# What is the spiritual presence view of the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion or the Eucharist, is a sacred ritual practiced by Christians to remember and celebrate the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It involves consuming bread and wine (or juice) that represent the body and blood of Christ. There are differing views among Christians regarding the precise meaning and significance of the Lord’s Supper. One perspective is the spiritual presence view.
## Overview of the Spiritual Presence View
The spiritual presence view holds that while the bread and wine do not actually become the physical body and blood of Jesus, Christ is spiritually present in a special way during the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. This view is contrasted with the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, which teaches that the elements are miraculously transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ. The spiritual presence view also differs from the memorialist view that regards the Lord’s Supper as simply a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice.
According to the spiritual presence view, Christ’s presence is mysterious and supernatural during the sacrament, though not physical or bodily. The Holy Spirit makes the crucified and risen Christ dynamically present as believers partake of the bread and wine in faith. Christ meets the faithful in a close, intimate, and personal way during the Lord’s Supper. His spiritual presence is genuinely experienced.
This view is sometimes described as a “virtual presence” or “real spiritual presence” view. The bread and wine do not change in substance, but Christ joins the sacramental action by the Holy Spirit to bless and strengthen communicants. The Lord’s Supper is more than just a memorial – it is also a means of grace by which Christ ministers to His people.
## Origins and Historical Development
The spiritual presence view emerged relatively early in church history, advocated by theologians like Augustine in the 5th century. Augustine taught that the Lord’s Supper was a means by which Christians truly participate in the body and blood of Christ, but in a spiritual rather than physical sense. The bread and wine were signs and vehicles of sacred grace.
In the 16th century Reformation, Martin Luther articulated a spiritual presence view. He affirmed Christ’s real presence in the sacrament but rejected transubstantiation. Calvin also rejected physical or local presence in the elements but upheld mystical communion with Christ’s flesh and blood by the Holy Spirit, who elevates believers to heaven. The major mainstream Reformers – Luther, Calvin, Zwingli – all preached forms of the spiritual presence view.
The Anglican tradition followed a via media between Roman transubstantiation and strict memorialism, asserting Christ’s objective spiritual presence in the Eucharist. The Westminster Confession, a Reformed doctrinal standard, states that communicants “spiritually…feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of His death” in the sacrament, by faith. So the spiritual view became widely established across major Protestant traditions.
Modern theologians who have articulated and defended the spiritual presence view include Geoffrey Wainwright, Nathan Kerr, William Willimon, Todd Billings, and others. It remains a prominent perspective in sacramental theology today.
## Key Biblical Support
The spiritual presence view is grounded in biblical exegesis of key passages about the Lord’s Supper.
1. Mark 14:22-25 – Jesus spoke of the bread as His body and the wine as His blood at the first Lord’s Supper. This suggests a special sacramental union between the elements and Christ. Yet no transubstantiation is implied.
2. 1 Corinthians 10:16 – Paul says that in Communion, the bread and cup are a “participation” (koinōnia) in Christ’s body and blood. This implies spiritual communion with Christ.
3. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 – Partaking unworthily brings guilt, implying the elements are more than mere symbols. But the nature of the offense shows the presence is spiritual, not physical.
4. John 6:35-58 – Jesus speaks graphically of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. But even Roman Catholic scholars acknowledge this is not directly about the Lord’s Supper. It uses Eucharistic language to depict believing/feeding on Christ by faith (v. 35, 47).
So the texts connect the elements with Christ without demanding a local bodily presence. This coheres well with a dynamic spiritual presence view.
## Theological Meaning and Significance
The spiritual presence view unpacks key theological and spiritual significance regarding the sacrament of Communion.
1. It is a divine means of grace. Christ employs the Lord’s Supper to minister His presence and blessings to His people, strengthening their faith and union with Him. Believers do not just remember Christ’s work but spiritually encounter and receive Him by faith.
2. It signifies mystical, spiritual nourishment. As literal food and drink nourish the body, so the spiritual feeding on Christ in the supper nourishes the soul. Christ Himself is the bread of life who gives eternal sustenance (John 6:35).
