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

doctrine as an argument for Christ's presence—leads to the following observation:
Given Christ's ascension, both Zwingli and Calvin are inclined to emphasize the
spiritual dynamic of the Lord's Supper, but for each "spiritual" has a seemingly different
inflection, a different, predominant intention. For Zwingli, the predominant intention of
spiritual seems to be "non-corporeal," "not carnal," "not bodily," as when he says:
My opponents say that the body of Christ is offered here. I also say the same
thing. Where then is the difference? It is here. My opponents say the material
and substantial body of Christ is offered, I say the sacramental. Hence the strife.
Let them answer, therefore, whether they desire to understand physically or
spiritually the words, 'This is my body,' that is, whether He offered His body to
be eaten physically or spiritually. For between material or physical and spiritual
there is no middle term. Though you put together everything there is, both
creator and created things, you will have either spirit or body. To this combat,
therefore, I challenge them, Did Christ offer His body to be eaten materially and
physically or spiritually? 784
For Calvin, the predominant intention of spiritual is to bring the person and work of the
Spirit to the fore, because it is through, or by, the Spirit that Christ accomplishes his
ends. So the divine person of the Spirit receives explicit mention in his discussions of
the Lord's Supper with reference to what transpires in the Supper, in the celebration of
the sacrament, in the communion, namely, the nourishing of believers' souls with
Christ's body and blood as spiritual food for the spiritual journey. 785 So Calvin explicitly
qualifies his use of "spiritually," specifically clarifying that by this term he is referring
784 "Letter to the Most Illustrious Princes of Germany Assembled at Augsburg," LWZ 3:120.
"Dicunt adversarii hic praeberi corpus Christi, idem & nos dicimus. Ubi ergo dissidium est? Hic est:
Dicunt adversarii corpus Christi naturale & substantiale praeberi, nos sacramentale. Hinc pugnae.
Respondeant igitur, an velint verba ista, Hoc est corpus meum, naturaliter intelligere, aut spiritualiter, hoc
est, an corpus suum praebuerit naturaliter edendum an spiritualiter, nam inter naturale sive corporale &
spirituale non est medium, etiamsi universa, creatorem & creaturas in unum cogas, aut spiritus erunt aut
corpus. Huc ergo arenae illos expostulo, an scilicet naturaliter ac corporaliter, an verò spiritualiter
praebuerit corpus suum ad edendum" (Epistola ad principes Germaniae, ed. R. Gowalther and L. Jud
[Zurich: Froschauer, 1545], available digitally in The Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts
[Alexander Street Press, L.L.C.]: alexanderstreet.com).
785 Lane, "Was Calvin a Crypto-Zwinglian?" 34, as cited below.
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