IV. Des sacrements — Le 46e dimanche
The Nature of the Sacraments
The sacraments are defined as outward testimonies of God's grace, ordained to confirm his promises to our hearts.
On the Sacraments 309. M: Is there no other means besides the Word by which God communicates himself to us? Student: He has joined the sacraments to the preaching of his Word.1 310. Minister: What is a Sacrament? E: It is an outward testimony of God's grace, which by a visible sign represents spiritual things to us, so as to impress God's promises more deeply on our hearts and make us more certain of them. 311. M: How can a visible and material sign have this power to certify the conscience? E: Not by itself, but insofar as it is ordained by God for this purpose.
The Spirit and the Sign
While the Holy Spirit alone illuminates the heart, God uses the sacraments as instruments to seal his promises without diminishing the Spirit's power.
312. M: Since it is the Holy Spirit's own proper work to seal God's promises in our hearts, how do you attribute that to the sacraments?✦ E: There’s a big difference between the two. For the Spirit of God is truly the only one who can touch and move our hearts, illuminate our minds, and assure our consciences—so much so that all of this must be judged his own proper work, and praise for it must be given to him. Still, the Lord makes use of the sacraments as lesser instruments, as he sees fit, without the power of his Spirit being diminished in any way by it.2 313. M: So you mean the efficacy of the sacraments doesn't lie in the outward element, but comes entirely from the Spirit of God? E: Yes—according as God wills to work through the means he has instituted, without diminishing his power.3
Sacraments for Our Weakness
God provides sacraments to accommodate our bodily nature, using visible figures to help us grasp spiritual truths.
The sacraments are given to us because of our weakness. M: And what moves God to do that? E: To provide relief for our weakness. For if we were spiritual by nature, like the angels, we could contemplate both him and his graces spiritually. But since we are wrapped in our bodies, we need him to use figures toward us to represent spiritual and heavenly things to us.4 Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to understand them. It is also good for us that all our senses be exercised in his holy promises, so as to confirm us in them.5
Read the original Latin
Des sacrements 309. M : N'y a-t-il point d'autre moyen outre la Parole par lequel Dieu se communique à nous? E : Il a conjoint les sacrements avec la prédication de sa Parole.
310. M : Qu'est-ce que sacrement? E : C'est un témoignage extérieur de la grâce de Dieu, qui par signe visible nous représente les choses spirituelles, afin d'imprimer plus fort en nos coeurs les promesses de Dieu et nous en rendre plus certains.
311. M : Comment un signe visible et matériel a-t-il cette vertu de certifier la conscience? E : Non pas de soi-même, mais en tant qu'il est ordonné de Dieu à cette fin.
312. M : Vu que c'est le propre office du Saint-Esprit de sceller les promesses de Dieu en nos coeurs, comment attribues-tu cela aux sacrements? E : Il y a grande différence entre l'un et l'autre. Car l'Esprit de Dieu à la vérité est celui seul qui peut toucher et émouvoir nos coeurs, illuminer nos entendements et assurer nos consciences, tellement que tout cela doit être jugé son oeuvre propre pour lui en rendre louange. Cependant le Seigneur s'aide des sacrements, comme d'instruments inférieurs, selon que bon lui semble, sans que la vertu de son Esprit en soit aucunement amoindrie.
313. M : Tu entends donc que l'efficace des sacrements ne gît pas en l'élément extérieur, mais procède toute de l'Esprit de Dieu? E : Voire, selon que Dieu veut besogner par les moyens qu'il a institués, sans déroger à sa puissance.
Les sacrements nous sont donnés pour notre infirmité 314. M : Et qui meut Dieu de faire cela? E : Pour le soulagement de notre infirmité. Car si nous étions de nature spirituelle, comme les anges, nous pourrions contempler spirituellement et lui et ses grâces. Mais ainsi que nous sommes enveloppés de nos corps, nous avons métier qu'il use de figures envers nous pour nous représenter les choses spirituelles et célestes. Car autrement nous ne les pourrions comprendre. Et aussi il nous est expédient que tous nos sens soient exercés en ses saintes promesses pour nous confirmer en icelles.
Scripture echoes
- ↩2Cor.1.22;Eph.1.13;Eph.4.30 — who also sealed us and gave the guarantee of the Spirit in our hearts Eph.1.13 — In him you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in him, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Eph.4.30 — And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Notes
- 1 ↩French «conjoint» means joined/united; rendered «joined» to keep Calvin’s bond of sacraments with the preached Word without over-reading a later technical sense.
- 2 ↩French 'vertu' here means operative power/efficacy of the Spirit, not moral virtue; rendered as 'power'.
- 3 ↩French 'besogner' is archaic for 'to work/operate'; rendered 'work' for natural modern English while keeping the instrumental sense of God acting through instituted means.
- 4 ↩avoir métier = to have need of; figures keeps the Reformation sacramental sense of visible signs/figures, not mere metaphors.
- 5 ↩icelles = those same (the holy promises); expédient rendered as good/fitting for us rather than the stiffer 'expedient'.
Catechism of the Church of Geneva (Le catéchisme de l'Église de Genève) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit