The Sacrament In The Bible

The word sacrament comes from Latin word Sacramentum. The Greek word mysterion is equivalent to Sacramentum and it is used by Paul in Ephesians when he is speaking about marriage. “This is a great foreshadowing Mysterion,” I mean that it refers to Christ and the church.” In later usage, the term Sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation which was indicated by the term Mysterium. In this case, Christ himself is the mystery of salvation for there is no other mystery of God, except Christ Jesus. “The synonym of the word Sacramentum in the Bible is Mysterion, Orthodox Church uses the word mystery to mean sacrament.”

The saving work of Jesus in sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation which is revealed

It is in this analogical sense that the Church is called a Sacrament.” The Sacraments are instruments of the divine power of Christ offered through the merits of His Passion and death.

Thomas Aquinas in part three of the Summa Theologiae shows the relationship between sacrament and the minister of the sacraments. “A sacrament properly speaking is that which is ordained to signify our sanctification. In which three things may be considered, the very cause of our sanctification, which is Christ’s passion. The form of our sanctification, which are grace and the virtues, and the ultimate end of our sanctification, which is eternal life. And all these are signified by the Sacraments. Consequently, a Sacrament is a sign that is both a reminder of the past that is the passion of Christ and an indication of that which is effected in us by Christ’s Passion. That is grace and a prognostic that is a foretelling of future.” St. Augustine has a different way of explaining the Sacraments, he identifies them as visible words to

“The purpose of the Sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and finally to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct.” St Augustine of Hippo showed the validity of the minister and how he communicates to the community. He linked validity to the action by and for the community, rather than the goodness or acceptability of the leader. His reason was: Sacraments are actions of Christ Himself in the Church, so that they have the authority and authenticity of Christ, not of the presider.” There were Councils which discussed deeply about Sacraments. The Councils made clear all issues concerning the celebration of the sacraments and they taught that some of the Sacraments cannot be repeated because they imprint the permanent mark on the soul. The canons of The Councils of Trent 1545-1563, on the sacraments stated that: “Jesus instituted these seven sacraments, that they are necessary for Salvation, that they contain the grace which they signify and confer that grace on those who place no obstacles in its way, that baptism, confirmation, and others imprint a character on the soul which is permanent, so that these sacraments must be confirmed by a designated minister, who intends to do what the Church does and who follows the