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

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does provide explicit patristic ascription, he indicates a debt to a sermon of Chrysostom, as discussed above. If Letham is right—that "the Spirit is never considered by the East as the bond of love between the Father and the Son, as in Western tradition after Augustine; nor is he the bond uniting Christ and the church" 1060 —then this sermon attributed to Chrysostom is perhaps more likely of occidental rather than oriental provenance. Perhaps this is Niesel's inference as well, and perhaps this is why he speaks of it being including among the works of Chrysostom "at the time," meaning, in the sixteenth century. 1061 While Calvin never explicitly attributes to Augustine his understanding of the Spirit as the nexus or vinculum of believers' union with Christ, and therefore the one through whom God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit avails to their souls Christ's body and blood as spiritual food for the spiritual journey, Calvin does, in a single breath, correlate Augustine, the reception of Christ's body in heaven, and the inspiration of life into believers from that body "by the secret virtue of the Spirit." The passage appears in his 1557 Ultima admonitio against Westphal. It is quoted here at length for context, with especially relevant elements indicated with italics: . . . although believers have spiritual communion with Christ without the use of the sacrament, still we distinctly declare that Christ, who instituted the Supper, works effectually by its means. Westphal confines spiritual eating to the fruit merely, regarding it a means by which the salvation obtained by the death of Christ is applied to us, while his sacramental eating, as I have observed, is nothing more than a gulping down of Christ’s flesh. What does Augustine say? He teaches that the body of Christ is eaten sacramentally only when it is not eaten in reality. In two passages this antithesis is distinctly expressed by him. Hence we surely gather that the 1060 Letham, Holy Trinity, 343, with punctuation is slightly altered to accommodate this sentence. 1061 See discussion above. 328
sacramental is equivalent merely to the visible or external use, when unbelief precludes access to the reality. Westphal, therefore, acts calumniously in charging our spiritual eating as a fallacious pretext for destroying the true communion which takes place in the Supper. For if spiritual is to be separated from sacramental eating, what are we to make of the following passage of Augustine? (In Psalm 98): You are not about to eat the body which you see and to drink the blood which those who are to crucify me will shed. I have committed a sacrament to you: when spiritually understood, it will give you life. Now, if it is clear that in the Supper, when the body is not spiritually eaten, nothing is left but a void and empty sign, and we infer from the words of Christ that spiritual eating takes place when faith corresponds to the mystical and spiritual doctrine, there is no ground for Westphal's attempt to dissever things which cannot be divided. I admit it to be certain that the same body which Christ offered on the cross is eaten, because we do not imagine that Christ has two bodies, nor is aliment for spiritual life to be sought anywhere else than in that victim. How does Augustine deny it to be the same body, but just in respect that having been received into heaven it inspires life into us by the secret virtue of the Spirit? Therefore a different mode of eating is denoted, viz., that though the body remains entire in heaven, it quickens us by its miraculous and heavenly virtue. In short, Augustine’s only reason for denying that the body on which the disciples were looking is given in the Supper, was to let us know that the mode of communion is not at all carnal, that we become partakers of flesh and blood in a mystery, our teeth not consuming that grace, as he elsewhere expresses it. Thus Westphal gains nothing by his quibbling. He is also detected in a manifest calumny, when he charges us with wresting this passage to mean that the Supper gives us nothing but an empty figure. 1062 1062 Tracts and Treatises 2:374-75. "Etsi autem extra sacramenti usum spiritualiter Christo communicant fideles, aperte tamen testamur, Christum, qui coenam instituit, efficaciter per eam operari. Westphalo spiritualis manducatio ad fructum duntaxat restringitur, ut salus Christi morte parta ad nos perveniat. Sacramentalis, ut dixi, nihil aliud est. quam carnis Christi in ventrem ingurgitatio. Quid Augustinus? corpus sacramento tenus comedi docet dum re ipsa non comeditur. Duobus enim locis haec antithesis legitur apud eum expressa. Unde certo colligitur sacramentalem usum tantundem valere atque visibilem vel externum, ubi veritati aditum claudit hominum incredulitas. Itaque calumniose insimulat Westphalus nostrum de spirituali manducatione doctrinam, quasi fallaci praetextu veram communicationem tollat, quae in coena percipitur. Nam si ab esu sacramentali separandus est spiritualis, quid hoc sibi vult Augustini dictum*: Non hoc corpus quod videtis manducaturi estis, et bibituri sanguinem, quem fundent qui me crucifigent: sacramentum aliquod commendavi vobis, spiritualiter intellectum vivificabit vos. Iam si in coena praeter inane vacuumque signum nihil relinqui constat, ubi non spiritualiter editur corpus, et ex verbis Christi colligimus spiritualem esse esum, ubi fides mysticae et spirituali doctrinae respondet, non est quod res individuas divellere tentet Westphalus. Idem, fateor, Christi corpus quod in sacrificium Christus in cruce obtulit, manducari certum est, quia neque bicorporem fingimus Christum, neque aliunde quam ex victima illa alimentum ad spiritualem vitam petendum est. Quomodo idem esse corpus Augustinus negat, nisi quia in coelestem gloriam receptum arcana spiritus virtute vitam nobis inspirat? Diversus ergo edendi modus notatur: quia licet integrum maneat in coelo Christi corpus, mirabili tamen et coelesti virtute nos vivificat. Denique non alia de causa negat Augustinus dari in coena corpus illud, quod videbant discipuli, nisi ut sciamus minime carnalem esse communicationis modum: sed in mysterio nos fieri carnis et sanguinis participes, ut gratiam illam morsus nostri non consumant, ut alibi loquitur. Ideoque tergiversando nihil proficit Westphalus. In manifesta 329
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THE PROVENANCE OF JOHN CALVIN'S EMP
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THE PROVENANCE OF JOHN CALVIN'S EMP
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For Paul, Liesl, & Annemarie. Witho
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CONTENTS Acknowledgments...........
