Qualifications for Communion in Vol I of the Works - Edwards - V - Part II concluded

Required readingInquiry Concerning Qualifications for Communion in Vol I of the Works by Jonathan Edwards (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Sections VII, VIII and IX of Part II.

My summary.

Today, Edwards continues to make the case that people in the early church were believers and therefore only believers should be admitted to the Lord's table.

Firstly, in Section VII, Edwards gives us a tour through the New Testament epistles to churches to demonstrate that the apostles and the churches themselves judged themselves to be gracious people, not a mixture of unbelievers and believers.

Then in Section VIII, we see the bond of brotherly love of the early churches which Edwards says must have spring from some apprehension of the understanding, some judgement of the mind.  Thus, the early church could not be unbelievers if they exhibited such love.

And lastly, today, in Section IX Edwards teaches that the Lord's Supper is a ceremony of the covenant of grace and that those who take part by their action profess faith in Christ - and so it is not unreasonable to expect them to confess faith with their mouths.

What grabbed me

I think the strongest point today was Edward's comments on the meaning of the Lord's Supper itself: 'There is in the Lord's supper a mutual solemn profession of the two parties transacting the covenant of grace, and visibly united in that covenant; the Lord Christ by his minister, on the one hand, and the communicants (who are professing believers) on the other. The administrator of the ordinance acts in the quality of Christ's minister, acts in his name, as representing him; and stands in the place where Christ himself stood at the first administration of this sacrament, and in the original institution of the ordinance. Christ, by the speeches and actions of the minister, makes a solemn profession of his part in the covenant of grace: he exhibits the sacrifice of his body broken and his blood shed; and in the minister's offering the sacramental bread and wine to the communicants, Christ presents himself to the believing communicants, as their propitiation and bread of life; and by these outward signs confirms and seals his sincere engagements to be their Saviour and food, and to impart to them all the benefits of his propitiation and salvation. And they, in receiving what is offered, and eating and drinking the symbols of Christ's body and blood, also profess their part in the covenant of grace: they profess to embrace the promises and lay hold of the hope set before them, to receive the atonement, to receive Christ as their spiritual food, and to feed upon him in their hearts by faith. Indeed what is professed on both sides is the heart: for Christ, in offering himself, professes the willingness of his heart to be theirs who truly receive him; and the communicants, on their part, profess the willingness of their hearts to receive him, which they declare by significant actions. They profess to take Christ as their spiritual food, and bread of life. To accept of Christ as our bread of life, is to accept of him as our Saviour and portion; as food is both the means of preserving life, and is also the refreshment and comfort of life. The signification of the word, manna, that great type of this bread of life, is a portion. That which God offers to us as our food, he offers as our portion; and that which we accept as our food, we accept as our portion. Thus the Lord's supper is plainly a mutual renovation, confirmation, and seal of the covenant of grace: both the covenanting parties profess their consent to their respective parts in the covenant, and each affixes his seal to his profession. And there is in this ordinance the very same thing acted over in profession and sensible signs, which is spiritually transacted between Christ and his spouse in the covenant that unites them. Here we have from time to time the glorious bridegroom exhibiting himself with his great love that is stronger than death, appearing clothed in robes of grace, and engaging himself, with all his glory and love, and its infinite benefits, to be theirs, who receive him: and here we have his spouse accepting this bridegroom, choosing him for her friend, her only Saviour and portion, and relying on him for all his benefits. And thus the covenant-transaction of this spiritual marriage is confirmed and sealed, from time to time. The actions of the communicants at the Lord's table have as expressive and significant a language, as the most solemn words. When a person in this ordinance takes and eats and drinks those things which represent Christ, the plain meaning and implicit profession of these his actions, is this, "I take this crucified Jesus as my Saviour, my sweetest food, my chief portion, and the life of my soul, consenting to acquiesce in him as such, and to hunger and thirst after him only, renouncing all other saviours, and all other portions, for his sake." The actions, thus interpreted, are a proper renovation and ratification of the covenant of grace; and no otherwise. And those that take and eat and drink the sacramental elements at the Lord's table with any other meaning, I fear, know not what they do.'

For an unbeliever to eat and drink deliberately is complete hypocrisy.

Next week's reading

Commence Part III by reading Objections I to III.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.