{"id":331,"date":"2025-12-20T01:12:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T01:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bettergatherings.com.au\/?page_id=331"},"modified":"2025-12-22T15:12:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:12:49","slug":"learning-from-the-communion-service","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bettergatherings.com.au\/?page_id=331","title":{"rendered":"Learning from the Communion Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Learning from the 39 Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018The Order for the Administration of the Lord\u2019s Supper or Holy Communion\u2019 is not specifically discussed in the prefaces of the Prayer Book, but something of its theological significance is set forth in Articles 25-31. It is important to read these to get a full picture of<em>&nbsp;the biblical and Reformed theology reflected in the liturg<\/em>y. These are printed as \u2018The Articles of Religion\u2019 at the back of the Prayer Book and in modern versions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only two \u2018sacraments\u2019 are recognised as having been ordained by Christ, namely<em>&nbsp;Baptism<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>the Lord\u2019s Suppe<\/em>r. These are described as \u2018badges or tokens\u2019 of our profession to one another, and also as certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God\u2019s will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him.\u2019 There is thus&nbsp;<em>a horizontal and a vertical dimension to these ordinances<\/em>. The unworthiness of ministers does not hinder the effect of a sacrament, \u2018because of Christ\u2019s institution and promise\u2019. Critically, these \u2018signs of grace\u2019 must be received&nbsp;<em>by faith<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lord\u2019s Supper is described as \u2018a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another\u2019, and also as \u2018a sacrament of our redemption by Christ\u2019s 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\u2019 (1 Corinthians 10:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Various aspects of Medieval Catholic teaching are denied, such as transubstantiation (the supposed change of the substance of the bread and wine), and the sacrifice of masses (the view that the priest offers or re-presents the sacrifice of Christ to the Father). Positively, it is claimed that, \u2018the 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.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">Next: <a href=\"https:\/\/bettergatherings.com.au\/?page_id=20\">Theological significance in the prayers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learning from the 39 Articles \u2018The Order for the Administration of the Lord\u2019s Supper or Holy Communion\u2019 is not specifically discussed in the prefaces of the Prayer Book, but something of its theological significance is set forth in Articles 25-31. It is important to read these to get a full picture of&nbsp;the biblical and Reformed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-331","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Learning from the Communion Service - Better Gatherings<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bettergatherings.com.au\/?page_id=331\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learning from the Communion Service - Better Gatherings\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learning from the 39 Articles \u2018The Order for the Administration of the Lord\u2019s Supper or Holy Communion\u2019 is not specifically discussed in the prefaces of the Prayer Book, but something of its theological significance is set forth in Articles 25-31. 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