Jesse Sharpe PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

Introduction 22
same, the bread which we break is a communion partaking of the body of Christ,
and likewise the cup of blessing is a communion partaking of the blood of Christ.
Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine into
the substance of Christ’s body and blood in the supper of the Lord, cannot be
proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture,
overthroweth the nature of sacrament, and hath given occasion to many
superstitions.
The body of Christ is given, taken and eaten in the supper only after an
heavenly and spiritual manner; and the mean whereby the body of Christ is
received and eaten in the supper is faith.
The sacrament of the Lord’s supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved,
carried about, lifted up or worshipped. 25
This statement of faith for the spiritual element in the Lord’s Supper is one that allows for
great leeway in the interpretation and discussion of the sacrament in worship. The reader
learns that the sacrament is indeed a ‘sign of love’ but that it is also more than this, which
means that there is a memorial aspect to the act, but that the act also involves what the
Church of England terms to be a ‘sacrament’ which it defines as, ‘Sacraments ordained of
Christ, be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession; but rather they be
certain sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace towards us, by the which he doth work
invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in
him’. 26
The very term sacrament is understood as a ‘sign of grace’, which further means
that there is a memorial component to the Lord’s Supper, but in the memorial, there is also
a spiritual force at work. While the Church of England directly denies the concept of
25 ‘The Thirty-Nine Articles’, pp. 301-02.
26 ‘The Thirty-Nine Articles’, p. 299.