February 2009
24 posts
Section: 2.1.8-11
(Original sin defined as a depravity of nature, which deserves punishment, but which is not from nature as created, 8-11) 8. The nature of original sin So that these remarks may not be made concerning an uncertain and unknown matter, let us define original sin. It is not my intention to investigate the several definitions proposed by various writers, but simply to bring forward the one that...
Section: 2.1.5-7
5. The first sin as original sin As it was the spiritual life of Adam to remain united and bound to his Maker, so estrangement from him was the death of his soul. Nor is it any wonder that he consigned his race to ruin by his rebellion when he perverted the whole order of nature in heaven and on earth. “All creatures,” says Paul, “are groaning” [Rom. 8:22], “subject...
Section: 2.1.1-4
BOOK TWO The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ, First Disclosed to the Fathers Under the Law, and Then to Us in the Gospel CHAPTER I BY THE FALL AND REVOLT OF ADAM THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE WAS DELIVERED TO THE CURSE, AND DEGENERATED FROM ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION; THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN (A true knowledge of ourselves destroys self-confidence, 1-3) 1. Wrong and right knowledge of self ...
Section: 1.18.3-4
3. God’s will is a unity While hitherto I have recounted only those things which are openly and unambiguously related in Scripture, let those who do not hesitate to brand the heavenly oracles with sinister marks of ignominy see what kind of censure they use. For if they seek from pretending ignorance to be praised for moderation, what haughtier thing can be imagined than to oppose...
Section: 1.18.1-2
CHAPTER XVIII GOD SO USES THE WORKS OF THE UNGODLY, AND SO BENDS THEIR MINDS TO CARRY OUT HIS JUDGMENTS, THAT HE REMAINS PURE FROM EVERY STAIN 1. No mere “permission”! From other passages, where God is said to bend or draw Satan himself and all the wicked to his will, there emerges a more difficult question. For carnal sense can hardly comprehend how in acting through them he does...
Section: 1.17.11-14
11. Certainty about God’s providence puts joyous trust toward God in our hearts “Yet, when that light of divine providence has once shone upon a godly man, he is then relieved and set free not only from the extreme anxiety and fear that were pressing him before, but from every care. For as he justly dreads fortune, so he fearlessly dares commit himself to God. His solace, I say, is...
Section: 1.17.7-10
7. God’s providence in prosperity The servant of God, strengthened both by these promises and by examples, will join thereto the testimonies which teach that all men are under his power, whether their minds are to be conciliated, or their malice to be restrained that it may not do harm. For it is the Lord who gives us favor, not alone among those who wish us well, but even “in the...
Section: 1.17.4-6
4. God’s providence does not excuse us from due prudence But with respect to future events, Solomon easily brings human deliberations into agreement with God’s providence. For just as he laughs at the dullness of those who boldly undertake something or other without the Lord, as though they were not ruled by his hand, so elsewhere he says: “Man’s heart plans his way, but...
Section: 1.17.1-3
CHAPTER XVII HOW WE MAY APPLY THIS DOCTRINE TO OUR GREATEST BENEFIT (Interpretation of divine providence with reference to the past and the future, 1-5) 1. The meaning of God’s ways Moreover, as men’s dispositions are inclined to vain subtleties, any who do not hold fast to a good and right use of this doctrine can hardly avoid entangling themselves in inscrutable difficulties....
Section: 1.16.7-9
7. God’s providence also regulates “natural” occurrences Also, I say that particular events are generally testimonies of the character of God’s singular providence. In the desert God stirred up the south wind, which brought to the people an abundance of birds. [Ex. 16:13; Num. 11: 31.] When he would have Jonah cast into the sea, God sent a wind by stirring up a whirlwind...
Section: 1.16.4-6
4. The nature of providence At the outset, then, let my readers grasp that providence means not that by which God idly observes from heaven what takes place on earth, but that by which, as keeper of the keys, he governs all events. Thus it pertains no less to his hands than to his eyes. And indeed, when Abraham said to his son, “God will provide” [Gen. 22:8], he meant not only to...
Section: 1.15.8-1.16.3
8. Free choice and Adam’s responsibility Therefore God provided man’s soul with a mind, by which to distinguish good from evil, right from wrong; and, with the light of reason as guide, to distinguish what should be followed from what should be avoided. For this reason, the philosophers called this directing part. To this he joined the will, under whose control is choice. Man in his...
