An Inescapable Corollary

The built-in links between Holy Communion and all other fundamental articles of faith testify that communing at a particular altar is a matter of communal and not simply individual import. The corollary is that to receive the Blessed Sacrament from a given pastor involves saying a hearty Yes and Amen to the rule of faith of the church body of which he is a minister. The rightfulness of closed communion follows as an inescapable corollary from all the articles of faith which together make up the single doctrine of Christ.

John Stephenson
The Lord’s Supper

Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics, Volume XII
The Luther Academy: 2003, p. 156