The Lord’s Supper is not merely an outward ceremony of the Church, nor is it a custom observed only because generations of Christians have done so before us. It is a holy Sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in which He calls His people to remember His sacrifice, receive His promises, and come to His Table in faith.
On the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord took bread, gave thanks, brake it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” Likewise, He took the cup and declared, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (St. Luke 22:19–20)
These words direct us to the heart of the Sacrament: Christ Himself and His saving work upon the Cross. Yet the blessings signified in the Lord’s Supper are not approached carelessly or mechanically. They are received by faith.
Faith Looks to Christ
True faith does not rest merely upon the bread and wine that the eyes can see. It looks beyond the outward signs to the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His Body and shed His Blood for the redemption of sinners.
At the Holy Table, the Christian is called to remember not simply that Christ died, but that His sacrifice was offered for our salvation. The communicant therefore comes trusting in Christ’s mercy rather than in personal worthiness.
This is why the Lord’s Supper and faith cannot rightly be separated. The Sacrament directs us towards Christ, while faith lays hold upon the promises of God declared through it.
Our Lord said:
“He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”
— St. John 6:56
The faithful Christian therefore approaches the Lord’s Table seeking communion with Christ, trusting His Word and depending upon His grace.
The Anglican Teaching on Faith and the Sacrament
The historic Anglican formularies speak with particular clarity concerning the place of faith in receiving the Lord’s Supper.
Article XXVIII of the Thirty-Nine Articles declares:
“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.”
This teaching guards us from treating Holy Communion as though its spiritual benefit depended simply upon the outward act of eating and drinking. The outward elements are received bodily, but Christ is received spiritually through faith.
Faith, therefore, is not an optional preparation added to the Sacrament. It is the appointed means by which the faithful receive Christ and the benefits of His saving work.
Faith Is Not Presumption
To receive by faith does not mean approaching the Lord’s Table with confidence in ourselves. Christian faith is the very opposite of self-confidence. It recognises our sin and our need for divine mercy.
Before receiving Holy Communion, the Church therefore calls us to repentance, confession, charity towards our neighbours, and trust in God’s promises.
St. Paul warns:
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:28
Self-examination is not intended to drive the repentant believer away from the Table. Rather, it teaches us how we ought to come: acknowledging our sins, seeking forgiveness, and placing our confidence in Christ.
The familiar words of the Anglican Communion service express this humility beautifully:
“We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies.”
Here we find the proper disposition of faith. We do not come because we believe ourselves worthy. We come because Christ is merciful.
Remembering Christ by Faith
When our Lord commanded, “This do in remembrance of me,” He gave His Church more than an invitation to recall a distant historical event.
Christian remembrance is centred upon the saving acts of God. At the Lord’s Table, faith remembers Christ crucified and recognises that our hope of reconciliation with God rests entirely upon His finished work.
St. Paul writes:
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:26
The Lord’s Supper therefore looks in more than one direction. We look back to Calvary, where Christ offered Himself for us. We look to Him in faith as our risen and living Lord. And we look forward to His coming again.
Thus every faithful celebration of Holy Communion proclaims both the sacrifice of Christ and the Christian hope.
Faith Receives What God Promises
A Sacrament joins an outward and visible sign with an inward and spiritual grace. Bread and wine are received outwardly, but the faithful communicant looks to the spiritual reality to which they bear witness.
The Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer describes the inward part of the Lord’s Supper as:
“The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord’s Supper.”
The words “by the faithful” are significant. They remind us again that faith is essential to the fruitful reception of the Sacrament.
This faith does not create Christ’s promise. Nor does the strength of our feelings make the Sacrament effective. Faith simply receives what God graciously promises. A believer may approach the Table conscious of weakness, troubled by temptation, or burdened by sorrow, yet still come with genuine faith because that faith rests upon Christ rather than upon emotion.
The Lord’s Table Strengthens Faith
We come to the Lord’s Supper in faith, but we also come that our faith may be strengthened.
God knows our weakness. He has therefore not left His people with words alone, precious though His written Word is. In the Sacraments, His promises are joined to visible signs so that the faithful may be assured of His grace.
Holy Communion continually turns our attention away from ourselves and towards Christ. The bread reminds us of His Body given for us. The cup reminds us of His Blood shed for us. Together they proclaim the cost of our redemption and the certainty of God’s mercy towards those who trust in His Son.
For this reason, the Lord’s Supper has traditionally been understood as spiritual nourishment for the Christian life. Just as the body requires food, the soul needs continually to be strengthened by the grace of God.
Coming to the Table in Faith
How, then, should a Christian approach Holy Communion?
We come repentant, because we know ourselves to be sinners. We come reconciled, desiring to live in charity with others. We come humbly, because we possess no righteousness of our own by which we may claim God’s favour. Above all, we come believing.
Our confidence is not that we have prepared ourselves perfectly. Our confidence is that Jesus Christ died for sinners and that His promises are true.
The words spoken in the Anglican administration of Holy Communion beautifully unite the Sacrament with this faith:
“The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.”
And concerning the Cup:
“The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.”
The words “for thee” call for a personal response of faith. Christ’s sacrifice is not merely a doctrine to be discussed or an event to be remembered from afar. The faithful communicant is invited to trust in the Saviour who gave Himself for our redemption.
Until He Come
The Lord’s Supper belongs to the Church’s life between the Cross and the return of Christ.
We receive it remembering what Christ has accomplished, trusting what He promises, and awaiting what He shall yet fulfil. Every faithful Communion therefore carries within it the hope of His coming Kingdom.
Faith looks to Christ crucified. Faith rests upon Christ risen. Faith receives His promises. And faith waits for Christ to come again.
At His Table, the Church is continually reminded that salvation rests not upon human merit but upon the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. We come with empty hands, trusting not in ourselves but in Him.
And so the Lord’s Supper remains both a proclamation and a gift: a proclamation of “the Lord’s death till he come,” and a gracious means by which faithful Christians are strengthened in their communion with Christ and encouraged to continue steadfastly in Him.
For, as the Apostle teaches:
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
— 1 Corinthians 10:16