Section: 1.15.4-7
4. The true nature of the image of God is to be derived from what Scripture says of its renewal through Christ Nevertheless, it seems that we do not have a full definition of “image” if we do not see more plainly those faculties in which man excels, and in which he ought to be thought the reflection of God’s glory. That, indeed, can be nowhere better recognized than from the...
Section: 1.15.1-3
DISCUSSION OF HUMAN NATURE AS CREATED, OF THE FACULTIES OF THE SOUL, OF THE IMAGE OF GOD, OF FREE WILL, AND OF THE ORIGINAL INTEGRITY OF MAN’S NATURE 1. Man proceeded spotless from God’s hand; therefore he may not shift the blame for his sins to the Creator We must now speak of the creation of man: not only because among all God’s works here is the noblest and most remarkable...
Section: 1.14.18-22
18. Assurance of victory! Now, because God bends the unclean spirits hither and thither at will, he so governs their activity that they exercise believers in combat, ambush them, invade their peace, beset them in combat, and also often weary them, rout them, terrify them, and sometimes wound them; yet they never vanquish or crush them. But the wicked they subdue and drag away; they exercise...
Section: 1.14.14-17
14. The realm of wickedness Moreover, in order that we may be aroused and exhorted all the more to carry this out, Scripture makes known that there are not one, not two, nor a few foes, but great armies, which wage war against us. For Mary Magdalene is said to have been freed from seven demons by which she was possessed [Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2], and Christ bears witness that usually after a demon...
Section: 1.14.8-13
8. The hierarchy, number, and form of the angels Let those who dare determine the number and orders of angels see what sort of foundation they have. Michael, I admit, is called “the great prince” in The Book of Daniel [ch. 12:1], and “the archangel” in Jude [v. 9]. And Paul teaches that it will be the archangel who will call men to judgment with a trumpet [I Thess. 4:16;...
Section: 1.14.4-7
4. Also we should not indulge in speculations concerning the angels, but search out the witness of Scripture Since the angels are God’s ministers, ordained to carry out his commands, there should be no question that they are also his creatures [Ps. 103:20-21]. Is it not evidence of stubbornness rather than of diligence to raise strife over the time and order in which they were created?...
Section: 1.14.1-3
CHAPTER XIV EVEN IN THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE AND OF ALL THINGS, SCRIPTURE BY UNMISTAKABLE MARKS DISTINGUISHES THE TRUE GOD FROM FALSE GODS 1. We cannot and should not go behind God’s act of creation in our speculation Isaiah rightly charges the worshipers of false gods with obtuseness, because they have not learned from the foundations of the earth and the circle of the heavens who...
Section: 1.13.25-29
25. The divine nature is common to all three Persons But they are obviously deceived in this connection, for they dream of individuals, each having its own separate part of the essence. Yet we teach from the Scriptures that God is one in essence, and hence that the essence both of the Son and of the Spirit is unbegotten; but inasmuch as the Father is first in order, and from himself begot his...
Section: 1.13.23-24
23. The Son is God even as the Father From this morass another similar monster has come forth. For certain rascals, to escape the invidiousness and shame of Servetus’ impiety, indeed confessed that there are three persons; but they added the provision that the Father, who is truly and properly the sole God, in forming the Son and the Spirit, infused into them his own deity. Indeed, they do...
Section: 1.13.18-22
18. Difference of Father, Son, and Spirit I really do not know whether it is expedient to borrow comparisons from human affairs to express the force of this distinction. Men of old were indeed accustomed sometimes to do so, but at the same time they confessed that the analogies they advanced were quite inadequate. Thus it is that I shrink from all rashness here: lest if anything should be...
Section: 1.13.13-17
13. The divinity of Christ is demonstrated by his miracles How plainly and clearly is his deity shown in miracles! Even though I confess that both the prophets and the apostles performed miracles equal to and similar to his, yet in this respect there is the greatest of differences: they distributed the gifts of God by their ministry, but he showed forth his own power. Indeed, he sometimes used...
Section: 1.13.9-12
9. The deity of Christ in the Old Testament
Further, I do not yet touch upon the person of the Mediator, but postpone it until we reach the treatment of redemption. Despite this, because it ought to be agreed among all that Christ is that Word endued with flesh, the testimonies affirming Christ’s deity are suitably included here. Though it is said in Ps. 45, “O God, thy throne is...
