I. Calvin’s Institutes (1559)
“There is good reason for the repeated mention of the ‘testimony of the Spirit,’ a testimony we feel engraved like a seal upon our hearts, with the result that it seals the cleansing and sacrifice of Christ” (Institutes 3.1.1).
“And here it is useful to note what titles are applied to the Holy Spirit in Scripture, when the beginning and the whole renewal of our salvation are under discussion. First, he is called the ‘spirit of adoption’ because he is the witness to us of the free benevolence of God with which God the Father has embraced us in his beloved only-begotten Son to become a Father to us; and he encourages us to have trust in prayer. In fact, he supplies the very words so that we may fearlessly cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ [Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6]. For the same reason he is called ‘the guarantee and seal’ of our inheritance [II Cor. 1:22; cf. Eph. 1:14] because from heaven he so gives life to us, on pilgrimage in the world and resembling dead men, as to assure us that our salvation is safe in God’s unfailing care” (Institutes 3.1.3).
“Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Institutes 3.2.7).
“As if the Holy Spirit, by illumining our hearts unto faith, were not the witness to us of our adoption! … I now say that nothing more absurd than their fiction can be imagined. They would have faith to be an assent by which any despiser of God may receive what is offered from Scripture. But first you they ought to have seen whether every man attains faith by his own effort, or whether through it the Holy Spirit is witness of his adoption” (Institutes 3.2.8).
“… although there is a great likeness and affinity between God’s elect and those who are given transitory faith, yet only in the elect does that confidence flourish which Paul extols, that they loudly proclaim Abba, Father [Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15]. Therefore, as God regenerates only the elect with incorruptible seed forever [I Peter 1:23] so that the seed of life sown in their hearts may never perish, thus he firmly seals the gift of his adoption in them that it may be steady and sure … For the Spirit, strictly speaking, seals forgiveness of sins in the elect alone, so that they apply it by special faith to their own use … [This is] the exclusive testimony he gives to his elect …” (Institutes 3.2.11).
“… faith is a knowledge of the divine benevolence towards us and a sure persuasion of its truth … we ought to grasp this: however deficient or weak faith may be in the elect, still, because the Spirit of God is for them the sure guarantee and seal of their adoption [Eph. 1:14; cf. II Cor. 1:22], the mark he has engraved can never be erased from their hearts” (Institutes 3.2.12).
“Now let us examine anew the individual parts of the definition of faith. After we have diligently examined it no doubt, I believe, will remain. When we call faith ‘knowledge’ we do not mean comprehension of the sort that is commonly concerned with those things which fall under human sense perception. For faith is so far above sense that man’s mind has to go beyond and rise above itself in order to attain it. Even where the mind has attained, it does not comprehend what it feels. But while it is persuaded of what it does not grasp, by the very certainty of its persuasion it understands more than if it perceived anything human by its own capacity. Paul, therefore, beautifully describes it as the power ‘to comprehend … what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge’ [Eph. 3:18-19]. He means that what our mind embraces by faith is in every way infinite, and that this kind of knowledge is far more lofty than all understanding. Nevertheless, the Lord has ‘made manifest to his saints’ the secret of his will, which had been ‘hidden for ages and generations’ [Col. 1:26; cf. 2:2]. For very good reason, then, faith is frequently called ‘recognition’ [see Eph. 1:17; 4:13; Col. 1:9; 3:10; I Tim. 2:4; Titus 1:1; Philemon 6; II Peter 2:21], but by John, ‘knowledge.’ For he declares that believers know themselves to be God’s children [I John 3:2]. And obviously they surely know this. But they are more strengthened by the persuasion of divine truth than instructed by rational proof. Paul’s words also point this out: ‘While dwelling in this body, we wander from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight’ [II Cor. 5:6-7]. By these words he shows that those things which we know through faith are nonetheless absent from us and go unseen. From this we conclude that the knowledge of faith consists in assurance rather than in comprehension” (Institutes 3.2.14).
“We add the words ‘sure and firm’ in order to express a more solid constancy of persuasion. For, as faith is not content with a doubtful and changeable opinion, so is it not content with an obscure and confused conception; but requires full and fixed certainty, such as men are wont to have from things experienced and proved … full assurance … in the Scriptures is always attributed to faith. It is this which puts beyond doubt God’s goodness clearly manifested for us [Col. 2:2; I Thess. 1:5; cf. Heb. 6:11 and 10:22]. But this cannot happen without our truly feeling it sweetness and experiencing it in ourselves. For this reason, the apostle derives confidence from faith, and from confidence, in turn, boldness. For he states: ‘Through Christ we have boldness and access with confidence which is through faith in him’ [Eph. 3:12 p., cf. Vg.]. By these words he obviously shows that there is no right faith except when we dare with tranquil hearts to stand in God’s sight. This boldness arises only out of a sure confidence in divine benevolence and salvation. This is so true that the word ‘faith’ is very often used for confidence” (Institutes 3.2.15).
