Reflections on... Calvin and the Reformed Church (FTS_MC500)

Here's a few little interesting background bits about John Calvin: he studied law and philosophy before getting into theology, he was mild-mannered in contrast to Luther's hot-tempered nature, he wrote his first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion before he was 30 and with no theological education, and he like to sing the Psalms.

What Calvin did in Geneva during his time there was to help create a fully Christian society where the government, society, and the church lived symbiotically together. Laws were in place such that everyone was required to go to church, take communion (provided they were not excommunicated), etc. To some it would seem that Calvin was a controlling and domineering religious figure. But, with respect to his context there's a few things to note.

Calvin did not view laws as producing Christians directly. He did not seek to legislate morality in that sense. Laws were in place because they expressed God's will for society, but the Gospel was preached because people could not keep the laws. The function of the law in Geneva was not to make people holy, it was to make them repentant. Calvin believed that in the context of law and the preaching of the Gospel, people would repent and believe Christ for salvation from the penalty and power of sin.

Calvin also emphasized that each person is endowed by God with something special, some gift, to be developed and employed for the worship of God. Among the many other ways in which Calvin impacted the Reformation, this was a unique contribution of his.

Where Calvin and Luther differed with respect to church traditions, Calvin moved away from Catholic teaching on the Eucharist by clarifying that it is not the "real presence" but the "true presence" of Christ that is mediated in Communion. By this he meant that Christ is not brought down to indwell the bread and wine but that by the bread and wine we are brought up into the presence of Christ at the right hand of the Father.