Who May Partake of the Sacrament?
Concerning Closed Communion
Introduction:
Communion is the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church. Communion binds together God and his people. This reality may be expressed in the following graph:
Notice how the arrows go both ways for everyone involved. Whether that is God, myself, and my fellow believers. We can see that Communion is not just an individual experience between me and God. There is a proper way to practice the Lord’s Supper. This proper and faithful and loving method is what is called “Closed Communion.” In this document, I am going to argue that the term we call “Closed Communion” can be summarized in three points:
We can see that argument when we consider the graph above and think through the issue Scripturally. When we are worshipping and coming before God, the Lord desires us to worship together in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4). This means sharing one confession and one altar. (1 Corinthians 10)
We could also summarize the graph above that we relate to each other in love. When we Commune, we should do it out of love for God and love for our neighbor. All the arrows in our graph are a way we are to show love and relate. So how does this love work for God, myself, and other Christians?
First (Red Arrows): From God’s vantage point to us. He loves us by giving us our Savior Jesus Christ. He delivers to us what Christ won for us on the cross. 1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
From this vantage point, God is then gracious to us by dwelling in us and delivering his Son’s body and blood to us in order join us to Christ and make us new. He does not give us these gifts because we deserve it or have merited it. God desires us to receive these gifts faithfully. If we scoff at this holy gift, God will lash out when his holiness is offended. (Hebrews 12:28-29 and 1 Corinthians 11).
Second (yellow arrows) From my vantage point, Communion gives me the chance to love God and my neighbor. I love God by believing in what God has said and done. I repent of sins, I turn to him, I receive his salvation. We could summarize this by saying “faith is how we love God.” John 6:29, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent.”
To love my neighbor, I relate to them through the 10 commandments. The law of God defines our love and how we relate. If we sin against each other, we must be reconciled to one another.
So, when it comes to communion. I must be acceptable to both God and his Church. God expects this. I must be in faith toward God and also acting out of love for our neighbor. If one is missing, then it is improper for me to commune.
From this viewpoint, when I approach Communion, what makes me worthy to receive Communion is twofold: faith in Christ and love toward the fellow communion participant. Our Small Catechism teaches, “But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.”
What makes an individual before God unworthy to receive the gifts of the Lord’s Supper? Unbelief. No one can come to the table who does not confess Jesus Christ as Lord. The Church, from her beginning, confesses that the Lord’s Supper is not to be taken by unbelievers and those who are not baptized. The Lord’s Supper is the meal of the baptized believer. The Didache, written in the early 100’s AD even noted that the Lord’s Supper is not given to the unbaptized because Jesus said, “not to toss your pearls before swine.”
But I don’t just relate to God in Communion, I also am being joined to the Church in the Supper. The Lord’s Supper is how Christ makes us one body. So if I am going to the altar and remember that my brother has something against me, Jesus would say that I must first be reconciled to my brother before I receive God’s gifts. (Matthew 5). Paul in 1 Corinthians 5-7 details that we must flee from sexual sins because we join ourselves and Christ’s body to prostitutes when we sin sexually. If someone lives in flagrant sin, Paul says that they must be excommunicated from the Church. Meaning, they have no part in the life of Jesus or his people until they repent of their sin, and desire to be better. This leads to the final aspect from the graph above:
Third (green arrows): finally, we need to look at how we as Christians view each other at the table. We are called to love one another. Not only do we commune with God. God has also established his body, which is the Church. We are made members of Christ. In the congregation of the baptized, there are no anonymous members. We relate to and love each other based on our confession of faith and acts of love according to God’s law. How do I love my neighbor, or in this case, fellow Christian at the table? By walking together and confessing our common faith that we both share.
The Lord’s Supper is how the congregation shares our unity in the faith. If there are two people communing together at the altar, and one person believes that Jesus is God and the other doesn’t believe Jesus is God, and this difference is publicly known, then they are making a mockery of Jesus. They defile the table of Christ. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some…” Hebrews 10:23-24
This is what it means to be a member of this congregation. Being a member is not a necessary evil. Being a member of this or any congregation is an act of love. Being a member at a church means you publicly believe what the Scriptures teach in this place. It lets me know as your spiritual caretaker that you love God and your neighbor. Membership is an act of Pastoral Care.
Being a member is stating to everyone else that you believe and confess this congregation’s faith. “For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:10. Confessing the faith with the mouth, is how you reveal what is in your heart. The pastor judges you by what you confess, since he can’t know your heart. If a person refuses to confess what is in their hearts, that is from the devil. God is a God of order, and all things should be done decently and in good order in the church. See 1 Corinthians again on that.
Membership is something a Christian does in order to relate to other Christians. Believing with the heart is how we are known to God and relate to him. But confessing that faith is how we are made known to our fellow Christians.
Using myself as pastor for an example, I have no right to any altar, but I have been welcomed in this congregation where God has placed me. I cannot commune at any other altar just because I am a pastor in the LCMS. The same goes for anyone else. If I were to go to any other LCMS church, I need to first introduce myself and ask if the hand of fellowship would be granted to me. If the pastor does not want to because I am doing this last second before service, or he would need to double check my story to see if I am telling the truth, that would be his choice for the sake of his conscious that I would respect. This is the loving thing for me to do until he decides that I can, which I would expect after he checks, to allow me.