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebte
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ABBREVIATIONS BDS Bucer, Deutsche S
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INTRODUCTION With respect to one of
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and secondary source material to my
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among humanists who dwell deeply on
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of the Greek Fathers for whom the i
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Optima ineundae concordiae ratio (1
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in the Supper," 13 Calvin refers to
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To make his point even more forthri
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I come to close quarters at once wi
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ends. 33 Read critically it becomes
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purpose, 'My flesh is meat indeed,'
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eality" (rei exhibitionem). 51 That
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themselves, because of their "natur
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locally present on earth, at least
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that there is a medium between thes
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another to receive." 85 The "nature
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the mouth of faith, 91 are truly fe
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concordiae ratio of 1560, "raises u
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1.4 Coda under the symbols of bread
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CHAPTER 2 A STUDY OF CALVIN'S REFER
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a historical development." 108 As J
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The chapter itself unfolds as a chr
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instructs us by his Word, confirms
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and blood in the Supper, he does no
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In light of his first treatment of
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y which under bread and wine he rep
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under the bread, or of the blood un
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participation we are fed on eternal
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François Gilmont conclude, "If it
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enclosed under some corruptible ele
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paragraphs before in this very trea
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preaching, as far as God uses the i
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moved and our souls opened for the
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ody, spirit, and soul with him. The
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In this passage Calvin concerns him
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order that they might truly receive
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minister and catechumen. He publish
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exert his energy (virtutem) by his
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same year Calvin published a liturg
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the vital role of the Holy Spirit w
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communicated in the sacrament, and
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(per spiritum), even although it is
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sacramentally, is Calvin's emphasis
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The nub of disagreement between Cal
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are three: "that the signs are not
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seemingly conceded the use of the t
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Spirit still figures as the "agent"
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truly fulfils what he figures, he t
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CHAPTER 3 A NARRATIVE, BIOGRAPHICAL
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with another, one must not simply i
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Paris were reading, appreciating, a
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Faculty and Parlement censured Berq
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devotio moderna" who longed for his
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Beyond the foregoing detail, little
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"brilliant classical scholar" 332 o
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oyally endowed lectures in the 'thr
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In May 1532, Calvin returned to Orl
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writes: "Like most of the humanists
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possibility exists, to which father
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which offered scholars opportunitie
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Oecolampadius' death in 1531 (just
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communes theologici, the first edit
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What of patristic influence? Lane t
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open repudiation of the "papist" in
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the churches and the destruction of
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defended the evangelical position,
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to his complete vilification by the
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is wholly due to "the secret and mi
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intention of devoting himself once
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Among medievals: Calvin cites Thoma
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whether positive or negative, of Me
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sources—the exegesis of Origen, 4
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placing loci into their commentarie
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"confluence" of humanistic and scho
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And, of course, Calvin seems to hav
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specifically refers include Bernard
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By now, an emphasis on the Holy Spi
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traditions, rather than by way of h
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subsequent early expressions (prepa
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distinguished Calvin's earliest ins
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sacraments" as seals of promises).
