Tracts & Letters (Vol 2) - Calvin - VIII - Chapter 9 commenced (Second defence of the pious...)

Required reading
Tracts and Letters (Volume 2) by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here).  Commence Chapter IX (Second defence of the pious and orthodox faith concerning the sacraments, in answer to the calumnies of Joachim Westphal) by reading up to the paragraph commencing 'FIRST, Because I say, that Christ dwelling in us raises us to himself, and transfuses the life-giving vigour of his flesh into us...' (page 279 of the Banner edition).

My summary
We begin yet another treatise on the Lord's supper.  This one is written in response to a treatise written by Westphal against Calvin's first defence (which we read last week).

Firstly we read Calvin's preface to fellow ministers outlining why this treatise needed to be written.

Then we begin the actual treatise commencing with Calvin's defence of the personal attacks that Westphal made against the Reformed ministers.

Next Calvin gives us a quick outline of Westphal's work: 'He divides his book into four chapters. First, he undertakes to refute my assertion, that we were wickedly and ignorantly traduced by him as contradicting each other in our writings ; secondly, he undertakes to refute my assertion, that we were unjustly censured by him, as leaving nothing but empty symbols in the Lord's Supper ; thirdly, he assumes that he is not exciting discord while opposing the authors of disturbance ; fourthly, he promises to reply to the charges made against him.'

For the rest of today's reading we see Calvin answer the first and second divisions of Westphal's work.

What grabbed me
Another nice clear statement from Calvin on the significance of the Lord's supper: 'We assert that in the sacred Supper we are truly made partakers of Christ, so that by the sacred agency of the Spirit, he instils life into our souls from his flesh. Thus the bread is not the empty picture of an absent thing, but a true and faithful pledge of our union with Christ.'

I think we can so overreact to the Roman Catholic dogma that Christ is physically present in Communion, that we swing to the other side of the pendulum and claim that the bread and wine are nothing special.  But they are not empty symbols, they are rich symbols of an inward reality.

Next week's reading
Continue Chapter IX (Second defence of the pious and orthodox faith concerning the sacraments, in answer to the calumnies of Joachim Westphal) by reading up to the paragraph commencing 'The matter now controverted between us, viz., Whether unbelievers receive the substance of the flesh of Christ without his Spirit, is peculiarly applicable to the Supper.' (page 305 of the Banner edition).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.