Question 163. What are the elements of a sacrament?

 

Question 163. What are the elements of a sacrament?

Answer. There are two elements in a sacrament: one is the outward and sensible sign used according to the work of Christ himself, and the other is the inward and spiritual grace signified by it.

The reason a man and a woman get married is to become one. There is a ceremony called a wedding ceremony for that becoming one, and there is also a procedure to confirm it by legal registration, but there are also people who skip this and live in a common-law marriage. The reason for having a wedding ceremony is to confirm that they are a couple, but also to let everyone know that they are a couple.

Likewise, the ceremony of the sacrament is not only for those who participate in the sacrament to become God's people, but also to let the world know that they are God's people. If you only have a wedding ceremony and do not go through the legal registration procedure, you are not legally guaranteed to be a couple. Likewise, if you only participate in the ceremony of the sacrament and do not have the assurance of the Holy Spirit, you are not recognized by God.

The element of the sacrament can be said to be that through external rituals, they let themselves and others know that they are God's people, and internally, they are recognized by God through the guarantee of the Holy Spirit. Of course, even if the external rituals are omitted, they can be recognized by God through the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, but when we think about the meaning that Jesus enjoined, it is to engrave deeply in their hearts that they are saved people by participating in the sacrament ritual.

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