“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” — John 3:16 (NRSV).
JOHN CALVIN COMMENTS (my responses have a white background):
John Calvin (1509-1564)
“’That whosoever believeth on him may not perish.’ It is a remarkable commendation of faith, that it frees us from everlasting destruction. For he intended expressly to state that, though we appear to have been born to death, undoubted deliverance is offered to us by the faith of Christ; and, therefore, that we ought not to fear death, which otherwise hangs over us. And he has employed the universal term whosoever, both to invite all indiscriminately to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the import of the term world, which he formerly used; for though nothing will be found in the world that is worthy of the favor of God, yet he shows himself to be reconciled to the whole world, when he invites all men without exception to the faith of Christ, which is nothing else than an entrance into life.”
Um. Okay. I think I’m with you there, brother John.
“Let us remember, on the other hand, that while life is promised universally to all who believe in Christ, still faith is not common to all. For Christ is made known and held out to the view of all, but the elect alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith. Here, too, is displayed a wonderful effect of faith; for by it we receive Christ such as he is given to us by the Father — that is, as having freed us from the condemnation of eternal death, and made us heirs of eternal life, because, by the sacrifice of his death, he has atoned for our sins, that nothing may prevent God from acknowledging us as his sons. Since, therefore, faith embraces Christ, with the efficacy of his death and the fruit of his resurrection, we need not wonder if by it we obtain likewise the life of Christ.”
Whoa! What do you mean “on the other hand”? Umm… Now you seem to be dodging out of it all by appealing to a theology that is rooted in something else, John. Here you are clearly leaving exegesis behind and trying to reconcile the verse with a preconceived theology. How can ‘life’ be promised to those incapable of receiving it? It can’t. How can God ‘invite all indiscriminately to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers’ (as you say) if God is choosing to withhold the ability to believe from some? You can’t have it both ways. I mean, I know you’re a logical guy, John. Isn’t it possible that Augustine was wrong in the Enchiridion — where this same logical inconsistency can be found?
“Still it is not yet very evident why and how faith bestows life upon us. Is it because Christ renews us by his Spirit, that the righteousness of God may live and be vigorous in us; or is it because, having been cleansed by his blood, we are accounted righteous before God by a free pardon? It is indeed certain, that these two things are always joined together; but as the certainty of salvation is the subject now in hand, we ought chiefly to hold by this reason, that we live, because God loves us freely by not imputing to us our sins. For this reason sacrifice is expressly mentioned, by which, together with sins, the curse and death are destroyed. I have already explained the object of these two clauses, which is, to inform us that in Christ we regain the possession of life, of which we are destitute in ourselves; for in this wretched condition of mankind, redemption, in the order of time, goes before salvation.”
What! Now you seem to be having problems with your earlier statement that [faith] ‘frees us from everlasting destruction.’ Do you mean: ‘faith bestows life upon us’ (as you said earlier) or: ‘life’ (through grace) bestows faith upon us? Now you are saying that redemption precedes salvation, because the ability to believe is itself the result of that salvation. If the ability to believe is wholly the decision of God, then it is God who has determined the issues of life and death. It is your theology that has dictated that: “redemption, in the order of time, goes before salvation” — not the text itself. I agree that part of the message of this verse is ‘that in Christ we regain the possession of life, of which we are destitute in ourselves’ but it is also a universal offer of eternal life (thus, it says: “whoever”) — a possibility your theology does not seem to allow for! In my opinion, making sense of this verse requires a concept of Prevenient Grace, which allows fallen humans to respond with faith to the offer of life. Otherwise, from your point of view, the verse should read either:
“For God so loved the elect that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who belongs to the elect and, thus, has faith, may therefore believe in him unto eternal life.”
or more simply:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has eternal life may believe in him.”
But, surely you see, don’t you, it doesn’t say either of those things. You’ve turned it around backwards. This is no longer the Scripture with which you began.
(Start gathering the wood again, boys, I think there’s another heretic in town.)
