Chemnitz' Braunschweig-Woelfenbuettel Church Order on the Ascension of Christ

Thus our faith gives a good, steadfast answer when the Calvinists[1] make a great hue and cry regarding this: "Christ has gone to heaven with his body. Therefore he can not be present in his Supper with us with his body." For the ascension of Christ is not a mere, spatial change of position, like Elijah went to heaven, or like a poor little bird flies from the earth up to a tree, as the sacramentarians [sacramentarii] suppose with their childish thoughts. But rather the scripture says that Christ through his ascension set aside all earthly weakness and was seated at the right hand of the majesty and power of God, Mark 16[19]; Acts 2[33]; Heb. 1[3]; Luke 22[69], such that all things were subjected to him, also according to his human nature, who has been raised above everything which is powerful and forceful, I Peter 1[21]; Eph. 1[20ff.]. Should then location, space and place make impossible[2] what he asserted in his testament, indeed, even repeated and confirmed after his ascension in I Corinthians 11[26]? Our faith can, may, must and shall not say this, but rather, the very same article of the faith, which is held by the sacramentarians [sacramentariis] to be against the simple understanding of the testament of Christ, much more establishes and strengthens it.

Therefore we simply stand by our catechism[3], that the Lord's Supper "is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ himself.

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[1]cf. Calvin, Instit., IV, 17, 26ff. CR XXX, 1025 - 1028

[2]cf. Solid Declaration, VIII, 78; also Gensichen, op. cit., pgs. 105f.

[3]Small Catechism