“Here, indeed, is the chief hinge on which faith turns: that we do not regard the promises of mercy that God offers as true only outside ourselves, but not at all in us; rather we make them ours by inwardly embracing them. Hence, at last is born that confidence which Paul elsewhere calls ‘peace’ [Rom. 5:1], unless someone may prefer to derive peace from it. Now it is an assurance that renders the conscience calm and peaceful before God’s judgment … Briefly, he alone is truly a believer who, convinced by a firm conviction that God is a kindly and well-disposed Father toward him, promises himself all things on the basis of his generosity; who, relying upon the promises of divine benevolence toward him, lays hold on an undoubted expectation of salvation. As the apostle points out in these words: ‘If we hold our confidence and glorying in hope, firm even to the end’ [Heb. 3:7, cf. Vg.]. Thus, he considers that no one hopes well in the Lord except him who confidently glories in the inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom. As we are taught from that masterly summation of Paul: I have confessed that ‘neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come … can separate us from the love of God which embraces us in Christ Jesus’ [Rom. 8:38-39 p.]. Thus, in the same manner, the apostle does not consider the eyes of our minds well illumined, except as we discern what the hope of the eternal inheritance is to which we have been called [Eph. 1:18]. And everywhere he so teaches as to intimate that they cannot otherwise well comprehend the goodness of God unless we gather from it the fruit of great assurance” (Institutes 3.2.16).
“… we say that believers are in perpetual conflict with their own unbelief. Far, indeed, are we from putting their consciences in any peaceful repose, undisturbed by any tumult at all. Yet, once again, we deny that, in whatever way they are afflicted, they fall away and depart from the certain assurance received from God’s mercy … amidst all these assaults faith sustains the hearts of the godly and truly in its effect resembles a palm tree [cf. Ps. 92:12, Vg.]: for it strives against every burden and raises itself upward. So David, even when he might have seemed overwhelmed, in rebuking himself did not cease to rise up to God. He who, struggling with his own weakness, presses toward faith in his moments of anxiety is already in large part victorious. Thus we may infer from this statement and ones like it: ‘Wait for Jehovah, be strong; he will strengthen your heart. Wait for Jehovah!’ [Ps. 27:14, cf. Comm.]” (Institutes 3.2.17).
“In order to understand this, it is necessary to return to that division of flesh and spirit which we have mentioned elsewhere. It most clearly reveals itself at this point. Therefore the godly heart feels in itself a division because it is partly imbued with sweetness from its recognition of the divine goodness, partly grieves in bitterness from an awareness of its calamity; partly rests upon the promise of the gospel, partly trembles at the evidence of its own iniquity; partly rejoices at the expectation of life, partly shudders at death. This variation arises from imperfection of faith, since in the course of the present life it never goes so well with us that we are wholly cured of the disease of unbelief and entirely filled and possessed by faith. Hence arise those conflicts; when unbelief, which reposes in the remains of the flesh, rises up to attack the faith that has been inwardly conceived. But if in the believing mind certainty is mixed with doubt, do we not always come back to this, that faith does not rest in a certain and clear knowledge, but only in an obscure and confused knowledge of the divine will toward us? Not at all” (Institutes 3.2.18).
“To sum up: When first even the least drop of faith is instilled in our minds, we begin to contemplate God’s face, peaceful and calm and gracious toward us. We see him afar off, but so clearly as to know we are not at all deceived. Then, the more we advance as we ought continually to advance, with steady progress, as it were, the nearer and thus surer sight of him we obtain; and by the very continuance he is made even more familiar to us” (Institutes 3.2.19).
“What point would there be in crying out to him if they hoped for no solace from him? Indeed, it would never enter their minds to call upon him if they did not believe that he had prepared help for them. Thus the disciples whom Christ rebuked for the smallness of their faith complained that they were perishing, and yet were imploring his help [Matt. 8:25-26]. Indeed, while he reproves them for their little faith, he does not cast them out from the ranks of his disciples or count them among unbelievers, but urges them to shake off that fault” (Institutes 3.2.21).
