Chapter 26

1. All saints are united to Jesus Christ their head by his Spirit and by faith, although this does not make them one person with him. They have fellowship in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory.(a)  Since they are united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces(b) and are obligated to carry out these duties, both public and private, in an orderly way to promote their mutual good, both in the inner and outer aspects of their lives.(c)

2. Saints by profession are obligated to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in worshiping God and in performing other spiritual services that promote their mutual edification.(d)  They are to aid each other in material things according to their various abilities and needs.(e)  They should especially exercise communion in the relationships they have in their families(f) and churches.(g)  Yet the rule of the gospel also directs them, as God provides opportunity, to extend their sharing to the whole household of faith, to all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, their communion with one another as saints does not take away or infringe on the title or individual ownership that people have in their goods and possessions.(h)

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1. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of positive and sovereign institution. They are appointed by the Lord Jesus the only lawgiver and are to be continued in his church to the end of the age.(a)

2. These holy appointments are to be administered only by those who are qualified and called to administer them, according to the commission of Christ.(b)

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1. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ. To those baptized it is a sign of their fellowship with him in his death and resurrection, of their being grafted into him,(a) of remission of sins,(b) and of submitting themselves to God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life.(c)

2. Those who personally profess repentance toward God and faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.(d)

3. The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, in which the individual is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.(e)

4. Immersion, or dipping of the person in water, is necessary for this ordinance to be administered properly.(f)

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1. The supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night he was betrayed. It is to be observed in his churches to the end of the age as a perpetual remembrance and display of the sacrifice of himself in his death.(a)  It is given for the confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits of Christ’s death, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, and their further engagement in and to all the duties they owe him. The supper is to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Christ and each other.(b)

2. In this ordinance Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor is any real sacrifice made at all for remission of sin of the living or the dead. It is only a memorial of the one offering Christ made of himself on the cross once for all.(c)  It is also a spiritual offering of the highest possible praise to God for that sacrifice.(d) 

3. In this ordinance the Lord Jesus has appointed his ministers to pray and to give thanks for the elements of bread and wine and in this way to set them apart from a common to a holy use. They are to take and break the bread, take the cup, and give both to the communicants while also participating themselves.(e)

4. Denying the cup to anyone qualified to partake of it, worshipping the elements, lifting them up or carrying them around for adoration, or reserving them for some pretended religious use are all contrary to the nature of this ordinance and to the institution of Christ.(f)

5. The outward elements in this ordinance, properly set apart for the use ordained by Christ, have such a relationship to Christ crucified that they are sometimes called—truly though figuratively—by the names of the things they represent, that is, the body and blood of Christ.(g)  However, in substance and nature they still remain truly and only bread and wine, as they were before.(h)

7. Worthy recipients who outwardly partake of the visible elements in this ordinance also by faith inwardly receive and feed on Christ crucified and all the benefits of his death. They do so really and truly, yet not physically and bodily but spiritually. The body and blood of Christ are not present bodily or physically in the ordinance but spiritually to the faith of believers, just as the elements themselves are present to their outward senses.(i)

8. All ignorant and ungodly people are unfit to enjoy communion with Christ and are thus unworthy of the Lord’s table. As long as they remain in this condition, they cannot partake of these holy mysteries or be admitted to the Lord’s table without committing a great sin against Christ.(j) All those who receive the supper unworthily are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, eating and drinking judgment on themselves.(k)

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1. The bodies of those who have died return to dust and undergo destruction.(a)  But their souls neither die nor sleep, because they have an immortal character, and immediately return to God who gave them.(b) The souls of the righteous are then made perfect in holiness and are received into paradise. There they are with Christ and behold the face of God in light and glory while they wait for the full redemption of their bodies.(c)  The souls of the wicked are thrown into hell, where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved for the judgment of the great day.(d)  The Scripture recognizes no place other than these two for souls separated from their bodies.

2. At the last day, those saints who are found alive will not sleep but will be changed.(e)  All the dead will be raised up with the very same bodies, not different ones,(f) though they will have different qualities. Their bodies will be united again to their souls forever.(g)

3. The bodies of the unjust will be raised by the power of Christ to dishonor. By his Spirit the bodies of the just will be raised to honor and will be made like Christ’s own glorious body.(h)

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1. God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ,(a) to whom all power and judgment is given by the Father. In that day, the apostate angels will be judged.(b)   So also, all people who have lived on the earth will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds and to receive a reckoning according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil.(c)

2. God’s purpose for appointing this day is to manifest the glory of his mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect, and of his justice in the eternal damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient.(d) For at that time the righteous will go into everlasting life and receive fullness of joy and glory with everlasting rewards in the presence of the Lord. But the wicked, who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, will be thrown into everlasting torments(e) and punished with everlasting destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.(f)

3. Christ desires that we be firmly convinced that a day of judgment will come, both to deter everyone from sin(g) and to comfort the godly more fully in their adversity.(h)  For this reason, he has determined to keep the day secret, to encourage people to shake off any fleshly security and always to be watchful, because they do not know the hour when the Lord will come(i) and so that they may always be prepared to say, “Come Lord Jesus; come quickly. Amen.”(j)

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