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that "a static view of the eucharis
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Supper between the publication of t
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Davis continues just a little on: O
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Chrysostom and published it in one
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It was in a sermon which Erasmus ha
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Like van't Spijker, Wendel claims d
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up again the question of the proven
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CHAPTER 5 ASSIMILATION: CALVIN'S DO
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when Calvin concerns himself with "
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the Lord's Prayer, and the Sacramen
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creation, "we are never to doubt or
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We are persuaded that there is for
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Here, the "efficacy" of the Spirit
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length. While the doctrine of the T
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Calvin's Trinitarian conception of
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… our faith receives from baptism
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the Godhead into itself. Now who do
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As noted in Chapter 2, Calvin inter
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Calvin broaches the conception of d
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with respect to the person and work
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In his exposition of the confession
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So Christ, the Son, is appointed by
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us to seal the gift of a thing invi
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himself, not the Spirit, but Christ
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Spirit He consecrates us as temples
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This is evident from Calvin's prefa
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CHAPTER 6 ASSIMILATION: THE THOUGHT
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integrate his ideas into a powerful
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Bourges. 694 So it is not unlikely,
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Luther's own doctrine of the Lord's
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Luther's doctrine of the Lord's Sup
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Supper of 1528, 718 Luther employs
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proof that only a spiritual eating,
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ifurcation of these two views, not
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The point is then, that although Ca
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naturally'—vere et efficaciter ex
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Therefore just as the word is an in
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eading them." 760 Given its context
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this view in his definition of the
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the contemplation of faith" (adesse
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doctrine as an argument for Christ'
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physically." This fact seemingly mi
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He then proceeds to his exegetical
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sharers in all his blessings." 800
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century. 808 Oecolampadius had been
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Oecolampadius' treatment of the sac
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The extent to which Calvin had acce
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Clearly Oecolampadius is concerned
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Calvin's thought and expression is
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faithfully defending his predecesso
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which, being received spiritually b
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sacraments, as signs of things sign
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espect to the sacraments, at least
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eliever, operatio spiritu sancti. A
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The Zwinglian, even "Karlstadtian,"
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judiciously, distinguished his thou
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Bucer and Capito given that it was
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might have been picked up from Bren
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Page 291 and 292: Confessionis Augustanae (1530), 912
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Page 295 and 296: signified. Christ himself is encoun
Page 297 and 298: The 1537 Synod of Bern was called,
Page 299 and 300: This is the confession Bucer ratifi
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Page 303 and 304: the disputation, the Lord's Supper
Page 305 and 306: By esprit, Viret is presumably spea
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Page 309 and 310: thought, though never in a direct q
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Page 313 and 314: efers to the Spirit as the nexus be
Page 315 and 316: Now, it cannot be declared definiti
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Page 319 and 320: Since Calvin's early interest in th
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Page 327 and 328: Interestingly, in his presentation
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Page 331 and 332: Once again Calvin's signature expla
Page 333 and 334: of the Institutio, and the expressi
Page 335 and 336: Even though such an expression is n
Page 337 and 338: Throughout the dialog between the K
Page 339: himself." So Butin, for one among o
Page 343 and 344: Spirit is not expressed in Augustin
Page 345 and 346: Ratramnus were monks at the Benedic
Page 347 and 348: as the papal legate designated to p
Page 349 and 350: Lord's Supper and Ratramnus'. 1089
Page 351 and 352: Here, as in the passage above, Ratr
Page 353 and 354: theological tradition of the church
Page 355 and 356: 8.1 Calvin's Liturgy: Context and C
Page 357 and 358: himself and printed in Strasbourg i
Page 359 and 360: On the day of the Lord's Supper, th
Page 361 and 362: himself invites us to His Table: th
Page 363 and 364: one "disposes" one's soul "to be no
Page 365 and 366: edition of his Institutio, "suggest
Page 367 and 368: Their content is likewise distinct.
Page 369 and 370: lavishness of God's "peace, grace,
Page 371 and 372: Bürki suggests. And yet such a ric
Page 373 and 374: Bucer's rhetorical set-up of this c
Page 375 and 376: truly be for us the communion of Hi
Page 377 and 378: in true childlike trust, and always
Page 379 and 380: "Gott sei gelobet" or a psalm, afte
Page 381 and 382: The prayer of confession immediatel
Page 383 and 384: Calvin's Genevan and Strasbourg rub
Page 385 and 386: not only Germany, but also the Neth
Page 387 and 388: However, given their thematic struc
Page 389 and 390: For all their resonance, though, it
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disposition could subscribe to it,
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and beyond? 1213 What is the measur
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CONCLUSION The front matter of this
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expositions of the sacrament—pres
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uniquely ordained for such proclama
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Institutio christianae religionis,
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Hazlett, W. Ian P. "Calvin's Latin
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-----. "Confession on the Eucharist
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-----. De Trinitate, translated by
Page 409 and 410:
Battles, Ford Lewis. "The Sources o
Page 411 and 412:
-----. Revelation, Redemption, and
Page 413 and 414:
Farge, Benjamin W. Orthodoxy and Re
Page 415 and 416:
Guggisberg, Hans R. Basel in the Si
Page 417 and 418:
Koopmans, J. Het oudkerkelijk dogma
Page 419 and 420:
Macy, Gary. The Theologies of the E
Page 421 and 422:
Neuser, Wilhelm H., and Brian G. Ar
Page 423 and 424:
Partee, Charles. "Farel's Influence
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------. "Philip Melanchthon." In Re
Page 427 and 428:
van Stam, Frans Pieter. "Das Verhä
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