In these next 9 sections, Calvin directly speaks about heresies that people have raised against the doctrine of the Trinity.
Section 21: The Ground of All Heresies: A Warning to All.
Here is the most important part of these sections, for Calvin begins with a warning against speculation. Satan, he argues, has never ceased to attack the church by attacking her doctrine, especially on the difficult doctrine of the Trinity. Christians must be prepared for such attacks.
But, at the same time, "Here, indeed, if anywhere in the secret mysteries of Scripture, we ought to play the philosopher soberly and with great moderation; let us use great caution that neither our thoughts nor our speech go beyond the limits to which the Word of God itself extends." How can we who are finite plumb the depths of he who is Infinite?
Such heresies against the Scriptural doctrines generally come from such speculation.
Section 22: Servetus' Contention Against the Trinity.
Servetus lived during Calvin's own day, and attacked the doctrine of God by calling Trinitarians 'atheists.' "This, indeed, was the sum of his speculations: God is assumed to be tripartite when three persons are said to reside in his essence; this is an imaginary triad, because it clashes with God's unity. Meanwhile, he would hold the persons to be certain external ideas which do not truly subsist in God's essence, but represent God to us in one manifestation or another."
But 'person' is more than just a 'visible manifestation,' we must say with Scripture that the Persons are God themselves, not simple 'extensions' of God.
Section 23: The Son is God Even as the Father.
Here Calvin returns to the issue of to whom the title 'God' refers. There are those, he says, who teach that the title 'God' only properly refers to the Father, who then 'infused' his deity into the Son and the Spirit. God then is the only "essence giver." Thus "no other than the Father is, properly speaking, God."
But Scripture does not speak in such ways. If we call the Father God alone, then we cast the Son down from that rank. Scripture is clear that the title 'God' applies to the Father, but also to the Son.
And if the Father is God alone, then the Spirit can only come from the Father, and not from the Son. While there is differentiation between the Persons of the Trinity, this differentiation is not in 'divine rank,' but in the Persons and tasks.
Section 24: The Name 'God' in Scripture Does Not Refer to the Father Alone.
Continuing with those who say that the Father is God alone, Calvin asks what they say when Christ himself, called 'good' says "No one is good except God" (Matt 19:17). Jesus does not deny that he is good (that would be absurd), but simply says that if he is good, then he is God--and he certainly is good!
Through this and other texts, Calvin shows that the title 'God' applies not only to the Father, but to all three Persons.
Section 25: The Divine Nature is Common to All Three Persons.
There are those, Calvin says, that say that God is made up of three individuals, "each having its own separate part of the essence." But Scripture shows that God is one in essence, "and hence that the essence both of the Son and of he Spirit is unbegotten; but inasmuch as the Father is first in order, and from himself begot his wisdom ... he is rightly deemed the beginning and fountainhead of the whole divinity." The persons are not distinguished from the essence, but are distinguished as Persons who all share in the one essence. Thus there are not three gods, but one God in Three Persons.
Section 26: The Subordination of the Incarnate Word to the Father is No Counterevidence.
Because Christ is called the Son, this does not mean that he is any less God than the Father is. He is only so 'subordinated' in his role that he fulfilled while on earth as a man to mediate between God and men, and to redeem his people. His role is Son, his essence is still divine. Equal in essence, different in Person.
Section 27: Our Adversaries Falsely Appeal to Irenaeus.
Here, and in the next sections, Calvin shows how the Church Fathers all held to this idea of the Trinity, even though there are those who argue that they didn't. Calvin shows that those who argue that Irenaeus taught that the Father is the sole and eternal God of Israel misread Irenaeus. Instead, Irenaeus "was dealing and contending with fanatics who denied that the Father of Christ was that same God who had of old spoken through Moses and the prophets, but fancied a sort of specter produced from the corruption of the world." Thus Irenaeus is not speaking particularly about the Trinity, but showing that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.
Section 28: The Appeal to Tertullian is of No Avail.
"Not a whit more truthfully do they adopt Tertullian as their advocate; for even if he is sometimes rough and thorny in his mode of speech, yet he not ambiguously hands on the sum of the doctrine we defend."
Section 29: All Acknowledged Doctors of the Church Confirm the Doctrine of the Trinity.
None of the ancient writers whom the church follows taught anything other than the doctrine of the Trinity. Even if in some small detail they were unclear, they all taught that God is one in essence, yet three in Persons.
Calvin then ends this section by speaking of speculation and curiosity again. Those who temper their curiosity will be satisfied at this Scriptural teaching, while those who delight in it will in no way be satisfied, but wish to go further than Scripture allows.
______________________________________
Reflection: I am still slightly sick, and so my reflection will not be long today, nor perhaps very intelligent, but I wanted to keep going on this otherwise I might never pick it up again.
I am always struck by the humility which Calvin shows in matters of doctrine, never going beyond Scripture, while at the same time being convinced of what he does derive from Scripture. When Scripture teaches something, we cannot have excessive humility and try to make it somehow less. Scripture clearly teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and so we must defend that doctrine with the strength of our convictions. We cannot say more than Scripture, but neither can we say less than Scripture. If we trust in God and his truth, then that trust will express itself in a sure confidence in what God has taught us, but a humility in those matters which are not made known to us, or are not fully revealed to us.
It is a tricky balance, but one that we must always be concerned for.
Section 21: The Ground of All Heresies: A Warning to All.
