
Whatever those debates involve, the central pastoral direction is clear. Reverence should lead us to receive Christ's gift according to his promise. Faith does not require an intense feeling at the moment of reception. Nor does worthy reception mean achieving moral perfection. Confession, repentance, trust and love towards others form the fitting response of sinners coming for grace. Where a person is deliberately refusing reconciliation or cherishing serious sin, the meal calls that person to repentance. Where someone is weak and seeking Christ, it offers nourishment and encouragement.
Coming hungry and leaving reconciled
Imagine arriving at communion after a difficult week, conscious of impatience, failure and distracted prayer. The temptation may be to assess whether your spiritual performance has earned a place. The meal directs you towards what Jesus has done and invites an honest response to his grace. Confess what needs confession, seek reconciliation where necessary and receive with thankful trust. The strength of the gift comes from Christ, even when your grasp of it feels weak.
First Corinthians 10:17 also connects sharing one bread with belonging to one body. Receiving Christ while despising fellow Christians contradicts the meal's meaning. Communion therefore has implications for generosity, patience, racial and social divisions, and the way a church treats its least influential members. For leaders, teach both the saving focus and the communal implications of the supper. For every believer, let this repeated action shape a repeated pattern: receive grace, give thanks, pursue reconciliation and live as someone whose life is sustained by the crucified and risen Lord.
Bring it into everyday life
- How does receiving Communion by faith differ from attending it as a familiar routine?