Free Reformed Church of Calgary discussion

In our last session, we started our study on God’s providence. In particular, Calvin stressed the practical benefits of knowing that God is sovereign over all things. We continue our study of that today.

17. HOW WE MAY APPLY THIS DOCTRINE TO OUR GREATEST BENEFIT

3. & 4. God’s providence does not relieve us from responsibility. Providence does not obviate the need for us to take precautions or to pray (Neh. 4:9). Importantly, Calvin points out that God works through means and we are expected to make use of them. “For he who has set the limits to our life has at the same time entrusted to us its care; he has provided means and helps to preserve it; he has also made us able to foresee dangers; that they may not overwhelm us unaware, he has offered precautions and remedies. Now it is very clear what our duty is: thus, if the Lord has committed to us the protection of our life, our duty is to protect it; if he offers helps, to use them; if he forewarns us of dangers, not to plunge headlong; if he makes remedies available, not to neglect them… The Lord has inspired in men the arts of taking counsel and caution, by which to comply with his providence in the preservation of life itself” (p. 216).

5. Wicked men who break God’s commandments may be fulfilling his purposes, but they are still guilty of sin. “For we shall not say that one who is motivated by an evil inclination, by only obeying his own wicked desire, renders service to God... If we contrive anything against [God’s] commandment, it is not obedience but obstinacy and transgression” (p. 217). Still, God is able to use evil for good. Even though God can providentially use the acts of sinful men for his good purpose, God is never guilty of wrongdoing. “For so great and boundless is his wisdom that he knows right well how to use evil instruments to do good” (p. 217).

6. Rightly understood, God’s providence is a source of comfort for believers (refer to the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 1 and 10, for details). “The Christian heart, since it has been thoroughly persuaded that all things happen by God’s plan, and that nothing takes place by chance, will ever look to him as the principal cause of things, yet will give attention to the secondary causes in their proper place. Then the heart will not doubt that God’s singular providence keeps watch to preserve it, and will not suffer anything to happen but what may turn out to its good and salvation” (p. 218). Calvin provides ample Scriptural support that God watches over the welfare of believers. “Indeed, the principal purpose of Biblical history is to teach that the Lord watches over the ways of the saints with such great diligence that they do not even stumble over a stone [cf. Psalm 91:12]” (p. 218).

7. God provides a special care to his people, and he frustrates the wicked. The proper Christian response is thanksgiving. This section is especially noteworthy: “Gratitude of mind for the favorable outcome of things, patience in adversity, and also incredible freedom from worry about the future all necessarily follow upon this knowledge. Therefore whatever shall happen prosperously and according to the desire of his heart, God’s servant will attribute wholly to God, whether he feels God’s beneficence through the ministry of men, or has been helped by inanimate creatures. For thus he will reason in his mind: surely it is the Lord who has inclined their hearts to me, who has so bound them to me that they should become the instruments of his kindness toward me… He will not doubt that it is the Lord’s blessing alone by which all things prosper” (pp. 219-220).

8. Seeing God’s hand in adversity gives us the proper attitude towards suffering. “He has surely benefited greatly who has so learned to meditate upon God’s providence that he can always recall his mind to this point: the Lord has willed it; therefore it must be borne, not only because one may not contend against it, but also because he wills nothing but what is just and expedient. To sum this up: when we are unjustly wounded by men, let us overlook their wickedness (which would but worsen our pain and sharpen our minds to revenge), remember to mount up to God, and learn to believe for certain that whatever our enemy has wickedly committed against us was permitted and sent by God’s just dispensation” (pp. 220-221).

9. What are we to believe concerning intermediate (secondary) causes? Sometimes, God works directly without an intermediary But, in general, God works through intermediate causes. When we receive a gift, it is appropriate to thank God and the person who gave us the gift. Similarly, we can accept that adversity is from God, but human agents are not excused from responsibility.

“A godly man will not overlook the secondary causes… He will not, just because he thinks those from whom he has received benefit are ministers of the divine goodness, pass them over, as if they had deserved no thanks for their human kindness; but from the bottom of his heart will feel himself [indebted] to them, willingly confess his obligation, and earnestly try as best he can to render thanks and as occasion presents itself. In short, for benefits received he will reverence and praise the Lord as their principal author, but will honor men as his ministers… If this godly man suffers any loss because of negligence or imprudence, he will conclude that it came about by the Lord’s will, but also impute it to himself” (pp. 221-222).

