A Crash Course on John Calvin’s Theology

Introduction

In this podcast recap we go over the main things we discussed with Dr. Peter Lillback of Westminster Theological Seminary.

Calvin and the Eucharist

The Neo-Calvinist movement of the late 2000s emphasized John Calvin’s strong doctrine of predestination, election, and God’s sovereignty. Calvin certainly taught these doctrines, but the famous Reformer saw his legacy elsewhere. He believed his lasting contribution to the Reformation rested with his doctrine of the Eucharist. Calvin taught that the Scriptures described a real participation in Christ by believers in the Lord’s Supper in which faith comprehends the union between the “sign” (bread and wine) and the “thing signified” (the body and blood of Christ). On the one hand, this “virtualist” or “spiritual” perspective denied the bare memorial perspective held by the followers of Zwingli and much of American evangelicalism today. On the other hand, Calvin denied that the substance of bread and wine transform into the substance of the flesh and blood of Christ as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, a view called “Transubstantiation”. Dr. Lillback describes Calvin’s perspective with an analogy: the sun’s rays touch us, but we never touch the sun. In the Lord’s Supper, the bright rays of God’s grace touch us as if on a cloudless day. We do not touch Christ, but rather he touches us by the Spirit in a real way. His deep convictions about the Eucharist shaped the way he understood the relation between church and state.

Calvin and the State

Calvin’s high view of the Eucharist led him to take strong stances against civil magistrates who attempted to partake of the Supper in an unworthy manner. He rejected the state’s authority over the Eucharist and advocated for a “republican” form of government in which the church and state co-operated. His political philosophy influenced the Puritan emphasis on freedom of conscience alongside the Anabaptist call for religious liberty in the United States. His own story led him to champion an early form of religious liberty as he found himself branded a heretic and forced on many occasions to flee from Roman Catholic persecution. 

Calvin’s detractors often point to his involvement in the burning of the heretic Servetus as evidence of the Reformer’s hypocrisy. Servetus espoused anti-Trinitarian theology which branded him a threat to society. The civil magistrates exercised their legal right to destroy heresy. Calvin respected the state’s right to execute justice yet pled for a lenient death for Servetus. Dr. Lillback reminds us that the Reformers were still men of their time and that the full flowering of Calvin’s concept of religious liberty only bloomed at the dawn of the American founding. In sum, Calvin advocated for a co-operative yet distinguished relationship between church and state. The state receives authority from God over external affairs, but not over the internal affairs of conscience. 

Calvin the Evangelist

Calvin belonged to the second generation of Reformers who sought to build on the insights of the prior generation by consolidating a systematic understanding of the Reformed faith. Calvin in particular focused on the doctrine of Union with Christ. Calvin believed alongside the Reformers that when a believer unites himself to Christ by faith he receives all the benefits of salvation. The benefits of salvation remain the same in substance between the Old and New Covenants even though the outward administration differs in form. This conviction led Calvin to evangelize the lost in order to know this Jesus that brings eternal blessing to sinners. 

Calvinist’s today get pegged as lacking in evangelistic fervor because of a high view of God’s sovereignty, but Calvin lived his life with evangelistic fervor. According to Calvin, God’s sovereignty motivated evangelism because it took the pressure off the preacher to convert souls. This perspective influenced his preaching ministry as he sought to bring biblical teaching to the masses through his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin saw himself first and foremost as a preacher with his Institutes serving as a supplement to his pulpit ministry. His conviction about the centrality of preaching led him to create monthly meetings with other local pastors to hone their rhetorical and exegetical skills as well as share insights on the text. 

The Real Calvin

As with many historical figures the “real” story proves more complex and nuanced than popular articulations. Calvin lived in a time of rapid and extraordinary change and sought to bring stability to a burgeoning movement of reform. His emphasis on the Eucharist, church-state co-operation, union with Christ, and the evangelistic power of preaching fueled his ministry and life. We can learn a lot from Calvin’s dedication to detailed exegesis of the Scriptures and faithful application of the Word to all of life. We can also appreciate the ways in which he paved the way for future generations to develop a philosophy of conscience and religious liberty, especially as we grapple with an increasingly pluralistic age. Calvin’s legacy extends far beyond the five points of Calvinism to the whole of life as the theater of God’s glory.