Accordingly, in brief, hope is nothing else than the expectation of those things which faith has believed to have been truly promised by God. Thus, faith believes God to be true, hope awaits the time when his truth shall be manifested; faith believes that he is our Father, hope anticipates that he will ever show himself to be a Father toward us; faith believes that eternal life has been given to us, hope anticipates that it will sometime be revealed; faith is the foundation upon which hope rests, hope nourishes and sustains faith.
(Calvin, Inst. 3.2.42)
Regeneration
Calvin has a lovely definition of regeneration.
“It is the actualization in the believer of the life of Christ,” and, “anticipation in conditions of the time of the final resurrection.”
Sweet Flattery
“Now God’s truth requires us to look for something different when we think of ourselves – namely, a knowledge which banishes our arrogant belief in our own strength and which removes every excuse for vainglory, leading us instead to humility. This is a rule we ought to follow if we want to reach the goal of right thinking and right action. I know how much nicer it is for men to be allowed to recognize their gifts and praises than to see and understand their poverty, shame, vileness, and frailty. There is nothing our mind desires more than to be wooed by honeyed words and flattery…thus because man is so prone to self-flattery, nothing can please him more than to be tickled with empty praise.”
John Calvin (Institutes, French Edition, 1541, pp. 29, 30)
The Chief Thing
Calvin says that the chief thing of the gospel is that Christ is given to us and that in him is life.
(Titus Commentary. p. 286)
Lessons from Job
I have been reading Calvin’s sermons on Job while being away. His staggering main point is extraordinary. After we have experienced God’s blessings, kindness, and many provisions, we grow accustomed to them. We expect them, and then, when difficulties, struggles or afflictions come, we accuse God, we question God as to why he has taken away what we previously enjoyed by grace. How vile we can be. All that we have received has come to us from our good God, and should he take it all away, it is because he is being good to us. It is that last point that is so crucial to grasp. This is what Job expressed. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. May we say the same no matter what comes our way.
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