John MacArthur on the Lord's Supper
A memorial and sign; no presence in the elements
"Whereas the elements of communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, participation in the Lord's Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer, and so is present, fellowshipping with His people."
THE POSITION
Primarily commemorative — "the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes" — and the elements are explicitly "only representative" of Christ's flesh and blood, ruling out transubstantiation and Lutheran real-bodily presence. Genuinely complicated by one clause, though: the statement adds that participation is "nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ... present, fellowshipping with His people."
16 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?
2 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Pastor of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, from 1969 until his death in July 2025. Expositional preaching, hard cessationism, dispensational premillennialism. Researched from the church's own Doctrinal Statement, covering all 15 loci in one document.
Cite this page
"John MacArthur on the Lord's Supper", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/macarthur/lords-supper (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/macarthur/lords-supper).