November 2009 Archives

One of the other debated issues in the Lord's Supper, in addition to the question of presence, is that of fencing the table. Who may participate?  What does it mean to eat and drink unworthily? Who is worthy? Who is unworthy? Calvin takes... continue

Calvin continues his discussion of the errant Roman Catholic view of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper by prattling on about one of his favorite subjects to rail upon:  superstition and idolatry. The two, for Calvin, go together like ham... continue

Calvin continues extolling the virtues of the spiritual presence of Christ in the sacrament of communion over and against repudiating the errors of the physical presence of Christ within the sacraments (the view of transubstantiation). One of the dangers that... continue

Calvin continues his distaste for transubstantiation attacking the notion that Christ's ascended body is ubiquitous (can be present everywhere in space and particularly in the consecrated sacrament) and invisible ("by a special mode of dispensation"). a) There is no Scriptural support... continue

Calvin identifies in the polemics of transubstantiation a fatal hermeneutical flaw: interpret the text to fit the theory rather than allow the theory to be governed (in this case, abandoned) by the text. Add to this a suspicion about Scripture's... continue

What does "ís" mean in "This is my body"? Metonymy, Calvin answers in the same way that Scripture represents one thing by another in such expressions as, "circumcision is a covenant" (gen. 17:13), the "lamb is the Passover" (Exod. 12:11)... continue

Transubstantiation and consubstantiation equally infer the ubiquity of Christ's physical body, a matter which Calvin now begins to address. The notion that Christ's physical body (in Bethlehem's manger, on the cross, resurrected in walking along the Galilean shore) is in... continue

Calvin's doctrine of the Supper, often (too often!) referred to (incorrectly) as one of "real presence" is one of communion with Christ crucified and resurrected. It's focus on the bodily nature of this communion (there is no other Christ with... continue

Calvin's great concern is that Christians should "rightly use the Lord's Supper."  He is, from beginning to end, a pastoral theologian (surely any other kind is guilty of a category mistake?). In seeking to serve the church he wants to... continue

Calvin now turns to the theme of the Lord's Supper. His concern is twofold: (i) to provide a simple explanation of the Supper and (ii) to resolve difficulties related to it. What he does in IV. 17. i is worthy... continue