Here is the most important part of these sections, for Calvin begins with a warning against speculation. Satan, he argues, has never ceased to attack the church by attacking her doctrine, especially on the difficult doctrine of the Trinity. Christians must be prepared for such attacks.
But, at the same time, "Here, indeed, if anywhere in the secret mysteries of Scripture, we ought to play the philosopher soberly and with great moderation; let us use great caution that neither our thoughts nor our speech go beyond the limits to which the Word of God itself extends." How can we who are finite plumb the depths of he who is Infinite?
Such heresies against the Scriptural doctrines generally come from such speculation.
Section 22: Servetus' Contention Against the Trinity.
Servetus lived during Calvin's own day, and attacked the doctrine of God by calling Trinitarians 'atheists.' "This, indeed, was the sum of his speculations: God is assumed to be tripartite when three persons are said to reside in his essence; this is an imaginary triad, because it clashes with God's unity. Meanwhile, he would hold the persons to be certain external ideas which do not truly subsist in God's essence, but represent God to us in one manifestation or another."
But 'person' is more than just a 'visible manifestation,' we must say with Scripture that the Persons are God themselves, not simple 'extensions' of God.
Section 23: The Son is God Even as the Father.
Here Calvin returns to the issue of to whom the title 'God' refers. There are those, he says, who teach that the title 'God' only properly refers to the Father, who then 'infused' his deity into the Son and the Spirit. God then is the only "essence giver." Thus "no other than the Father is, properly speaking, God."
But Scripture does not speak in such ways. If we call the Father God alone, then we cast the Son down from that rank. Scripture is clear that the title 'God' applies to the Father, but also to the Son.
And if the Father is God alone, then the Spirit can only come from the Father, and not from the Son. While there is differentiation between the Persons of the Trinity, this differentiation is not in 'divine rank,' but in the Persons and tasks.
Section 24: The Name 'God' in Scripture Does Not Refer to the Father Alone.
Continuing with those who say that the Father is God alone, Calvin asks what they say when Christ himself, called 'good' says "No one is good except God" (Matt 19:17). Jesus does not deny that he is good (that would be absurd), but simply says that if he is good, then he is God--and he certainly is good!
Through this and other texts, Calvin shows that the title 'God' applies not only to the Father, but to all three Persons.
Section 25: The Divine Nature is Common to All Three Persons.
There are those, Calvin says, that say that God is made up of three individuals, "each having its own separate part of the essence." But Scripture shows that God is one in essence, "and hence that the essence both of the Son and of he Spirit is unbegotten; but inasmuch as the Father is first in order, and from himself begot his wisdom ... he is rightly deemed the beginning and fountainhead of the whole divinity." The persons are not distinguished from the essence, but are distinguished as Persons who all share in the one essence. Thus there are not three gods, but one God in Three Persons.
Section 26: The Subordination of the Incarnate Word to the Father is No Counterevidence.
Because Christ is called the Son, this does not mean that he is any less God than the Father is. He is only so 'subordinated' in his role that he fulfilled while on earth as a man to mediate between God and men, and to redeem his people. His role is Son, his essence is still divine. Equal in essence, different in Person.
Section 27: Our Adversaries Falsely Appeal to Irenaeus.
Here, and in the next sections, Calvin shows how the Church Fathers all held to this idea of the Trinity, even though there are those who argue that they didn't. Calvin shows that those who argue that Irenaeus taught that the Father is the sole and eternal God of Israel misread Irenaeus. Instead, Irenaeus "was dealing and contending with fanatics who denied that the Father of Christ was that same God who had of old spoken through Moses and the prophets, but fancied a sort of specter produced from the corruption of the world." Thus Irenaeus is not speaking particularly about the Trinity, but showing that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.
Section 28: The Appeal to Tertullian is of No Avail.
"Not a whit more truthfully do they adopt Tertullian as their advocate; for even if he is sometimes rough and thorny in his mode of speech, yet he not ambiguously hands on the sum of the doctrine we defend."
Section 29: All Acknowledged Doctors of the Church Confirm the Doctrine of the Trinity.
None of the ancient writers whom the church follows taught anything other than the doctrine of the Trinity. Even if in some small detail they were unclear, they all taught that God is one in essence, yet three in Persons.
Calvin then ends this section by speaking of speculation and curiosity again. Those who temper their curiosity will be satisfied at this Scriptural teaching, while those who delight in it will in no way be satisfied, but wish to go further than Scripture allows.
______________________________________
Reflection: I am still slightly sick, and so my reflection will not be long today, nor perhaps very intelligent, but I wanted to keep going on this otherwise I might never pick it up again.
I am always struck by the humility which Calvin shows in matters of doctrine, never going beyond Scripture, while at the same time being convinced of what he does derive from Scripture. When Scripture teaches something, we cannot have excessive humility and try to make it somehow less. Scripture clearly teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and so we must defend that doctrine with the strength of our convictions. We cannot say more than Scripture, but neither can we say less than Scripture. If we trust in God and his truth, then that trust will express itself in a sure confidence in what God has taught us, but a humility in those matters which are not made known to us, or are not fully revealed to us.
It is a tricky balance, but one that we must always be concerned for.
1 comment:
Stuart, I encourage you to keep going - all that you've posted so far has only gone to show how rich Calvin's thinking is on such matters.
Plus once again, I am reading this section on the Trinity extra closely because of a recent Young Peoples Bible study on the Belgic Confessions Articles on the Trinity where much of the same issues were brought up and it's always good to be re-informed reformed.
Post a Comment