Lord's Supper in Reformed theology: Difference between revisions

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Line 27: [[Huldrych Zwingli]], the first theologian in the Reformed tradition, also rejected the view of transubstantiation,{{sfn\|Riggs\|2015\|p=55}} but he disagreed with Luther by holding that Christ is not bodily present in the Eucharistic elements themselves. He held that Christ's whole person (body and spirit) is presented to believers in the Eucharist, but that this does not occur by Christ's body being eaten with the mouth.{{sfn\|Riggs\|2015\|p=73}} This view has been labeled "mystical real presence", meaning that those who partake have a direct experience of God's presence,{{sfn\|Riggs\|2015\|p=35}} or "spiritual real presence" because Christ's presence is by his spirit.{{sfn\|Opitz\|2016\|p=128}} Zwingli also did not believe that the sacrament actually confers the grace which is offered in the sacrament but that the outer signs of bread and wine testify to that grace and awaken the [[Memorialism#Huldrych Zwingli\|memory of Christ's death]].{{sfn\|Riggs\|2015\|p=73}} [[John Calvin]], a very influential early Reformed theologian, believed the Lord's Supper fed Christians with the spiritual food of [[union with Christ]]. He believed that in the Supper Christians feed on Christ's flesh, which he saw as an inexplicable miracle.{{sfn\|Letham\|2001\|p=32}} Calvin taught that the Supper confirms the promises communicated to Christians in the preaching of the [[Gospel]]. He also saw its purpose as provoking praise for God and love for other people. He believed it necessary for Christians to partake of Christ's humanity in the Supper as well as his Spirit, and that the bread and wine really present, rather than simply symbolize or represent, Christ's body and blood.{{sfn\|Letham\|2001\|p=33}} Calvin spoke of the communication involved in the Lord's Supper as spiritual, meaning that it originates in the [[Holy Spirit]]. Calvin's teaching on the Lord's Supper was ~~followed~~a bydevelopment ~~many~~of ~~others~~that inheld ~~the Reformed tradition, including~~by [[Martin Bucer]] and was held by other Reformed theologians such as [[Peter Martyr Vermigli]]. Calvin, like Zwingli and against Luther, did not believe that Christ is bodily present in the elements of the Eucharist. He taught that Christ remains in heaven and that we commune with him in the Lord's Supper by being raised up to him rather than him descending to us.{{sfn\|Letham\|2001\|p=35}} Calvin believed the elements of the Supper to be used by God as instruments in communicating the promises which they represent, a view called symbolic instrumentalism.{{sfn\|Riggs\|2015\|p=110}} [[Heinrich Bullinger]], Zwingli's successor, went beyond Zwingli by teaching that there is a union between the sacrament of the Supper and the grace symbolized in them.{{sfn\|Gerrish\|1966\|p=233}} Bullinger's view was not identical to Calvin's because he did not see sacraments as instrumental in communicating grace. Bullinger's view has been called "symbolic parallelism" because the inward feeding on Christ occurs at the same time as the outward eating of bread and wine but is not caused by it in any way.{{sfn\|Gerrish\|1966\|p=234}} Line 57: ==See also== {{Portal\|~~Calvinism~~Reformed Christianity\|Christianity}} [[Anglican eucharistic theology]] [[Receptionism]]