The Lord's Supper in the Theology of Martin Chemnitz Bjarne - Logia

of Christ has been exalted through His ascension above every name
which is named, whether in this or in a future age, that therefore
Christ can be present with His body wherever He wills and do whatever
He wills. Therefore the presence of the body of Christ in the
Sacrament does not conflict with the articles of faith, either of the
true human nature or of the ascension of Christ. This understanding
also has the constant consensus of the ancient, true, and purer
church; moreover, it is full of the sweetest consolations. If the absence
of the body and blood of Christ is established, consciences are
robbed of all these things.” (Ex 2, 223).
the Modes of christ’s Presence
The Sacramental Union |
94 It now becomes necessary to penetrate more deeply into Chemnitz’s
view of the modes of Christ’s presence. This is of considerable
importance because it is sometimes asserted that Chemnitz did not
agree with Luther on this point. It has been a conventionally-held
view that Chemnitz, in distinction to Brenz, “taught only a relative
ubiquity depending on Christ’s will.” 18 This has been called his doctrine
of “multivolipresence” (or “multipresence”), that is, that the human
nature of the exalted Christ is present only when and where He
wills. In other words, it is held that Chemnitz rejected the general
omnipresence of Christ’s human nature, while Brenz espoused completely
Luther’s view.
95 The Formula of Concord takes as its own the presentation of Luther
on the manner (mode) of the presence of the body and blood
of Christ in the Supper (SD VII, 91–106). By means of several quotations
and paraphrases it compresses a significant part of Luther’s
Great Confession into a couple of pages (LW 37, 214–224). Luther
contends that the one body of Christ has at least “three different
modes, or all three modes, of being at any given place” (SD VII, 98;
emphasis added). At this juncture it should be noted that Luther is
ready to grant that Christ has possibly more modes, “I do not wish
to have it denied by the foregoing that God may have and know still
other modes whereby Christ’s body can be in a given place” (LW 37,
223).
96 These modes of presence are possible for Christ because “the humanity
of Christ from His mother’s womb was more profoundly and
deeply in God and in God’s presence than any angel,” and “Christ