January 2009
26 posts
Section: 1.13.5-8
5. Limits and necessity of theological terms If, therefore, these terms were not rashly invented, we ought to beware lest by repudiating them we be accused of overweening rashness. Indeed, I could wish they were buried, if only among all men this faith were agreed on: that Father and Son and Spirit are one God, yet the Son is not the Father, nor the Spirit the Son, but that they are...
Section: 1.13.1-4
1. God’s nature is immeasurable and spiritual
The Scriptural teaching concerning God’s infinite and spiritual essence ought to be enough, not only to banish popular delusions, but also to refute the subtleties of secular philosophy. One of the ancients seems aptly to have remarked, “Whatever we see, and whatever we do not see, is God.” According to this, he fancied that...
Section: 1.12.1-3
1. True religion binds us to God as the one and only God
Moreover, we said at the beginning that the knowledge of God does not rest in cold speculation, but carries with it the honoring of him. In passing, we also touched upon how he is to be rightly worshiped, a point that will have to be dealt with at greater length in other places. Now I only briefly repeat: as often as Scripture asserts that...
Section: 1.11.11-16
11. Foolish evasions of the papists Yet I am not unaware, nor ought I to conceal the fact, that they escape by a wily distinction, of which fuller mention will be made a little later. For the honor that they pay to their images they allege to be idol service, denying it to be idol worship. For they speak thus when they teach that the honor which they call dulia can be given to statues and...
Section: 1.11.5-10
5. Scripture judges otherwise I know that it is pretty much an old saw that images are the books of the uneducated. Gregory said this;11 yet the Spirit of God declares far otherwise; if Gregory had been taught in His school with regard to this, he never would have spoken thus. For when Jeremiah declares that “the wood is a doctrine of vanity” [Jer. 10:8, cf. Vg., order changed]; when...
Section: 1.11.1-4
1. We are forbidden every pictorial representation of God But as Scripture, having regard for men’s rude and stupid wit, customarily speaks in the manner of the common folk, where it would distinguish the true God from the false it particularly contrasts him with idols. It does this, not to approve what is more subtly and elegantly taught by the philosophers, but the better to expose the...
Section: 1.10.1-3
1. The Scriptural doctrine of God the Creator “We have taught that the knowledge of God, otherwise quite clearly set forth in the system of the universe2 and in all creatures, is nonetheless more intimately and also more vividly revealed in his Word. But now it is worth-while to ponder whether the Lord represents himself to us in Scripture as we previously saw him delineate himself in his...
Section: 1.9.1-3
1. The fanatics wrongly appeal to the Holy Spirit Furthermore, those who, having forsaken Scripture, imagine some way or other of reaching God, ought to be thought of as not so much gripped by error as carried away with frenzy. For of late, certain giddy men have arisen who, with great haughtiness exalting the teaching office of the Spirit, despise all reading and laugh at the simplicity of...
Section: 1.8.5-13
5. Miracles strengthen the authority of God’s messengers Now these very numerous and remarkable miracles which he relates are so many confirmations of the law that he has delivered, and of the doctrine that he has published. For-that he was borne up into the mountain in a cloud; that there he was without human fellowship for forty days [Ex. 24:18]; that in the very promulgation of the law...
Section: 1.8.1-4
1. Scripture is superior to all human wisdom Unless this certainty, higher and stronger than any human judgment, be present, it will be vain to fortify the authority of Scripture by arguments, to establish it by common agreement of the church, or to confirm it with other helps. For unless this foundation is laid, its authority will always remain in doubt. Conversely, once we have embraced it...
Section: 1.7.4-5
4. The witness of the Holy Spirit: this is stronger than all proof We ought to remember what I said a bit ago: credibility of doctrine is not established until we are persuaded beyond doubt that God is its Author. Thus, the highest proof of Scripture derives in general from the fact that God in person speaks in it. The prophets and apostles do not boast either of their keenness or of...
Section: 1.7.1-3
1. Scripture has its authority from God, not from the church Before I go any farther, it is worth-while to say something about the authority of Scripture, not only to prepare our hearts to reverence it, but to banish all doubt. When that which is set forth is acknowledged to be the Word of God, there is no one so deplorably insolent-unless devoid also both of common sense and of humanity...
Section: 1.6.1-4
1. God bestows the actual knowledge of himself upon us only in the Scriptures
That brightness which is borne in upon the eyes of all men both in heaven and on earth is more than enough to withdraw all support from men’s ingratitude-just as God, to involve the human race in the same guilt, sets forth to all without exception his presence portrayed in his creatures. Despite this, it is...
