Methodist and Nazarene Polity, Worship, and Sacraments — Unit 8: The Lord's Supper as a Means of Grace

Key Verse

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." (1 Corinthians 11:26, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Define a "means of grace" and explain why Wesley counted the Lord's Supper among the chief means.

2. Describe the Wesleyan teaching on the real, spiritual presence of Christ in the Supper.

3. Compare four other views of the Supper: transubstantiation, consubstantiation, the memorial view, and the Reformed spiritual-presence view.

4. Explain why Wesley urged frequent communion, and who may come to the table.

5. Describe common Wesleyan practice: the elements, the minister, self-examination, and the order of the service.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Wesleyan tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and evangelical. When it says "we," it means the Methodist, Nazarene, Wesleyan, Free Methodist and related churches that hold the Bible to be the inspired Word of God. Other Christians understand the Supper differently, and some of them are dear to us. We state their views fairly and then give our answer. "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

The Means of Grace

In Unit 7 you learned that Wesleyans count two sacraments. Both are "means of grace." John Wesley used this phrase for the outward ways that God has appointed to carry His grace to people. He named prayer, searching the Scriptures, and the Lord's Supper as the chief ones, with fasting and Christian fellowship alongside them. His sermon "The Means of Grace" (1746) is a good place to begin. In it he answered Christians who thought the Lord's help would come without any ordinary channel. God has chosen to work through certain ways, and we should use them, but never trust in the means themselves. The means have no power apart from the Lord who uses them. A person who takes the Supper without faith in Christ receives nothing from it. A person who comes trusting only in Christ may receive a great deal.

This is typical of Wesley. He avoided two errors: the error of those who make the rite work by itself, and the error of those who despise outward means in the name of the Spirit.

The Biblical Foundation

The Lord's Supper is founded on Jesus' act on the night before His death. In Luke's account, "He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'" (Luke 22:19). In Matthew 26:26-28 Jesus also takes the cup and speaks of His blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the remission of sins. Paul received the same tradition and passed it on to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Four meanings appear in the Scriptures.

Remembrance. "Do this in remembrance of Me." The Supper looks back to the cross.

Communion. Paul writes, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16). The Supper brings us into real fellowship with Christ and with one another. The next verse adds that we who are many are one bread and one body.

Proclamation. In the key verse, Paul says that each time we eat and drink we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." The Supper is a sermon in action.

Hope. "Till He comes" points forward. Jesus said He would not drink again of the fruit of the vine until He drinks it new in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29). The Supper is a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb.

The Wesleyan Teaching: Real Spiritual Presence

How is Christ present in the Supper? The church has answered in five main ways. A pastor should be able to name all of them.

1. Transubstantiation (Roman Catholic). The bread and wine are changed in substance into the body and blood of Christ, though they still look and taste like bread and wine. The Mass is also understood as a sacrifice offered by a priest. It rests on Jesus' words "This is My body" and on John 6.

2. Consubstantiation or the sacramental union (Lutheran). The body and blood are present "in, with and under" the bread and wine, which remain bread and wine. Luther held the words "This is My body" to be literally true.

3. The memorial view (Zwingli and many Baptists and others). The Supper is chiefly a memorial. The bread and wine are symbols that help us remember Christ's death. Christ is present as He is present anywhere that believers gather, but not in a special way in the elements.

4. The Reformed spiritual presence (Calvin). Christ is truly present to the believer by the Holy Spirit, who lifts our hearts to Christ in heaven, while the bread and wine remain bread and wine.

5. The Wesleyan view. Wesley and the Methodist tradition after him taught the real presence of Christ in the Supper, not in the bread and wine themselves, but in the whole action as the Holy Spirit makes Christ known to those who come in faith. The presence is real and spiritual. It is not bodily or local, and the bread and wine remain what they are. Wesley stood with the Church of England in rejecting transubstantiation, and was close to Calvin in holding that the Spirit makes Christ truly present to faith, though he stressed the Supper as a place where God meets us and gives grace. The Methodist Articles of Religion, which Wesley adapted from the Church of England, say that transubstantiation cannot be proved from Scripture and overthrows the nature of a sacrament.