In this passage John Calvin says that God sends people to Hell for no other reason than that God wishes to do so:
“Many professing a desire to defend the Deity from an invidious charge admit the doctrine of election, but deny that any one is reprobated…. This they do ignorantly and childishly since there could be no election without its opposite reprobation. God is said to set apart those whom he adopts for salvation. It were most absurd to say, that he admits others fortuitously, or that they by their industry acquire what election alone confers on a few. Those, therefore, whom God passes by he reprobates, and that for no other cause but because he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines to his children.”
You can find the definition of “reprobation” here at thefreedictionary.com: “(Theology) Christianity: condemnation to eternal punishment in hell; rejection by God.”
I find the doctrine of Calvinistic predestination — which Calvin himself says includes the idea of reprobation — i.e. that God sends people to Hell by God’s own choice and design — deeply distasteful.
John Wesley was also horrified by it:
John Wesley (1703-1791)
This is the blasphemy for which (however I love the persons who assert it) I abhor the doctrine of predestination, a doctrine, upon the supposition of which, if one could possibly suppose it for a moment, (call it election, reprobation, or what you please, for all comes to the same thing) one might say to our adversary, the devil, “Thou fool, why dost thou roar about any longer? Thy lying in wait for souls is as needless and useless as our preaching. Hearest thou not, that God hath taken thy work out of thy hands; and that he doeth it much more effectually? Thou, with all thy principalities and powers, canst only so assault that we may resist thee; but He can irresistibly destroy both body and soul in hell! Thou canst only entice; but his unchangeable decrees, to leave thousands of souls in death, compels them to continue in sin, till they drop into everlasting burnings. Thou temptest; He forceth us to be damned; for we cannot resist his will. Thou fool, why goest thou about any longer, seeking whom thou mayest devour? Hearest thou not that God is the devouring lion, the destroyer of souls, the murderer of men? Moloch caused only children to pass though the fire: and that fire was soon quenched; or, the corruptible body being consumed, its torment was at an end; but God, thou are told, by his eternal decree, fixed before they had done good or evil, causes, not only children of a span long, but the parents also, to pass through the fire of hell, the ‘fire which never shall be quenched; and the body which is cast thereinto, being now incorruptible and immortal, will be ever consuming and never consumed, but ‘the smoke of their torment,’ because it is God’s good pleasure, ‘ascendeth up for ever and ever.’ “
I occasionally get push back on this. Like this message, which I received several years ago:
Those who come will be accepted. You cite that like God will exclude any who come. Faith in the finished works of Christ (active and passive obedience) and repentance are the appointed means to salvation. faith and repentance as well as regeneration are the work of the Spirit (God) in us to point us to Christ (God-man), and it’s by grace from Abba Father (God).
I do not mean to deny salvation by grace. This person’s comment tries to put the best foot forward and ignore the chilling realities of Calvin’s doctrine. But, to “reprobate” people means that God has chosen to send them to hell “for no other cause but because he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines to his children.” They did not come because God had determined beforehand that they could not come.
This next correspondent was much more angry with me, he’s a little inarticulate, but he was probably so angry it was hard to type:
Sir,
God’s holiness, justice and righteousness is beyond anyone’s mind to measure, they did not come because they are determined to walk away and hate God. God left them condemned already in their own weight. Christ (the word who is God became flesh) came to the rescue of many appointed to salvation and the Holy Spirit intervenes, changed their inner being and to enable them to follow Him willingly this was to show His grace, mercy and love beyond measure, and off the chart of anyone’s capacity to comprehend.
Now, who is responsible for the damnation of the reprobates: is it God? Yes, because he is just to punish them, is God responsible for their committed crimes? no, it is not He who created sin in them, He did not. He made the decree of man’s disobedience but allowed it to happen because of man’s independent rebellion.
God is just to send all humanity to hell but by His sovereign electing grace chose a definite people for Himself and set them apart to express His mercy and love. This is the revelation of His attributes and He cannot abandon one attribute for the sake another and that’s what Christ did to satisfy justice and appeased wrath through His death on the cross and can now be still holy, just, righteous, gracious, merciful, and loving. You should have considered this.
