The Lord’s Supper as a Seal – Calvin and the Lord’s Supper Part 8

We’ve all had the experience of looking at a new pair of pants, or a new mattress, or a new mp3 player, and seen somewhere in the packaging, “Inspected by #403,” or something comparable.  This “seal” means that someone has examined the product and seen that it meets the standards for quality established by the company.  This product has been “sealed” by the company as a statement to say, “This is legitimate.”

Likewise, when Christ gave us the Lord’s Supper to be done “as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:25), it is also meant to be a “seal.”  We get this kind of understanding from Rom 4:11, “[Abraham] received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.”  Because of this statement, theologians have seen that a sacrament (ordinance) has an important function as a “seal.”  Circumcision did not give Abraham his faith; his faith preceded circumcision.  The sacrament was added merely as a “seal” of something already present.  It was like that seal of inspection we mentioned above, affirming that Abraham was “legitimate.”  It did not make him a legitimate believer, but merely recognized him as a believer.  So Calvin says, “Abraham’s circumcision was not for his justification but for the seal of that covenant by faith in which he had already been justified” (Institutes, Book IV, chp 14:5). 

This concept of the sacrament as a seal Calvin likens to government seals on documents:

“the seals which are attached to government documents and other public acts are nothing taken by themselves, for they would be attached in vain if the parchment had nothing written on it. Yet, when added to the writing, they do not on that account fail to confirm and seal what is written” (ibid.)

In other words a piece of paper with a government seal on it is meaningless, even though officially “sealed.”  And yet, with a pronouncement, law, or record on the paper, suddenly the seal on that paper makes these words official and binding. 

The analogy isn’t perfect, as sacraments do not “make official” something that has happened in our hearts but isn’t binding without the seal.  That is why I feel the inspection seal is a more accurate picture of the kind of “seal” that a sacrament represents.  It recognizes something that has happened, recognizes a work as legitimate, recognizes a person as legal, but doesn’t make them such.  Yet, Calvin does preserve a place of importance for the sacrament even as it remains a seal.  The government seal analogy gives the sacrament an important role in the life of the believer, validating the faith in their hearts.

So when we gather every three weeks in our church to celebrate the Lord’s Supper we are corporately recognizing a work that God has done in each of our hearts.  We are taking God’s seal of approval and placing it on the faith within our hearts and the justification we’ve experienced.  It is meant to be a visible recognition of an invisible work in our hearts, and yet different from the work itself.  This, of course, is why we reserve this sacrament for believers alone.  For an unbeliever the sacrament could be a vivid proclamation of the gospel, but could not be a recognition of the work of the gospel in their heart.

We praise God for his gracious work in our hearts, and for this gracious means of recognizing that work: the Lord’s Supper.

DJB