My point is that it is the burden and responsibility of the pastor of the church to admit to the table or holds others back. If someone lacks faith in God or love for the neighbor, it is that pastor’s duty to hold them back from receiving the Supper. “I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by his divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sin and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain even in heaven as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us himself.” Small Catechism.
This is behind closed communion. This is what Jesus expects his people to do out of faith toward him and love toward one another.
There is more that needs to be said and can be said. But this is the nuts and bolts of how we can come to understand the practice of the Lord’s Supper that we call Closed Communion.
Further Discussion:
The term Closed Communion comes from the early church when the ushers would close the doors of the sanctuary and usher out those who were not catechized members of the Church. Only the baptized and catechized members of that Church were allowed to even see Communion become consecrated. Closed Communion is how the Church always has practiced the Lord’s Supper. This was standard practice in the church until really the last 100 years.
What happened that this largely changed? Why do some churches allow for anyone to commune, a practice that is called “open communion?” The practice of allowing anyone and everyone to commune began by those who do not believe that Christ is truly present in the Sacrament, which today is most Christians in America.
Since some Christians falsely teach that Christ is not present in the Lord’s Supper, they do not see the problem of anyone communing because the meal is just a nice memorial meal and not an encounter with the Holy God who demands faith.
But the real issue that fuels the false teaching of open communion is this thought: The Gospel is the only thing that counts when deciding who should be receiving communion. Liberal, mainline denominations are run by this thought. For them, the Scripture is not what defines who should commune, but only the Gospel. This is called Gospel Reductionism. Everything that we do is only controlled by the Gospel. But this is wrong. It treats the law of God as bad, when we know that the law is good.
This is why these Christians are fine with homosexuality, women’s ordination, and will ignore laws that the Bible lays out for us. For these Christians, they do not even believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but that it only contains it and the only thing that matters is the Gospel. To clearly state: This idea is wrong, it is false, and it is straight from the devil’s jaws since it says, “Did God really say?”
This false teaching of Gospel Reductionism is now the dominate strain of teaching that most Christians today assume is right. It even is impacting the LCMS. Like the forbidden fruit, this teaching looks good to the eyes and profitable. This means that for most Christians, from this vantage point, denying communion to anyone is seen as opposed to the Gospel and denying someone a gift from God.
This is why proponents of open communion will say that closed communion is unloving and not nice. It sounds against the Gospel, which is what they have reduced the Scriptures to only being about. But the Bible has much more to say and the law of God is not made void by the Gospel. In fact, the Gospel returns us to the Law which is the definition of love.
One way to shake people from this thought of open communion is to get them to recognize that open communion doesn’t work anywhere else. Here are some examples:
We all know this. But people don’t think the same about the Church. Many people demand that they get the fruit and gifts of Jesus though they themselves have not committed themselves to that congregation and teaching. That is prideful and arrogant. It is not loving to expect to receive communion in a place where you have not publicly stated yourself or bound yourself to confess. To give someone communion who has not promised life and love to that congregation is to live a lie and to hurt that person who takes it. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 is pretty clear that God doesn’t come with blessing but rather judgment to someone who wrongly takes communion against the standards of the Church.
With this in mind, who can come to the table? Who can share this feast which unites us together in Christ? Only those who confess, or are members of that congregation. Here we must see that it is improper for guests and visitors to approach the table without announcing who they are to the pastor who distributes the gifts of Christ. Strangers off the street don’t get to come in and raid my fridge without my permission.
Only the members of that congregation are welcome to the goods, and those among them who continue to repent and believe the Gospel. Think of each congregation as a home. This is to say nothing about the faith of those who are not welcome. Jesus loves them even when we don’t commune them. It however, says something about those who confess the faith publicly and properly.
With that in mind, who properly should receive communion at this table at Christ Lutheran Church? Only those on the membership roster. It would be improper for me to just attend Immanuel Lutheran here in town without first introducing myself, stating where I am from, and what I believe and asking if that host would graciously extend to me the favor of being invited to the table. No guest can impose upon his host. Hosts are the ones who welcome us to the table. Guests don’t choose if they want to or not. We will cover what to do about guests shortly.
But first a word needs to be said about those on the roster, lest we think that holding membership is just a check on that list. Discipline and following Christ is to be maintained and encouraged, not once and done. “Test yourself to see if you are in the faith.” 2 Corinthians 13:5. Preparing to receive the Sacrament must be done each time it is offered. Gross public sin that is not repented of is unbelief and excludes one from the table. Being a card carrying member is not an automatic guarantee.
Access to the table is for those in that church family who continue to follow Christ. This calls for a routine of discipline and preparation for receiving the Sacrament. St. Paul urges Christians to examine and judge themselves prior to receiving the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11.
Who then has the authority to admit to the table? The called servants of the Lord. The Pastor. They are to see that those who take it are taking it properly. The pastor is not a vending machine. Just showing up does not make one worthy. The pastor is to make sure that the person receiving the Sacrament is not doing so to their destruction. The pastor is to care for the spiritual life of those who have been entrusted to them. Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
This task is not easy. It is to be undertaken with great humility and fear. So James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” James 3:1. For this reason, the author of Hebrews exhorts Christians: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Hebrews 13:17
It is the job of the Pastor to make sure those coming to the table confess the faith (not that it is the pastor’s job to know their hearts), are not living in gross outward sin, and are following Christ. Not doing that is to abandon the sheep to the wolves.
