THE PROVENANCE OF JOHN CALVIN'S EMPHASIS ON THE ...

Zwingli, Calvin denies that this is a bodily participation, as Luther and his followers
define it. Even so, he does not countenance the radical dissociation of "spirit" and
"body" as in the view of Zwingli and his followers. 737 Thus Calvin is emphatic that the
true (or even real as he is inclined to allow in 1546 738 ) communication and reception of
Christ's body and blood in the Supper transpires by the power of the Holy Spirit. The
remainder of Locher's cautious schematization of the views of Luther, Zwingli, and
Calvin is helpful at this point:
Luther expects, in the Lord's Supper, the bodily union of the receivers with the
body of Christ (in the elements), 739
Zwingli expects, in the Lord's Supper, the union of the soul of the celebrators
with the divine nature of Christ (present in the human nature through
remembrance of his suffering),
Calvin expects, in the Lord's Supper, the union of the soul of the receivers with
the body of Christ (in heaven). 740
So again, one might well ask, what bearing might Luther's mentions of the Spirit
in his discussions of the Lord's Supper have had upon Calvin in the development of his
own doctrine of the Lord's Supper, particularly given his apparently conciliatory
inclination? Might Calvin have supposed that he was, as it is put above, following the
trajectory of Luther's emphatic little claim "The Holy Spirit is greater than Aristotle"?
In light of this question, Gerrish's take on Calvin's own perception of his relation to
Luther is most interesting:
737 See, e.g., Steinmetz, "Scripture and the Lord's Supper," 75; Locher, "Discord among Guests,"
in Zwingli's Thought, 324-25.
738 See footnote 235 above and its referent.
739 Also Lienhard, Luther: Witness, 222-23.
740 Locher, "Discord among Guests," in Zwingli's Thought, 325.
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