Quotes from Calvin's Commentary on I Corinthians 11:23-29:
"The Lord's Supper"

...But that participation in the body of Christ, which, I affirm, is presented to us in the Supper, does not require a local presence, nor the descent of Christ, nor infinite extension, nor anything of that nature, for the Supper being a heavenly action, there is no absurdity in saying, that Christ, while remaining in heaven, is received by us. For as to his communicating himself to us, that is effected through the secret virtue of his Holy Spirit, which can not merely bring together, but join in one, things that are separated by distance of place, and far remote.

But, in order that we may be capable of this participation, we must rise heavenward. Here, therefore, faith must be our resource, when all the bodily senses have failed. When I speak of faith, I do not mean any sort of opinion, resting on human contrivances, as many, boasting of faith on all occasions, run grievously wild on this point. What then? You see bread — nothing more — but you learn that it is a symbol of Christ’s body. Do not doubt that the Lord accomplishes what his words intimate — that the body, which thou dost not at all behold, is given to thee, as a spiritual repast. It seems incredible, that we should be nourished by Christ’s flesh, which is at so great a distance from us. Let us bear in mind, that it is a secret and wonderful work of the Holy Spirit, which it were criminal to measure by the standard of our understanding. In the meantime, however, drive away gross imaginations, which would keep thee from looking beyond the bread. Leave to Christ the true nature of flesh, and do not, by a mistaken apprehension, extend his body over heaven and earth: do not divide him into different parts by thy fancies, and do not adore him in this place and that, according to thy carnal apprehension. Allow him to remain in his heavenly glory, and aspire thou thither, that he may thence communicate himself to thee. These few things will satisfy those that are sound and modest. As for the curious, I would have them look somewhere else for the means of satisfying their appetite...

...Do this in remembrance of me. Hence the Supper is a memorial,(μνημόσυνον) appointed as a help to our weakness; for if we were sufficiently mindful of the death of Christ, this help would be unnecessary. This is common to all sacraments, for they are helps to our weakness. What is the nature of that remembrance which Christ would have us cherish with regard to him, we shall hear presently. As to the inference, however, which some draw from this — that Christ is not present in the Supper, because a remembrance applies to something that is absent; the answer is easy — that Christ is absent from it in the sense in which the Supper is a commemoration. For Christ is not visibly present, and is not beheld with our eyes, as the symbols are which excite our remembrance by representing him. In short, in order that he may be present with us, he does not change his place, but communicates to us from heaven the virtue of his flesh, as though it were present...

...Until he come As we always need a help of this kind, so long as we are in this world, Paul intimates that this commemoration has been given us in charge, until Christ come to judgment. For as he is not present with us in a visible form, it is necessary for us to have some symbol of his presence, by which our minds may exercise themselves.

The reader is encouraged to check out the context of these quotes by reading Calvin's complete commentary on this section of I Corinthians 11:23-29 at the CCEL library.

Side Note Regarding Zwingli:

Thomas Davis points out that Zwingli was killed at a realitively young age (47). As such, it is not clear how Zwingli's theology may have changed and matured if he had lived as long as Luther (62) or Calvin (54).

"Rather then a bare and simple memorialism, it appears that in Zwingli, Paul's admonition to "discern the body" took Zwingli along the path of theological development, one cut short, perhaps, by his untimely death at the Battle of Kappel." This Is My Body: The Presence of Christ in Reformation Thought; (page 159),

Are Evangelicals missing something, or is it just me?

I just got back from a visit to one of our local Christian book stores. To put the following in context, you need to know that I live in the Grand Rapids, Michigan USA area of the world which is home to several Christian publishing companies and probably has more Christian bookstores per capita then 99.99% of the rest of the world.

While at the bookstore, I found the commentary I was looking for and then started browsing. I thought as long as I was browsing, I'd see what books might be there that dealt with the theology and meaning of of the Lord's Supper. After all, this was the same store where previously I had found Thomas Davis' This Is My Body: The Presence of Christ in Reformation Thought.

It was pretty sparse. I could only find one other book dealing explicitly with the Lord's Supper; A Holy Meal by Gordon T. Smith.

I browsed through the theological section and the "Christian Living" section, and that one book was it. There were several books on baptism, one book by a Reformed padeobaptist pastor arguing in favor of allowing baptized, but not yet confirmed children access to the Communion Table, but other then the Gordon Smith book, nothing dealing with a Biblical theology of the Lord's Table.