By taking Communion, I am being joined to those present at the altar (also with those with Christ alive and dead). So if a guest were to come in, they should come in and expect to find the pastor and introduce himself/herself. Failure to do so before service means that when Communion comes, the guest who is a good candidate to receive the Sacrament should not come up out of respect and love for the community that is gathered. The Sacrament is the intimate celebration of the members of that congregation and guests who are present need to respect the fact that they are not a part of that community.
Closed Communion is not about “guarding the rail” or “protecting Jesus” or even “judging people.” It is about making sure that the Church is following Christ, maintaining discipline, loving God and loving the neighbor. I love my neighbor by belonging to the congregation and confessing my faith alongside them. And they love me by respecting what God has made here and our confession that we share.
Finally, Closed Communion is then the historic practice, it is the right practice, and it is the loving practice. Or to say it clearly: Closed Communion is how Jesus wants us to handle the Holy Supper of our Lord.
Recap: Examples of closed Communion in the world
We have already mentioned these but good to say again. The example of walking into someone’s house unannounced to raid their food pantry without asking them. But we operate with a closed communion mindset all over the place.
A fan of a college sporting event cannot go sit in the Student Section of the game.
A civilian who dies cannot ask for military honors at their funeral. Nor can a civilian decide to jump on the Veterans float during the Memorial Day parade because he wants people to cheer for him.
This is how we operate all around us. The Church also has manners that we follow as well.
Bible passages:
The following Scripture passages help describe Closed Communion more.
Exodus 12:43-51
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave[a] that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
Question: Who is allowed to partake in the Passover? Who is not?
Exodus 24:1-11
24 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”
3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.[a] And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
Question:
What did the people and the elders of Israel do before they went up on the mountain to eat and drink with God? (vs.3 and vs. 7)
Matthew 26:17-30
17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Questions: As Jesus prepares to give them this Sacrament, what warning does he give for being faithless to him?
1 Corinthians 10:1-22
10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel:[d] are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Question: How does Paul talk about participation at an altar? Can you participate at a different altar (we might say, confession of faith)? How does someone participate with a demon today (a teaching that is a lie is demonic)?
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Question: How should we prepare to receive the Sacrament weekly?
Other Quotes from the Church:
Take a look at how the Church has ALWAYS practiced Communion:
The Didache (early 100’s AD)
Now concerning the eucharistic thanksgiving, give thanks in this way.
First, as concerning the cup: We give you thanks, our Father, for the holy vine of your son David, which you made known to us through your Son Jesus. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages.
Then as regards the broken bread: We give you thanks, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you made known to us through your Son Jesus. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages.
As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gathered together became one, so may your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. For yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ unto ages of ages.
Do not let anyone eat or drink of this Eucharist who has not been baptized into the name of the Lord, for concerning this the Lord has said, “Do not give the holy things to the dogs.”
And after you have been filled, give thanks as follows: We give you thanks, holy Father, for your holy name, which you have made to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which you have made known unto us through your Son Jesus. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages. You, Almighty Master, created all things for your name’s sake, and gave food and drink to men for their enjoyment, that they might give you thanks. And you have given us spiritual food and drink and eternal life through your Son.
Most of all, we give you thanks that you are powerful. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages. Remember, Lord, your Church, and deliver it from all evil and to perfect it in Thy love. Gather it— the sanctified one—together from the four winds into your kingdom which you have prepared for it. For yours is the power and the glory unto ages of ages. May grace come and may this world pass away.
Hosanna to the God of David. If any man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. Mar‘anatha. Amen. But permit the prophets to offer thanksgiving as much as they desire.
Ignatius of Antioch 110 AD
Take care, then who belong to God and to Jesus Christ – they are with the bishop. And those who repent and come to the unity of the Church – they too shall be of God, and will be living according to Jesus Christ. Do not err, my brethren: if anyone follow a schismatic, he will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If any man walk about with strange doctrine, he cannot lie down with the passion. Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood; one altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and my fellow servants, the deacons.
Justin Martyr Mid 100 AD
This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us.
Augsburg Confession XXIV quoting Chyrsostom 300’s AD
“Chrysostom says ‘that the priest stands daily at the altar, inviting some to the Communion and keeping back others.’ ”
Martin Luther 1534 AD
…Although also the Gospel holds Christians together, the Lord’s Supper does so still more. By attending it every Christian confesses publicly and for himself what he believes. There those who have a different faith (die Ungleichen) part ways, and those meet who have the same faith (im Glauben gleich sind), whose hope and heart toward the Lord are one (einerlei).
This is also the reason why the Sacrament has been called Communio in Latin, a communion. And those who do not want to be of the same faith, doctrine, and life, as other Christians are, are called excommunicatis, people who are dissimilar in doctrine, words, understanding, and life. Therefore these should not be tolerated in the group that has the same understanding; they would divide it and split it up. The Holy Sacrament, then, serves as a means whereby Christ holds His little flock together.
C.F.W. Walther 1870 (First LCMS President)
And now consider what a grievous sin those commit who administer Communion to those who are, after all, of another faith and confession, and confess themselves to be one and brothers with them.
