OC | Question 81 & 82

81. Where does Christ promise to nourish and refresh believers with his body and blood as surely as they eat this broken bread and drink this cup?

In the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”222 This promise is repeated by Paul in these words: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”223

^ 222. 1 Cor. 11:23-26
^ 223. 1 Cor. 10:16-17

82. Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ?

No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ’s blood and does not itself wash away sins but is simply God’s sign and assurance,224 so too the bread of the Lord’s Supper is not changed into the actual body of Christ 225 even though it is called the body of Christ 226 in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments.227

^ 224. Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5
^ 225. Matt. 26:26-29
^ 226. 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:26-28
^ 227. Gen. 17:10-11; Ex. 12:11, 13; 1 Cor. 10:1-4