Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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A Paper
Presented to
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In Partial Fulfillment
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by
Wes Terry
John Calvin is a well known figure in the field of theology. His writing
creatively explained things about God and moved doctrine from the world of academia to
the deepest chambers of the heart. This is not surprising because, for Calvin, “Doctrine is
not a matter of talk but of life.”1 Calvin opened his major work, The Institutes of
Christian Religion, with the doctrine of God. The following will set out to understand
Calvin in regard to his historical context, unpack his doctrine of God, and weigh Calvin’s
Calvin lived at time when the health of the Christian church was in jeopardy.
No parts of the clergy were competent with the Scriptures nor were they teaching proper
doctrine or genuine piety.2 One gets a glimpse of Calvin’s frustration in his response to
Sadoleto’s letter to the Genevans. “Those who were regarded as the leaders of faith
neither understood thy Word, nor greatly cared for it. They drove unhappy people to and
fro with strange doctrines, and deluded them with I know not what follies.”3
Calvin was concerned with the Scriptural competency of his day and so he set
1
John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, ed. Tony Lane & Hilary
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987), 162.
2
Randall C. Zachman, John Calvin: As Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian (Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 11.
3
John Calvin and Jacopo Sadoleto, A Reformation Debate: Sadoleto's Letter to
the Genevans and Calvin's Reply, ed. John C. Olin (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976), 82.
1
2
out to change that culture by writing books and teaching pastors. He accomplished an
impressive literary feat between 1535 and 1564 by producing five editions of his
Psalms, all the prophets, and preached through entire books of the Bible.4 Calvin was a
Calvin is considered a reformer but his work stands on the shoulders of those
before him. Calvin scholar T.H.L. Parker writes, “Calvin was in the second wave of the
Reformers.”5 His passion for literature was drawn from men like Bude and Erasmus and
his passion for the Gospel from men like Luther and Melanchthon. Pulling from the hard
work of these men, Calvin taught the Gospel and interpreted Scripture in a way that was
unique to his time.6 Calvin also pulled from classical philosophers such as Plato and
Calvin was eventually given (or forced into) the role of serving as
position, Calvin wrote that Farel “forced me to stay in Geneva not so much by advice or
urging as by command, which had the power of God’s hand laid violently upon me from
heaven.”8 Under Calvin’s influence, students were taught the principles of reformation
4
Randall C. Zachman, John Calvin: As Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian (Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 12.
5
T.H.L. Parker, Calvin: An Introduction to His Thought (New York:
Continuum, 2002), 1.
6
Randall C. Zachman, John Calvin: As Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian (Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 16.
7
Ibid., Pg 16.
8
John Calvin, CO 31:23: Calvin Commentaries, 53; quoted in Randall C.
3
doctrine and were then sent out as missionaries to influence the culture with their
Calvin pulled much of his ministry philosophy from Martin Bucer, and
resolved to bring about ecumenical unity, faithful Gospel preaching, and the restoration
of proper interpretation and application of Holy Scripture.10 At the center of these pursuits
was Calvin’s conviction that Christians were missing out on truly knowing, worshiping,
and enjoying their Creator. Calvin’s view of God drove everything he did.
Calvin maintained that the essence of true religion was not conditional to one’s
involvement in religious ceremonies but rather an accurate view of God and a willingness
to enter into relationship with him has he truly is.11 Knowing God truly was better than
following his rules. In other words, orthodoxy preceded orthopraxy in Calvin’s theology.
For Calvin, the knowledge of God would harvest in a person true pietas and
religio. “By pietas Calvin meant a revering and loving of God, brought about by the
knowledge of his blessings. Religio is faith combined with an earnest fear of God, a fear
Zachman, John Calvin as Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2006), 21.
9
DeVries, Mark, Shepherd's Notes: Christian Classics, ed. Kirk Freeman, John
Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
1998), 7.
10
Randall C. Zachman, John Calvin: As Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 16.
11
DeVries, Mark, Shepherd's Notes: Christian Classics, ed. Kirk Freeman,
John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 1998), 17.
4
that contains a voluntary reverence and also carries with it true service and worship.”12
Two questions can be asked to summarize Calvin’s doctrine of God. One, how should
man understand God given his role in creation? Two, how should one understand God in
relation to his sovereignty? These questions seek to interact with several of God’s
attributes and will lead the reader to a general understanding of Calvin’s doctrine of God.