1 Corinthians 11: “Now when you meet together, it is not eating the Lord’s Supper.” Here the apostle rebukes the fact that he Corinthians celebrated Communion without putting into practice in love the fraternal fellowship in faith that is thereby declared. One therefore sees also here that Communion should be a bond of fellowship in worship. All should indeed come to preaching, but only Christians who confess the proper Christian faith with their mouth should come to Communion. Therefore one who goes to Holy Communion in a Lutheran church declares openly before the world: I hold with this church, with the doctrine that is preached here, with the faith that is confessed here, and with all the confessors who belong here. The pastor who administers the Sacrament to him declares the very same thing. (p. 215)
We would be sinning dreadfully, you see, if we wanted to hold ourselves separate from all other fellowships only out of mere blind preference or taste. But this division and special position is the command of God and therefore necessary. We may not draw the heterodox as such into our fellowship, as our opponents in the Church Council do and want to justify, and thereby become guilty of a grievous sin. And we for our part will endure the cross that is simply inseparable from our special position—the slanders of our enemies and even the unjust accusations of our erring fellow Christians—all the more joyfully and willingly, the more we remain mindful in faith of the high and holy purpose that God has revealed to us in His Word for the separation of His New Testament church from the world. (p. 219)
Thesis X
Holy Communion is also a mark of confession of the faith and doctrine of those with whom one celebrates it. Therefore the admission of members of heterodox fellowships to the celebration of Communion within the Lutheran church is in conflict with:
Christ’s institution;
The commanded unity of the church in faith and corresponding confession;
Our love for the one to whom the Sacraments is administered;
Our love for our own fellow believers, especially the weak, who by this action would be given grievous offense;
The command not to become participants in the sins and errors of others. (p. 220)
All altars on which Holy Communion is celebrated should bear the following distich attached [to them]:
Cui non mens eadem, cui non confessio simplex, Hanc mensam vetitam noverit esse sibi!
“That is, ‘One who does not have the same faith and one and the same confession, let him know that this table is forbidden to him.’ ” (Cases of Conscience, pp. 594 f.) (p. 221)
A schismatic is one who has separated himself from the church—not indeed because of a fundamental article—but still because of teaching or certain adiaphora. We cannot give the Sacrament to such a one either.
Therefore, to refuse a Reformed person admittance to our Communion is certainly a work of true love, and woe to him who will not perform it. (p. 223)
One sees that the old theologians believed precisely in the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. That is why they also proceeded in its administration so carefully and conscientiously according to God’s Word. Our present-day softhearted Lutherans who proceed so liberally might well examine themselves [to see] if they themselves also really have the right faith regarding the Sacrament. (p. 224)
Francis Pieper Lutheran Dogmatician in 1920
Christian congregations, and their public servants, are only the administrants and not the lords of the Sacrament. The Lord’s Supper is not their institution, but Christ’s. Therefore they must follow Christ’s instructions in administering the Sacrament. On the one hand, they are not permitted to introduce “Open Communion” on the other hand, they must guard against denying the Sacrament to those Christians for whom Christ has appointed it. (p. 381)
Therefore Walther (Pastorale, p. 146f.) is right in holding that by practicing “Open Communion” a pastor becomes “an unfaithful, careless, and unscrupulous shepherd.” (p. 385)
In vain is love, or charity, appealed to in defense of “Open Communion.” The fact is that this practice is contrary both to love of God and love of the neighbor, for it ignores that the Sacrament of the Altar must be properly used, as prescribed in Scripture, and it leads the neighbor to sin by partaking unworthily of the Sacrament. (p. 385-86)
…The pastor must nevertheless rather suffer removal from office than give the Lord’s supper to a person to whom, according to God’s Word, he must deny it. (p. 390)
John Pless 1993
While we may not presume to judge the faith of another, the Scriptures do call us to judge between varying confessions of the faith (see Romans 16:17). In practicing closed communion, we are not entering into a judgement concerning the saving faith of individual members of other churches. We rejoice over all those who have saving faith in Jesus Christ. Fellowship at the altar is not established by faith in the heart but by sharing in a common confession of faith anchored in “the Gospel preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments administered in accordance with the divine Word” (Augsburg Confession VII,2-3; Tappert, The Book of Concord, p.32).Without agreement in “doctrine and all its articles” (Formula of Concord X,6; Tappert, The Book of Concord, p.616) there is no fellowship, no oneness in the “holy things” of Word and Sacrament.
We are painfully aware of the barriers that outwardly divide Christ’s people and we pray week after week in the Divine Service “For the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all.” It is a cause of great sadness that all Christians are not yet united in God’s Word and therefore are unable to receive Christ’s body and blood together. Where there is no unity in the Word, there can be no unity in the Sacrament.
Introduction:
Communion is the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church. Communion binds together God and his people. This reality may be expressed in the following graph:
Notice how the arrows go both ways for everyone involved. Whether that is God, myself, and my fellow believers. We can see that Communion is not just an individual experience between me and God. There is a proper way to practice the Lord’s Supper. This proper and faithful and loving method is what is called “Closed Communion.” In this document, I am going to argue that the term we call “Closed Communion” can be summarized in three points:
- Closed Communion is loving
- Closed Communion is Biblical and Historical
- Closed Communion is how Jesus expects us to practice the Lord’s Supper.
