The doctrine of Calvin and his adherents concerning the Lord's Supper is
frequently characterized as a materially modified Zwinglianism. Schaff
maintains that "Calvin's theory took a middle course, retaining, on the
basis of Zwingli's exegesis, the religious substance of Luther's faith,
and giving it a more intellectual and spiritual form, triumphed in
Switzerland, gained much favor in Germany and opened a fair prospect for
union." (_Creeds_ 1, 280.) As a matter of fact, however, a fact admitted
also by such Calvinists as Hodge and Shedd, Calvin's doctrine was a
denial _in toto_ of the real presence as taught by Luther. (Pieper,
_Dogm._ 3, 354.) Calvin held that after His ascension Christ, according
to His human nature, was locally enclosed in heaven, far away from the
earth. Hence he denied also the real presence of Christ's body and blood
in the Holy Supper. In fact, Calvin's doctrine was nothing but a
polished form of Zwingli's crude teaching, couched in phrases
approaching the Lutheran terminology as closely as possible. Even where
he paraded as Luther, Calvin was but Zwingli disguised (and poorly at
that) in a seemingly orthodox garb and promenading with several
imitation Lutheran feathers in his hat.
In the _Formula of Concord_ we read: "Although some Sacramentarians
strive to employ words that come as close as possible to the _Augsburg
Confession_ and the form and mode of speech in its churches, and confess
that in the Holy Supper the body of Christ is truly received by
believers, still, when we insist that they state their meaning properly,
sincerely, and clearly, they all declare themselves unanimously thus:
that the true essential body and blood of Christ is absent from the
consecrated bread and wine in the Holy Supper as far as the highest
heaven is from the earth.... Therefore they understand this presence of
the body of Christ not as a presence here upon earth, but only _respectu
fidei_ (with respect to faith), that is, that our faith, reminded and
excited by the visible signs, just as by the Word preached, elevates
itself and ascends above all heavens, and receives and enjoys the body
of Christ, which is there in heaven present, yea, Christ Himself,
together with all His benefits, in a manner true and essential, but
nevertheless spiritual only;... consequently nothing else is received by
the mouth in the Holy Supper than bread and wine." (971, 2f.) This is,
and was intended to be, a presentation of Calvinism as being nothing but
Zwinglianism clothed in seemingly orthodox phrases.
That this picture drawn by the _Formula of Concord_ is not a caricature
or in any point a misrepresentation of Calvinism appears from the
_Consensus Tigurinus_ itself, where we read: "In as far as Christ is a
man, He is to be sought nowhere else than in heaven and in no other
manner than with the mind and the understanding of faith. Therefore it
is a perverse and impious superstition to include Him under elements of
this world. _Christus, quatenus homo est, non alibi quam in coelo nec
aliter quam mente et fidei intelligentia quaerendus est. Quare perversa
et impia superstitio est, ipsum sub elementis huius mundi includere._"
Again: "We repudiate those [who urge the literal interpretation of the
words of institution] as preposterous interpreters." "For beyond
controversy, they are to be taken figuratively,... as when by metonymy
the name of the symbolized thing is transferred to the sign--_ut per
metonymiam ad signum transferatur rei figuratae nomen._" Again: "Nor do
we regard it as less absurd to place Christ under, and to unite Him
with, the bread than to change the bread into His body. _Neque enim
minus absurdum iudicamus, Christum sub pane locare vel cum pane
copulare, quam panem transubstantiare in corpus eius._" Again: "When we
say that Christ is to be sought in heaven, this mode of speech expresses
a distance of place,... because the body of Christ,... being finite and
contained in heaven, as in a place, must of necessity be removed from us
by as great a distance as the heaven is removed from the earth--_necesse
est, a nobis tanto locorum intervallo distare, quanto caelum abest a
terra._" (Niemeyer, _Collectio Confessionum_, 196.) Such was the
teaching cunningly advocated by Calvin and his adherents the
Crypto-Calvinists in Germany included but boldly and firmly opposed by
the loyal Lutherans, and finally disposed of by Articles VII and VIII of
the _Formula of Concord_.