John Calvin’s confusion over Substance and the Eucharist

I hope y’all are checking out the new group site entitled: Called to Communion. The site is getting tons of traffic and the comments are amazing. Lots of Protestants and Catholics going back and forth over the claims of Catholicism – in a respectful and cordial way.

John Calvin’s confusion over Substance and the Eucharist

I recently posted something at Called to Communion about John Calvin and his use of “substance” with respect to the Eucharist:

Several years ago when I was once a Calvinist, I remember reading this quote by John Calvin and being impressed by it:

We must confess, then, that if the representation which God gives us in the Supper is true, the internal substance of the sacrament is conjoined with the visible signs; and as the bread is distributed to us by the hand, so the body of Christ is communicated to us in order that we may be made partakers of it (John Calvin, Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper, 17).

The interesting thing is that Calvin here discusses the presence of Christ in terms of “substance.” Not only that, Calvin speaks of the “internal substance” being “conjoined with the visible signs.” This comes close to consubstantiation, where the substance of Christ is conjoined to the substance of bread and wine. Quite remarkable.

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