Calvin’s Institutes: God’s Spirit works to bring us faith in Christ.

I am at Book 3 in my summaries of Calvin's Institutes.

Having considered who God is, what we are (Bk. 1), and Christ the Redeemer (Bk 2); we now have the blessing and responsibility, as Calvin writes, to understand, “how we receive those benefits which the Father bestowed on His only begotten Son” (Pg., 537).

Because the main message of Bk.3 is how a sinner receives the blessing of God’s grace of salvation the main concepts of faith, prayer, and election are discussed. With the study of faith comes justification, merit, Christian liberty and all that. And when we talk of prayer, of course, the Christian engaged in faith asks God for forgiveness and salvation in Jesus name. All this raises the question of who will receive faith, and who is really heard of God. This brings us to election.

Well, here is the summary of ch.1

1. To have the Son is to have eternal life. However, to be without the Son is to be without God forever, and experience an existence without God’s love and blessing. This existence is in the Lake of Fire, and is truly hell because God in his love and mercy are not there. Calvin in all his ministry laboured to bring the gospel to men to bring them to Jesus’ blessing of life. May we do the same.

2. “All that he (Christ) possesses is nothing to us until we grow into one body with him” (Pg., 537). [Eph 4:15; Rom 8:29; Rom 11:17; Gal 3:27] And we will not grow into one body with him apart from the revealing work of the Holy Spirit.

3. Well, we are sitting at the edge of our seats. That is, those whom the Spirit is effectually calling want to know and embrace Christ.

Christ, our Redeemer, came to this earth with the fullness of the Spirit. [Jn 3:34] Calvin teaches that this special endowment of the Spirit upon Christ was for the express purpose of separating His people from the world and gather them “unto the hope of the eternal inheritance” (Pg., 538). [see section # 2. Pg., 538]

4. Also, “God the Father gives us the Holy Spirit for his Son’s sake” (Pg., 538). We receive the revelation of life and hope through the same Spirit Christ possessed; “without which no one can taste either the fatherly favour of God or the beneficence of Christ” (Pg., 539).

5. God the Holy Spirit has one great principle work. It is the giving, establishing and strengthening of faith, so that through faith in Christ we may have life in Christ. He is “the inner teacher by whose effort the promise of salvation penetrates into our minds” (Pg., 541).

6. True faith, “has not other source than the Spirit” (Pg., 541). [2 Thess 2:13; 1 Jn 4:34; 1 Jn 4:13; Jn 14:17] He is the Illuminator, the Teacher who draws to Christ those whom the Father has given to Christ. [Jn 6:44; 12:32; 17:6]

7. That we might be saved, Jesus, “ ‘Baptizes us in the Holy Spirit and fire’ [Lk 3:16], bringing us into the light of faith in his gospel and so regenerating us that we become new creatures [cf. 2 Cor 5:17]; and he consecrates us, purges us of uncleanness to be temples holy to God [cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21]” (Pg., 542).