Was the
doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which was eventually
defined by the Catholic Church as transubstantiation, always taught by the
Church?
This question can be resolved by answering the following three questions:
1) Does scripture speak of the bread and wine becoming the body and blood of
Christ?
2) Did the early Christians speak of the bread and wine becoming the body and
blood of Christ?
3) Did the early Christians ever refer to the bread and wine as mere symbols?
Question 1 Analyzed:
In John chapter 6, Jesus clearly and explicitly states that we must chew his
flesh and drink his blood in order to gain eternal life. He repeats this
bizarre assertion three times. Many of those listening understood this
assertion as lunacy and many of them left the fold because they could not
accept his words.
51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world."
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day.
55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
When Jesus institutes the eucharist
at the Last Supper, he again is explicit and unambiguous:
Luke
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
"This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."20In
the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the
new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Mark
22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave
it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."23Then he
took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.
24"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,"
he said to them.
Matt
26While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave
it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." 27Then
he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from
it, all of you. 28This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many for the forgiveness of sins.
What other evidence from scripture do we have that this transformation is
literal and real?
Note that Paul is not introducing anything new here, but is reminding them of a
shared understanding:
1 Cor 10
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a
participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a
participation in the body of Christ?
Two things to note below. Paul speaks of THE bread,
and THE cup. He is referring to the bread of life and the cup of blood of the
new covenant. Secondly, Paul makes it clear that failing to discern, or
recognize, the body in the Eucharist is dangerous.
1 Cor 11
28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks
judgment upon himself.
Question #1 Answered:
YES, the scripture does speak of the bread and wine becoming the body and blood
of Christ.
Jesus gives us instructions to chew his flesh and drink his blood. This would
only be possible through a miraculous transformation of some sort.
When instituting the Eucharist, Jesus does not say “this is a symbol of my
body.” He said “this IS my body.” In the same way he says that the cup is the
cup of his blood.
Paul reminds his readers that the Eucharist is a participation in the body and
blood of Christ, not just a remembrance. If no transformation took place, then
there would be no body and blood for us to participate in.
Paul also warns of the danger of partaking in the Eucharist without recognizing
the body. If the body is not there, then why or how should it be recognized?
Question 2 Analyzed:
The early Christians seemed to fully understand and grasp the idea that
something mysterious occurred in the celebration of the Eucharist.
St. Ignatius-Writing in approximately 106 AD and warning against the teaching
of the Gnostics.
Letter to the Smyrnaeans 7
From Eucharist and prayer they hold aloof, because
they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ,
which suffered for our sins, and which the Father in His loving-kindness raised
from the dead. And so, those who question the gift of God perish in their
contentiousness
St. Justin Martyr, circa 150 A.D.:
First Apology, 66
St. Justin is talking about the Mass, and he has described the consecration and
communion. Then he says
We call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to partake of it,
except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the
washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration, and is thereby
living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread nor as common drink do
we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the
word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have
been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic
prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our flesh and blood is
nourished, is both the flesh and blood of that incarnated Jesus.
St. Irenaeus of
But vain in every respect are they who despise the entire dispensation of God,
and disallow the salvation of the flesh, and treat with contempt its
regeneration, maintaining that it is not capable of incorruption. But if this
indeed do not attain salvation, then neither did the Lord redeem us with His
blood, nor is the cup of the Eucharist the communion of His
blood, nor the bread which we break the communion of His body. For blood
can only come from veins and flesh, and whatsoever else makes up the substance
of man, such as the Word of God was actually made.
When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word
of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from
which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can
they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is
life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord,
and is a member of Him
For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the
invocation of God, is no longer common bread,(6) but the Eucharist, consisting
of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive
the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection
to eternity.
Question 2 Answered:
YES, the early Christians did speak of the bread and wine becoming the literal
body and blood of Christ. Also worth noting, the Eucharistic prayers play a
central role and it is indicated that these prayers were given to the apostles
by Christ then passed on through the apostles to the early Church.
Question 3 is left for you to Answer!
Best Regards,
Kyle