The power of John Calvin's verse-by-verse study of Hebrews and the First and Second Epistles of Peter is masterfully captured in this translation by William B. Johnston. Precise and authoritative, yet lucid and very readable, this volume will enrich all w
French-Swiss theologian John Calvin broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1533 and as Protestant set forth his tenets, known today, in Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536).
The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.
Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.
After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.
Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.
THE TWELFTH VOLUME OF THIS EDITION OF CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES
Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) provides a detailed, verse-by-verse commentary throughout the New Testament (except for 2 & 3 John, and the Book of Revelation).
He asserts, "If the whole dispensation of Moses, in so far as it is contrary to the dispensation of Christ, has passed away, then the ceremonies have also ceased." (Pg. 114) Later, he adds, "what he says of meats (in Heb 13:9) can be applied to other rites of the Law." (Pg. 209)
He argues that "Though the papists should shout a thousand times that the sacrifice which Christ made once for all on the cross and which they themselves make today is not different but one and the same, I shall still maintain ... that it is impossible to repeat it. From this it is clear that the offering of Christ in the Mass is a sacrilege." (Pg. 133) He states, "We shall endeavour to restore God's worship to its purity, and to purge it from the innumerable superstitions by which it has been corrupted." (Pg. 223) He concludes, "If only Scripture were allowed its own authority, there is none of these things about which our adversaries would not be compelled to be silent." (Pg. 225)
He says, "under the Papacy... our final perseverance is doubtful because we are uncertain whether tomorrow we shall be in the same state of grace. But Peter does not leave us in suspense like this." (Pg. 233) He argues that 2 Peter was not written by the apostle: "it seems more likely to me that this epistle was composed by someone else in accordance with the mind of Peter than that it was written by Peter himself. Peter would never have spoken like this." (Pg. 367)
His anti-"Papist" sentiments are displayed: e.g., "I see no cause why the Popes are so afraid of councils, except that fear is an inseparable companion of a bad conscience." (Pg. 220) "The Papists are doubly stupid in concluding from this that no interpretation of private individuals ought to be looked on as authentic." (Pg. 343) "The Papists show their absurd impudence by the fact that they twist this passage (1 Pet 2:19) against us." (Pg. 357)
Calvin's commentaries are an important resource, particularly for modern Reformed expositors.