The Lord's Supper is a wonderful mystery in which we are fed at the “spiritual table” of Christ (Belgic Confession, art. 35), with Christ who is the “true food” and “true drink” of our souls (John 6:55), and by Christ himself (Revelation 3:20). This metaphor of a banquet is expressed by the various titles given to this sacrament in the New Testament: “the Lord's Supper” (1 Corinthians 11:20), “the Lord's Table” (1 Corinthians 10:21), “the breaking of the bread” (Acts 2:42, 20:7), “communion/fellowship” (1 Corinthians 10:16), and “thanksgiving” (Greek, eucharistia; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:24; Matthew 26:26-27), because it is a table at which we are joyful. While this doctrine is clearly stated in our confessions, one practical matter that is not so clear is whom to welcome at this Table and whom to turn away? As with all meals, there is a host and as well as guests who are to observe certain manners. In the local church the host is Christ himself while the communicant members of that church are the guests. The question, however, is whether “other” guests may be invited as well?

Supervision of the Table⤒🔗

The idea and practice of supervising the participants at the Lord's Table is a vital one for Reformed people because of the nature of the sacrament itself as well as the nature and duties of the office of elder in the Church, who are the governors and rulers of Christ's Church (Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 12:28). One of the main areas in which their governing authority is practically applied is with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. As the URCNA Church Order says, “The Consistory shall supervise participation at the Lord's Table” (Art. 45) since maintaining “the purity of the Word and Sacraments” is one of the specific duties of the elders (Art. 14).¹

Categories of Supervision←⤒🔗

Since holy communion is a time of fellowship between Christ and his people, the elders are to forbid the openly unbelieving and rebellious from joining in (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 82). The question we are seeking to address is whether or not visitors to our church, who profess faith in Christ, may partake of the Table.

Among Christian churches today, this supervision is usually done according to one of three basic categories.

• First, there are churches in which this supervision is merely in spreading the Table before the people and inviting all who believe to partake in an “open” communion (E.g., Calvary Chapel, the Christian Church [formerly Disciples of Christ], and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church). ²

• Second, there is the practice of “closed” communion, in which only members of the local church or the particular denomination are welcomed to participate (E.g., Eastern Orthodoxy and Rome).

• Third, there is the practice of “close” communion. This means that communion is not indiscriminately opened to anyone who simply “says” they believe in Jesus nor is it overly restrictive just to a particular expression of the body of Christ, but it allows for those of common faith and church membership to partake as one. This is clearly the practice envisioned by the URCNA Church Order, which says, “Visitors may be admitted provided that, as much as possible, the Consistory is assured of their biblical church membership, of their proper profession of faith, and of their godly walk” (art. 45).

This practice of “close” communion is the historic practice of the Church Order of Dort:

None shall be admitted to the Lord's Supper except those who according to the usage of the Church with which they unite themselves have made a confession of the Reformed religion, besides being reputed to be of a godly walk, without which those who come from other churches shall not be admitted. (Art. 61)³

This article can be traced back to the Ecclesiastical Ordinances, written by William Farel and John Calvin in 1541 for the churches in Geneva. In this documents it is said that “all strangers and newcomers are also to be exhorted to present themselves first in church so that they may be instructed, if that should be necessary” in order for them to partake of the Supper. Then, on December 17, 1546 the consistory said,

No one shall be admitted to the supper unless he has first made confession of his faith, that is to say, has declared before the minister that he wishes to live according to the Reformation of the Gospel and knows the creed, the Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments. ⁴

Elements of Close Communion←⤒🔗

As mentioned in the historic and current Church Orders above, there are three basic elements to the elders' supervision of the Table: biblical church membership, proper profession of faith, and godly walk.

The first element to look at briefly is a person's “godly walk.” The Consistory is duty-bound to keep from the Table the one who merely professes faith yet is living an immoral life (1 Corinthians 5). This one is described by Paul as leaven amidst the rest of the lump of bread.