The Wesleys' hymns on the Supper

In 1745, John and Charles Wesley published Hymns on the Lord's Supper. The collection begins with a work by Daniel Brevint, an older Anglican writer, on the Christian sacrament and sacrifice. The hymns teach that in the Supper we remember the cross, we receive present grace, and we receive a pledge of glory to come. They also teach that we offer ourselves to God in response to His self-giving. The hymns are full of wonder. They do not explain how the Spirit works, but they confess that He does.

Wesley on Frequent Communion

Wesley himself received the Supper very often. In his sermon "The Duty of Constant Communion," he gave reasons that Christians should receive as often as they can. We summarize four.

First, it is a command of Christ: "Do this." Obedience does not depend on feeling that we are ready.

Second, it is a means of receiving pardon and strength. The Supper is an ordinary way in which God strengthens and refreshes the soul.

Third, the first Christians received it every time they met. Acts 2:42 and 2:46 speak of "the breaking of bread," and Acts 20:7 tells us that the disciples came together on the first day of the week "to break bread."

Fourth, those who neglect it lose the grace that is offered.

Wesley also taught something that surprises many. He said that the Supper can be a "converting ordinance" as well as a confirming one. In other words, a person who is still seeking God, and who longs for forgiveness, may meet the Lord there and be changed. This fits his teaching that God's grace goes before us and calls us. It is an important reason why Wesleyan churches have usually welcomed all who truly seek the Lord to the table.

Frequency in practice has varied. Some Methodist churches celebrate monthly, others weekly, and many Holiness churches celebrate quarterly, on special days or on a fixed Sunday. A pastor should ask whether the people are being fed.

Who May Come? The Open Table

Paul warns, "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:27-28). The Corinthians were eating in a selfish and drunken way while the poor went hungry, and Paul called this a sin against the body of Christ.

Some churches, including some Baptists and Lutherans, practice "closed" communion, limiting the table to their own members. Others use "open" communion, inviting all baptized believers. Wesleyan churches generally practice an open table. The usual invitation is to those who truly and earnestly repent of their sins, who live in love and charity with their neighbors, and who intend to lead a new life. This wording comes from the invitation in the Prayer Book that Wesley knew, and Methodist services still follow its spirit. The table is the Lord's, not ours, and a Wesleyan pastor does not guard it from other Christians. He invites those who seek the Lord and warns those who are living in open sin and hatred to make peace first.

Common Wesleyan Practice

The elements. Bread and the fruit of the vine are used. Many Wesleyan-Holiness churches use unfermented grape juice, in keeping with their history of temperance. Grape juice was first made for the Supper in 1869 by Thomas Welch, a Methodist. Churches in other places may use wine. We should respect the conscience of the church and of the weak.

The minister. In most Wesleyan bodies the Supper is celebrated by an ordained elder or by a minister the church has authorized. The reason is order, not magic; the sacrament depends on Christ, not on the minister.

The order. A common pattern includes the invitation, a prayer of confession, the words of institution from 1 Corinthians 11 or Luke 22, a prayer of thanksgiving over the bread and cup, the breaking of the bread, the distribution, and a closing hymn or prayer. Many Methodist services use the Prayer of Humble Access from the Prayer Book, and many end with a hymn of thanksgiving.

The people. The people examine themselves, receive the bread and cup, and pray. Children are generally welcome in some bodies and are asked to wait until they can understand in others. Sick members may be visited and served at home.

Objections and Our Answers

Objection 1 (Baptist and others): The Supper is only a memorial; to speak of "means of grace" and real presence risks superstition.

Zwingli and many evangelicals fear that any special presence turns a symbol into a charm. They point to "Do this in remembrance of Me."