We can see that argument when we consider the graph above and think through the issue Scripturally. When we are worshipping and coming before God, the Lord desires us to worship together in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4). This means sharing one confession and one altar. (1 Corinthians 10)
We could also summarize the graph above that we relate to each other in love. When we Commune, we should do it out of love for God and love for our neighbor. All the arrows in our graph are a way we are to show love and relate. So how does this love work for God, myself, and other Christians?
First (Red Arrows): From God’s vantage point to us. He loves us by giving us our Savior Jesus Christ. He delivers to us what Christ won for us on the cross. 1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
From this vantage point, God is then gracious to us by dwelling in us and delivering his Son’s body and blood to us in order join us to Christ and make us new. He does not give us these gifts because we deserve it or have merited it. God desires us to receive these gifts faithfully. If we scoff at this holy gift, God will lash out when his holiness is offended. (Hebrews 12:28-29 and 1 Corinthians 11).
Second (yellow arrows) From my vantage point, Communion gives me the chance to love God and my neighbor. I love God by believing in what God has said and done. I repent of sins, I turn to him, I receive his salvation. We could summarize this by saying “faith is how we love God.” John 6:29, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent.”
To love my neighbor, I relate to them through the 10 commandments. The law of God defines our love and how we relate. If we sin against each other, we must be reconciled to one another.
So, when it comes to communion. I must be acceptable to both God and his Church. God expects this. I must be in faith toward God and also acting out of love for our neighbor. If one is missing, then it is improper for me to commune.
From this viewpoint, when I approach Communion, what makes me worthy to receive Communion is twofold: faith in Christ and love toward the fellow communion participant. Our Small Catechism teaches, “But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.”
What makes an individual before God unworthy to receive the gifts of the Lord’s Supper? Unbelief. No one can come to the table who does not confess Jesus Christ as Lord. The Church, from her beginning, confesses that the Lord’s Supper is not to be taken by unbelievers and those who are not baptized. The Lord’s Supper is the meal of the baptized believer. The Didache, written in the early 100’s AD even noted that the Lord’s Supper is not given to the unbaptized because Jesus said, “not to toss your pearls before swine.”
But I don’t just relate to God in Communion, I also am being joined to the Church in the Supper. The Lord’s Supper is how Christ makes us one body. So if I am going to the altar and remember that my brother has something against me, Jesus would say that I must first be reconciled to my brother before I receive God’s gifts. (Matthew 5). Paul in 1 Corinthians 5-7 details that we must flee from sexual sins because we join ourselves and Christ’s body to prostitutes when we sin sexually. If someone lives in flagrant sin, Paul says that they must be excommunicated from the Church. Meaning, they have no part in the life of Jesus or his people until they repent of their sin, and desire to be better. This leads to the final aspect from the graph above:
Third (green arrows): finally, we need to look at how we as Christians view each other at the table. We are called to love one another. Not only do we commune with God. God has also established his body, which is the Church. We are made members of Christ. In the congregation of the baptized, there are no anonymous members. We relate to and love each other based on our confession of faith and acts of love according to God’s law. How do I love my neighbor, or in this case, fellow Christian at the table? By walking together and confessing our common faith that we both share.
The Lord’s Supper is how the congregation shares our unity in the faith. If there are two people communing together at the altar, and one person believes that Jesus is God and the other doesn’t believe Jesus is God, and this difference is publicly known, then they are making a mockery of Jesus. They defile the table of Christ. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some…” Hebrews 10:23-24
This is what it means to be a member of this congregation. Being a member is not a necessary evil. Being a member of this or any congregation is an act of love. Being a member at a church means you publicly believe what the Scriptures teach in this place. It lets me know as your spiritual caretaker that you love God and your neighbor. Membership is an act of Pastoral Care.
Being a member is stating to everyone else that you believe and confess this congregation’s faith. “For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:10. Confessing the faith with the mouth, is how you reveal what is in your heart. The pastor judges you by what you confess, since he can’t know your heart. If a person refuses to confess what is in their hearts, that is from the devil. God is a God of order, and all things should be done decently and in good order in the church. See 1 Corinthians again on that.
Membership is something a Christian does in order to relate to other Christians. Believing with the heart is how we are known to God and relate to him. But confessing that faith is how we are made known to our fellow Christians.
Using myself as pastor for an example, I have no right to any altar, but I have been welcomed in this congregation where God has placed me. I cannot commune at any other altar just because I am a pastor in the LCMS. The same goes for anyone else. If I were to go to any other LCMS church, I need to first introduce myself and ask if the hand of fellowship would be granted to me. If the pastor does not want to because I am doing this last second before service, or he would need to double check my story to see if I am telling the truth, that would be his choice for the sake of his conscious that I would respect. This is the loving thing for me to do until he decides that I can, which I would expect after he checks, to allow me.
My point is that it is the burden and responsibility of the pastor of the church to admit to the table or holds others back. If someone lacks faith in God or love for the neighbor, it is that pastor’s duty to hold them back from receiving the Supper. “I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by his divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sin and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain even in heaven as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us himself.” Small Catechism.
