Calvin's Doctrine Of God

THEOLOGY PROPER ACCORDING TO JOHN CALVIN

__________________

A Paper Presented to Dr. Adam Harwood The College at Southwestern

__________________

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for THE4203

__________________

by Wes Terry March 26, 2009

THEOLOGY PROPER ACCORDING TO JOHN CALVIN 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 doctrine with what has become of it in academic circles today. Who Was John Calvin? 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 Institutes, a New Testament commentary series, a commentary on the Pentateuch, Joshua, Psalms, all the prophets, and preached through entire books of the Bible.4 Calvin was a dedicated to ministry both as a pastor and a teacher. 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 Aristotle because he believed it was impossible to properly interpret Scriptures without first having a working knowledge of classical literature.7 Calvin was eventually given (or forced into) the role of serving as pastor/teacher in the restored church of Geneva by Guillaume Farel. Regarding this 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 newfound theology. In 1559 the Geneva Academy was established to serve as an “intentional forum for the dissemination of Reformed principles throughout Europe.”9 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’s Doctrine of God 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. The question of creation will be explored first. 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 the context of the created world. Romans one explains that God was the creator of everything but that man, instead of worshipping God as creator, instead turned to worshipping specific parts of creation. In Calvin’s words, “We draw the worship of justice, wisdom and goodness away from the fountain-head, transferring it elsewhere… we either obscure or pervert God’s 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 believed such ignorance to be damnable. Regardless of one’s education, location, or logical problems concerning belief in God, the created world is enough to leave him guilty before God. 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 Calvin’s doctrine of God’s sovereignty is essentially at the heart of everything 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 reverence of approach, and in eloquence of expression.”18 Calvin’s idea of providence is directly tied to his understanding of God’s sovereignty. Murray again explains Calvin’s position by writing, “providence does not consist in a general motion of superintendence 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 blessing and curse under the sovereign hand of God. According to Calvin, God’s sovereignty over man’s eternal destiny is 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 righteous. He is righteousness; even if man cannot make the logical connection. A Response to John Calvin In response to Calvin much could be said. The whole of Christendom 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 was his concern for souls and their salvation.22

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 today. Author J.I. Packer says explains it well. In recent years, Calvinism has been seriously construed as a psychopathic phenomenon, a projection of sublimated cruelty, or disgust at human life, or an inferiority complex, or some other neurotic disorder, into a malevolent ‘anti-gospel’ whose main point was that God is fierce, and most men are irremediably damned;23 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 seldom divorced orthodoxy from orthopraxy. 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 would be wise to glean from his hard work. 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 shallow, grace would be cheap, and man would be at the center. 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 Benoit, Jean-Daniel. "Calvin the Letter-writer." In John Calvin: A Collection of Essays, ed. G.E. Duffield, 67-102. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966. 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. ________. CO 31:23: Calvin Commentaries. 53. Quoted in Randall C. Zachman, John Calvin as Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006. ________. Concerning Scandals. Translated by John W. Fraser. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978. 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. Piper, John. The Legacy of Sovereign Joy. Wheaton: Crossway, 2000. Zachman, Randall C. John Calvin: As Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.