Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 67:4 (Dec 2024)
Article: The Presence Of Christ Through The Word And The Lord’s Supper
Author: Timothy Wiarda

JETS 67:4 (December 2024) p. 705

The Presence Of Christ Through The Word And The Lord’s Supper

Timothy Wiarda*

* Timothy Wiarda is Senior Professor of New Testament Studies at Gateway Seminary. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: Letting New Testament teachings about Christ’s presence through the written and spoken Word shed light on his presence through the visible Word of the Lord’s Supper is an appropriate step, especially for those in churches that deny that Christ is physically present in or with the elements of bread and wine. Pursuing this approach leads to a clearer view of the Supper and offers a fresh perspective on several debated questions relating to it.

Key words: Lord’s Supper, Christ’s presence, means of grace, union with Christ, sacrament, communion

A wide variety of evangelical Protestants, including those adhering to the classical Reformed confessions, those from the wide range of credo-baptistic churches, and most others outside the Lutheran tradition,1 would agree that Christ is not physically or locally present in the elements of the Lord’s Supper. And yet there continues to be significant disagreement among them about how and in what sense Christ does become present. In what follows, I explore that question first by examining what the New Testament indicates about Christ’s coming and presence through Scripture and preaching and then by letting the results of that investigation shed light on the nature of his coming and presence through the Lord’s Supper. This approach is not often pursued, at least not in a detailed way, but I hope to show that it makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate. It points to Christ’s presence through the Supper being real though not physical, objective but not divorced from human response, and mystical yet attended by conceptual understanding. It shows Christ’s presence to be spiritual, although not in the sense of being metaphorical; to involve the whole undivided person of the incarnate Christ and yet be mediated by the non-incarnate Holy Spirit; and to be beyond human comprehension yet accompanied by knowledge, recognition, and memory.

The strategy of letting the nature of Christ’s presence through Scripture and preaching shed light on his presence through the Lord’s Supper is entirely appropriate if we start with three convictions that have traditionally been held within those branches of Protestantism that deny Christ’s physical presence at the Supper.

JETS 67:4 (December 2024) p. 706

These are, first, that the Lord’s Supper is aptly described as a visible Word; second, that Christ’s presence in the Suppe...