Section: 1.5.13-15
13. The Holy Spirit rejects all cults contrived by men
Now we must also hold that all who corrupt pure religion- and this is sure to happen when each is given to his own opinion -separate themselves from the one and only God. Indeed, they will boast that they have something else in mind; but what they intend, or what they have persuaded themselves of, has not much bearing on the matter, seeing...
Section: 1.5.10-12
10. The purpose of this knowledge of God Knowledge of this sort, then, ought not only to arouse us to the worship of God but also to awaken and encourage us to the hope of the future life. For since we notice that the examples that the Lord shows us both of his clemency and of his severity are inchoate and incomplete, doubtless we must consider this to presage even greater things, the...
Section: 1.5.6-9
6. The Creator reveals his lordship over the creation Let us therefore remember, whenever each of us contemplates his own nature, that there is one God who so governs all natures that he would have us look unto him, direct our faith to him, and worship and call upon him. For nothing is more preposterous than to enjoy the very remarkable gifts that attest the divine nature within us, yet to...
Section: 1.5.4-5
4. But man turns ungratefully against God Here, however, the foul ungratefulness of men is disclosed. They have within themselves a workshop graced with God’s unnumbered works and, at the same time, a storehouse overflowing with inestimable riches. They ought, then, to break forth into praises of him but are actually puffed up and swollen with all the more pride. They feel in many...
Section: 1.5.1-3
1. The clarity of God’s self-disclosure strips us of every excuse The final goal of the blessed life, moreover, rests in the knowledge of God [cf. John 17:3].’ Lest anyone, then, be excluded from access to happiness, he not only sowed in men’s minds that seed of religion of which we have spoken but revealed himself and daily discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the...
Section: 1.4.1-4
Superstition As experience shows, God has sown a seed of religion in all men. But scarcely one man in a hundred is met with who fosters it, once received, in his heart, and none in whom it ripens-much less shows fruit in season [cf. Ps. 1:3]. Besides while some may evaporate in their own superstitions and others deliberately and wickedly desert God, yet all degenerate from the true knowledge of...
Section: 1.3.1-3
The character of this natural endowment There is within the human mind, and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity. This we take to be beyond controversy. To prevent anyone from taking refuge in the pretense of ignorance, God himself has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty. Ever renewing its memory, he repeatedly sheds fresh drops. Since, therefore,...
Section: 1.2.1-2
1. Piety is requisite for the knowledge of God Now, the knowledge of God, as I understand it, is that by which we not only conceive that there is a God but also grasp what befits us and is proper to his glory, in fine, what is to our advantage to know of him. Indeed, we shall not say that, properly speaking, God is known where there is no religion or piety. Here I do not yet touch upon the sort...
Section: 1.1.1-3
Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But, while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern. In the first place, no one can look upon himself without immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom he “lives and moves”...
Section: Pref. 7-8
7. TUMULTS ALLEGED TO RESULT FROM REFORMATION PREACHING Lastly, they do not act with sufficient candor when they invidiously recount how many disturbances, tumults, and contentions the preaching of our doctrine has drawn along with it, and what fruits it now produces among many. The blame for these evils is unjustly laid upon it, when this ought to have been imputed to Satan’s malice. Here...
Section: Pref. 5-6
5. THE APPEAL TO “CUSTOM” AGAINST TRUTH Even in their appeal to “custom” they accomplish nothing. To constrain us to yield to custom would be to treat us most unjustly. Indeed, if men’s judgments were right, custom should have been sought of good men. But it often happens far otherwise: what is seen being done by the many soon obtains the force of custom; while the...
Section: Pref. 3-4
3. CHARGES OF ANTAGONISTS REFUTED: NEWNESS, UNCERTAINTY; THE VALUE OF MIRACLES Despite this, they do not cease to assail our doctrine and to reproach and defame it with names that render it hated or suspect. They call it “new” and “of recent birth.” They reproach it as “doubtful and uncertain.” They ask what miracles have confirmed it. They inquire whether it...
Section: Pref. 1-2
Prefatory Address to King Francis I of France For the Most Mighty and Illustrious Monarch, Francis, Most Christian King of the French, His Sovereign, John Calvin Craves Peace and Salvation in Christ. I. CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE BOOK WAS FIRST WRITTEN When I first set my hand to this work, nothing was farther from my mind, most glorious King, than to write something that might afterward be...