“… we do not thus accept that most pestilent philosophy which certain half-papists are furtively beginning to fashion today. For because they cannot defend that rude doubt which has been handed down in the schools, they take refuge in another fiction: that they may make an assurance mingled with unbelief. Whenever we look upon Christ, they confess that we find full occasion for good hope in him. But because we are always unworthy of all those benefits which are offered to us in Christ, they would have us waver and hesitate at the sight of our unworthiness … Thus, when Satan once sees that those open devices with which he formerly had been wont to destroy the certainty of faith are now of no avail, he tries to sap it by covert devices … Christ is not outside us but dwells within us. Not only does he cleave to us by an indivisible bond of fellowship, but with a wonderful communion, they by day, he grows more and more into one body with us, until he becomes completely one with us” (Institutes 3.2.24).
“Now, in the divine benevolence, which faith is said to look to, we understand the possession of salvation and eternal life is obtained. For if, while God is favorable, no good can be lacking, when he assures us of his love we are abundantly and sufficiently assured of salvation … Faith, therefore, having grasped the love of God, has promises of the present life and of that to come [I Tim. 4:8], and firm assurance of all good things, but of such sort as can be perceived from the Word. For faith does not certainly promise itself either length of years or honor or riches in this life, since the Lord willed that none of these things be appointed for us. But it is content with this certainty: that, however many things fail us that have to do with the maintenance of this life, God will never fail. Rather, the chief assurance of faith rests in the expectation of the life to come, which has been placed beyond doubt through the Word of God” (Institutes 3.2.28).
“… it is clear that faith is much higher than human understanding. And it will not be enough for the mind to be illumined by the Spirit of God unless the heart is also strengthened and supported by his power. In this matter the Schoolmen go completely astray, who in considering faith identify it with a bare and simple assent arising out of knowledge, and leave out confidence and assurance of heart … this is partly because men do not consider either how secret and lofty the heavenly wisdom is, or how very dull men are to perceive the mysteries of God; partly because they do not have regard to that firm and steadfast constancy of heart which is the chief part of faith” (Institutes 3.2.33).
“The Spirit accordingly serves as a seal, to seal up in our hearts those very promises the certainty of which it has previously impressed upon our minds; and takes the place of a guarantee to confirm and establish them … Do you see how Paul teaches that the hearts of believers have, so to speak, been sealed with the Spirit; how, for this reason, Paul calls him the ‘Spirit of promise,’ because he makes firm the gospel among us? In like manner, he says in a letter to the Corinthians: ‘He who … has anointed us, is God; who has also sealed us, and given the guarantee of the Spirit in our hearts’ [II Cor. 1:21-22, KJV]. And, in another passage, when Paul speaks of confidence and boldness of hope, he lays as its foundation the guarantee of the Spirit [II Cor. 5:5]” (Institutes 3.2.36).
“But when we simply say with Paul: ‘we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is from God …,’ by whose teaching ‘we know the gifts bestowed on us by God’ [I Cor. 2:12], how can they yelp against us without abusively assaulting the Holy Spirit? But if it is a dreadful sacrilege to accuse the revelation given by the Spirit either of falsehood or uncertainty or ambiguity, how do we transgress in declaring its certainty? … Paul teaches that God is called ‘Father’ by us at the bidding of the Spirit, who alone can ‘witness to our spirit that we are the children of God’ [Rom. 8:16]” (Institutes 3.2.39).
“Not content with trying to undermine firmness of faith in one way alone, they assail it from another quarter. Thus, they say that even though according to our present state of righteousness we can judge concerning our possession of the grace of God, the knowledge of final perseverance remains in suspense. A fine confidence of salvation is left to us, if by moral conjecture we judge that the present moment we are in grace, but we know not what will become of us tomorrow! The apostle speaks far otherwise: ‘I am surely convinced that neither angels, nor powers, nor principalities, nor death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come … will separate us from the love by which the Lord embraces us in Christ’ [Rom. 8:38-39 p.] … he is discussing those benefits which come to all believers in common from faith, not those things which he exclusively experiences … Then, how absurd it is that the certainty of faith be limited to some point of time, when by its very nature it looks to a future immortality after this life is over! Since, therefore, believers ascribe to God’s grace the fact that, illumined by his Spirit, they enjoy through faith the contemplation of heavenly life, such glorying is so far from arrogance that if any man is ashamed to confess it, in that very act he betrays his extreme ungratefulness by wickedly suppressing God’s goodness, more than he testifies to his modesty or submission” (Institutes 3.2.40).
