The Means of Grace
The Reformation’s ‘Sola Scriptura’ takes center stage, contrasting Luther’s near-exclusive focus on justification with Calvin’s broader vision. Calvin, unlike the German and English reformations, insisted that church and state remain distinct. Rightly received, the Word itself turns out to be a means of grace in its own right.
Four views of the Lord’s Supper get laid side by side here: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Zwinglian, and Calvin’s own. Calvin took Zwingli’s memorial view and made it something richer, real communion with Christ by the Spirit rather than a bare symbol. The Table, on this account, is a true means of grace that unites believers to Christ himself.