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Calvin: Servant of the Word
Why Calvin Matters 400 Years Later
Originally preached Dec. 26, 1964
Sermon Description
Why should the church concern itself with John Calvin over 400 years after his death? In this address from the Puritan Conference in Westminster Chapel in 1964 commemorating the 400th anniversary of Calvin's passing, J.I. Packer demonstrates that Calvin was not merely a historical figure but remains a prophet for today whose message speaks powerfully to the modern crisis facing Christianity. Just as Calvin ministered to a Europe torn by political unrest, religious confusion over biblical authority and the gospel, and the disintegration of Christian civilization, so the church faces remarkably similar challenges today. The terms of debate on these fundamental issues have hardly changed from the 16th century to now.
Packer reveals how Calvin was uniquely equipped by God—gifted with penetrating intellect to see to the heart of issues, yet humbled by grace to become utterly submissive to Scripture. Calvin's supreme legacy, his Institutes of the Christian Religion, stands as the most important book in theological history, integrating the total Reformation understanding around the knowledge of God. Through examining Calvin's life and work, Packer calls the church to share Calvin's three great concerns: a concern for God's revealed truth in Holy Scripture with its divine authority confirmed by the inner witness of the Spirit; a concern for God's grace as Romans presents it, with deep views of sin and right views of election that humble man and exalt Christ; and supremely, a concern for God Himself in His majesty and sovereignty. The vision of the God who reigns, who is "clothed with majesty" as Psalm 93 declares, remains the church's greatest need in a shaken world.
Scripture
Sermon Breakdown
- Four centuries after Calvin's death, he remains profoundly relevant because the crises he faced mirror our own age with startling similarity—political turmoil across nations, the breakdown of Christian civilization replaced by secular humanism, and deep ecclesiastical confusion over biblical authority, the nature of grace, and Christian unity, with the fundamental terms of debate virtually unchanged since the 16th century.
- Calvin was God's man raised up for crisis, uniquely equipped with the natural gift of penetration that enabled him to see into minds and situations, analyze issues to their theological foundations in terms of God's will and glory, making him great as expositor, pastor, controversialist, and theologian who could get to the bottom of every matter.
- The supernatural gift of humility transformed this brilliant intellectual when God "subdued my heart and brought it to docility" in conversion, making Calvin submissive to God's call despite contrary natural desires and docile to Scripture, becoming a man whose mind and conscience were harnessed entirely to the Word of God.
- Calvin's greatest single achievement was writing the Institutes of the Christian Religion, described by William Cunningham as "the most important book in the history of theological science," which integrated and systematized the total Reformation understanding of Christianity around the unifying concept of the knowledge of God, addressing both religion (knowing God) and theology (what is known about God).
- Calvin's doctrine of Scripture focused on two key concepts: "the mouth of the Lord" (os Dei) which speaks, and doctrina (teaching) which God gives—understanding all Scripture as having the same character as the prophets' oracles, words of men that are also the Word of God proceeding from His mouth, given to instruct us as His authoritative teaching.
- The authority of Scripture derives not from church tradition or rational argument but solely from its divine authorship, which believers recognize through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit—the illuminating work that opens blind eyes to perceive the quality of deity in God's holy written Word, making us perfectly assured it has come from the very mouth of God.
- Calvin's concern for God's grace as Romans presents it involved removing two obstacles: shallow views of sin that prevent sinners from seeing their utter helplessness and going out of themselves to Christ for righteousness, and speculative views of predestination which Calvin addressed not for controversy but as evangelical doctrine following Romans 8 to assure believers that salvation springs entirely from grace and God's eternal purpose guarantees their preservation.
- At the heart of Calvin's outlook was a vision and a passion—the vision of God on the throne in His majesty and sovereignty, and the passion expressed in soli Deo gloria (glory be to God alone), that the Almighty Creator and Redeemer should receive all the praise, worship, adoration, and honor that is His due.
- The Calvinist, as Warfield defined, is the one who has seen God in His glory and is filled on one hand with a sense of unworthiness as a sinful creature, and on the other hand with adoring wonder that this holy God actually receives sinners—one who believes in God without reserve and is determined that God shall be God in all thinking, feeling, willing, and the entire compass of life activities.