3. It signifies spiritual communion and fellowship with Christ. Eating and drinking are intimate, bonding acts. So the Lord’s Supper represents the intimate communion believers enjoy with Christ by the Spirit (1 Cor. 10:16). They are joined to Him and commune with His body and blood.
4. It signifies the unity of believers in Christ. As there is one loaf, so believers are one body unified in Christ (1 Cor 10:17). They commune together with Christ their head.
5. It points to the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). The Lord’s Supper foreshadows the joyous messianic banquet feast believers will share with Christ at the end of the age.
So the spiritual presence view unpacks rich meaning in the Lord’s Supper, giving weight to its character as a means of grace, communion with Christ, and eschatological hope.
## Contrast with other Views
It is helpful to contrast the spiritual presence view with other perspectives on the Lord’s Supper:
– It differs from transubstantiation which teaches the elements become Christ’s body and blood. The spiritual view holds no ontological change in the bread and wine.
– It differs from consubstantiation which teaches Christ’s body and blood are locally present “with” the unchanged elements. The spiritual view posits no localization or physical presence.
– It sees the supper as more than just memorialism. Christ dynamically joins and ministers to believers in the act.
– It differs from recapitulation which sees Communion as just reprising Christ’s sacrifice. The spiritual view emphasizes present grace and communion with Christ.
So the spiritual presence view carves out a mediating position, upholding more than memorialism but less than transubstantiation. The sacramental elements spiritually convey Christ’s presence, not His physical body and blood.
## Questions and Objections
A few key questions and objections are relevant regarding the spiritual presence view:
1. If Christ’s presence is not physical, how can it be real? The view would affirm His spiritual presence is genuine and not just symbolic. The Holy Spirit makes Christ authentically present and experienced, though not bodily.
2. Doesn’t Christ’s body remain localized in heaven until the Second Coming? Yes, it does. This is not incompatible with dynamic spiritual communion by the Spirit, where Christ meets believers in the supper.
3. Isn’t this view a thinly veiled way of smuggling in transubstantiation? No – the view explicitly rejects any physical or ontological change in the elements. Christ is present spiritually, not physically.
4. Aren’t the elements just symbols? Symbols can also be means of grace, not just reminders. God uses tangible things to minister to people spiritually.
5. Isn’t this view too mystical? It does point to deep spiritual mystery in the sacrament. But this mystery is grounded in biblical teaching and the real ministry of the Spirit.
Overall, the spiritual presence view provides a robust sacramental theology that avoids extremes and highlights deep biblical truth about the nature of the Lord’s Supper.
## Implications for Partaking Worthily
The spiritual presence view carries important practical implications for how believers should partake of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27).
1. With reverence for Christ’s presence. His spiritual presence should prompt awe, worship, gratitude, and attentiveness to Him.
2. With an attitude of faith. Partaking only benefits those who discern the body and blood by faith (1 Cor 11:29). The Spirit ministers grace through the elements to the believer.
3. In love and unity with other believers (1 Cor 10:17). The Supper expresses corporate fellowship in Christ.
4. With self-examination and repentance of sin (1 Cor 11:28). The unrepentant eat judgment on themselves.
5. By looking ahead to Christ’s return, our resurrection, and the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Supper is an eschatological act, building hope.
Partaking worthily means approaching the table appropriately – neither carelessly nor legalistically. The spiritual presence calls believers to reverent, earnest, joyous communion with Christ and His body.
## Conclusion
The spiritual presence view of the Lord’s Supper has deep roots in church history and in biblical exegesis. It avoids extremes and unpacks rich meaning in the sacrament as a dynamic means of grace. Christ’s mysterious yet genuine spiritual presence in the Supper is the work of the Holy Spirit, bringing blessings to believers. This calls them to partake with discernment, faith, reverence and joy. The spiritual presence view articulates a high yet balanced view of the blessing and significance of the Lord’s Supper for Christian life and worship.