The substantive physical elements appointed by Christ for the Lord's Supper: bread (Greek artos, representing Christ's body broken for sinners) and wine (Greek oinos, representing Christ's blood shed for the remission of sins). The Reformed-confessional position holds firmly to both elements as appointed by Christ: bread and wine, both elements administered to all communicants. Two substantive controversies have arisen historically. (1) The medieval Catholic withholding of the cup from the laity: from approximately the twelfth century, Roman Catholic practice withheld the chalice (the cup of wine) from the laity, distributing only the bread (the consecrated host) to the congregation; the priest alone consumed the consecrated wine. The Reformation universally rejected this practice as substantively contrary to Christ's institution (Matthew 26:27, drink ye all of it) and restored both elements to all communicants. (2) The modern American-evangelical substitution of grape juice for wine: from approximately the late nineteenth century, the American temperance movement (with Welch's grape juice as a key institutional driver) successfully substituted unfermented grape juice for fermented wine in much American Protestant communion practice. The substantive Reformed-confessional position holds that the element appointed by Christ is wine (the fermented grape product, the oinos of the NT and the fruit of the vine of Matthew 26:29; the disciples were not drinking grape juice at the Last Supper, particularly given the impossibility of preserving unfermented grape juice in first-century conditions for the Passover season several months after the harvest). The contemporary American-evangelical grape-juice substitution is substantively a temperance-cultural accommodation rather than a substantive Christian-confessional position; the patriarchal-Reformed reader recovers wine as the substantive element appointed by Christ.
Substantive physical elements of the Lord's Supper appointed by Christ: bread (body) and wine (blood); Reformed-confessional position rejects medieval Catholic withholding of cup from laity and modern American-evangelical substitution of grape juice for wine.
ELEMENTS: BREAD AND WINE, n. phr. (sacramentology) Substantive physical elements appointed by Christ for the Lord's Supper: bread (Greek artos, representing Christ's body broken) and wine (Greek oinos, representing Christ's blood shed). Reformed-confessional position holds firmly to both elements administered to all communicants. Two historic controversies: (1) Medieval Catholic withholding of cup from laity from c. 12th c. (priest alone consumed wine; laity received only consecrated host); Reformation universally rejected as contrary to Matthew 26:27 drink ye all of it. (2) Modern American-evangelical substitution of grape juice for wine from late 19th c. (American temperance movement, Welch's grape juice institutional driver); Reformed position holds wine the substantive element (NT oinos; Matthew 26:29 fruit of the vine; first-century impossibility of preserving unfermented grape juice for Passover season).
Matthew 26:26-27 — "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it."
Matthew 26:29 — "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
1 Corinthians 11:25 — "After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."
1 Timothy 5:23 — "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."
Two historic corruptions of the elements: medieval Catholic withholding of cup from laity (rejected by Reformation), and modern American-evangelical substitution of grape juice for wine (temperance-cultural accommodation rather than substantive Christian-confessional position).
The substantive Reformed-confessional position holds firmly to bread and wine as the elements appointed by Christ for the Lord's Supper. The medieval Catholic withholding of the cup from the laity (rejected by the Reformation; Council of Trent reaffirmed the medieval practice but Vatican II partly restored the cup in modern Catholic practice) is substantively contrary to Christ's drink ye all of it (Matthew 26:27). The modern American-evangelical substitution of grape juice for wine is more recent (substantially from the late nineteenth century with the American temperance movement and Welch's grape juice as commercial-institutional driver) and is substantively a cultural accommodation rather than a substantive Christian-confessional position. The patriarchal-Reformed reader engages the grape-juice question with discernment: the substance of the Supper is not compromised by either element if administered in faith (the Reformed-confessional understanding holds that the substance is Christ Himself spiritually present, not the physical-chemical composition of the elements), but the substantive element appointed by Christ is wine, and the substantive recovery of wine in Reformed-confessional practice (as is done in many Reformed-confessional churches today) is the substantively-faithful position. Pastoral discernment for the few communicants with substantive alcohol-recovery concerns is appropriate; the broader substitution of grape juice for the whole congregation is not.
Christ-appointed elements: bread (body) and wine (blood); medieval Catholic withholding of cup rejected by Reformation; modern American grape-juice substitution a temperance-cultural accommodation.
['Greek', 'G740', 'artos', 'bread']
['Greek', 'G3631', 'oinos', 'wine']
['Greek', 'G1081', 'gennema tes ampelou', 'fruit of the vine (Matthew 26:29)']
"Bread and wine: substantive elements appointed by Christ for the Lord's Supper."
"Reformed-confessional position rejects medieval Catholic withholding of cup from laity."
"Modern American-evangelical grape-juice substitution is a temperance-cultural accommodation."