Let me also explain this quote “God sends people to Hell for no other reason than that God wishes to do so” He has all the reason and God wishes to do so because of their sin, yet He is willing to save some for the praise of His glorious grace and that’s good news! Calvin simply wanted to refute the error of those who admit the doctrine of election, but deny that any one is reprobate which is illogical. reprobate is a ‘sinner’ who is not of the elect and is predestined to damnation and again, God did not predestined them to commit sin nor predestined anyone to commit suicide yet allowed it to happen anyway out of their own weight and predestined them into condemnation and there’s no need the power of God to make them reprobate but only out of their own weight. He is not surprised because He upholds everything from eternity past to eternal future.
Again God did not manipulate sin to enter but simply allows it to take place for a greater purpose and that includes the revelation of Himself to His creation through His redemptive acts recorded is Scripture.
Well, while I appreciate his rushing to the defense of Mr. Calvin, this is all gobbledygook to me. While this is not well written, the writer has stated the Calvinistic line pretty well (from what I know of it). But, it still doesn’t make any sense to me.
However, the “love” and “justice” of the Creator he describes is not either “love” or “justice” in any really meaningful sense. The love and justice of the Creator that he posits are contrary to love and justice as we would understand them.
Since we are spiritually shaped by the God we serve, this type of theology seems to me to be morally and spiritually toxic. It undermines the meaning of both love and justice. I know many very good Christians — and there have been many throughout Christian history — who subscribe to this type of theology but whose lives rise above it and I am thankful for that — and for them. Certainly God is faithful and sometimes overlooks our faults and misconceptions. Certainly there are many things about God that we will never understand fully because our minds are incapable of conceiving of God as God truly is. I believe all forms of determinism — this would include the Calvinistic theology to which this correspondent subscribes, but would also include naive forms of universalism, and atheistic forms of determinism — undermine the notion of moral responsibility and trivialize human action.
It does not exalt the sovereignty of God to make God a deterministic monster. I believe that the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is a God of universal grace and love. I believe of Christ that: “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (John 1:4 NRSV).
I believe that salvation is offered to all — not as a ruse, but as a reality.
John Wesley (1703-1791).
“I appeal to every impartial mind… whether the mercy of God would not be far less gloriously displayed, in saving a few by his irresistible power, and leaving all the rest without help, without hope, to perish everlastingly, than in offering salvation to every creature, actually saving all that consent thereto, and doing for the rest all that infinite wisdom, almighty power, and boundless love can do, without forcing them to be saved.”
— John Wesley, “Predestination Calmly Considered.”
P. S. Actually, there are some forms of Reformed theology to which I have little or no real substantive objection. And, while I often quote Calvin unflatteringly, he said and taught many good things — and at times, seems less strict in his “Calvinism” than many of his followers are.
In the simple, stock opening with which this letter begins, we already gain insight into Paul’s sense of calling and vocation. We see his conception of who he is, and what he knows his task in life to be. As he turns to the next part of his greeting — again nothing unusual here at all — he expresses his view of who the Colossian Christians are.
“…to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (NASB).
They are: “saints (who are) in Colossae” and “faithful brothers in Christ.” The New Testament refers to Christian believers as “saints” (ἁγίοις).
At this point English terminology is sometimes confusing, because we have two different roots here. The family of Greek words that express the idea of “holiness” are sometimes translated “holy”, “holiness” using the “hol-” root and sometimes “saint”, “sanctify” using words derived from the Latin sanctus. So, “holy” is the adjective, but “sanctify” is the verb. It’s a bit confusing. In the Greek language these are closely related, all beginning with the same root: ἅγιος (holy), ἁγιάζω (sanctify), and so forth. I just mention this because the close relationship between these words is generally lost in translation. Sanctify means holy-fy: to make holy. Holiness and Sanctification are almost synonyms.
Those to whom Paul writes are identified as being God’s people: saints. They are identified as a people belonging to God.
