The Lord's Supper: Sip It, Don't Dip It

Rightly administering the Lord's Supper is a mark of a true church. It occupies a critically important place in the life of God's people as a memorial of Christ, the message of the gospel, and a means of his grace. Yet, even among those who share this perspective there remain differences in practice. I will address the frequency of the Lord's Supper in a later post, but I would first like to address the method of partaking of the bread and the cup; specifically, whether or not we should keep the bread and the wine separate (eating and then drinking) or combine the elements by dipping the bread into the wine and then consuming both together.

I know that some of you will read this and think that this is straining out a gnat, missing the forrest for the trees, or spending too much time on a trivial matter. But in my estimation this is an important matter we should consider seriously.

Let me say up front that there are godly and learned men who come to different conclusions after serious biblical and theological reflection. Unfortunately, I believe most simply do what they do (on either side) out of mere tradition or convenience. Read more

See also
The Lord's Supper; For Sinners
The Lord's Supper: Open or Closed?
The Lord's Supper: Fencing the Table
The Lord's Supper: A Means of Grace
The Lord's Supper: Only in the Assembly
The Lord's Supper: How Often
The Lord's Supper: Wine or Welch's?
The Lord's Supper: Resources
Is it a Sin for a Christian to Drink Alcohol or Wine?

In this article series Joe Thorn offers a Reformed Baptist view of the Lord's Supper. For Reformed Baptists the Lord's Supper is not just "a bare memorial" but a means of grace. See the Reformed Baptist 1689 Second London Confession of Faith, Chapter 30."7. Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this ordinance, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually receive, and feed upon Christ crucified, and all the benefits of his death; the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally, but spiritually present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses. (1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)" This is essentially what the English Reformers believed, the Anglican formularies teach, and conservative Anglican evangelicals hold to this day.