Pastoral Position Paper - Gene Leichty

Scripture provides a wonderful, sweeping view of God in relationship with His elect. The Bible states that we are sons of Abraham through faith. As sons, we share in the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God and the promises to the patriarchs. It is a rich inheritance. And from Genesis forward, God has held out certain signs and seals for the benefit of His people. Today, believers observe two rites instituted by Christ: baptism (Matthew 28:19, Gal. 3:27) and the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26-28, I Cor. 11:23-26). My desire in this essay is to bring to light a fuller, more glorious understanding of what is celebrated as we participate together in these sacraments. This can only be accomplished by looking through the long lens of history.

Let us begin by defining the word "Sacrament." It comes from the Latin word "sacra" meaning holy or sacred. John Calvin in The Institutes of the Christian Religion states that a sacrament is "an external sign, by which the Lord seals on our consciences his promise of good-will towards us, in order to sustain the weakness of our faith, and we, in turn, testify our piety toward him, both before himself, and before the angels as well as men." Augustine puts it more simply, describing sacraments as "visible forms of an invisible grace." These sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, are signs and seals, tangible reminders of man's covenant relationship with God.

Being given the definition of a sacrament, let's look at their necessity. Christ Himself, implemented the Lord's Supper and commanded that all who believe be baptized. These sacraments work both to establish and increase our faith. Baptism testifies that we are washed and purified. The Lord's Supper declares that we are redeemed. This purification and redemption are found only in Christ, who, John says, "came by water and by blood." Though the truth contained in the Word of God is sufficient for salvation, our merciful and wise Father has condescended to our fallen nature in giving us these two rites. Calvin says:

"Seeing how, from our animal nature we are always creeping on the ground, and cleaving to the flesh,
having no thought of what is spiritual, and not even forming an idea of it, he declines not by means of
these earthly elements to lead us to himself, and even in the flesh to exhibit a mirror of spiritual
blessings."

Christ said to his disciples in Matthew 26:26, "Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." This passage teaches us that the goal of this sacrament is to assure us (remind us) that the body of Christ was once sacrificed for us. And when we eat of the Lord's Supper, we may feel within ourselves the efficacy of that sacrifice. The whole energy of this sacrament, consists in these words, "It is broken for you. It is shed for you." And who is the "you" being referred to? Christ's atoning work on the cross was accomplished for the redemption of all those who would believe. The Son of God has justified all God's elect since the fall of man. Noah, David, the Apostle Paul and the believer today are all declared righteous through Christ's once-for-all sacrifice. As the Westminster Confession of faith summarizes:

"Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make
a second (Gal. 3:21, Rom. 8:3), commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein He freely offereth
unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved
(Mark 16:15-16, Rom. 10:6,9) and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life
His Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe (Ezek. 36:26, John 6:44-45). This covenant of
grace is frequently set forth in Scripture by the name of a testament, in reference to the death of Jesus
Christ the Testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all things belonging to it, therein bequeathed
(Heb. 9:15-17, 7:22, Luke 22:20, I Cor. 11:25).

To this point, we have defined "sacraments," discussed their necessity and established for whom these sacraments are intended. Let us now explore the fullness of what is commemorated as we partake in the sacraments. To do so, it is necessary to look at God's relationship with His people through history.

After man sinned in the Garden, God entered into a covenant of life with him. We call this the "Covenant of Grace." Christ's incarnation did not alter the covenant. His incarnation was the fulfillment of the covenant. While the covenant itself has not been altered, the administrations of the covenant have varied. In the Old Testament God revealed himself to men through various means. The rite of circumcision was given to Abraham and his descendants. To circumcision was added purifications and sacrifices under the Mosaic Law. Under the law, the covenant was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances given to Israel. God's chosen people looked forward to the promised one… a Messiah, through whom they had redemption and salvation. These were the sacraments of the Jews until Christ's incarnation. With the coming of the gospel, however, a new administration was instituted by Christ. The ordinances in which the covenant is now dispensed are the preaching of the Word and the administration of two sacraments - Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

There is a beautiful harmony between the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. A parallel between the types and figures under the law, and the things typified under the gospel - between the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures and the fulfilling of those prophecies. There is a shared history. The two sacraments of the Christian Church and the many sacraments under the old administration have the same end in view - to direct us to Christ. All of these sacraments are images to represent Him and, in a way, present Him for our understanding, fellowship and communion. The difference is that while the former shadowed forth a promised Christ, the Lord's Supper and Baptism bear testimony to his accomplished work. While the rites (sacraments) themselves have changed dramatically in form, their significance and the One to whom they point remains the same. God promised the Patriarchs that through the observance of the sacraments, all guilt and penalty that was incurred by transgression of the law would be covered. Calvin states that from the time of Abraham until today, "God has been pleased to use these ceremonies to train His people, first, to excite, cherish and strengthen their faith within and secondly to testify our religion to men."

And here is the glorious mystery set forth by the Divines in the Westminster Confession:
"Though fewer in number and administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, yet in them it
is held forth in more fullness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles;
and is called the New Testament."

Baptism and The Lord's Supper are more simplistic and have a diminished "outward glory" compared with the rites established by God for the Patriarchs. Yet in God's economy, this diminution of external glory results in a greater glory. Baptism fulfills not only circumcision, but all the washings of the Levitical cleanliness system (Lev. 11-16). In the same way, the Lord's Supper fulfills all the meals of the Old Testament. The Supper is our Feast of Booths and our Feast of Tabernacles. It is hardly a coincidence that the apostles began to daily celebrate the Lord's Supper at Pentecost - another Old Testament Feast. These feasts were public celebrations of the promises and faithfulness of God. Sacrifices were offered. We, too, celebrate the faithfulness of God and the fulfillment of His promises in Christ as we administer the sacraments. He is our paschal lamb - the once-for-all sacrifice. He is our Sabbath rest. Every administration of the Old Testament is beautifully contained (swallowed up) and fully realized in Christ. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the consummation of all the Old Testament sacraments.

The Church is exceedingly blessed. We see more clearly what was shrouded in darkness and obscurity to the Patriarchs. Messiah has come. Yet many believers today fail to see these connections between the sacraments of the Old and New Testaments. Christ said to his disciples, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20). In saying this, he was not dismissing the significance of the Old Testament sacraments instituted by His Father. God's people looked forward to Messiah as the future fulfillment of all the administrations - the promises, sacrifices and prophesy. We look back to the accomplished work of Christ on the cross. Sadly, we stop looking there. What I propose, both for the greater glory of God and our benefit, is that we look through the cross (not just to the cross). By attaching a 300mm lens to our understanding of Scripture, we can bring into view all Old Testament administrations as we partake in the sacraments. What a rich and glorious picture of God's faithfulness.