The word “holy” speaks of God’s essential nature. People or things designated as “holy” have a relationship to God. These things/people are devoted to God. This corresponds to the Old Testament conception of the “chosen people”: those people who are especially related to God, and whose lives are to bring glory and honor to God. Though Paul writes this letter (we discover as we go along) to correct false teachings in this church, he does not hesitate to call them the “saints that are in Colossae.”
This also goes for the other letters Paul writes to troubled or confused congregations. They may be in need of correction in their thinking, but he still dares to call them the “saints.” So, the title “saint” is not necessarily reserved only for the doctrinally correct or even morally perfect Christians. Ordinary, fallible, even sometimes mistaken, Christians are included among the saints.
The point here, is that these people have numbered themselves among the people of God. The faith that brings justification (i.e., initial relationship with God) also brings initial sanctification. Faith holy-fies. Faith sets us on the road of transformation and Christlikeness. Faith makes it possible for our lives to glorify God.
By faith we are “in Christ” ( ἐν Χριστῷ). That is to say, we are in relationship with Christ.
They are also called: πιστοῖς (“faithful” ). We immediately recognize πιστοῖς as a word related to all the other New Testament words for “faith” or “belief” or “trust.” As such, it could be translated “faithful’ or “believing” — and probably suggests both ideas: they have set out, by faith, to follow Jesus Christ. They are continuing in that faith: obedient and trustworthy.
The word implies both “faith” in the sense of personal belief and faithfulness in the sense of actively following after Christ. It is the shame of contemporary evangelicalism that these ideas have been torn asunder. What you believe is what you live by! The evidence of faith is faithfulness.
The New Testament knows no separation between faith and obedience — they are part of the same reality. Faith is the basis of what we do. It is far more than simply what we (sometimes) say.
They are faithful ἀδελφοῖς (“brothers”). Of course, this term assumes that only the men of the church are reading or hearing this letter. That was the cultural reality of the time. The NRSV says “brothers and sisters” because our cultural reality is (thankfully) quite different. This is not a literal translation. But,on the other hand, it’s a helpful recognition that times have changed.
The important thing about this word (the same word, ἀδελφὸς used in verse 1 to speak of Timothy) is that it stresses relationship. Long ago when I was a young man (and a new Christian), I was part of a conservative Holiness-influenced congregation where people spoke of one another as “Brother” and “Sister.” I think they were on to something, to tell you the truth. The earliest Christians thought of themselves as belonging to a family together: brothers and sisters in Christ.
In Christ (ἐν Χριστῷ) we are related to one another! In Mark 3:35 Jesus says: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (NRSV). In this light, it’s all the more interesting that Paul introduces his companion Timothy as “the brother” (Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς). He needs no other credentials. He could have said leader or preacher or given him some title. But, “brother” is the word he chooses for a recommendation.
To these saints and faithful brothers & sisters in Colossae, Paul pronounces his usual blessing (compare Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3). But, for some unknown reason, he leaves off his usual “and the Lord Jesus Christ” phrase.
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (NRSV)
χάρις (“grace“). This word speaks of God’s favor and good will toward us. Thus, it refers to everything in our lives that is the result of God’s favor.
We also come to speak of grace as God’s unmerited favor to us in Jesus Christ. At this point the word enters the Church’s own distinctive vocabulary: and becomes a catch-all term for all the good things God wants to communicate to us through Christ.
In its root, it signifies “that which brings joy.” It is closely related to the words χαίρω (“to rejoice“) and χαρά (“joy“).
Since grace brings joy, it implies that two persons are involved. Someone has something good to give. Someone else is in a position to receive it. Grace is kindness or mercy given without expectation of return. it is kindness and mercy for its own sake. A child looks at a bicycle he could never afford. An unknown benefactor buys it for him. It’s grace. Jesus hears two blind men by the side of the road, calling out for mercy (Matthew 20:30f). Jesus touches their eyes and they see (Matthew 20:34). It’s grace. God looks down on the foolish and wayward human race, watching the ways in which we bring pain and suffering into our own lives and the lives of those around us. Yet, instead of anger, God acts our of compassion. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB). It’s grace.
