Question 77

Where has Christ promised, that he will as certainly feed and nourish believers with his body and blood, as they eat of this broken bread, and drink of this cup?

In the institution of the supper, which is thus expressed: “The Lord Jesus, in the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, 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; 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 often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye doo shew the Lord’s death until he come” (1 Cor. 11;23-26.—Matt. 26;26).

This promise is repeated by the holy Apostle Paul, where he says; “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? for we, being many, are one bread and one body: because we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10;16, 17).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,
24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Matthew 26:26
26While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”

1 Corinthians 10:16
16Is 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?

1 Corinthians 10:17
17Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.

Source and edition

Heidelberg Catechism. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879

Public Domain (historic text); CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription). Source transcription.

Transcription licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.

Berean Blue opens December 1, 2026 for Bible reading, study, and research. View this work in the app preview.