The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation to Him crucified, as that, truly, yet sacramentally only, they are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent, to wit, the body and blood of Christ; albeit, in substance and nature, they still remain truly and only bread and wine, as they were before.
The sign is not the thing signified. Signs point to or designate other things but are themselves not the thing they designate. There is instead in the sacraments a spiritual relationship between the sign and that to which it points.
The bread points to the body of Christ broken for us; the wine points to the blood of Christ shed for us (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). It is legitimate, because of the sacramental metaphorical identity, to call the bread the body of Christ and to call the wine the blood of Christ. But the elements remain bread and wine. There is no change in their substance. We will delve into this in greater detail as we discuss the next paragraph of the Confession.
An analogy can be made between this concept and the two natures of Christ. The Lord is both God and man. Being God, he does not cease to be fully human; being human, he does not cease to be fully divine. There is no mixture or confusion of the natures. The human nature does not become divine, and the divine nature does not become human. Thus also the sacramental union between bread and body, wine and blood.
Tomorrow: Introduction to the main doctrinal views on the Supper.
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