Article XXIX
Receiving without living faith
Outward participation and sharing in Christ are distinct.
The Article
OF THE WICKED WHICH EAT NOT THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THE USE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
THE Wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as Saint Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ: but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or Sacrament of so great a thing.
In modern English
Wicked people and those without living faith may physically eat and drink the sacramental signs of Christ's body and blood, as Augustine describes. However, they do not thereby participate in Christ. Instead, by eating and drinking the sign of so great a gift without living faith, they bring condemnation upon themselves.
Scripture readings
- 1 Corinthians 11:27–32
- John 6:53–58
- 2 Corinthians 13:5
Understand the teaching
Outward reception and inward participation
Article XXIX makes a distinction that protects both the seriousness of communion and the meaning of faith. A person can receive the outward bread and wine without becoming a participant in Christ. Physical eating does not guarantee spiritual communion. The Article describes those who lack a living faith as receiving the sign while failing to receive the saving reality signified. Its concern is the relationship between the outward sacrament and the believer's inward response to Christ.
Read this alongside Article XXVIII. The previous Article identifies faith as the means of receiving Christ's body in a heavenly and spiritual manner. Article XXIX draws out the consequence: without living faith, the outward action alone does not confer that participation. The teaching is especially significant in distinguishing this Reformed Anglican account from accounts in which every communicant receives Christ's body in the same way, although with different results. In these Articles, receiving the sacramental elements and truly feeding upon Christ remain related yet distinguishable realities.
What living faith means
A living faith is a real reliance upon Jesus that bears fruit through the Holy Spirit. It need not be emotionally vivid, intellectually sophisticated or free from questions. The language of life points towards the authenticity of the relationship. James 2 criticises a claimed faith that refuses practical love, while Galatians 5:6 connects faith with its expression through love. The Articles likewise connect good works with faith's fruit while refusing to make those works the basis of justification.
This helps us avoid two mistakes. Someone cannot treat communion as a religious guarantee while deliberately rejecting Christ's authority. Equally, a struggling believer should not conclude that weakness proves an absence of faith. The person who prays for help, confesses sin and seeks the Saviour is responding in a very different way from someone who has settled into indifference or contempt. The table is a place where genuine, imperfect faith can be strengthened. The issue concerns reliance upon Christ, rather than a measurable intensity of spiritual confidence.
The warning in Corinth
First Corinthians 11:17–34 supplies the main biblical warning. The Corinthian gathering displayed damaging divisions. Some ate freely while others were humiliated and went hungry. Paul describes a manner of participation that contradicts the Lord's death and the identity of his people. He calls believers to examine themselves and recognise the body. The precise scope of that phrase has been debated, but the surrounding argument certainly includes the treatment of fellow members of the church.
Paul's response should be read carefully: self-examination leads into eating and drinking rightly. He aims at repentance and restored participation. He also describes divine discipline with a purpose that distinguishes it from condemnation with the world. Article XXIX uses severe language about condemnation to emphasise the danger of unbelieving reception. It should be taught with Paul's pastoral aim in view. A serious warning can awaken someone to grace; it becomes distorted when it leaves sincere believers endlessly inspecting themselves without ever approaching the Christ who welcomes repentant sinners.
Augustine and the reality signified
The Article explicitly refers to Augustine and the physical pressing of the sacrament with the teeth. The vivid image separates bodily contact with the sign from sharing in Christ. Appealing to an early church father also shows that the Reformers wanted to demonstrate continuity with the ancient church. They argued about how earlier Christian teaching should be read, rather than assuming that everything before the Reformation was worthless or corrupt.
Historical quotations still require context, and other Christian traditions interpret patristic sacramental language differently. The relevant point for this course is what the Article itself affirms: an unbelieving recipient does not become a partaker of Christ through outward consumption alone. This reinforces the need for intelligible gospel teaching alongside the sacrament. A congregation should understand whom it receives, why his death matters and what repentance and faith involve. Ceremony detached from explanation can encourage precisely the mechanical confidence that the Article challenges, however impressive or familiar the ceremony may feel.
A warning that should lead towards Christ
Imagine two people approaching communion. One feels ashamed of recent failures, asks forgiveness and longs to trust Jesus more fully. Another regards faith as irrelevant but assumes that regular attendance and receiving the bread will secure God's approval. The Article's warning addresses the second person's assumption. It gives the first person a reason to bring their weakness honestly to Christ. These are illustrations of differing attitudes, and ministers cannot simply read the hidden condition of another person's heart.
Pastoral care should therefore combine clear invitations, clear teaching and patient conversation. Persistent public wrongdoing may require appropriate church discipline, while private anxieties often need reassurance from the gospel. For personal preparation, ask whether you are turning towards Christ, confessing what you know to be wrong and seeking peace with others. Then receive his appointed gift with gratitude. Healthy self-examination reaches a practical response: repentance, trust and renewed love. The purpose is that believers truly share in the Lord whom the sacrament proclaims and return to daily life nourished by his grace.
Bring it into everyday life
- What would honest, hopeful self-examination before Communion involve for you?