It is important for us to acknowledge the action of intermediate causes. “Therefore [a godly man] will neither cease to take counsel, nor be sluggish in beseeching the assistance of those whom he sees to have the means to help him; but, considering that whatever creatures are capable of furnishing anything to him are offered by the Lord into his hand, he will put them to use as lawful instruments of divine providence” (p. 222). Importantly, although we recognize the importance of intermediate causes and we are instructed to make use of them, we do not place our final trust in them, but rather in God.

10. & 11. Life is full of uncertainties and danger lurks everywhere. Even so, God provides us with relief from “extreme anxiety” and “every care.” We are reminded that everything is under God’s control. “[A believer’s] solace, I say, is to know that his Heavenly Father so holds all things in his power, so rules by his authority and will, so governs by his wisdom, that nothing can befall except he determine it” (p. 224). This does not mean that tragedy will not strike, but that nothing can happen except by God’s permission, and for our ultimate good. We can rest assured that even “the devil and the whole cohort of the wicked are completely restrained by God’s hand” and that they are “not only fettered, but also curbed and compelled to do [God’s] service” (p. 224). What does this mean to us? “If you pay attention, you will easily perceive that ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all miseries; the highest blessedness lies in the knowledge of it” (p. 225).

12. to 14. God’s plans do not change, though Scripture sometimes speaks of God as “repenting” (e.g., Gen. 6:6; 1 Sam. 15:11; Jer. 18:8; Jonah 3:4, 10; Isa. 38:1, 5; 2 Ki. 20:1, 5; cf. 2 Chron. 32:24). God is immutable (e.g., Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29) and his purposes will always stand (Isa. 14:27). Therefore, the language of “repentance,” when describing God, is used in the Bible to accommodate our weakness and should not be understood literally, but anthropomorphically. It is used to “describe God for us in human terms” (p. 227). “[This] description of him that is given to us must be accommodated to our capacity so that we may understand it. Now the mode of accommodation is for him to represent himself to us not as he is in himself, but as he seems to us… Neither God’s plan nor his will is reversed, nor his volition altered; but what he had from eternity foreseen, approved, and decreed, he pursues in uninterrupted tenor, however sudden the variation may appear in men’s eyes” (p. 227).

18. GOD SO USES THE WORKS OF THE UNGODLY, AND SO BENDS THEIR MINDS TO CARRY OUT HIS JUDGMENTS, THAT HE REMAINS PURE FROM EVERY STAIN

1. & 2. Calvin then addresses the question of whether God merely permits evil to happen or positively ordains it. First, Calvin reminds us that God is absolutely sovereign. “Men can accomplish nothing except by God’s secret command, [and] they cannot by deliberating accomplish anything except what [God] has already decreed with himself and determines by his secret direction” (p. 229). In account of Job, “God was the author of that trial of which Satan and his wicked thieves were the ministers [Job 1:6, 21; 2:1]” (p. 229). “Therefore, whatever men or Satan himself may instigate, God nevertheless holds the key, so that he turns their efforts to carry out his judgments… It would be ridiculous for the Judge only to permit what he wills to be done, and not also to decree it and to command its execution by his ministers” (p. 230).

Second, God directly acts upon his creatures to carry out his plans. Calvin provides many examples: “he blinds men’s minds [Isaiah 29:14], casts madness upon them [Romans 1:28], and hardens their hearts [Exodus 14:17]” (p. 231). Some people may say that these passages refer to God merely giving up a person to wickedness and therefore permitting them to be blinded by Satan. To this, Calvin points out “that blindness and insanity are inflicted by God’s just judgment [Romans 1:20-24]” and therefore something positively ordained (p. 231). Scriptural examples are provided: “An evil spirit troubles Saul; but it is said to have come from God [1 Samuel 16:14], that we may know that Saul’s madness proceeds from God’s just vengeance. Also, it is said that the same Satan ‘blinds the minds of unbelievers’ [2 Corinthians 4:4]; but whence does this come, unless the working of error flows from God himself [2 Thessalonians 2:11], to make those believe lies who refuse to obey the truth? … Because [God] is the chief author of his own just vengeance, while Satan is but the minister of it” (p. 232).

