"Where is your Christ? He is in heaven storing up wrath."
--My God is bigger than your God?
My Christ is in the bread and the wine; I eat him; he is in me and the person next to me. He dishes out grace upon grace. His name is Love and he comes to me. He comes to me in my brother and sister. He comes to me in humbleness and cross. My God is the smallest. He humbled himself to be my brother and friend, nourishment and strength. He still does. Nobody else has a God like that. I trust him because he meets my deepest need for mercy in the most scandalous way, so I cannot even get around that. His love disarms me. I will be happy to bow my knee to Him.
There is nothing contradictory in the video between the transcendent majesty/holiness/wrath of God vs. the love/immanence/humility of God demonstrated in Christ.
Whatever one's view of the Lord's supper is - whether the Lutheran consubstantiation view or Calvin's spiritual presence by faith for believers only, or the memorial view (Zwingli and most Baptists) - all of those Christians also agree that Christ is now in heaven in His resurrected body storing up wrath for unbelievers until the time of His second coming.
"My Christ is in the bread and the wine; I eat him . . . " - that is the Lutheran con-substantiation view - but it only for believers. ( I would assume.)
Unbelievers who take the Lord's supper who may think that by partaking of it they somehow "get a blessing" do not get a blessing - it is poison and judgment on them.
I would not say "My God is the smallest", but the eternal Son, He did humble Himself and become flesh and allowed Himself to be killed.
No, it is the body, even for unbelievers or even if the officiant is an unbeliever. The power is always in the word.
I've thought about the video since I've watched it, and while I agree with you Ken, that there are the two sides, I keep wondering why the video bothers me. For one thing words like "the eternality of his supremacy" sound weird, so do some of the other phrases. I don't know anyone who talks like this. It just does not resonate. And Luther always said we are to look at the revealed God, which is Christ in the flesh, the majesty is something we flee from. We can look that way only briefly (maybe such as the not being able to look at the face of God), and then fix our gaze on the cross of Calvary. We preach Christ and him crucified, said Paul. The Lord's Supper exactly preaches Christ and him crucified and brings him intimately to me (and you).
Certainly, they do NOT benefit. It is still Christ's body and blood. Luther's small catechism:
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.
How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?
It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?
Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.
But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.
"Where is your Christ? He is in heaven storing up wrath."
ReplyDelete--My God is bigger than your God?
My Christ is in the bread and the wine; I eat him; he is in me and the person next to me. He dishes out grace upon grace. His name is Love and he comes to me. He comes to me in my brother and sister. He comes to me in humbleness and cross. My God is the smallest. He humbled himself to be my brother and friend, nourishment and strength. He still does. Nobody else has a God like that. I trust him because he meets my deepest need for mercy in the most scandalous way, so I cannot even get around that. His love disarms me. I will be happy to bow my knee to Him.
There is nothing contradictory in the video between the transcendent majesty/holiness/wrath of God vs. the love/immanence/humility of God demonstrated in Christ.
ReplyDeleteWhatever one's view of the Lord's supper is - whether the Lutheran consubstantiation view or Calvin's spiritual presence by faith for believers only, or the memorial view (Zwingli and most Baptists) - all of those Christians also agree that Christ is now in heaven in His resurrected body storing up wrath for unbelievers until the time of His second coming.
"My Christ is in the bread and the wine; I eat him . . . "
- that is the Lutheran con-substantiation view - but it only for believers. ( I would assume.)
Unbelievers who take the Lord's supper who may think that by partaking of it they somehow "get a blessing" do not get a blessing - it is poison and judgment on them.
I would not say "My God is the smallest", but the eternal Son, He did humble Himself and become flesh and allowed Himself to be killed.
No, it is the body, even for unbelievers or even if the officiant is an unbeliever. The power is always in the word.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about the video since I've watched it, and while I agree with you Ken, that there are the two sides, I keep wondering why the video bothers me. For one thing words like "the eternality of his supremacy" sound weird, so do some of the other phrases. I don't know anyone who talks like this. It just does not resonate. And Luther always said we are to look at the revealed God, which is Christ in the flesh, the majesty is something we flee from. We can look that way only briefly (maybe such as the not being able to look at the face of God), and then fix our gaze on the cross of Calvary. We preach Christ and him crucified, said Paul. The Lord's Supper exactly preaches Christ and him crucified and brings him intimately to me (and you).
How does an unbeliever benefit from taking the Lord's supper, if they don't have faith in Christ?
ReplyDelete"whatever is not from faith is sin"
Romans 14:23
"the righteous man shall live by faith"
Romans 1:17; Hab. 2:4
Certainly, they do NOT benefit. It is still Christ's body and blood.
ReplyDeleteLuther's small catechism:
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.
How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?
It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?
Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.
But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.