- In a world that is shaken, a church that is starving, and a time of fear and depression, the vision Calvin would show us from Scripture remains our supreme need: the God who reigns, who is "clothed with majesty," whose throne is established of old, who is from everlasting, and who is mighty above all the voices of many waters and the mighty breakers of the sea—this is the vision and message for our times.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers
Why should we study John Calvin 400 years after his death?
Beyond the historical reason that Calvin was literally the most influential man in the world for a century after his death—shaping the Church of England and Scotland, the Puritan movement, the Huguenots, the Pilgrim Fathers, and numerous political developments including ideas about Christian Commonwealth, the rights of subjects, and religious toleration—Calvin remains a prophet for today. The crises he faced mirror our own with remarkable precision: political unrest with rival nationalisms and wars, the disintegration of inherited Christian civilization replaced by secular ideals of self-realization, and profound ecclesiastical confusion over biblical authority, the grace of the gospel, and church unity. The terms of debate on these issues have hardly changed from Calvin's day to ours, making his message directly applicable to our situation.
What gifts did God give Calvin that equipped him for his work?
Calvin possessed two crucial gifts. First, the natural gift of penetration—the power to see into people and situations, to get into minds, to analyze what was really happening, and to get to the bottom of things. This gift, sharpened by legal training, made him great as an expositor who could enter biblical writers' minds with accuracy and skill, as a pastor and controversialist who could sympathize and see what troubled people or what opponents were driving at, and as a theologian who could analyze every issue in terms of God's will, work, rule, and glory. Second, the supernatural gift of humility. Though naturally proud as an intellectual, Calvin was humbled by grace in conversion when God "subdued my heart and brought it to docility," making him submissive to God's call and will, and teachable—docile to Scripture, becoming a man whose heart and conscience were harnessed to the Word of God.
What is Calvin's greatest achievement and why is it important?
Calvin's greatest single achievement was writing the Institutes of the Christian Religion. William Cunningham described it as "the most important book in the history of theological science," and few could reasonably argue against this assessment. Rather than being an innovator, Calvin came as a second-generation Reformer to integrate and systematize the findings of Luther, Zwingli, Bucer, and others. He organized this material around the unifying concept of the knowledge of God, treating both the knowing of God (religion—what it means to acknowledge Him, worship Him, believe on Christ, love the Father and Son, hope in God's promises, and live in obedience) and what is known about God (theology—expounded in four books following the Apostles' Creed: God the Creator, Christ the Mediator, the grace of Christ in human life, and the church and sacraments). This work remains Calvin's supreme legacy to later generations.
How did Calvin understand the nature and authority of Holy Scripture?
Calvin's doctrine of Scripture focused on two key conceptions: "the mouth of the Lord" (os Dei) which speaks, and doctrina (doctrine or teaching) which God gives when He speaks. All Scripture has the same character as the prophets' oracles—when they announced "Thus saith the Lord," what came from their mouth was to be received as having come from God's mouth. Similarly, every part of the 66 books of Scripture consists of words of men that are also the Word of God, proceeding from the mouth of the Lord Himself as His teaching to instruct us. Calvin maintained Scripture's complete inerrancy, though this wasn't controversial in his day. The authority of Scripture derives not from church approval or rational argument (though these can confirm), but solely from its divine authorship, which believers recognize through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit—the illuminating work whereby He opens blind eyes to perceive the quality of deity in God's written Word.
What was Calvin's supreme concern beyond truth and grace?
Calvin's supreme concern was for God Himself—the vision and passion at the heart of his entire outlook. The vision was of God on the throne in His majesty, greatness, and sovereignty. The passion was expressed in soli Deo gloria (glory be to God alone)—the concern that the Almighty Creator and Redeemer should have the praise, worship, adoration, and honor that is His due. As Warfield explained, the formative principle of Calvinism is not justification or predestination but a profound apprehension of God and His majesty with the poignant realization of our relation to Him as creatures and particularly as sinful creatures. The Calvinist is one who has seen God in His glory and is filled both with unworthiness to stand before God and with adoring wonder that this God receives sinners. One who believes in God without reserve, determined that God shall be God in all thinking, feeling, willing, and the entire compass of life activities, necessarily shares the faith of the Reformer of Geneva.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust's collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.