For Calvin, the nature of God was incomprehensible but one could see
glimpses of that glory by looking at the creation. The world shows God to be creative,
powerful, orderly, loving, caring, and providing. In the words of Calvin, “He [God] hung
up gorgeous banners on which we see his perfection clearly portrayed.”13 One will find it
hard to look at the created world and not see some of God’s beauty. Again Calvin writes,
“Wherever you look, there is no part of the world however small that does not show at
least some glimmer of beauty; it is impossible to gaze at the vast expanses of the universe
without being overwhelmed by such tremendous beauty.”14 Even though Calvin believed
that man was blind to God’s authorship in creation, God’s glory can and should be seen in
Romans one explains that God was the creator of everything but that man,
creation. In Calvin’s words, “We draw the worship of justice, wisdom and goodness away
12
T.H.L. Parker, Calvin: An Introduction to His Thought (New York:
Continuum, 2002), 15.
13
John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, ed. Tony Lane & Hilary
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987), 32.
14
Ibid.
5
creation so that we rob it of its glory and withhold the praise due to him.” 15 Calvin
logical problems concerning belief in God, the created world is enough to leave him
The second thing one may ask of Calvin is how man should view God in
relation to his sovereignty. This question explores almost all of God’s attributes because it
frames how God exhibits those attributes within his relationship to humanity and the rest
of creation. However, Calvin’s main focus in discussing the sovereignty of God was
wrapped up in the doctrines of election and predestination. Such doctrines were hotly
debated in Calvin’s day (as they are today) and he described his opposition like this:
Why, therefore, are we to wonder if those who, like madmen, rush with violent force
against God, hurl themselves into an abyss, or dash themselves on rocks? They
accuse God of being a tyrant because he condemns men to destruction before they
were born…They plead that it is useless to give moral precepts, that it is pointless to
make laws, and that it is even unjust to carry out sentences for the punishment of
criminals when all things are governed or rather rotated by fate.16
Calvin saw no point to this type of rhetoric for two reasons. One, he believed
that at the last day men would see God as a just judge despite his free choice and election
of those who would be saved. Two, he made a distinction between predestination and
fate. If all things were fated, in the Stoic sense of the word, then teaching about the
necessitated state of affairs would not change the outcome of subsequent linear history.
However, in God’s predestination, it is the very teaching and preaching of those concepts
that brings about the result that had been decreed by God. Calvin explains this by writing,
15
John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, ed. Tony Lane & Hilary
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987), 35.
16
John Calvin, Concerning Scandals, trans. John W. Fraser (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 53.
6
“foolish men do not perceive how the works of God harmonize with each other in a
beautiful order. As a result, they rashly set up a conflict between teaching, which is
nothing else but the handmaid of his eternal will, and that will itself.”17
he writes on the doctrine of God. Author John Murray submits that Calvin’s treatment of
God’s sovereignty in his Institutes has surpassed all others in “in depth of thought, in
directly tied to his understanding of God’s sovereignty. Murray again explains Calvin’s
but that all events whatsoever are governed by the secret counsel and directed by the
present hand of God.”19 Such providence insinuates that God oversees all the events that
happen on this earth whether those actions are in the past, present, or future. God is
sovereign over every act and every situation: both good and evil. Man receives both
inextricably linked to his freedom and his mercy. “Equally, those whom he dooms to
destruction are shut off from eternal life by his perfect, but incomprehensible,
judgment.”20 There are many of God’s attributes wrapped up in the treatment of his
17
John Calvin, Concerning Scandals, trans. John W. Fraser (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 53.
18
John Murray, Calvin on Scripture and Divine Sovereignty (Welwyn:
Evangelical Press, 1979), 55.
19
Ibid., Pg 64.
20
John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, ed. Tony Lane & Hilary
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987), 216.
7
sovereignty over salvation and Calvin treated the pursuit of understanding sovereignty
with great care and Scriptural soundness. His emphasis on understanding God’s
sovereignty was rooted in his view of God being perfectly holy and man being totally
depraved. He appealed to the Scriptures repeatedly to support such claims.21In his pursuit
of understanding God, Calvin found God’s righteousness and freedom at the center of his
essence. To be God meant being able to do whatever one freely chooses to do and having
those free choices be the true meaning of righteousness. Whatever God chooses to do is
indebted to his scholarship whether one agrees with his conclusions or not. Calvin’s high
view of God should never be looked at with disdain. His low view of man is troublesome
for some but since this response is in regard to his doctrine of God, nothing will be said
of that. Calvin was a responsible exegete. He was a man who let Scripture interpret
Scripture. He sought to formulate doctrines with great care and responsibility. He served
the city of Geneva (and the rest of the world) well through his rigorous pursuit of
resurrecting responsible and competent teachers and clergymen. Through his preaching
he fostered a love for Scripture and subsequently taught people the true nature of God
and what it meant to enjoy him fully. If there was one thing that stood out about Calvin it
21
Eph 1:4; Col 1:12; 2 Tim 1:9; Eph 1:9; John 15:16; Rom 11:35.
22
Jean-Daniel Benoit, "Calvin the Letter-writer," in John Calvin: A Collection
of Essays, ed. G.E. Duffield (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1966), 83.