3. Does God have two wills? Calvin responds to his opponents who have accused him of teaching that God has two contrary wills. To our feeble human minds, God’s will appears divided, but in reality it is one and simple in him. “God’s will is not therefore at war with itself, nor does it change, nor does it pretend not to will what he wills. But even though his will is one and simple in him, it appears manifold to us because, on account of our mental incapacity, we do not grasp how in divers ways it wills and does not will something to take place… Let us recall our mental incapacity, and at the same time consider that the light in which God dwells is not without reason called unapproachable [1 Timothy 6:16]” (p. 234).

Here, Calvin quotes an excellent illustration from Augustine: “Sometimes with a good will a man wills something which God does not will … For example, a good son wills that his father live, whom God wills to die. Again, it can happen that the same man wills with a bad will what God wills with a good will. For example, a bad son wills that his father die; God also wills this. That is, the former wills what God does not will; but the latter wills what God also wills. And yet the filial [loving] piety of the former, even though he wills something other than God wills, is more consonant with God’s good will than the impiety of the latter, who wills the same thing as God does. There is a great difference between what is fitting for man to will and what is fitting for God, and to what end the will of each is directed, so that it be either approved or disapproved. For through the bad wills of evil men God fulfills what he righteously wills” (p. 234). Let us take comfort in this truth: “Nothing is done without God’s will… For it would not be done if he did not permit it; yet he does not unwillingly permit it, but willingly; nor would he, being good, allow evil to be done, unless being also almighty he could make good even out of evil” (p. 235).

4. In this section, Calvin addresses the second objection raised by his proponents, which is, “if God not only uses the work of the ungodly, but also governs their plans and intentions, he is the author of all wickednesses” (p. 235). To this, Calvin responds by teaching that God is not the author of evil even though all things happen according to his will. Calvin distinguishes between what God commands (in the law) and what he ordains (according to his providence). “While God accomplishes through the wicked what he has decreed by his secret judgment, they are not excusable, as if they had obeyed his precept which out of their own lust they deliberately break” (p. 235).

Calvin gives the example of Judas’ betrayal. Since God the Father delivered up the Son (Acts 2:23), why is God just and Judas guilty? It is because their purposes were different. “And surely in Judas’ betrayal it will be no more right, because God himself both willed that his Son be delivered up and delivered him up to death, to ascribe the guilt of the crime to God than to transfer the credit for redemption to Judas. Therefore… in this examination God does not inquire into what men have been able to do, or what they have done, but what they have willed to do, so that purpose and will may be taken into account” (p. 237). This is why God is able to use evil for his good purposes without being incriminated, but humans cannot.

With this, we conclude book one, The Knowledge of God the Creator, and move onto book two, The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ! In this book, Calvin focuses on the objective work of Christ in our salvation. (Books three and four explore the personal and corporate application of the salvation acquired by Christ). In the first few chapters, we will be learning about why salvation is needed in the first place, namely, Adam’s fall and our bondage to sin.

1. BY THE FALL AND REVOLT OF ADAM THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE WAS DELIVERED TO THE CURSE, AND DEGENERATED FROM ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION; THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN

1. Humanity is ruined by sin. Calvin again reminds us that in order to understand the state of human nature, we must compare our fallen selves with the original state of creation (see book 1, chapter 15, sections 1, 7, and 8). “Knowledge of ourselves lies first in considering what we were given at creation and how generously God continues his favor toward us, in order to know how great our natural excellence would be if only it had remained unblemished; yet at the same time to bear in mind that there is in us nothing of our own... Secondly, to call to mind our miserable condition after Adam’s fall; the awareness of which, when all our boasting and self-assurance are laid low, should truly humble us and overwhelm us with shame” (p. 242). It is important to know something of the excellence of the original state of integrity as well as the misery of the state of sin. “Thence is kindled a new zeal to seek God, in whom each of us may recover those good things which we have utterly and completely lost” (p. 242).

