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Meeting with God: Sacraments and Ceremonies in Worship

Our Worship, chapters 32–39

What is the highest point of Christian worship? Ask today’s evangelical megachurches and you might get a variety of answers: altar calls, faith-healing demonstrations, amped-up praise-and-worship sessions, or perhaps the offering. Many Reformed folk would scoff at such ideas, claiming instead that only the sermon, the preached Word of God, ought to be held in highest honor.

Abraham Kuyper offers an answer that might startle both parties. “The worship service reaches its highest point,” he says, “in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper” (261). The sacrament offers the most tangible representation of the covenant of grace and provides the highest expression of the church’s unity. The Lord’s Table is Kuyper’s starting point for discussing not only the sacraments but also the whole spectrum of ecclesiastical ceremonies. Ordination, profession of faith, excommunication, readmission, and even marriage all revolve around the observance of this communal sacramental tradition. In this final article on the Dutch Reformed liturgy, we will see how Kuyper’s theology of the Lord’s Supper colors his approach to the church’s entire life together.

     

Discussing sacraments and ceremonies together does not imply that these two categories possess equal standing. The Reformed confessions present the two sacraments—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—as “signs and seals” which God instituted and through which he communicates the spiritual realities of the faith.1 Kuyper never departs from this theological foundation, but he brings a particular focus to the combined role of sacraments and ceremonies in providing tangible expressions of the Christian faith (216–20). The ecclesiastical ceremonies support the sacraments through actions that reveal Christ’s rule and reign within the body of believers. Kuyper begins with a discussion of baptism.

Baptism: Cleansing, Conversion, and Being Born Again Baptism is the gate that provides access to the Lord’s Table (300). It is impossible to consider baptism without acknowledging the unique “confessional stamp” which the sacrament acquires in the Reformed church (221). In particular, Kuyper highlights the following.

Baptism symbolizes the washing away of sins.

Baptism portrays a spiritual reality which God works in the true believer’s heart. For this reason, baptism by immersion is the most accurate portrayal of the washing of regeneration. Unfortunately, the northern European climate proves unfavorable for immersion in a natural body of water, and Kuyper thinks that a Baptist sanctuary design “calls up the image of a bathroom” (223)—so baptism by sprinkling was a practical necessity for most Reformed churches in that time and place.

Baptism symbolizes conversion. We cannot escape the observation that all of the biblical examples of baptism, both by John and by the apostles, involved active adult converts (224). Even in the case of household baptisms, which presumably included children, the event that precipitated the sacrament was the conversion of the family head to Christianity (Acts 16:15; 1 Cor. 1:16). Hence, the Reformed church’s predominant form of baptism—namely, of infants born into already-believing households—is something of which we have no direct scriptural examples.

Kuyper does not make this argument as a credobaptist. Rather, he calls for a better articulation of the distinction in function and form between adult and infant baptism. Whereas adult baptism emphasizes conversion (after the will has already been activated), infant baptism emphasizes being born again (prior to any active choice on the part of the child). These instances highlight different facets of the same scriptural truth. So the Reformed church ought to maintain distinct liturgical forms for three different categories of baptism: new adult converts; infants of believers; and adult believers who were raised in a Christian home but failed to be baptized as infants (227).2

Like circumcision, infant baptism seals children of believers as participants in the covenant of grace. However, unlike circumcision, infant baptism does not privilege a particular nation or race as the recipient of God’s favor (228). Even Reformed churches may thoughtlessly tie baptism to ethnic heritage or to membership in a particular family. This is a grave error with disastrous consequences for evangelistic proclamation.

Because of its covenantal implications, infant baptism must take place in the assembled congregation. Convert baptism, although it too belongs in worship, requires action only from the baptizer and the person to be baptized (225; Acts 8:36–38). However, since the child is passive in infant baptism, the parents and congregation must make public vows to oversee his or her spiritual instruction (229).3

This theological background prepares Kuyper for some tedious excursions into the baptismal furnishings and customs of Dutch churches, from which I will merely extract the following principles: baptism should occur in a place within the sanctuary where the whole congregation can see (231); the sermon on baptism days should be kept short (233); baptism should be conducted from a font which remains fixed at the front of the sanctuary, rather than a removable bowl (234); and it should be announced by the reading of the appropriate liturgical form and followed by a prayer of thanksgiving (236–43).

