Meeting Christ at his Table: Jonathan Edwards and the Lord's Supper

On the first Sunday of July 1750, Jonathan Edwards preached his farewell sermon to the congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, ten days after they had dismissed him as their pastor. Edwards had been called to the church as assistant pastor in 1726, and upon the death of his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, had succeeded him as pastor. During his time, the church gained a reputation for the great work of God that had been done there. However, tensions had been growing between Edwards and his congregation for some time, and eventually culminated in the Communion Controversy, the dispute over the basis upon which a person could be admitted to the Lord's Supper and become a full member of the church, which led to his removal.

Though much scholarship has been devoted to the reasons for Edwards' dismissal, less attention has been given to his sacramental theology. This is surprising, as Edwards held the Lord's Supper in high esteem. One reason for this neglect is the tendency to relegate his ecclesiology to an area of little importance. Another is that, apart from his writings on the Communion Controversy, Edwards did not offer a sustained treatment of the Supper in his sermons. However, Edwards did preach a considerable number of sermons on the subject over a twenty-seven year period. This study examines that body of sermon material, along with his writings on the Communion Controversy, and reveals that Edwards had a deeply sacramental view of the ordinance, and while his approach was within the bounds of orthodoxy, his theology of the Supper pushed the envelope of Reformed thinking.

David Luke

JESociety Press, 2023

Paperback, 159 pages

ISBN 978-1737902669