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

the Holy Spirit. As in his 1536 Institutio, Calvin founds this presence on Christ's
spiritual virtus:
In the case of the Eucharist, you blame us for attempting to confine the Lord of
the universe, and his divine and spiritual power . . . . But had you any regard for
sincerity, assuredly you are not ignorant how great a difference there is between
the two things—between removing the local presence of Christ's body from
bread, and circumscribing his spiritual power within bodily limits. 204
To Calvin, Christ's spiritual power is anything but circumscribed within Christ's bodily
limits, and it is on this basis that he grounds the presence of Christ in the Supper:
We loudly proclaim the communion of flesh and blood, which is exhibited to
believers in the Supper; and we distinctly show that that flesh is truly meat, and
that blood is truly drink—that the soul, not contented with an imaginary
conception, enjoys them in very truth. That presence of Christ, by which we are
ingrafted in him, we by no means exclude from the Supper, . . . . 205
Unlike in his most recent discussions of the Lord's Supper, Calvin does not
specifically identify the Holy Spirit, though the Spirit is arguably readily implied by the
use of "spiritual." Still, the "omission" is surprising, given his "loud proclamation" of
the communion of Christ's flesh and blood, and his emphasis that the "presences of
Christ, by which we are ingrafted in him," is not excluded from the Supper.
2.4 1541-1545: Geneva
In September 1541, at the behest of the Genevan city council and church, Calvin
returned to his first charge and was immediately engaged in putting out works that
would benefit the citizens of Geneva pastorally. By the end of November, he had
prepared a fresh catechism for Geneva, this time in the form of a dialog between a
204 Tracts and Treatises 2:45.
205 Tracts and Treatises 2:45-46.
70