Rightly administering the Lord's Supper is a mark of a true church. It occupies a critically important place in the life of God's people as a memorial of Christ, the message of the gospel, and a means of his grace. Yet, even among those who share this perspective there remain differences in practice. I will address the frequency of the Lord's Supper in a later post, but I would first like to address the method of partaking of the bread and the cup; specifically, whether or not we should keep the bread and the wine separate (eating and then drinking) or combine the elements by dipping the bread into the wine and then consuming both together.

I know that some of you will read this and think that this is straining out a gnat, missing the forrest for the trees, or spending too much time on a trivial matter. But in my estimation this is an important matter we should consider seriously.

Let me say up front that there are godly and learned men who come to different conclusions after serious biblical and theological reflection. Unfortunately, I believe most simply do what they do (on either side) out of mere tradition or convenience.

Intinction

Keeping the elements separate, eating the bread and then drinking the wine, is the earliest recorded practice of the church. While we don't know exactly when the practice of Intinction, dipping the bread into the wine and then eating, first shows up, we first read about it in the fourth century where Pope Julius I writes against the practice. Intinction didn't get much attention during the Protestant Reformation, but Herman Witsius, Francis Turretin, and John Owen are examples within the reformed tradition that argue for keeping the elements separate. Charles Hodge speaks to the issue of intinction in his Systematic Theology.