A Lutheran Theology Of The Lord’s Supper

A distinctive Lutheran theology of the Lord's Supper arises out of Luther's evangelical understanding of sacrament as well as two specific matters of controversy in the sixteenth century-the sacrifice of the Mass and the presence of Christ at the Supper. Luther's own writings and the Lutheran confessional documents of the sixteenth century are the principal sources for this theology. A Sacrament of Promise and Command In Lutheran theology, the Lord's Supper is one of two chief sacraments (together with baptism). In opposition to the medieval scholastic theology of sacrament, which understood the supper as an efficacious sign of grace (efficax signum gratiate) working by means of the ritual action of the Mass (ex opere operato), Luther and his followers formulated a theology of the Lord's Supper within a concept of the sacrament determined by an emphasis on the activity of God's Word and the role of faith. The Word of God in the sacrament is both a word of command and a word of promi…