This is behind closed communion. This is what Jesus expects his people to do out of faith toward him and love toward one another.
There is more that needs to be said and can be said. But this is the nuts and bolts of how we can come to understand the practice of the Lord’s Supper that we call Closed Communion.
Further Discussion:
The term Closed Communion comes from the early church when the ushers would close the doors of the sanctuary and usher out those who were not catechized members of the Church. Only the baptized and catechized members of that Church were allowed to even see Communion become consecrated. Closed Communion is how the Church always has practiced the Lord’s Supper. This was standard practice in the church until really the last 100 years.
What happened that this largely changed? Why do some churches allow for anyone to commune, a practice that is called “open communion?” The practice of allowing anyone and everyone to commune began by those who do not believe that Christ is truly present in the Sacrament, which today is most Christians in America.
Since some Christians falsely teach that Christ is not present in the Lord’s Supper, they do not see the problem of anyone communing because the meal is just a nice memorial meal and not an encounter with the Holy God who demands faith.
But the real issue that fuels the false teaching of open communion is this thought: The Gospel is the only thing that counts when deciding who should be receiving communion. Liberal, mainline denominations are run by this thought. For them, the Scripture is not what defines who should commune, but only the Gospel. This is called Gospel Reductionism. Everything that we do is only controlled by the Gospel. But this is wrong. It treats the law of God as bad, when we know that the law is good.
This is why these Christians are fine with homosexuality, women’s ordination, and will ignore laws that the Bible lays out for us. For these Christians, they do not even believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but that it only contains it and the only thing that matters is the Gospel. To clearly state: This idea is wrong, it is false, and it is straight from the devil’s jaws since it says, “Did God really say?”
This false teaching of Gospel Reductionism is now the dominate strain of teaching that most Christians today assume is right. It even is impacting the LCMS. Like the forbidden fruit, this teaching looks good to the eyes and profitable. This means that for most Christians, from this vantage point, denying communion to anyone is seen as opposed to the Gospel and denying someone a gift from God.
This is why proponents of open communion will say that closed communion is unloving and not nice. It sounds against the Gospel, which is what they have reduced the Scriptures to only being about. But the Bible has much more to say and the law of God is not made void by the Gospel. In fact, the Gospel returns us to the Law which is the definition of love.
One way to shake people from this thought of open communion is to get them to recognize that open communion doesn’t work anywhere else. Here are some examples:
- Why don’t you allow me to come into your house and pull food out of your fridge? The fact that we all have separate houses and only allow guests to eat our food at home when we invite them. Remember what your mother said, “It is rude to ask someone else when at their home to get you food.” This is closed communion. AND IT IS GOOD.
- We do not get upset when military rites are denied to people who did not serve in the military (or if they got excommunicated/dishonorably discharged). I can’t demand to sit on the veterans’ float in the Memorial Day parade. It is not open to me. I didn’t serve or was a part of that community. THIS IS LOVING. It doesn’t mean I am a bad person for not serving, it is truthful.
- I don’t get upset about not being invited to an alumni group from a college I did not get a degree from. I did not earn a place among them.
- I don’t go sit in the student section at the sporting event. I have a place but it is not among that group.
We all know this. But people don’t think the same about the Church. Many people demand that they get the fruit and gifts of Jesus though they themselves have not committed themselves to that congregation and teaching. That is prideful and arrogant. It is not loving to expect to receive communion in a place where you have not publicly stated yourself or bound yourself to confess. To give someone communion who has not promised life and love to that congregation is to live a lie and to hurt that person who takes it. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 is pretty clear that God doesn’t come with blessing but rather judgment to someone who wrongly takes communion against the standards of the Church.
With this in mind, who can come to the table? Who can share this feast which unites us together in Christ? Only those who confess, or are members of that congregation. Here we must see that it is improper for guests and visitors to approach the table without announcing who they are to the pastor who distributes the gifts of Christ. Strangers off the street don’t get to come in and raid my fridge without my permission.
Only the members of that congregation are welcome to the goods, and those among them who continue to repent and believe the Gospel. Think of each congregation as a home. This is to say nothing about the faith of those who are not welcome. Jesus loves them even when we don’t commune them. It however, says something about those who confess the faith publicly and properly.
With that in mind, who properly should receive communion at this table at Christ Lutheran Church? Only those on the membership roster. It would be improper for me to just attend Immanuel Lutheran here in town without first introducing myself, stating where I am from, and what I believe and asking if that host would graciously extend to me the favor of being invited to the table. No guest can impose upon his host. Hosts are the ones who welcome us to the table. Guests don’t choose if they want to or not. We will cover what to do about guests shortly.
But first a word needs to be said about those on the roster, lest we think that holding membership is just a check on that list. Discipline and following Christ is to be maintained and encouraged, not once and done. “Test yourself to see if you are in the faith.” 2 Corinthians 13:5. Preparing to receive the Sacrament must be done each time it is offered. Gross public sin that is not repented of is unbelief and excludes one from the table. Being a card carrying member is not an automatic guarantee.
Access to the table is for those in that church family who continue to follow Christ. This calls for a routine of discipline and preparation for receiving the Sacrament. St. Paul urges Christians to examine and judge themselves prior to receiving the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11.
