← Westminster Larger Catechism · Q. 177

Wherein do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper differ?

☩ Ecclesiology & Worship

The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper differ, in that baptism is to be administered but once, with water, to be a sign and seal of our regeneration and ingrafting into Christ,1 and that even to infants;2 whereas the Lord's supper is to be administered often, in the elements of bread and wine, to represent and exhibit Christ as spiritual nourishment to the soul,3 and to confirm our continuance and growth in him,4 and that only to such as are of years and ability to examine themselves.5

Scripture proofs

The Westminster Assembly's proof texts (KJV). The bracketed numbers in the answer above mark the clause each set of references supports; expand a row to read the verses.

1 Matt. 3:11; Titus 3:5; Gal. 3:27
Matt. 3:11

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Titus 3:5

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Gal. 3:27

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

2 Gen. 17:7, 9; Acts 2:38–39; 1 Cor. 7:14
Gen. 17:7, 9

Gen. 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Gen. 17:9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Acts 2:38–39

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

1 Cor. 7:14

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

3 1 Cor. 11:23–26
1 Cor. 11:23–26

1 Cor. 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

1 Cor. 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

1 Cor. 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

1 Cor. 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

4 1 Cor. 10:16
1 Cor. 10:16

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

5 1 Cor. 11:28–29
1 Cor. 11:28–29

1 Cor. 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

1 Cor. 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

This doctrine across the Standards

Where the Confession and the Westminster Shorter Catechism treat the same matter, so the question can be studied alongside its parallel statements.

In the Westminster Confession

XXIX.1 Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, …

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.

→ XXIX.1 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.2 In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor any real sacrifice made at all …

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 the elect.

→ XXIX.2 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.3 The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to declare his word of institution to the …

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 an 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.

→ XXIX.3 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.4 Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest, or any other, alone; as likewise the denial of …

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.

→ XXIX.4 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.5 The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation …

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.

→ XXIX.5 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.6 That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine, into the substance of Christ's …

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.

→ XXIX.6 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.7 Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacrament, do then also inwardly by faith, really …

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.

→ XXIX.7 · Of the Lord's Supper
XXIX.8 Although ignorant and wicked men receive the outward elements in this sacrament, yet they receive not the thing …

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 can not, without great sin against Christ, while they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted thereunto.

→ XXIX.8 · Of the Lord's Supper

In the Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q.96 What is the Lord's Supper?

The Lord's Supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ's appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace.

→ Open Q.96
Q.97 What is required for the worthy receiving of the Lord's Supper?

It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord's Supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord's body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.

→ Open Q.97