John Calvin & The Institutes

John Calvin

 

 

• Without any doubt, the most important systematizer of Protestant theology in the sixteenth century was John Calvin.
• He was born in the small town of Noyon, in France, on July 10, 1509.
• In 1528, he received the degree of Master of arts.
• Calvin ided on May 27, 1564.

 

 

The Institutes

 

• His main project on this score was a short summary of the

  Christian faith from a Protestant view point

• He called the Institutes of the Christian Religion.
• It had dealt the basic doctrines such as the Trinity, the incarnation, and so on.
• The first edition of the Institutes appeared in Basel in 1536 and was a book of 516 pages.
• It had only six chapters.
• The first four dealt with the Law, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the sacraments.
• The Last two , more polemical in tone, summarized the Protestant position regarding the " false sacraments" of Rome, and Christian freedom.

  Since the Latin and French editions of 1559 and 1560 were the last to appear during Calvin's lifetime, they constitute the definitive text of the Institutes.

  • The first book treats of God and revelation, as well as of creation and the nature of the human creature.
  • The second is concerned with God as Redeemer, and how this is made known to us, first in the Old Testament and then in Jesus Christ.
  • The third shows how, through the Spirit, we can share in the grace of Jesus Christ, and the fruits this produces.
  • Finally, the fourth book deals with the "external means" to that sharing, that is, the church and the sacraments.

       

There is no doubt that this was the high point of Protestant systematic theology in the time of the Reformation.