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though not bodily and locally present in the Supper, is yet present and enjoyed in His entire
person, both body and blood. He emphasizes the mystical communion of believers with the
entire person of the Redeemer. His representation is not entirely clear, but he seems to mean
that the body and blood of Christ, though absent and locally present only in heaven,
communicate a life-giving influence to the believer when he is in the act of receiving the
elements. That influence, though real, is not physical but spiritual and mystical, is mediated by
the Holy Spirit, and is conditioned on the act of faith by which the communicant symbolically
receives the body and blood of Christ. As to the way in which this communion with Christ is
effected, there is a twofold representation. Sometimes it is represented as if by faith the
communicant lifts his heart to heaven, where Christ is; sometimes, as if the Holy Spirit brings
the influence of the body and blood of Christ down to the communicant. Dabney positively
rejects the representation of Calvin as if the communicant partakes of the very body and blood
of Christ in the sacrament. This is undoubtedly an obscure point in Calvin’s representation.
Sometimes he seems to place too much emphasis on the literal flesh and blood. Perhaps,
however, his words are to be understood sacramentally. that is, in a figurative sense. This view
of Calvin is that found in our confessional standards.[Cf. Conf. Belg., Art. XXXV; Heidelberg
Catechism, Question 75,76, and also in the Form for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.] A
very common interpretation of the dubious point in Calvin’s doctrine, is that the body and
blood of Christ are present only virtually, that is, in the words of Dr. Hodge, that “the virtues
and effects of the sacrifice of the body of the Redeemer on the cross are made present and are
actually conveyed in the sacrament to the worthy receiver by the power of the Holy Ghost, who
uses the sacrament as His instrument according to His sovereign will.”[Comm. on the
Confession of Faith, p. 492.]
G. THE LORD’S SUPPER AS A MEANS OF GRACE, OR ITS EFFICACY.
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, instituted by the Lord Himself as a sign and seal, is as such
also a means of grace. Christ instituted it for the benefit of His disciples and of all believers. It
was clearly the intention of the Saviour that His followers should profit by participation in it.
This follows from the very fact that He instituted it as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace. It
can also readily be inferred from the symbolical eating and drinking, which point to
nourishment and quickening, and from such passages as John 6:48-58 (irrespective of the
question, whether this refers directly to the Lord’s Supper or not), and I Cor. 11:17.
1. THE GRACE RECEIVED IN THE LORD’S SUPPER.
The Lord’s Supper is intended for believers
and for believers only, and therefore is not instrumental in originating the work of grace in the
heart of the sinner. The presence of the grace of God is presupposed in the hearts of the
participants. Jesus administered it to His professed followers only; according to Acts 2:42,46