I could not help but wonder as I saw all the other titles on the shelf dealing with all sorts of, and sundry issues in the Christan life, "How much of this stuff would be impacted if we as Evangelicals had a more Biblical theological understanding of the Lord's Supper?"

Where is the book that gives a definitive Evangelical Biblical theology of the Lord's Supper? And it would be well if it was something that has been written recently enough to have taken advantage of the Evangelical theological and Biblical scholarship of the last fifty or so years. (Dead Puritans need not apply, though whoever writes this should not ignore the contributions of the Reformers and the Puritans.) If you know of such a definitive, more recent work as described, please let me know.

If such a work does not exist, it would be well if some Evangelical theologian/Bible scholar with the qualifications and time to do so, would produce such a work. That's my humble opinion. I really think we may be missing something...

Peace,

~ The Billy Goat ~

Billy Goat Log: January 9, 2011

• The church we attend is inter-generational. We have a pretty good balance from youngsters on up through the grey haired seniors. So it is we see the normal ebb and flow of life in the life of the congregation; births, weddings, funerals, and etc. This past week was the occasion of several deaths in the Church family.
  
  We knew Sue was not long for this world. Cancer had taken its toll on her body, and chemo was no longer effective. My wife and I went to see her this past Monday. She knew we were there, but it was hard for her to talk, and the morphine to control pain made her drowsy. Friday we got word she was now with Jesus.
  
  I'm glad we got to know Sue and her husband over the past eight years we've been at our church. I'm glad she got to hold her grandchildren in her arms before leaving this world. I'm glad my last spoken words to her were, "Jesus still loves you..."
  
  RIP
  
  
• I had to get a new mobile phone. The old one totally died. It was about three years old so it didn't have many bells and whistles. The new one has the camera and some text and e-mail capabilities the old did not. Of course I had to check out all those fancy new features. It's like having a new toy.
  
  
• The Detroit Lions finished the regular NFL season with a string of wins. The roar is starting to come back... I remember the last time the Lions were in a playoff game many, many years ago. Maybe next year...
  
  
• Back in September I posted a study on The Lord's Table. I recently had opportunity to present a more developed and expanded version of that material in an adult Sunday school class. I want to do some further work on that and sometime in the future publish that revision here. It has been of particular interest to me to read John Calvin's Commentary on the 1 Corinthians 10 & 11 passages that deal with the Lord's Table.
  
  
• Over the Christmas break we took the oldest grandson to see The Voyage of the Dawntreader in 3D. If you are a stickler about a movie following closely to the book, you will find this version of the Dawntreader a disappointment. That said, I thought the movie did retain the basic essence of Lewis' original story, and the technical things such as graphics and etc, were well done. Somethings were left out that I would have like to have seen included. Some things were included that I thought could have been left out. Overall it was passasble though not outstanding; three stars out of five.
  
  

• "With nearly 230 million total speakers, Bangla (Bengali) is one of the most spoken languages, ranking sixth in the world. The predominent religion among the Bangla people is Islam 89.5%, followed by Hindu 9.6%, and "other" 0.9% (2004, CIA Factbook). That less then 1% "other" includes Christianity."
  
  Bangla Ministries Worldwide (Facebook)
  Bangla Ministries Worldwide
  

  
  
  

Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 39

Who is This Baby in the Manger?

This baby in the manger was the One who lived, talked, and walked among men in Judea and Galilee.

The One who lived, talked, and walked among men in Judea and Galilee, is the One who healed the sick, made the lame to walk, the blind to see, raised the dead, and gave hope to the weary and downtrodden.

The One who healed the sick, made the lame to walk, the blind to see, raised the dead, and gave hope to the weary and downtrodden is the One who was betrayed, condemned and crucified, suffering death upon the cross, and buried in a tomb.

The One who was betrayed, condemned and crucified, suffering death upon the cross, and buried in a tomb is the One who rose from the dead on the third day, conquering death, hell, and all the works of the devil.

The One who rose from the dead on the third day, conquering death, hell, and the works of the devil is the One who ascended up into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

The One who ascended up into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father is the One who will some day come again as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords before whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father.

This is who the baby in the manger is; Emmanuel, God with us.

Come and worship...

Creator & Creation: What Has Man Wrought?

