The LordВґs Supper In John Calvins Theology.
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The following essay is a summary I wrote to flesh out some of the distinctions. I offer it here I all who might benefit. The Roman Catholic Church had come to teach the doctrine of transubstantiation: that when the priest blessed the bread and wine, they were converted into the actual body and blood of Christ. Transsubstantiation was officially enshrined in Catholic theology at the Fourth Lateran Council c.
By the time of the Reformation, the stage was set for robust debate. Roman Catholic theologians to this day insist that transubstantiation has the witness of history behind it. But the Reformers begged to differ.
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They argued that the Roman church had departed from historic practice and from biblical orthodoxy. They proposed three possible alternatives: The Lutheran View Consubstantiation. This view has serious philosophical and theological problems that caused the other Reformers to reject it, but it is still held by the Lutheran Churches today. The Memorial Zwinglian View. This is the prevailing view in American evangelical churches today. The Calvinist View Spiritual Presence.
Calvin, therefore, sees the Supper as much more than a bare memorial. It is this final view — the view of Calvin, and of Augustine before him — that we hold to be this web page correct, biblical one.
The following quotations serve to demonstrate how distinct this view is from all the others. It is clear that Calvin understands believers to be really, truly, feeding on Christ in the sacrament; hTe yet in a mystical, Spirit-enabled way, not a carnal one. The bread and wine… represent for us the Jojn food that we receive from the flesh and The LordВґs Supper In John Calvins Theology of Christ… Christ is the only food of our soul, and therefore our Heavenly Father invites us to Christ, that, refreshed by partaking of him, we may repeatedly gather strength until we shall have reached heavenly immortality.
But greatly mistaken are those who conceive no presence of Christ in the Supper unless it lies in the bread.
Implication 1: Communion is more than a remembrance. We need to be careful that we are Calvinist and not Zwinglian in our language. Yes, communion is a reminder of what Jesus has http://pinsoftek.com/wp-content/custom/stamps/enc1102-reflective-essay.php for us. More sublime. Our language needs to reflect that. Implication 2: Communion is a sacred moment. Communion needs to be led and engaged with a sense of awe, majesty, and mystery. A woman recently lamented to me that communion at Coram Deo seems harried, hurried, and distracting. Shame on us. And although my mind can think beyond what my tongue can utter, yet even my mind is conquered and overwhelmed by the greatness of the thing. Implication 3: Communion is a worshipful response to the preached word.
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Implication 4: Spirit-wrought faith is central. Over against our Catholic city-culture, we need to emphasize the importance of partaking in faith. Implication 5: Knowing and loving Jesus is the goal.]
What good luck!