Schaff - History of the Christian Church Vol. 8 - Media Sabda Org

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represent to us the invisible nourishment which we receive from the body
and blood of Christ. They are exhibited in a figure and image, adapted to
our feeble capacity, and rendered certain by visible tokens and pledges,
which the dullest minds can understand. This mystical benediction, then, is
designed to assure us that the body of the Lord was once offered as a
sacrifice for us upon which we may now feed, and that his blood was once
shed for us and is our perpetual drink. “His flesh is true meat, and his blood
is true drink” (John 6:55). “We are members of his body, of his flesh, and
of his bones” (Eph. 5:30). “This is a great mystery” (5:32), which can be
admired rather than expressed. Our souls are fed by the flesh and blood of
Christ, just as our corporal life is preserved and sustained by bread and
wine. Otherwise there would be no propriety in the analogy of the sign.
The breaking of the bread is indeed symbolical, yet significant; for God is
not a deceiver who sets before us an empty sign. The symbol of the body
assures us of the donation of the invisible substance, so that in receiving
the sign we receive the thing itself. The thing signified is exhibited and
offered to all who come to that spiritual banquet, but it is advantageously
enjoyed only by those who receive it with true faith and gratitude.
Calvin lays great stress on the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit in the
communion. This was ignored by Luther and Zwingli. The Spirit raises our
hearts from earth to heaven, as he does in every act of devotion (sursum
corda), and he brings down the life-giving power of the exalted Redeemer
in heaven, and thus unites what is, according to our imperfect notions,
separated by local distance. f867 The medium of communication is faith.
Calvin might have sustained his view by the old liturgies of the Oriental
Church, which have a special prayer invoking the Holy Spirit at the
consecration of the eucharistic elements. f868
He quotes several passages from Augustin in favor of the spiritual real
presence. Ratramnus in the ninth, and Berengar in the eleventh, century
had likewise appealed to Augustin against the advocates of a carnal
presence and participation. f869
When Luther reopened the eucharistic controversy by a fierce attack upon
the Zwinglians (1545), who defended their martyred Reformer in a sharp
reply, Calvin was displeased with both parties, and labored to bring about a
reconciliation. f870 He corresponded with Bullinger (the Melanchthon of the
Swiss Church), and, on his invitation, he went to Zuerich with Farel (May,
1549). The delicate negotiations were carried on by both parties with