Consubstantiation: Word Of The Week

This term is generally used to refer to the Lutheran understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Many Lutherans dislike this term because of its similarity to the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation (similarity in the “substantiation” part). This teaching holds that the true body and blood of Christ are present in, with and under the bread and the wine. That is, although the substance of the bread and the wine do not change (as transubstantiation holds), Christ is truly present in His human nature (body and blood) along with the elements of bread and wine. In order for this to be the case, Luther argued for the communication of the divine attributes to the exalted human nature of Christ so that He could be present in His human nature at more than one place at one time.

To view more words, check out The Lutheran Lexicon.