Some people rarely think of grace as “that which brings joy and delight,” but that is an essential part of the meaning of the term. Grace brings delight. God’s will for us is joy and happiness — yes, even in the midst of a sometimes discouraging life. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11 NASB).
Long, long ago, I was taught this acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. While this is no definition of the meaning of the word, as such, it is a good expression of the Christian gospel of grace — and easy to remember, besides.
εἰρήνη (“peace”). We fill in the meaning of this Greek term from the richness of it’s Hebrew equivalent שָׁלוֹם. It implies harmony and well-being — far more than the cessation of conflict. According to the Hebrew/Aramaic to English Dictionary and Index to the NIV Old Testament from the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Edward W. Goodrick, John R. Kohlenberger III, and James A. Swanson, editors), the word suggests:
peace, safety, prosperity, well-being; intactness, wholeness; peace can have a focus of security, safety which can bring feelings of satisfaction, well-being, and contentment.
I believe peace is a distinctly Christian state of mind — or possibility. With conflict all around us, we can still be at peace. We have found peace with our Creator and God, the One who is (as Tillich famously said) the Ground of our Being.
John Wesley (1703 –1791)
Grace and peace are the essence of the Christian experience.
But true religion, or a heart right toward God and man, implies happiness as well as holiness. For it is not only ‘righteousness,’ but also ‘peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.’ What peace? ‘The peace of God,’ which God only can give, and the world cannot take away; the peace which ‘passeth all understanding,’ all barely rational conception; being a supernatural sensation, a divine taste, of ‘the powers of the world to come;’ such as the natural man knoweth not, how wise soever in the things of this world; nor, indeed, can he know it, in his present state, ‘because it is spiritually discerned.’ It is a peace that banishes all doubt, all painful uncertainty; the Spirit of God bearing witness with the spirit of a Christian, that he is ‘a child of God.’ And it banishes fear, all such fear as hath torment; the fear of the wrath of God; the fear of hell; the fear of the devil; and, in particular, the fear of death: he that hath the peace of God, desiring, if it were the will of God, ‘to depart, and to be with Christ.’
With this peace of God, wherever it is fixed in the soul, there is also ‘joy in the Holy Ghost;’ joy wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, by the ever-blessed Spirit of God. He it is that worketh in us that calm, humble rejoicing in God, through Christ Jesus, ‘by whom we have now received the atonement,’ ??????????, the reconciliation with God; and that enables us boldly to confirm the truth of the royal Psalmist’s declaration, ‘Blessed is the man’ (or rather, happy) ‘whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.’ He it is that inspires the Christian soul with that even, solid joy, which arises from the testimony of the Spirit that he is a child of God; and that gives him to ‘rejoice with joy unspeakable, in hope of the glory of God;’ hope both of the glorious image of God, which is in part and shall be fully ‘revealed in him;’ and of that crown of glory which fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him.
This holiness and happiness, joined in one, are sometimes styled, in the inspired writings, ‘the kingdom of God,’ (as by our Lord in the text,) and sometimes, ‘the kingdom of heaven.’ It is termed ‘the kingdom of God,’ because it is the immediate fruit of God’s reigning in the soul. So soon as ever he takes unto himself his mighty power, and sets up his throne in our hearts, they are instantly filled with this ‘righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.’ It is called ‘the kingdom of heaven’ because it is (in a degree) heaven opened in the soul.
ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν (“from God our Father‘). Here is the true source of all good, all harmony, all peace, all grace, all lasting joy and happiness. In 2 Corinthians 1:3 there is a wonderful phrase, where Paul calls God: ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως — “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” (NIV).
We need grace and peace in our world today. We need grace and peace in our churches. We need grace and peace in our families. We have lots of people who think they have right opinions. Grace and peace flow to us from God — and they are the evidence we are “in Christ.”
Since this is actually another blog re-boot, I thought it would be good to re-iterate my intentions for this web site and this blog — and for my various Internet projects.