Our answer. We agree that the Supper is a remembrance, and that nothing in the bread or wine saves. But Paul does not call it only a remembrance. He calls it a "communion" in the body and blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16). Nothing in this view suggests that the elements are changed. It says that the risen Christ keeps His promise and meets those who come in faith. Many Baptists experience the Supper this way in practice. Wesley's teaching guards against both superstition and coldness.

Objection 2 (Roman Catholic): "This is My body" is literal, and the Mass is a sacrifice.

Catholics point to the words of institution and to John 6, where Jesus says that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood have eternal life.

Our answer. Jesus spoke in figures elsewhere: "I am the door" (John 10:9) and "I am the true vine" (John 15:1). When He said "This is My body," His body was standing before the disciples, holding the bread. In John 6:63 He says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing." We also hold that Christ's sacrifice on the cross was offered once for all (Hebrews 10:10-14), and cannot be repeated. In the Supper we remember it, receive its benefits, and offer our praise and ourselves.

Objection 3 (Lutheran and Reformed): The Wesleyan view is too vague, or goes too far, about presence.

Some say Wesleyans should state more precisely how Christ is present. Others say Wesley's stress on grace received in the Supper goes too far toward the Catholic view.

Our answer. Wesley refused to explain the manner, and the Wesleys' hymns confess a mystery. Scripture does not tell us how. We prefer to confess what the Bible says and to keep silent where it is silent.

Objection 4 (historians): Did the Methodists keep Wesley's high view?

Some historians observe that in the nineteenth century many American Methodist and Holiness churches moved toward the memorial view, and communion became infrequent, partly through the revival emphasis on conversion and a dislike of anything that seemed Catholic.

Our answer. There is truth in this, and it is a challenge, not a reason to give up Wesley's teaching. Wesley himself held the Supper and the revival together. The best of our tradition holds that the preaching of the cross and the table of the Lord belong side by side.

Pastoral Application

A pastor in a Nazarene church in a small town has not celebrated the Supper except four times a year. A faithful woman in the church, converted from the Catholic faith, tells him, "I miss the Lord's table. In my old church I received every week, and here it seems like an afterthought." Another member says, "We are not Catholics. We only remember."

First, the pastor thanks both of them for speaking honestly.

Second, he teaches the congregation from 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, Acts 2:42 and 20:7 and Wesley's sermon on constant communion, so that no one thinks he is introducing a Catholic custom.

Third, he proposes a modest change, perhaps monthly communion, with the invitation read clearly, a time of silent self-examination and a hymn from Charles Wesley.

Fourth, he explains the view of the church: not transubstantiation and not mere memory, but the Lord meeting His people by the Spirit. He listens to the objections and brings the board along patiently.

Summary

Wesley counted the Lord's Supper among the chief means of grace, ordinary channels by which God gives His help to those who come in faith. The Supper looks back in remembrance, brings communion with Christ and His people, proclaims the Lord's death, and looks forward in hope. The Wesleyan tradition teaches the real, spiritual presence of Christ, rejecting both transubstantiation and the view that it is only a memorial, and it leaves the manner a mystery. Wesley urged frequent communion and taught that the Supper can be a converting ordinance. Wesleyan churches generally keep an open table for those who repent and seek to live in love, with self-examination, an authorized minister, and either wine or unfermented juice according to conscience. The Catholic, Lutheran and memorial objections are answered from Scripture, and historians' observation that Methodists often neglected the Supper is a call to recover it.

Further Reading

• John Wesley, Sermons: "The Means of Grace" and "The Duty of Constant Communion" (public domain).

• John and Charles Wesley, Hymns on the Lord's Supper (1745).

• John Wesley, Journal (public domain).

• The Methodist Articles of Religion (1784), on the Lord's Supper.

• John Wesley, The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America (1784), the order for the Lord's Supper.

• John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament, on 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 (public domain).

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