The Lord’s Supper: Joining Christ at the Table

As stated earlier, baptism is the gate to the Lord’s Supper. In conversion baptism, the new member should immediately proceed to the Lord’s Table. In infant baptism, a more gradual transition must take place: “A child is carried to the baptismal font but later has to walk personally to the Lord’s Table” (250). Historically, this led to the practice of catechetical instruction and a public profession of faith before covenant children could be admitted to communion. Kuyper urges greater attention to this crucial period of transition through Christian education in family, school, and church. He warns that children must not be pushed past their spiritual maturity, yet he states, “Making profession of faith early instead of late strengthens the fellowship of the church” (257). Profession of faith tests the discernment and genuineness of young members who wish to share in the fellowship of the table.

The Lord’s Supper occurs at a table, not an altar.

Kuyper identifies “the craving for the altar” as a natural outgrowth of the recognition of our unworthiness to appear before God (265). The idea of an altar satisfies our desire to bring a sacrifice which will satisfy the requirements of his holiness. Yet this notion gradually shifted to the Roman Catholic idea of the Mass, which elevated the sacrament to become a real re-crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.4 In response, the Reformers rightly taught that Christ’s one true sacrifice had already been offered. Hence, the table replaced the altar. But the Lord’s Supper is not merely a meal; it remains a most holy sacrament in which Christ truly feeds souls with his broken body and shed blood (267).

The Lord’s Supper is a communal event.

Kuyper cites two passages where Christ points to the ultimate consummation of the Lord’s Supper: the wedding feast around his table in his kingdom (269; Matt. 26:29; Luke 22:29–30). The notion of the assembly of believers is inescapable, even in the present observation of this sacrament. The Lord’s Supper is a feast, and you cannot feast alone. In the sacrament, Christ serves his people with a visible, tangible foretaste of the fundamental unity which they will share in the life to come (269–70). Three implications follow from this: the best way to observe the sacrament would be for the congregation to come forward and sit around the table together (268);5 those who are eligible to partake must not be absent from the table, and those who are ineligible must not be admitted; and the person responsible for supervising the table is the minister of the Word and sacrament, who has been entrusted with this task by way of Christ’s command to the apostles (271–75).

The Lord’s Supper ought to be observed regularly.

How regularly, of course, is the tricky question. Kuyper favors four to six times per year, a typical frequency for the Dutch churches of his time (277). More important than determining a congregation’s schedule of observance, however, is the regularity and readiness with which the individual believer should approach the table. Generally, believers should observe the Lord’s Supper as often as it is offered, without relying too much on their current mood (278). Moreover, Kuyper proposes that the sacrament should occur in a worship service specially formatted for that purpose, rather than being appended to the end of a regular preaching service (279–80).6 This further emphasizes the character of a meal and allows all congregants in a large church to be served within a reasonable timeframe (281).

Church Ceremonies: Honoring the Table If the Lord’s Table is the central element of Christian worship, how do the other ceremonies of the church affirm its centrality? Kuyper addresses this question by devoting the final chapters of his book to excommunication and readmission, ordination, and marriage. Excommunication and readmission are purifying and restorative practices which honor the Lord’s Table (289–99). Think of a misbehaving child at a family meal who is temporarily sent to his room. Such discipline says: If your actions have hurt the household, you may not participate again in family fellowship until you have repented. Restoration is not discipline’s byproduct but rather its goal. In the same way, church discipline calls wandering church members to self-examination with the ultimate goal of restoration to full fellowship. The forms for excommunication and readmission are formal declarations of the officers of the church, in submission to Christ and by his authority. As such, their use should coincide with the observance of the Lord’s Supper. These ecclesiastical actions must take place in corporate worship because they concern the entire assembly. Excommunication and readmission should serve as an impetus for prayer and self-examination on the part of all.

Ordination to church office concerns the preparation and administration of the Lord’s Table (300–311).

