CD - Power of the Lord’s Supper? - 1 Corinthians 10:3-5

From where does the Lord’s Supper get its power? That is a question which many people ask. Some ask for good reasons, some for the reason of wanting to harness that “power” from themselves, much like when Simon offered to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit from Peter (Acts 8:18). We are a society of people who with a fetish for power.

The Lord’s Supper gets its power from faith, which is also given through the Supper. As one eats the bread and body and drinks the cup and blood of Jesus he is given forgiveness of sins, faith and life. It is this faith, which is given in this supper, which takes hold of the other gifts given in the supper. Thus, you might say this supper gets its power from the power it gives. This points us back to Jesus and the cross which is where we always need to be pointing when we are talking about God and His good gifts and blessings. The power does not come from within ourselves. The power comes from outside of us.

In “Lutheran Worship, History and Practice,” Dr. Norman Nagel says this about the Lord’s Supper: “The Lord’s Supper is surely what it is when it is the Lord’s doing. He has done Calvary. ‘The passion of Christ occurred but once on the cross. But whom would it benefit if it were not distributed, applied and put to us?’ If you want your sins forgiven you do not go to Calvary, but to the Lord’s Supper. At Calvary it was achieved but not given out. Here it is not achieved but it is given you. As the Small Catechism confesses, the two chief things are the bodily eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ and the words for you. Into mouth and into faith; unfaith can repudiate the gift, but it cannot make our Lord’s words untrue. It can profane his body and blood to mortal consequence.”* The power of the Lord’s Supper is given through the Supper and comes through the power of Christ’s victory over sin, death and the devil won on the cross.

When it comes to the power of the Lord’s Supper we would do well in being content with being given what God gives through this Holy Meal and not concern ourselves with how we might obtain such power for ourselves. We would do well to focus our attention on the giver and the gift He gives.

Dear Lord, forgive me when I seek power rather than gifts. Thank You that You see to it that through Your body and blood I am give forgiveness, faith, and life. May Your body and blood strengthen me unto eternal life. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

*Lutheran Worship History and Practice, Edited by Fred L. Precht, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO ©1993, p. 304-305.