– 13 Min Read
Introduction
Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
– Matthew 26:26-29 (LSB)
As we continue to have our discussion about the Lord’s Supper at some point we need to address the elements of the Supper. There is much debate and serious feelings among Christians concerning the elements. Some Christians not only claim that grape juice is permitted to be used in the Supper but will argue that to use wine is “wrong.” On the other side of the aisle there are Christians who say that it should be wine and to use grape juice is “wrong.”
The bread happens to be neutral ground for all to agree on. It is kind of like Switzerland in this War of the Table. There are a few who advocate for using unleavened bread only, but the majority of Christians will accept leavened bread as an appropriate element of the Supper. The main concern seems to be over what is in “the cup” and what constitutes the “fruit of the vine.”
“Wine or Welch’s?”
Currently, in Evangelicalism at large in America, grape juice is what is being used in the Lord’s Supper. Historically speaking, this is a new and recent development in the church. It is without question that the church has used wine in the Lord’s Supper for the last 1800 years. We read at the earliest point in church history that wine was being used in the supper. Justin Martyr (AD 100 – AD 165) mentions how;
“…the president of the brethren [takes] bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; [and] gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things…”
– Justin Martyr, First Apology: 65
In the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation, there was no shortage of debates and disagreements being floated around and never were the elements of the Lord’s Supper a part of them [1]. There was unanimity as to wine being used in the Lord’s Supper throughout all of church history. When we arrive at the 19th century, it all of a sudden became up for grabs.
Some, like Zachary Garris, believe that this change is due to the feminist movement and how it influenced the church; the feminization of the church can be seen with the rise of female pastors and the demasculinization of church worship [2]. They will point out that at this time in America, mostly women were a part of the temperance movement and supporters of the prohibition.
No matter how one feels about church history, the Scriptures are clear that there is nothing wrong with drinking wine. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11) and He drank wine unlike John the Baptist;
“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, who say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
– Luke 7:31-35 (LSB)
It is important to note that one cannot control what people say about you. Jesus couldn’t. They slandered Him differently than they did John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a killjoy, party-pooper, and they accused him of being demon-possessed because he didn’t eat and drink wine. Jesus on the other hand was slandered as being a glutton and a drunkard because he dined with people while enjoying food and wine.
And we haven’t even mentioned that the Passover meal was observed with wine. Even scholars who advocate for grape juice instead of wine, acknowledge that wine was without a doubt used by Jesus in the institution of the Supper. William W. Stevens, a pro-juice scholar admits this; “The bread used by Jesus was doubtless the unleavened bread of the Passover meal, as the wine he used was doubtless the fermented juice of the grape” [3].
Some extreme men like Charles Ryrie, well known for the Ryrie Study Bible, try to argue that the “fruit of the vine” is not a synonym for “wine” and that Jesus was using unfermented grape juice at the Last Supper [4]. This of course is a new thought being proposed and places all the burden of proof on their position.
However, what is acknowledged by all parties is that wine is not unfermented grape juice, and unfermented grape juice is not wine. And we know that the church of Corinth was drinking wine for the Lord’s Supper because some were getting drunk.
For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. 20 Therefore when you meet together in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, 21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first, and one is hungry and another is drunk.
– 1 Corinthians 11:18-21 (LSB)
For the Christians who wish to abstain from alcohol, as we see in Romans 14:21, there is no pass or exemption given to them so they do not have to take the Lord’s Supper. Paul simply does not give that as an option, nor does he say we have the authority to change the elements for them. Keith Mathison notes;
“[T]he apostle Paul encountered drunkness in observance of the Lord’s Supper at Corinth (1 Cor. 11:21). Aside from the fact that it would have been impossible for the Corinthian Christians to get drunk if they were using grape juice, as some suggest they were, we must observe that Paul did not correct this abuse by advocating the nonuse of wine. Instead, he called for the proper observance of the Lord’s Supper.”
– Keith A. Mathison [5]
This flows right into our next section on how we are to rightly worship God.
“The Regulative Principle of Worship”
The Regulative Principle of Worship is the idea that worship should be directed by Scripture and not based on our personal preferences. It is acknowledging that God has told us how we are to worship Him, that we do not have to guess or become creative in our worship but are to follow the instruction laid forth in His word simply.
