On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus shared a meal with his disciples. Since this was the last in a series of meals he shared with them during his ministry, it’s known as the last supper. The disciples were discouraged…
By His Spirit and Word: How Christ Builds His Church
Cornelis P. Venema joins us to speak about his book By His Spirit and Word: How Christ Builds His Church (Reformed Fellowship, Inc.). Venema engages in an extended exposition on the doctrine of the church and its ministry as described in…
The Lord’s Supper: Calvin and the Belgic Confession Keeping it Simple
The Lord’s Supper is a profound mystery, and yet it’s so simple that anyone who has taken a bite of food and a gulp of water can understand it. Some may be skeptical of this claim since this doctrine has caused…
The Original Meaning of Self-Examination in 1 Corinthians 11
Paul’s aim in 1 Cor. 11:17–34 is to correct an error in the church at Corinth. In vv. 17–22, he states the error, and in vv. 23–34, he provides the solution. To rightly interpret the verses that state Paul’s solution…
Communion as Redemption Accomplished and Applied
The connection between historia salutis and ordo salutis, that is, between salvation as it has been accomplished in redemptive history and salvation as it is applied in the life experience of the believer, has been a fruitful field cultivated with tremendous…
Vos on the Connection between Word and Sacrament
Reformed theologians have regularly underscored the relationship between Word and sacraments. The sacraments are appended to the Word for the purpose of confirming or sealing it. The sacraments do not exist independently of the Word. It’s the Word that throws…
Paul’s Tricky Use of “Body” in the Lord’s Supper
If you’ve ever studied the letters of Paul, you know how difficult they are to understand. Christians in the New Testament era and apparently even the apostle Peter found Paul’s letters “hard to understand” (2 Pet. 3:16). Perhaps, the most…
The Eucharist in the Didache (Clary book)
In 1975, Hughes Oliphant Old published his dissertation entitled The Patristic Roots of Reformed Worship. Old persuasively argues that we have every reason to take Calvin and his colleagues seriously when they claim patristic support for their liturgical ideas. The Reformers deliberately developed…
Calvin on Union with Christ through Word and Sacrament
In his “Summary of Doctrine Concerning the Ministry of the Word and the Sacraments,” Calvin articulates the idea of union and communion with Christ through the means of grace. The end of the whole Gospel ministry is that God ……
Catholic Describes Communion Service in Calvin’s Church
What was the Communion service like in Calvin’s Geneva? One Catholic who attended a service gave the following description. Three or four times a year, according to the will of the authorities, two tables are set up in the church,…
