Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein
Chapter 17 - The Lord's Supper; what it brings to us
16-31 - No omnipresence of Christ's body; spiritual communion
[Deals with the Lutheran view]
16. This would be fine if they just said the truth is connected with the sign, but they insist on "a ubiquity [of Christ's body] contrary to its nature." In the end they "insist on the local presence of Christ," ruling out a spiritual partaking of His physical body.
17. Their view of Christ's body is that it was always omnipresent, but came to us in Incarnation, death, resurrection appearances and ascension to show us that "He was made king in heaven." This reduces His earthly ministry to docetism (it only appeared to us to be so). What body did Jesus offer His disciples in the bread, then, when instituting that Lord's Supper?
18. If Christ's body is in the elements it'll be torn apart: is it in the bread, then the wine? Body without blood? Blood without flesh? No, "we are lifted up to heaven... to seek Christ there..... He feeds His people with His own body... by the power of His Spirit."
19. We can't diminish Christ's heavenly glory by subjecting Him to earthly elements; and we can't ascribe inappropriate things to His earthly nature, making Him infinite in that way.
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