"How Christ Has Fulfilled the Function of Redeemer to Acquire Salvation for Us," is the first sentence in the title for Book II, chapter 16. The title is long and so is the chapter. Here Calvin basically gives his commentary on the Apostle’s Creed. Because of the length my summaries will span over a few entries.
But before Calvin gets to the Creed, election and predestination come up. Why? Well, if Jesus is the only Saviour who came to provide atonement for sin, who receives this atonement?
1. At the beginning of the chapter Calvin writes, “Condemned, dead, and lost in ourselves, we should seek righteousness, liberation, life and salvation in Him, as we are taught by that well-known saying of Peter: ‘There is not other name under heaven given to men in which we must be saved’ [Acts 4:12]” (Pg., 508).
2. The decree of God is that Christ alone is the Redeemer and “He has come to save His people form their sins.” [Matt 1:21]
3. Christ came to redeem us from the wrath and curse of God. However, the question of predestination and election always comes up at this point. Calvin writes, “it is fitting that God, who anticipates us by His mercy, should have been our enemy until He was reconciled to us through Christ. For how could He have given in His only-begotten Son a singular pledge of His love to us if He had not already embraced us with His free favour?” (Pg, 504).
4. Many think this is a contradiction, but it is not. The Bible teaches that all, even the elect of God are born in sin and under guilt [Rom 5:10; Gal 3:10, 13; Col 1:21-22; Eph 2:1-9]. These expressions are given so the elect, by and through the convicting work and effectual call of the Spirit, will understand their sinful condition and God’s salvation in Christ alone.
5. All that will ever be saved are saved because of eternal election and predestination. But it must be remembered that they are chosen by the Father’s love to be delivered from sin and wrath; and they are predestined to be redeemed from sin and holy wrath - in time.
6. Calvin sums it up: “Since our hearts cannot, in God’s mercy, either seize upon life ardently enough to accept it with the gratefulness we owe, unless our minds are first struck and overwhelmed by fear of God’s wrath and by dread of eternal death, we are taught by Scripture to perceive that apart from Christ, God is, so to speak, hostile to us, and His hand is armed for our destruction; to embrace His benevolence and fatherly love in Christ alone” (Pg., 505).
7. We are not loveable due to our sin. We deserve God’s judgement, because we have earned it by nature and action. However, because God’s people are predestined to be redeemed by Christ, “the Lord will not lose what is His in us” (Pg., 505).
8. We brought death upon ourselves through Adam, yet the elect remain God’ creatures. Yet, due to man’s sin and God’s holiness alienation exists between God and man.
9. “Therefore, to take away all cause for enmity and to reconcile us utterly to Himself, He wipes out all evil in us by the expiation set forth in the death of Christ; that we, who were previously unclean and impure, may show ourselves righteous and holy in His sight. Therefore, by His love God the Father goes before and anticipates our reconciliation in Christ. Indeed, ‘because He first loved us’ [1 Jn 4:19], He afterward reconciles us to Himself” (Pg., 506).
10. Calvin quotes, in my judgment one of the most beautiful passages from Augustine to explain how God can at the same time love and hate those whom he chose in Christ before the foundation of the world. Here it is.
“God’s love is incomprehensible and unchangeable. For it was not after we were reconciled to him through the blood of his Son that he began to love us. Rather, he has loved us before the world was created, that we also might be his sons along with his only begotten Son – before we became anything at all. The fact that we are reconciled through Christ’s death must not be understood as if his Son reconciled us to him that he might now begin to love those whom he had hated. Rather, we have already been reconciled to him who loves us, with whom we were enemies on account of sin. The Apostle will testify whether I am speaking the truth: ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’ [Rom 5:8]. Therefore, he loved us even when we practiced enmity toward him and committed wickedness. Thus, in a marvellous and divine way he loved us even when he hated us. For he hated us for what we were that he had made; yet because our wickedness had not entirely consumed his handiwork, he knew how, at the same time, to hate in each one of us what we had made, and to love what he had made.” This is from Augustine’s work of John’s gospel, NPNV VII.411.
No comments:
Post a Comment