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| John Calvin was a prolific author. |
J-721
"When intent upon establishing their peculiar tenets, Calvin and
Zwingli likewise preferred rational argumentation to the plain proofs of Holy
Writ. Their interpretation of the words of the Sacrament is but one glaring
instance; but there are many more. The schools and the denominations which they
founded became infected with this same disease of theology."
Martin S. Sommer, Concordia Pulpit for 1932,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1931, p. iii.
J-722
John Calvin, Commentaries, Amos 8:11-12: "...we are
touched with some desire for strong doctrine, it evidently appears that there
is some piety in us; we are not destitute of the Spirit of God, although destitute
of the outward means."
Benjamin Milner, Calvin's Doctrine of the Church, Heicko A.Oberman,
Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970, p. 109. CO, XLIII, 153.
J-723
“Wherefore, with regard to the increase and confirmation of faith, I
would remind the reader (though I think I have already expressed it in
unambiguous terms), that in assigning this office to the Sacraments, it is not
as if I thought that there is a kind of secret efficacy perpetually inherent in
them, by which they can of themselves promote or strengthen faith, but because
our Lord has instituted them for the express purpose of helping to establish
and increase our faith. The Sacraments duly perform their office only when
accompanied by the Spirit, the internal Master, whose energy alone penetrates
the heart, stirs up the affections, and procures access for the Sacraments into
our souls. If He is wanting, the Sacraments can avail us no more than the sun
shining on the eyeballs of the blind, or sounds uttered in the ears of the
deaf. Wherefore, in distributing between the Spirit and the Sacraments, I
ascribe the whole energy to Him, and leave only a ministry to them; this
ministry, without the agency of the Spirit, is empty and frivolous, but when He
acts within, and exerts His power, it is replete with energy. ...then, it
follows, both that the Sacraments do not avail one iota without the energy of
the Holy Spirit; and that yet in hearts previously taught by that preceptor,
there is nothing to prevent the Sacraments from strengthening and increasing
faith.”
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, Grand
Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970, I, p. 497. Also cited in
Benjamin Charles Milner, Jr., Calvin's Doctrine of the Church, Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1970, p. 119. Institutes. IV.xiv.9.
J-724
“We must not suppose that there is some latent virtue
inherent in the Sacraments by which they, in themselves, confer the gifts of
the Holy Spirit upon us, in the same way in which wine is drunk out of a cup,
since the only office divinely assigned them is to attest and ratify the
benevolence of the Lord towards us; and they avail no farther than accompanied
by the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts, and make us capable of
receiving this testimony, in which various distinguished graces are clearly
manifested… They [the Sacraments] do not of themselves bestow any grace, but
they announce and manifest it, and, like earnests and badges, give a
ratification of the gifts which the divine liberality has bestowed upon us.”
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion,
2 volumes, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970, I, p.
503. Institutes, IV, XIV, 17.
J-725
“But assuming that the body and blood of Christ are attached to the
bread and wine, then the one must necessarily be dissevered from the other. For
the bread is given separately from the cup, so the body, united to the bread,
must be separated from the blood, included in the cup.”
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion,
2 volumes, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970, I, p.
570. Institutes, IV, XVII, 18.
J-726
John Calvin, Institutes IV.xvii.19: "We must establish
such a presence of Christ in the supper as may neither fasten Him to the
element of bread, not enclose Him in bread, not circumscribe Him in any way
(all of which clearly derogate from His heavenly glory)...."
Benjamin
Charles Milner, Jr., Calvin's Doctrine of the Church, Leiden: E. J.
Brill, 1970, p. 128.
J-727
John Calvin, True Method of Reforming the Church: "The
offspring of believers are born holy, because their children, while yet in the
womb, before they breathe the vital air, have been adopted into the covenant of
eternal life."
Benjamin Charles Milner, Jr., Calvin's Doctrine of
the Church, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970, p. 123.
***
GJ - Two characteristics of John Calvin are most important. First of all, he separates the work of the Holy Spirit from the Word and Sacraments.
I. Enthusiasm
Calvin is an Enthusiast in divorcing the Spirit from the Word. Luther, Melanchthon, the Concordists, and the post-Concord Lutherans were clear, forceful, and consistent in following the Scriptures in this fine summary from Hoenecke - "The Spirit never without the Word. The Word never without the Spirit. That is sound doctrine."
UOJ has all babies born forgiven (Eduard Preuss and J. P. Meyer) while Calvin has the children of believers born holy. The difference is UOJ's crypto-Universalism, which makes it so easy to join Rome or ELCA or Craig Groeschel or anyone else.
Grace without the Means of Grace is characteristic of Calvin and UOJ, except Calvin is relatively consistent.
II. Reason above Scripture
Calvin placed human reason above Scripture, but Luther understood the Word of God as revelation that transcended and often opposed human reason.
The problem of Calvin's magisterial use of reason is where to stop. If the Real Presence of Christ is a mystery that cannot be explained by human reason, then so are the Two Natures of Christ. If someone cannot calculate the waters being sufficient to cover the earth in the Genesis Flood, then it did not happen.
Lutherans treat the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace as central to the Gospel, foundational for everything claimed about the true Christian Church.