Who then has the authority to admit to the table? The called servants of the Lord. The Pastor. They are to see that those who take it are taking it properly. The pastor is not a vending machine. Just showing up does not make one worthy. The pastor is to make sure that the person receiving the Sacrament is not doing so to their destruction. The pastor is to care for the spiritual life of those who have been entrusted to them. Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
This task is not easy. It is to be undertaken with great humility and fear. So James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” James 3:1. For this reason, the author of Hebrews exhorts Christians: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Hebrews 13:17
It is the job of the Pastor to make sure those coming to the table confess the faith (not that it is the pastor’s job to know their hearts), are not living in gross outward sin, and are following Christ. Not doing that is to abandon the sheep to the wolves.
By taking Communion, I am being joined to those present at the altar (also with those with Christ alive and dead). So if a guest were to come in, they should come in and expect to find the pastor and introduce himself/herself. Failure to do so before service means that when Communion comes, the guest who is a good candidate to receive the Sacrament should not come up out of respect and love for the community that is gathered. The Sacrament is the intimate celebration of the members of that congregation and guests who are present need to respect the fact that they are not a part of that community.
Closed Communion is not about “guarding the rail” or “protecting Jesus” or even “judging people.” It is about making sure that the Church is following Christ, maintaining discipline, loving God and loving the neighbor. I love my neighbor by belonging to the congregation and confessing my faith alongside them. And they love me by respecting what God has made here and our confession that we share.
Finally, Closed Communion is then the historic practice, it is the right practice, and it is the loving practice. Or to say it clearly: Closed Communion is how Jesus wants us to handle the Holy Supper of our Lord.
Recap: Examples of closed Communion in the world
We have already mentioned these but good to say again. The example of walking into someone’s house unannounced to raid their food pantry without asking them. But we operate with a closed communion mindset all over the place.
A fan of a college sporting event cannot go sit in the Student Section of the game.
A civilian who dies cannot ask for military honors at their funeral. Nor can a civilian decide to jump on the Veterans float during the Memorial Day parade because he wants people to cheer for him.
This is how we operate all around us. The Church also has manners that we follow as well.
Bible passages:
The following Scripture passages help describe Closed Communion more.
Exodus 12:43-51
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave[a] that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
Question: Who is allowed to partake in the Passover? Who is not?
Exodus 24:1-11
24 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”
3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.[a] And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
Question:
What did the people and the elders of Israel do before they went up on the mountain to eat and drink with God? (vs.3 and vs. 7)
Matthew 26:17-30
17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Questions: As Jesus prepares to give them this Sacrament, what warning does he give for being faithless to him?
1 Corinthians 10:1-22
10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel:[d] are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Question: How does Paul talk about participation at an altar? Can you participate at a different altar (we might say, confession of faith)? How does someone participate with a demon today (a teaching that is a lie is demonic)?
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Question: How should we prepare to receive the Sacrament weekly?
Other Quotes from the Church:
Take a look at how the Church has ALWAYS practiced Communion:
The Didache (early 100’s AD)
Now concerning the eucharistic thanksgiving, give thanks in this way.
First, as concerning the cup: We give you thanks, our Father, for the holy vine of your son David, which you made known to us through your Son Jesus. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages.
Then as regards the broken bread: We give you thanks, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you made known to us through your Son Jesus. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages.
As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gathered together became one, so may your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. For yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ unto ages of ages.
Do not let anyone eat or drink of this Eucharist who has not been baptized into the name of the Lord, for concerning this the Lord has said, “Do not give the holy things to the dogs.”
And after you have been filled, give thanks as follows: We give you thanks, holy Father, for your holy name, which you have made to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which you have made known unto us through your Son Jesus. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages. You, Almighty Master, created all things for your name’s sake, and gave food and drink to men for their enjoyment, that they might give you thanks. And you have given us spiritual food and drink and eternal life through your Son.
Most of all, we give you thanks that you are powerful. Yours is the glory unto ages of ages. Remember, Lord, your Church, and deliver it from all evil and to perfect it in Thy love. Gather it— the sanctified one—together from the four winds into your kingdom which you have prepared for it. For yours is the power and the glory unto ages of ages. May grace come and may this world pass away.
Hosanna to the God of David. If any man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. Mar‘anatha. Amen. But permit the prophets to offer thanksgiving as much as they desire.
Ignatius of Antioch 110 AD
Take care, then who belong to God and to Jesus Christ – they are with the bishop. And those who repent and come to the unity of the Church – they too shall be of God, and will be living according to Jesus Christ. Do not err, my brethren: if anyone follow a schismatic, he will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If any man walk about with strange doctrine, he cannot lie down with the passion. Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood; one altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and my fellow servants, the deacons.
Justin Martyr Mid 100 AD
This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us.
Augsburg Confession XXIV quoting Chyrsostom 300’s AD
“Chrysostom says ‘that the priest stands daily at the altar, inviting some to the Communion and keeping back others.’ ”
Martin Luther 1534 AD
…Although also the Gospel holds Christians together, the Lord’s Supper does so still more. By attending it every Christian confesses publicly and for himself what he believes. There those who have a different faith (die Ungleichen) part ways, and those meet who have the same faith (im Glauben gleich sind), whose hope and heart toward the Lord are one (einerlei).
