Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 76:2 (Fall 2014)
Article: Calvin On The Lord’s Supper: Revisiting An Intriguing Diversity, Part 2
Author: Henri A. G. Blocher

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WTJ 76:2 (Fall 2014) p. 411

Calvin On The Lord’s Supper:
Revisiting An Intriguing Diversity, Part 2

Henri A. G. Blocher

Henri A. G. Blocher taught Systematic Theology and other subjects at the Faculte Libre de Theologie Evangelique (near Paris) since it was founded in 1965, and he still lectures there occasionally. From 2003 to 2005, he held the Gunther Knoedler chair of Theology at the Wheaton College Graduate School of Biblical and Theological Studies. Part 1 of his study on diverse views on Calvin’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper appeared in WTJ 76 (2014): 55–93.

This study revisits the issue of Calvin’s alleged “sacramentalism”: whether baptism and, centrally, the Lord’s Supper are instrumental in a causal way, that is, beyond their role as signs. The first part observed the presence, in Calvin’s teaching, of apparently conflicting statements, which may be quoted pro and con. It examined schemes that have been offered to account for the phenomenon and found them insufficient; it made a few hermeneutical recommendations and stressed the need for the broadest possible inquiry, evaluating cumulative evidence and spanning the various kinds among Calvin’s writings. It suggested that Calvin’s basic stance did not change over his ministerial years. The statements can be reconciled if one considers Calvin’s clever use of language and each context. Those which seem to lean towards sacramentalism may be interpreted within the framework of “signification.”

The second part of this study concentrates on issues specific to the Lord’s Supper, whether it is a sacrifice offered to God; whether Christ’s body is present under or with the bread; how it nourishes our souls and how Christ is present in the eucharistic celebration. Results confirm that Calvin put a high value on the sacraments without making real concessions to sacramentalism.

I. The Sacrament Of The Lord’s Supper: Sacrifice? Real Presence?

The doctrine of the sacraments “in general” applies in particular to the Supper. Among Calvin’s statements that have been quoted, many dealt with it, a most sensitive issue in the sixteenth century. More exactly, however, to delineate the Reformer’s relationship to “sacramentalism,” two other points should be considered, points specific to the eucharistic debate: Catholic theology adds, in

WTJ 76:2 (Fall 2014) p. 412

the case of THE sacrament, the Holy Sacrament which is more than a sacrament, above and beyond the common sacramental function: (1) the sacrificial nature of the eucharistic offering or oblation, and (2) the “real presence” of the substance of the body of Jesus Christ, under the species of bread and wine. Inasmuch as Ang...

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