2. By nature, we want to see the good in ourselves rather than to acknowledge our sin. “For, since blind self-love is innate in all mortals, they are most freely persuaded that nothing inheres in themselves that deserves to be considered hateful” (p. 243). “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness” (Prov. 20:6). However, such delusion will only lead to our destruction. God requires of us “the kind of knowledge that will strip us of all confidence in our own ability, deprive us of all occasion for boasting, and lead us to submission” (p. 242).

3. The only way to know ourselves aright is to test ourselves against God’s standards. “According to carnal judgment, man seems to know himself very well… But he who scrutinizes and examines himself according to the standard of divine judgment finds nothing to lift his heart to self-confidence” (pp. 243-244). Calvin calls us to first consider our duty to God, and second our inability to fulfill this mandate. “Let us divide the knowledge that man ought to have of himself. First, he should consider for what purpose he was created… Secondly, he should weigh his own abilities — or rather, lack of abilities. When he perceives this lack, he should lie prostrate in extreme confusion, so to speak, reduced to nought. The first consideration tends to make him recognize the nature of his duty; the second, the extent of his ability to carry it out” (p. 244).

4. Adam’s sin came from unbelief, which led to ambition, pride, ingratitude, and disobedience. “Adam was denied the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to test his obedience… Unfaithfulness, then, was the root of the Fall. But thereafter ambition and pride, together with ungratefulness, arose, because Adam by seeking more than was granted him shamefully spurned God’s great bounty, which had been lavished upon him. To have been made in the likeness of God seemed a small matter to a son of earth unless he also attained equality with God— a monstrous wickedness!” (p. 245). His heinous sin plunged all mankind into ruin and misery.

Adam’s fall came at the instigation of the devil because Adam listened to and believed the enemy’s accusations against God. Calvin points out an analogous situation today: “the door of salvation is opened to us when we receive the gospel today with our ears, even as death was then admitted by those same windows when they were opened to Satan [cf. Jeremiah 9:21]” (p. 246). This is why it is so important that we guard what we listen to and believe in. “For Adam would never have dared oppose God’s authority unless he had disbelieved in God’s Word. Here, indeed, was the best bridle to control all passions: the thought that nothing is better than to practice righteousness by obeying God’s commandments” (p. 246).

Next time, we will continue our study on the impact of Adam’s sin on the whole human race in the transmission of original sin.

Bonus Material

Related to our study, I wanted to underscore how Adam’s first offence was an exceedingly great sin. The Puritans ascribed to that one act the simultaneous breaking of all Ten Commandments! Here is an excerpt from The Marrow of Modern Divinity (authored by Edward Fisher with notations by Thomas Boston, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2009. pp. 57-58). In that one sinful act…

… intolerable injury was done unto God; as, first, his dominion and authority in his holy command was violated. Secondly, his justice, truth, and power, in his most righteous threatenings, were despised. Thirdly, his most pure and perfect image, wherein man was created in righteousness and true holiness, was utterly defaced. Fourthly, his glory, which, by an active service, the creature should have brought to him, was lost and despoiled… Adam, at that one clap, broke all the Ten Commandments…

1. He chose himself another god when he followed the devil.
2. He idolized and deified his own belly; as the apostle's phrase is [cf. Philippians 3:19], ‘He made his belly his god.’
3. He took the name of God in vain, when he believed him not.
4. He kept not the rest and estate wherein God had set him.
5. He dishonoured his Father who was in heaven; and therefore his days were not prolonged in that land which the Lord his God had given him.
6. He massacred himself and all his posterity.
7. From Eve he was a virgin, but in eyes and mind he committed spiritual fornication [cf. James 4:4].
8. He stole, like Achan, that which God had set aside not to be meddled with; and this his stealth is that which troubles all Israel—the whole world [cf. Joshua 7:16-26].
9. He bare [false] witness against God, when he believed the witness of the devil before him.
10. He coveted an evil covetousness, like Amnon, which cost him his life (2 Sam. 13), and all his progeny. Now, whosever consider what a nest of evils here were committed at one blow… that we are compelled every way to commend the justice of God [that is, to justify God], and to condemn the sin of our first parents, saying, concerning all mankind, as the prophet Hosea does concerning Israel, ‘O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself’ (Hos. 3:9).