This is also the reason why the Sacrament has been called Communio in Latin, a communion. And those who do not want to be of the same faith, doctrine, and life, as other Christians are, are called excommunicatis, people who are dissimilar in doctrine, words, understanding, and life. Therefore these should not be tolerated in the group that has the same understanding; they would divide it and split it up. The Holy Sacrament, then, serves as a means whereby Christ holds His little flock together.
C.F.W. Walther 1870 (First LCMS President)
And now consider what a grievous sin those commit who administer Communion to those who are, after all, of another faith and confession, and confess themselves to be one and brothers with them.
1 Corinthians 11: “Now when you meet together, it is not eating the Lord’s Supper.” Here the apostle rebukes the fact that he Corinthians celebrated Communion without putting into practice in love the fraternal fellowship in faith that is thereby declared. One therefore sees also here that Communion should be a bond of fellowship in worship. All should indeed come to preaching, but only Christians who confess the proper Christian faith with their mouth should come to Communion. Therefore one who goes to Holy Communion in a Lutheran church declares openly before the world: I hold with this church, with the doctrine that is preached here, with the faith that is confessed here, and with all the confessors who belong here. The pastor who administers the Sacrament to him declares the very same thing. (p. 215)
We would be sinning dreadfully, you see, if we wanted to hold ourselves separate from all other fellowships only out of mere blind preference or taste. But this division and special position is the command of God and therefore necessary. We may not draw the heterodox as such into our fellowship, as our opponents in the Church Council do and want to justify, and thereby become guilty of a grievous sin. And we for our part will endure the cross that is simply inseparable from our special position—the slanders of our enemies and even the unjust accusations of our erring fellow Christians—all the more joyfully and willingly, the more we remain mindful in faith of the high and holy purpose that God has revealed to us in His Word for the separation of His New Testament church from the world. (p. 219)
Thesis X
Holy Communion is also a mark of confession of the faith and doctrine of those with whom one celebrates it. Therefore the admission of members of heterodox fellowships to the celebration of Communion within the Lutheran church is in conflict with:
Christ’s institution;
The commanded unity of the church in faith and corresponding confession;
Our love for the one to whom the Sacraments is administered;
Our love for our own fellow believers, especially the weak, who by this action would be given grievous offense;
The command not to become participants in the sins and errors of others. (p. 220)
All altars on which Holy Communion is celebrated should bear the following distich attached [to them]:
Cui non mens eadem, cui non confessio simplex, Hanc mensam vetitam noverit esse sibi!
“That is, ‘One who does not have the same faith and one and the same confession, let him know that this table is forbidden to him.’ ” (Cases of Conscience, pp. 594 f.) (p. 221)
A schismatic is one who has separated himself from the church—not indeed because of a fundamental article—but still because of teaching or certain adiaphora. We cannot give the Sacrament to such a one either.
Therefore, to refuse a Reformed person admittance to our Communion is certainly a work of true love, and woe to him who will not perform it. (p. 223)
One sees that the old theologians believed precisely in the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. That is why they also proceeded in its administration so carefully and conscientiously according to God’s Word. Our present-day softhearted Lutherans who proceed so liberally might well examine themselves [to see] if they themselves also really have the right faith regarding the Sacrament. (p. 224)
Francis Pieper Lutheran Dogmatician in 1920
Christian congregations, and their public servants, are only the administrants and not the lords of the Sacrament. The Lord’s Supper is not their institution, but Christ’s. Therefore they must follow Christ’s instructions in administering the Sacrament. On the one hand, they are not permitted to introduce “Open Communion” on the other hand, they must guard against denying the Sacrament to those Christians for whom Christ has appointed it. (p. 381)
Therefore Walther (Pastorale, p. 146f.) is right in holding that by practicing “Open Communion” a pastor becomes “an unfaithful, careless, and unscrupulous shepherd.” (p. 385)
In vain is love, or charity, appealed to in defense of “Open Communion.” The fact is that this practice is contrary both to love of God and love of the neighbor, for it ignores that the Sacrament of the Altar must be properly used, as prescribed in Scripture, and it leads the neighbor to sin by partaking unworthily of the Sacrament. (p. 385-86)
…The pastor must nevertheless rather suffer removal from office than give the Lord’s supper to a person to whom, according to God’s Word, he must deny it. (p. 390)
John Pless 1993
While we may not presume to judge the faith of another, the Scriptures do call us to judge between varying confessions of the faith (see Romans 16:17). In practicing closed communion, we are not entering into a judgement concerning the saving faith of individual members of other churches. We rejoice over all those who have saving faith in Jesus Christ. Fellowship at the altar is not established by faith in the heart but by sharing in a common confession of faith anchored in “the Gospel preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments administered in accordance with the divine Word” (Augsburg Confession VII,2-3; Tappert, The Book of Concord, p.32).Without agreement in “doctrine and all its articles” (Formula of Concord X,6; Tappert, The Book of Concord, p.616) there is no fellowship, no oneness in the “holy things” of Word and Sacrament.
We are painfully aware of the barriers that outwardly divide Christ’s people and we pray week after week in the Divine Service “For the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all.” It is a cause of great sadness that all Christians are not yet united in God’s Word and therefore are unable to receive Christ’s body and blood together. Where there is no unity in the Word, there can be no unity in the Sacrament.
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