Read RP Testimony chapter 29 →
Read the official text, or choose a simpler explanation to explore together.
1. Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein He was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, called the Lord’s Supper, to be observed in His Church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of Himself in His death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto Him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Him, and with each other, as members of His mystical body.
Scripture proofs: 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 1 Cor. 10:16-17, 21; 1 Cor. 12:13.
2. In this sacrament, Christ is not offered up to His Father; nor any real sacrifice made at all for remission of sins of the quick or dead; but only a commemoration of that one offering up of Himself, by Himself, upon the cross, once for all: and a spiritual oblation of all possible praise unto God for the same: so that the Popish sacrifice of the mass (as they call it) is most abominably injurious to Christ’s one, only sacrifice, the alone propitiation for all the sins of His elect.
Scripture proofs: Heb. 9:22, 25-26, 28; 1 Cor. 11:24-26; Matt. 26:26-27; Heb. 7:23-24, 27; Heb. 10:11-12, 14, 18.
3. The Lord Jesus, hath, in this ordinance, appointed His ministers to declare His word of institution to the people; to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to a holy use; and to take and break the bread, to take the cup, and (they communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants; but to none who are not then present in the congregation.
Scripture proofs: Matt. 26:26-28, and Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:19-20 with 1 Cor. 11:23-26; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:20.
4. Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest or any other alone; as likewise, the denial of the cup to the people, worshipping the elements, the lifting them up or carrying them about for adoration, and the reserving them for any pretended religious use; are all contrary to the nature of this sacrament, and to the institution of Christ.
Scripture proofs: 1 Cor. 10:16; Mark 14:23; 1 Cor. 11: 25-29; Matt. 15:9.
5. The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation to Him crucified, as that, truly, yet sacramentally only, they are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent, to wit, the body and blood of Christ; albeit in substance and nature they still remain truly and only bread and wine, as they were before.
Scripture proofs: Matt. 26:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:26-28; Matt. 26:29.
6. That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ’s body and blood (commonly called transubstantiation) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common sense and reason; overthroweth the nature of the sacrament, and hath been, and is the cause of manifold superstitions; yea, of gross idolatries.
Scripture proofs: Acts 3:21 with 1 Cor. 11:24-26; Luke 24:6, 39.
7. Worthy receivers outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacrament, do then also, inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of His death: the body and blood of Christ being then, not corporally or carnally, in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet, as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses.
Scripture proofs: 1 Cor. 11:28; 1 Cor. 10:16.
8. Although ignorant and wicked men receive the outward elements in this sacrament: yet they receive not the thing signified thereby, but by their unworthy coming thereunto are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord to their own damnation. Wherefore, all ignorant and ungodly persons, as they are unfit to enjoy communion with Him, so are they unworthy of the Lord’s table; and cannot, without great sin against Christ while they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted thereunto.
Scripture proofs: 1 Cor. 11:27-29; 2 Cor. 6:14-16; 1 Cor. 5:6-7, 13; 2 Thess. 3:6, 14-15; Matt. 7:6.
Words to know
- Lord’s Supper
- The sacrament of bread and wine that remembers Christ’s sacrifice and spiritually nourishes believers in fellowship with him.
- Transubstantiation
- The claim that bread and wine change in substance into Christ’s body and blood, which the Confession rejects.
WCF 29.1 · A meal Christ gave his church
Jesus appointed the Lord’s Supper on the night he was betrayed. The church keeps it until the world’s end to remember his sacrifice, confirm its benefits to believers, nourish their faith, and strengthen obedience. It also expresses fellowship with Christ and with one another. It is a covenant meal for his people.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:13.
What should the Supper help believers remember and receive?
WCF 29.2 · One sacrifice, never repeated
The Lord’s Supper does not offer Jesus as a new sacrifice or pay again for the sins of living or dead people. It remembers his once-for-all offering and responds with praise. The Confession rejects treating the mass as a sacrifice for sin because Christ’s one sacrifice fully satisfies God’s justice for his chosen people.
Hebrews 9:22; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26; Matthew 26:26-27.
Why does remembering the cross not mean repeating it?
WCF 29.3 · Receive bread and wine together
Ministers should explain Christ’s words, pray, set apart bread and wine for this holy use, break the bread, and give both bread and cup to those receiving, while participating themselves. The elements are given to people present in the congregation. This is a shared church act, not a private invention.
Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20.
Why should the Supper include both the bread and the cup?
WCF 29.4 · Follow Christ’s purpose
Receiving communion alone, withholding the cup from the people, worshipping the bread and wine, or keeping and displaying them as objects of devotion contradicts Christ’s institution. The elements are given for the congregation to receive as he commanded. We worship Christ, not the material signs.
1 Corinthians 10:16; Mark 14:23; 1 Corinthians 11:25-29.
Why should we worship Christ rather than the bread and wine?
WCF 29.5 · Bread and wine remain bread and wine
The bread and wine are set apart to represent Christ crucified. Because of that sacramental relationship, they can be called his body and blood. Yet their substance does not change: they remain bread and wine. Their meaning is holy without turning them into different materials.
Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:26-28; Matthew 26:29.
How can bread have a holy meaning while remaining bread?
WCF 29.6 · What transubstantiation claims
Transubstantiation is the teaching that the substance of bread and wine changes into Christ’s body and blood. The Confession rejects it as contrary to Scripture and reason, destructive of the sacrament’s nature, and a source of superstition and idolatry. The signs should direct faith toward Christ rather than become objects of worship.
Acts 3:21; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26; Luke 24:6.
What does this teaching claim changes, and why does the Confession reject it?
WCF 29.7 · Real spiritual nourishment
Believers receiving rightly take bread and wine outwardly and truly receive Christ and his saving benefits inwardly by faith. This is a real spiritual feeding, not bodily eating of Jesus. His body is not physically in, with, or under the elements. By the Spirit, Christ is truly present to believers’ faith as they receive.
1 Corinthians 11:28; 1 Corinthians 10:16.
How is real spiritual nourishment different from physically eating Christ’s body?
WCF 29.8 · Receive with understanding and faith
A person may eat the bread and drink the wine without receiving the saving reality they represent. Coming in ignorance or persistent ungodliness is a serious sin against Christ. Such people should not receive or be admitted while they remain in that condition. The Supper calls for understanding, faith, and repentance, not merely joining a meal.
1 Corinthians 11:27-29; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16; 1 Corinthians 5:6-7.
Why should we prepare our hearts rather than receive casually?
Source: The Constitution of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, updated 2026, A-96, A-97, A-98, A-99.