Category Blogging The Institutes

Jesus the Christ has the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king-but we must not only know these names but must also press through to see their purpose and use. In these sections Calvin looks at what it means for…

In these sections Calvin looks at some of the arguments of Michael Servetus (1511-1553), a famous Spanish theologian and physician of the time who sought to refute the doctrine of the Trinity. (As readers undoubtedly know, Servetus ended up being…

Chapter 14 delves us deeper into Trinitarian theology and Christology, dealing with one of the most controversial matters of the early church, the two natures and one person of Christ.  Calvin begins in paragraph 1 with an entirely lucid statement…

These three paragraphs are mainly given to the refutations of heresies and errors pertaining to Christ’s true humanity.  Just as important as Calvin’s refutations are his observations regarding the cause of these errors.  With both the Marcionites and the Manichees,…

Paragraph 6 continues Calvin’s diatribe against Osiander’s doctrine of Christ becoming man apart from the need for our salvation.  Here, Osiander argues that man was originally made in God’s image because God intended to conform mankind to Christ.  Thus Christ…

Coming soon!!!

In 2.11.10, Calvin turns to the important topic of law and gospel in Scripture.  Martin Luther famously taught that everything in the Bible that is command falls under the heading of law – what we must do – and everything…

Although the unity of the old and new covenants is primary, the differences between the two covenants are also important.  The first of these differences, as we have seen, concerns the manner in which eternal benefits are experienced, whether first…

Calvin continues proving the doctrine of eternal life from the Old Testament Scriptures by pointing to Ezekiel’s prophecy that dead, dry bones will live and rise again (Ezek. 37).  No one should think that the covenant promises God made to…

 2.10.14 to 2.10.20Somehow the myth persists that the Old Testament has no clear doctrine of the afterlife.  Apparently, the scholars who believe this have never read Calvin, because the Institutes make a clear and compelling case that the people of…