8
However, recent criticism of Calvin’s views need to addressed. According to
this author, Calvin might be concerned with many of those who represent his teachings
However, when one becomes familiar with Calvin’s writing that is clearly
shown to not be the case. It is the subsequent development of his thought to unhealthy
extremes that has given the historical Calvin a bad name. Regardless of the nature of
those perverted views, what is important to realize is that those views are contrary to the
true aim of Calvin’s work. To consider oneself a Calvinist means to first become familiar
with a way of thinking about God and reality. Only then can one subscribe to Calvin’s set
of theological convictions.24
23
J.I. Packer, "Calvin the Theologian," in John Calvin: A Collection of Essays,
ed. G. E. Duffield (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966),
150.
24
Ibid., Pg 172.
9
Unfortunately, one of Calvin’s greatest strengths also serves as somewhat of an
irreversible weakness. How is this? In essence, Calvin created such an appealing set of
intellectual and theological propositions that many who subscribe to them do so without
first understanding what drove Calvin to write them down. Subsequently, there is a lack
of humility. Concerning this paradigm shift, Basil Hall blames Calvin’s successors such
as Besa, Zanchius, and Perkins.25 Whatever the reason, the outcome is still unfortunate.
It is unfair to blame Calvin for these abuses because such actions are the last
thing that Calvin would want from his students. Again Packer’s words are appropriate.
“He [Calvin] lived as he preached and wrote, for the glory of God. Good theologians are
not always good men, nor vice versa, but Calvin’s life and theology were all of a piece.
Consistency was his hallmark, both as a thinker and as a man.”26 Of course, no one is
perfect. Calvin would certainly deny any goodness as coming from him. However, it is to
Calvin’s credit that he wedded theology and life. Calvin should be commended that he
Lastly, and wrapped up in the two questions that were asked of Calvin in order
to understand his doctrine of God, Calvin is to be commended for the fact that he viewed
God as eternally existent, creator and sustainer of everything, and as the meaning
ultimate reality. This is seen in Calvin’s belief that God created everything out of nothing
and how he sovereignty moves his creation to an end that he has purposed for it. John
Piper writes that “Nothing mattered more to Calvin than the supremacy of God over all
25
Basil Hall, "Calvin Against the Calvinists," in John Calvin: A Collection of
Essays, ed. G. E. Duffield (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1966), 25.
26
J.I. Packer, "Calvin the Theologian," in John Calvin: A Collection of Essays,
ed. G. E. Duffield (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966),
173.
10
things.”27 And, even if a person wishes to disagree with Calvin, on this statement they
cannot part company. Additionally, and unfortunately, such of a view of God is not
present in many churches today. It could be argued that the American Evangelical scene
is not much different than what John Calvin responded to in his day. For this reason, it
The major gleaning that is necessary is the heart beat of what drove Calvin to
do everything that he did. What was that heartbeat? Again, John Piper gives a summation
by writing that, “mirroring the glory of God is the meaning of John Calvin’s life and
ministry.”28 Calvin understood that when something was esteemed more highly than God
and the person of Christ, everything else would begin to crumble. Doctrine would be
Historically, the Christian church has needed men to rise up and warn of these
dangers when they are manifested in the Church. John Calvin was such a man. For that,
the Church is indebted and John Calvin is to be appreciated. However, Calvin would not
want that. He would want man to indebted and appreciative to God. That is what made
him so powerful. That is what makes his theology so appealing. It is God-centered and
Christ-exalting. There does remain one last question. If, historically, the Church has
needed men like John Calvin to bring her out of a drunken stupor, where are those men
today? And, even more importantly, are they being heard? May God grant it so.
27
John Piper, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000), 115.
28
Ibid., Pg 120.
11
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Calvin, John, and Jacopo Sadoleto. A Reformation Debate: Sadoleto's Letter to the
Genevans and Calvin's Reply. Edited by John C. Olin. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976.
________. The Institutes of Christian Religion. Edited by Tony Lane & Hilary Osborne.
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987.
________. The Library of Christian Classics. Edited by John T. McNeill. Institutes of the
Christian Religion. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960.
DeVries, Mark. Shepherd's Notes: Christian Classics. Edited by Kirk Freeman. John
Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 1998.
Hall, Basil. "Calvin Against the Calvinists." In John Calvin: A Collection of Essays, ed.
G. E. Duffield, 19-38. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1966.
Murray, John. Calvin on Scripture and Divine Sovereignty. Welwyn: Evangelical Press,
1979.
Packer, J.I. "Calvin the Theologian." In John Calvin: A Collection of Essays, ed. G. E.
Duffield, 149-176. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966.
Parker, T.H.L. Calvin: An Introduction to His Thought. New York: Continuum, 2002.
Zachman, Randall C. John Calvin: As Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian. Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2006.