The Regulative Principle of Worship has always resonated with Baptists. To the Baptist, the idea of changing the mode or manner of observance in an ordinance of worship makes the eye twitch. When Jesus was baptized it says that He came “up out of the water” (Mark 1:10). The Greek word for “baptize” is βαπτίζω (baptizō), and it means “to dip, to immerse, to submerge.” John the Baptist needed a river (Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5) and the Ethiopian Eunuch needed a pool of water for him and Philip to “go down in” and “come up out of” (Acts 8:36-39). The New Testament never mentions someone being “sprinkled” with water.
The New Testament also never mentions any infants being “baptized”. The mode and manner of baptism are completely changed and distorted from what the New Testament says by those who practice paedobaptism. Not only is the administration of it changed but those whom the Scriptures say it is for, “disciples” (Matt. 28:19), are changed. Those who “baptize” infants are not adhering to the Regulative Principle of Worship.
Very similarly is it the case with grape juice in the Lord’s Supper. The question that needs to be asked is, “Where do you get the authority to change the element of the Lord’s Supper?” Another question that naturally comes to mind is; “Where do you draw the line?” What is to stop a church from using Honeybuns and Pepsi for the elements of the Lord’s Supper? Or what about Pizza and Mountain Dew? Is it sinful to do these things? Yes, of course it is. God did not consecrate Mountain Dew, He consecrated wine!
It is a sin because it is not being obedient. Just as it is disobedient to God to “baptize” an infant, so it is to administer Welch’s grape juice in the Lord’s Supper. To do these things is to go beyond what Scripture warrants and what Jesus commands.
“Breaking Bread”
Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
– 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (LSB)
Another thing we must keep in mind is the symbol Jesus gives and how He gives it. Jesus “took the bread and broke it” and said “Take it; this is My body” (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). All of the synoptic gospels record Jesus taking the bread and breaking it. We have to remember that this ordinance, like Baptism, is a visual tutor for us. It teaches us something every time we participate in it. All senses are involved in the Supper, we smell, touch, taste, and see the elements. Just as Jesus was teaching His disciples in the Upper Room, so He is teaching us when we partake of the Table.
The appreciation of breaking the bread not only appears to be kept, as we read the book of Acts, but becomes a synonymous term for The Lord’s Supper.
So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
– Acts 2:41-42 (LSB)
And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began speaking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
– Acts 20:7 (LSB)
We know that Paul used this language and described the Supper in such a manner (1 Cor. 10:16). If it is that important, then the ministers who preside over the Lord’s Supper should present the elements to the congregation and break the bread in front of them just as our Lord did and as His disciples did after Him. This is a part of the ordinance. It assists those who are about to partake in the Lord’s Supper by reminding us exactly how Jesus’ body was “given for [us]” (Luke 22:19). His body was given up for us in a most horrifying way; it was broken for us.
There is little debate over unleavened vs leavened bread. This is because leavened bread is still bread. Unlike the wine and grape juice scenario, bread is still bread. The Belgic Confession (art. 35), the Heidelberg Catechism (Q. 79), the Second Helvetic Confession (chap. 19), the Westminster Confession of Faith (29.3), Westminster Larger Catechism (Qq. 168-69, 177), and all the Baptist Confessions and Catechisms all simply say “bread and wine“.
The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to a holy use, and to take and break the bread; to take the cup, and, they communicating also themselves, to give both to the communicants. (1 Cor. 11:23–26)
– 2LCF XXX: Paragraph 3
Q. 102: What is the Lord’s Supper?
– The Baptist Catechism: Question 102
A. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the New Testament, instituted by Jesus Christ; wherein by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to His appointment…
Conclusion
It is always best practice for the people of God to observe the ordinances given to them with the most honorable approach. We never need to consider what might be “best” by our standards, or convenient for others. We need to trust in what God has said and follow His direction alone. If wine is what was used, then we are to use wine. If the bread was broken before giving it, then we need to break it. God does not like it when we decide to worship Him how we want while disregarding what He has commanded.
Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans and put fire in them. Then they placed incense on it and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them, and they died before Yahweh. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what Yahweh spoke, saying,
– Leviticus 10:1-3 (LSB)
‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy,
And before all the people I will be glorified.’”
So Aaron kept silent.
Works Cited
[1] Keith A. Mathison, Given For You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of The Lord’s Supper, (P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 2002), 301.
[2] Zachary M. Garris, Masculine Christianity, (Reformation Zion Publishing, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2021), 235.
[3] William W. Stevens, Doctrines of the Christian Religion, (Nashville: Broadman, 1967), 344.
[4] Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, (Wheaton: Victor, 1986), 425.
[5] Keith A. Mathison, Given For You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of The Lord’s Supper, (P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 2002), 308.