What are baptism and the Lord's Supper?

What the Bible says

The church has kept two rites that Jesus commanded. Many churches call them sacraments, and some call them ordinances. Catholic and Orthodox churches count seven sacraments but place these two at the centre.

Baptism is a task the risen Jesus gave his disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matt 28:19

Jesus himself was baptized (Matt 3:16), and at Pentecost Peter urged the crowd, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38). Paul explains what baptism means.

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:4

Baptism is union with Christ. The old life is buried and a new one rises. Titus calls it "the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5), in a sentence that says we are saved "not by the righteous deeds we had done" but by God's mercy.

The Lord's Supper began at Jesus' last meal with his disciples, on the night he was betrayed.

And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

Luke 22:19-20

Paul passed this on as something he "received from the Lord": "you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes" (1 Cor 11:23-26). The Supper looks back to the cross and ahead to the Lord's return. Paul also calls this table a sharing.

Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.

1 Cor 10:16-17

The church's witness

The Nicene Creed confesses "one baptism for the forgiveness of sins" The Nicene Creed. The Apostles' Creed grew out of the confession made at baptism in Rome The Apostles' Creed. Christians understand the rites differently; what follows gives each view in its best form without taking sides.

Who should be baptized. Some churches baptize infants: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and others. They point to the promise made "to you and your children" (Acts 2:39), to households baptized together (Acts 16:33), and to circumcision, the sign of the old covenant, which Paul sets beside baptism (Col 2:11-12). Baptism shows God's grace before a child can answer in faith. Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran teaching holds that God gives new birth in baptism; the Reformed tradition understands it as a sign and seal of the covenant.

Other churches baptize only those who profess faith: Baptist and many evangelical churches. They note that every baptism recounted in the New Testament is of people who heard and believed. The Ethiopian official believed and then went down into the water (Acts 8:38). Of household baptisms, they note that the whole household heard the word and believed (Acts 16:32-34). If baptism pictures death and resurrection, they hold, it belongs to those who confess for themselves.

Matthew Henry, who defended infant baptism, writes: "Baptism is an outward sign of that inward washing, or sanctification of the Spirit, which seals and evidences the believer's justification" Matthew Henry.

How Christ is present in the Supper. Churches that celebrate the Supper agree that Christ meets his people at his table, but four understandings stand out. Catholic teaching holds that at consecration the substance of bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ while the appearances remain (transubstantiation); the Orthodox also confess a real change but leave its manner a mystery. Ambrose writes that before consecration "it is bread," but after Christ's words "This is my body" are pronounced, "it is Christ’s Body" Ambrose. Lutherans hold that the bread and wine remain and that Christ's body and blood are truly present in, with and under them, a sacramental union; they usually avoid the label "consubstantiation." The Reformed tradition teaches that Christ's body is in heaven and that the Spirit truly unites those who eat in faith with him (spiritual presence). Churches following Zwingli, and many Baptists, see the Supper chiefly as remembrance and proclamation (the memorial view): bread and cup are signs of Christ's death, and Christ is present by his Spirit among his people. Protestant interpreters such as Matthew Henry argue that what is eaten "is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh" Matthew Henry. Catholic interpreters answer that Paul names it by its appearance, and that the unworthy eater is "guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor 11:27).

Yet there is common ground. Augustine says: "Bread is made of many grains, wine is produced out of many berries. Herein the Lord Jesus Christ signified us, and hallowed in His Own table the mystery of our peace and unity" Augustine.

In the original languages

The word for baptize, baptizo (βαπτίζω), originally meant "to dip" or "to immerse," and was also used of washing. Some churches stress immersion, while others hold that pouring or sprinkling shows the same cleansing.

The "remembrance" in the Supper translates anamnesis (ἀνάμνησις). What it means is one point of dispute. Some take it as recalling a past event. Others hold that, as at Passover, remembering makes a past act of salvation present and effective for us now.

Common objections

"How can a bit of water or bread change anything? Isn't salvation by faith?" A serious objection. Scripture says salvation is not by our works, and Peter says baptism is not "the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God" (1 Pet 3:21). No tradition teaches that the rites work like magic. The disagreement is over how God uses these rites. Some hold that God really gives the promised grace through them, and others that they are signs confirming grace already received. Both take seriously what Jesus commanded.

"Eating a body and drinking blood sounds strange, even superstitious." It sounds odd from outside, and the early church was accused of it too. But the language comes from Jesus' own words, "This is My body," and how to understand them divides Christians. On any view, the Supper is remembering the cross, sharing in Christ and receiving one another as one body. When Paul tells us to examine ourselves before eating (1 Cor 11:27-29), he means that the table is not to be treated lightly.

"If churches disagree, how do we know who is right? Why not skip it?" The differences are real, and faithful believers have reached different conclusions for centuries. Yet that does not make what Jesus commanded meaningless. All traditions agree that he commanded these rites and that they are received by grace. If you are unsure, you can read, pray and learn within one church.

Going further

Baptism is a beginning received once, and the Supper is nourishment received again and again. One declares ‘I belong to him,’ the other ‘He feeds me.’ Neither is our own invention but a gift, so even when faith is weak these rites say that God promised first.

You might ask yourself some questions. Have I been baptized, and what does it mean to me? When I take the bread and cup, what do I remember, and with whom am I united? How should I treat believers who see this differently?

To read further, see Why do we need the church?, What is grace? and Why did Jesus have to die?.