It is Christ who, “through the office of the minister, prepares his table in the midst of the congregation” (301). Because of the different responsibilities that the various ecclesiastical offices entail, the Dutch Reformed liturgy maintains separate forms for the ordination of ministers and the ordination of office bearers.7 Kuyper warns against prejudices that treat ministers as spiritually superior to elders and elders as spiritually superior to deacons, trends he traces in the liturgical forms of his day. Ordination is neither a sacrament nor a human invention, but a real event in which Christ commissions someone to sacred service. As a liturgical activity, it belongs in the context of a worship service and is conducted under the authority of the church council.

Marriage offers a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb (312–15).

As the Reformed church has historically affirmed, marriage is not a sacrament. Yet it does partially resemble the sacraments insofar as it presents a physical token of a spiritual reality. Marriage, as Kuyper elaborates, is both a civic and a spiritual institution, for it confirms both the legality of a wedding under the law of the land and the permissibility of two persons uniting in a spiritual bond. So, although marriage is “a family matter,” it is incomplete “until it has been sanctioned and confirmed in the church by the minister” (314). Kuyper claims that the wedding should constitute its own worship service: “the congregation should have free entrance to the service; the church council should be represented; and an offering designated for the poor should be received” (315).8

In just such a way, marriage prefigures the final reality to which the Lord’s Supper ultimately points: the joyful union of Jesus and his bride, the church, forever. And by concluding with a discussion of marriage, Kuyper brings his entire discussion of liturgy to a triumphant cadence. As we participate in the weekly activities of corporate worship, we learn how to adorn ourselves as Christ’s bride. God’s eternal plan to dwell with his people forever is the promise of the gospel, and the assembly of believers opens a regular space and time for us to encounter beautiful foretastes of the things to come. Week by week, the rhythmic patterns of corporate worship teach us how to recognize God’s voice, how to love and serve him more deeply, and how to long for the final revelation of the one true church, united and victorious.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. How many adult baptisms or household baptisms have you witnessed? How do they feel different liturgically from infant baptisms?

2. What encouraged you to take the step of publicly professing your faith? How can we as church members encourage young people in this direction?

3. What visual cues in your sanctuary emphasize that the Lord’s Supper takes place at a table rather than an altar?

4. How is the Lord’s Supper a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb?

5. How can we modify our personal and communal observance of the sacrament to savor this foretaste?

6. How does Kuyper’s discussion of liturgy focus our attention on the gospel?

1 Belgic Confession Article 33; Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 25, Q&A 66.

2 Note that only the first two kinds of forms are included in Forms and Prayers of the United Reformed Churches in North America. However, two forms for household or family baptism are also included, in contrast to earlier editions of the Christian Reformed Church Psalter Hymnal.

3 Both of these vows are present in the forms for the baptism of infants in Forms and Prayers of the United Reformed Churches in North America.

4 Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 30, Q&A 80.

5 The typical practice in Kuyper’s day was for Reformed churches to have congregants sit at a row of tables at the front of the church to receive the Lord’s Supper. This required multiple seatings and took up considerable time. Nevertheless, because of the beautiful picture it provides, Kuyper encourages churches to continue in such a practice. He suggests offering numbers to communicants at the beginning of worship to indicate which seating they should attend (270–71).

6 Kuyper proposes a general outline of such a communion service: votum, reading of the law, prayer for grace, Scripture reading, song, and Apostles’ Creed, followed by the reading of the form for communion (283–88).

7 This reflects the “three-office” view of church government rather than the “twooffice” view. See Alan D. Strange, “Do the Minister and the Elder Hold the Same Office?,” Ordained Servant Online (December 2013), https://opc.org/os.html?article_id=393&issue_id=90. But Kuyper admits that the three-office view is more of a historical than a theological development (307).

8 Note that the Church Order of the United Reformed Churches in North America specifically requires baptism and public profession of faith to occur in a corporate worship service (Articles 41–43), whereas it merely states that marriage is to occur “under the regulation of the Consistory, with the use of the appropriate liturgical form” (Article 48). Whether this constitutes an official worship service is left unanswered.

Michael R. Kearney is a graduate student and research assistant in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He is a member of Covenant Fellowship Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) in Wilkinsburg, PA.