The Use of Wine Only in the Lord’s Supper

It is a joy to come to the Lord’s Supper and celebrate what Christ has done for His church! No wonder Satan works so hard to create confusion around the practice of the sacraments and distract us from the blessings of the Lord’s Supper & Baptism.

Along those lines, as we prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Supper this Sunday I want to give a brief explanation of why we choose to celebrate the Lord’s Supper the way we do (particularly our practice of using wine only) by answering a few key questions about the use of wine in Communion.

What was the practice of Christ and the Apostles?

The Lord’s Supper was instituted at the Passover (Lk. 22:7-20). In this historical setting, it is evident that our Lord, in instituting the sacrament, used unleavened bread (Lev. 23:6, Lk. 22:7). It is also manifest that He used fermented wine, as the Greek New Testament word for wine means fermented wine. The wine they used was not watered down or weak as can be seen from the fact that some of the Corinthian believers even got drunk from drinking too much wine at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:21)!

In the institution of the Lord’s supper, which occurred in the spring during the Passover season, our Savior used wine made from grapes harvested the previous year. Lacking refrigeration or pasteurization the wine would have quickly fermented.

Unfermented grape juice would have been unavailable in ancient Palestine in the spring of the year, many months after the grape harvest. While the Scriptures are clear that drunkenness is a sin against which we should guard (Ephesians 5:18, Proverbs 20:1), it also recognizes wine as a good gift of God and a sign of His blessing, (for example, Psalm 104:14-15 says: “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.” See also: Ecclesiastes 9:7, John 2:3- 11, Isaiah 62:8-9, and 1 Timothy 5:23.)

With this understanding of Scripture our Confession of Faith specifies the use of wine:

The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to declare his word of institution to the people; to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to a holy use” (WCF 29.3) [emphasis mine]..

Why did this practice change?

Historically, it has been the practice of the church to use wine in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper; at least until recent history. In the 1800’s churches in America faced a dilemma. To combat the epidemic of alcoholism, the temperance movement advocated total abstinence from all alcohol and yet many churches still used wine in Communion. Some churches tried to use grape juice in place of wine, but without refrigeration, the grapes fermented into wine. It wasn’t until 1869, when Thomas Welch, a man described as “…so staunch in advocating not having anything to do with alcohol, it was reported that he didn’t want to even place his hands on it”…perfected a juice pasteurization process in his kitchen and began selling Dr Welch’s Unfermented Wine to churches preferring an alcohol-free substitute for Communion (https://tinyurl.com/jkpwxmt).

It took a while before the idea of using grape juice for Communion caught on, but it eventually did. As a matter of fact, I believe that it is difficult for some Christians to imagine celebrating the Lord’s Supper without grape juice being offered as an option.

What should our practice be?

In recent years, many churches have provided both wine and grape juice in order to avoid giving offense to any who may struggle with the temptation to abuse alcohol. Some have also felt that even the minuscule amount of alcohol ingested during communion could be harmful to pregnant women. However, it is our church’s conviction that God reserves the right to prescribe how he should be worshiped.

Man may only worship God as He himself has appointed in his word. Our Lord chose to use fermented wine in instituting his supper. Surely, He who is wisdom incarnate, who created man’s body, would not require anything of his people that would cause them to stumble, or impair their health (1 Timothy 5:23).

Therefore, as a church seeking to be faithful to the Scriptures and consistent with the historic practices of our faith, we have made the decision to serve wine only during communion. Brothers and Sisters, I know that the issue of using wine only in the Lord’s Supper is more complex than I have had time to address in this brief explanation of why we have chosen to use it. I recognize that this may be a difficult decision for some of you who have grown up taking only juice for communion and I’m sympathetic to the concerns of members who have a tender conscience and want to avoid any abuse of one of God’s good gifts (1 Tim. 4:4). How thankful I am for a Savior who is very concerned towards his weak children.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Heb. 4:15 ESV)

a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench…(Matt. 12:20 ESV)

It is my prayer that you would consider these words I have shared with you. Please know that I, as your pastor, do not wish to cause any of you to stumble, so if you have any questions or if you would like to talk further please do not hesitate to contact me.

In Christ, Pastor Rick

P.S. In my study of this issue, I have gained many insights from other fathers and brothers in the faith. What a blessing it is to be a part of the larger body of Christ, and I am grateful for the work of these men and I have included some of their thoughts in this explanation.