Second is a “proper profession of faith.” This means that one must not only profess faith in Christ (Romans 10:9-10), but have made “the good confession” before the church and the world in a formal way and been received into the life of the Church (1 Timothy 6:12).

Third, and related to the profession of faith mentioned above, the elders must know if one has a “biblical church membership.” Many today claim to “believe in the Lord,” but the issue is how the pastors and elders of the church, who oversee the administration of the Supper, can see the evidence of that. As James would say, don't just say you have faith, show it to me! (James 2:18) As confessionally Reformed churches we believe that Christians belong to Christ by faith and that this is visibly shown in their membership to his visible Church. This is why the Belgic Confession of Faith, written in 1561, says, “We believe, since this holy congregation is an assembly of those who are saved, and out of it there is no salvation … all men are in duty bound to join and unite themselves with it” (Art. 28; cf. Westminster Confession, ch. 25.2). Christians belong to Christ and his Church. Just as the Israelites were separated from the world of the pagans and called “the people of God,” so too the Church of the Lord Jesus was called out to belong to Christ and devoted to one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord (Acts 2:42-47). This is why Luke speaks of the Lord “add [ing] to their number” (Acts 2:47). The Church was a definable group of people, led by its leaders, the Apostles and later pastors, with a set system of discipline to “remove” the unfaithful (1 Corinthians 5), and with an actual list of member-widows (1 Timothy 5). These are just a few examples of the evidence that leads us to believe that the Church had membership in the New Testament and why we do as well. Furthermore, it is the testimony of two-thousand years of Church history that Christians are to be members of the Church.

Moreover, the Reformers then asked, “Which churches are Christ's?” They labored in preaching, writing, and public debate to demonstrate to the world that any Christian can clearly discern which churches are true and which are false. This is done with three tests, or, marks: the pure preaching of the gospel (justification by faith alone), the pure administration of the sacraments (baptism and the Supper), and the exercising of church discipline (Belgic Confession, art. 29). If a church has these three marks, it is a true Church of Christ; if not, it is a false Church, or at best, some sort of sect. ⁵

This is important for our discussion. The idea that all that is needed to partake of the Supper is a “credible profession of faith” is a recent and American (democratic) practice. From this statement it could reasonably be deduced that a person does not even have to be a member of any church, first, and, in fact, may even be a Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Oneness Pentecostal, etc., so long as they confess Jesus as “Lord and Savior.” Simply put, because even the cults say they believe in Jesus, the elders must insist on biblical church membership for access to the Table.

Some Practical Steps←⤒🔗

• First, we as pastors and elders need to instruct our people as to what we do in worship and why. In turn, we also need to instill in our members that they ought to prepare their invited guests for the Lord's Day service. When our congregations are well informed about our theology and liturgy, they become an invaluable aid to the work of the Consistory.

• Second, we need to instruct systematically our congregations so that they can explain to those whom they invite to worship what communion is in a Reformed church. Attention should be given to Heidelberg Catechism questions and answers 65-68 and 75-82 as well as Belgic Confession, articles 33 and 35.

• Third, members need to be able to explain their church's particular criteria for those whom are welcomed to the Table. In my congregation this means those who believe in Christ, have been baptized, and who are members of a Reformed or Presbyterian church.

• Fourth, members and elders need to say sensitively to visitors that we welcome only those described above not because we are looking down on their personal faith or to judge whether they are regenerate, but to guard the purity of the Lord's Table. The Supper is meant to feed Christ's sheep and unite them in faith, love, and confession.

• Fifth, one of the practical benefits of supervising the Table of the Lord is using the opportunity to share the pure gospel of grace alone, received through faith alone in Christ's work alone with our friends as well as the importance of Christ's visible church. Encourage these newcomers to investigate the Reformed Faith in more detail with you in Bible studies, catechism classes, and inquirers/membership classes. Lord willing, after much prayer and discussion, they will hear the shepherd's voice: “Come out of her my people” (Revelation 18:4).