This past week I got to see Tron Legacy at the local Imax.

Amidst the outstanding graphics is a story that touches on fundamental questions of being and existence, creator and creation, love & sacrifice. Though Tron Legacy was not intended to necessarily be philosophical, I found it pretty profound.

This is not at all to say Tron Legacy is "Christian". Any religious allusions are more along the line of an Eastern pantheistic mysticism. But that said, any story dealing with the human condition in whatever setting, fiction, science fiction, or etc, will deal with those fundamental questions of being and existence that cut across all cultural and religious lines.

I could go on at length about the theological implications of the issues and questions inherent in the story this movie tells, but I will leave that for the readers of this short piece to work out when they have seen Tron Legacy for themselves.

For myself, Tron Legacy is a serious contender for my "Best Top Ten Movies of All Time" list.

~ The Billy Goat ~

Book & Movie Titles That Never Were

Some friends were over this evening, and we got into this thing of coming up with titles of books and movies, then turning them into creative titles that never were but could have been. Enjoy!

1. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer Get Stoned
   
   
2. Malice in Wonderland
   
   
3. False Grit
   
   
4. Harry Potter: The Disorder of the Phoenix
   
   
5. A Welcome to Legs ( E. Hemingway)
   
   
6. Little Ado About Everythiing (W. Shakespeare)
   
   
7. Peter Pot
   
   
8. Dr. Jekyll & Mrs. Hyde
   
   
9. Scared Old World (A. Huxley)
   
   
10. Your Anthony (W. Cather)
    
    
11. A Tail of Two Cities (C. Dickens)
    
    
12. Nonsense and Insensibility (J. Austen)
    
    
13. Here With the Breeze (M. Mitchall)
    
    
14. The Gizzard of Oz
    

Now you have the idea. What can you come up with?

A Few Odds & Ends

• My sister Joy passed away in early June. This is the first holiday season when she will not be with us. There is, as it were, "an empty chair at the table". I know other families are also experiencing the "empty chair" at this time of the year. Death is a part of life in a fallen and not yet fully redeemed world. Past generations lived much closer to death then the current secular Western generation I am a part of. Unless the Lord comes first, we will all eventually come face to face with death. That is where the Advent time of year is an encouragement. It not just the babe in the manger, but the whole life He lived, as well as His death, and the overcoming of death through His resurrection that gives us hope beyond death; the hope of eternal life. That is what makes Christmas special.
  
  
• I am compiling on this blog a list of books I have read. The results can be seen at "The Billy Goat Reader" link on the left side of this page.
  
  
• My alma mater, Michigan State University ended up with a share of the Big 10 title in football. Michigan State is in the top ten in the BCS rankings. It's been a good year to be a Spartan fan. In the meantime the Detroit Lions... Well, what can you say...
  
  

• "If evangelical Christianity is about anything, it ought to be about the gospel—that’s the meaning of the term evangelical itself. If so, we must recognize that our mission is to be found in what makes the good news good. We don’t have to be left to our own striving and clawing. And we don’t have to try to be emperor of our own lives, or of those around us. We point instead to a kingdom that overshadows—and knocks down—every rival rule, including our own." ~ Russell Moore as quoted by Kevin DeYoung.

  
  
• On December 1, we got snow and enough that it accumulated on the ground, but not enough that made it hard to clear the roads.
  
  
• Here is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs.
  

Peace,

~ The Billy Goat ~

Has It Been Forty-Seven Years Already?

It has been a lifetime since those shots rang out on a Dallas street... We still remember... Also, on the same day, writers C.S.Lewis and Aldous Huxley died; President John F. Kennedy the Catholic, C.S. Lewis the Evangelical Anglican (or whatever he really was), and Aldous Huxley the classic skeptical secular humanist.

I've already told the story of that day in a previous post. It was a day that in retrospect marked a distinct turning point in our lives. That day marked the passing of what was left of the innocence of our childhood of the 1950's.

I've learned over the years to mourn the death of all people. If I can not mourn for the life they lived, I mourn for the life they should and could have lived... Even God Himself takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked¹...

Peace,

~ The Billy Goat ~

(¹Ezekiel 33:11)

The Faithfulness of Christ as a Theme in Paul's Theology Presentation Copy

This presentation by Dr. A.B. Caneday is a bit technical, but if you can follow the thought, you will find it helpful in understanding Paul's letter to the Galations.