“The nature of faith could, seemingly, not be better or more plainly declared than by the substance of the promise upon which it rests as its proper foundation … this does not at all differ from the apostle’s definition, or rather the description he applies to his discourse, where he teaches that ‘faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the indication of things not appearing’ [Heb. 11:1, cf. Vg.]. Now, by the word ‘hypostasis,’ which he uses, he means a sort of support upon which the godly mind may lean and rest. It is as if he were to say that faith itself is a sure and secure possession of those things which God has promised us, unless someone prefers to understand ‘hypostasis’ as confidence! This does not displease me, although I accept what is more commonly received … ‘Whatsoever,’ as Paul writes, ‘is visible, is not hope; nor do we hope for what we see’ [Rom. 8:24 p.]. When he calls it an ‘indication’ or ‘proof’—or, as Augustine has often translated it, ‘a conviction of things not present’ (the word for ‘conviction’ is elenchos in Greek [Heb. 11:1])—Paul speaks as if to say that faith is an evidence of things not appearing, a seeing of things not seen, a clearness of things obscure, a presence of things absent, the issuing forth of things hidden … we contemplate them only in his Word, of the truth of which we ought to be so persuaded that we should count whatever he speaks as already done and fulfilled” (Institutes 3.2.41).
“Yet, wherever this faith is alive, it must have along with it the hope of eternal salvation as its inseparable companion. Or rather, it engenders and brings forth hope from itself … For if faith, as has been said above, is a sure persuasion of the truth of God—that it can neither lie to us, nor deceive us, nor become void—then those who have grasped this certainty as surely expect the time to come when God will fulfil his promises, which they are persuaded cannot but be true, 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 some time be revealed; faith is the foundation upon which hope rests, hope nourishes and sustains faith” (Institutes 3.2.42).
“Our opponents do not at all ponder this requirement. Therefore, when we enjoin believers to be convinced with firm assurance of mind that God is favorable and benevolent to them, they think we are saying the most absurd thing of all. Still, if they made any use of true prayer, they would readily understand that without that firm sense of the divine benevolence God could not be rightly called upon. Since no one can well perceive the power of faith unless he feels it by experience in his heart, what point is there in arguing with men of this stripe, who clearly show that they have never had anything but an empty imagination? For the value and need of that assurance, which we require, is chiefly learned from calling upon him. He who does not see this shows that he has a very insensate conscience. Let us, then, pass over this class of blind persons, and cleave firmly to the statement of Paul’s: God cannot be called upon by any except those who have learned of his mercy from the gospel [Rom. 10:14], and have surely been persuaded that it has been prepared for them. Now what sort of prayer will this be? ‘O Lord, I am in doubt whether thou willest to hear me, but because I am pressed by anxiety, I flee to thee, that, if I am worthy, thou mayest help me.’ This is not the way of all the saints whose prayers we read in Scripture. And the Holy Spirit did not so instruct us through the apostle, who enjoins us to ‘draw near to the heavenly throne … with confidence, that we may receive … grace’ [Heb. 4:16 p.]; and when he teaches elsewhere that we have boldness and access in confidence through faith in Christ [Eph. 3:12]. If we would pray fruitfully, we ought therefore to grasp with both hands this assurance of obtaining what we ask, which the Lord enjoins with his own voice, and all the saints teach by their example. For only that prayer is acceptable to God which is born, if I may so express it, out of such presumption of faith, and is grounded in unshaken assurance of hope” (Institutes 3.20.12).
“Moreover, there is added the reason why we should be so bold to ask and so confident of receiving … namely, that his ‘is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever’ [Matt. 16:13, marg.]. This is firm and tranquil repose for our faith. For if our prayers were to be commended to God by our worth, who would dare even to mutter in his presence? Now, however miserable we may be, though unworthiest of all, however devoid of all commendation, we will yet never lack a reason to pray, never be shorn of assurance, since his Kingdom, power, and glory can never be snatched away from our Father. At the end is added, ‘Amen’ [Matt. 6:13, marg.]. By it is expressed the warmth of desire to obtain what we have asked of God. And our hope is strengthened that all things of this sort have already been brought to pass, and will surely be granted to us, since they have been promised by God, who cannot deceive and this agrees with the form of prayer we previously set forth: ‘Do, O Lord, for thy name’s sake, not on account of us or our righteousness’ [cf. Dan. 9:18-19]. By this the saints not only express the end of their prayers but confess themselves unworthy to obtain it unless God seeks the reason from himself, and that their confidence of being heard stems solely from God’s nature” (Institutes 3.20.47).
“Accordingly, those whom God has adopted as his sons are said to have been chosen not in themselves but in his Christ [Eph. 1:4]; for unless he could love them in him, he could not honor them with the inheritance of his Kingdom if they had not previously become partakers of him. But if we have been chosen in him, we shall not find assurance of our election in ourselves; and not even in God the Father, if we conceive him as severed from his Son. Christ, then, is the mirror wherein we must, and without self-deception may, contemplate our own election. For since it is into his body the Father has destined those to be engrafted whom he has willed from eternity to be his own, that he may hold as sons all whom he acknowledges to be among his members, we have a sufficiently clear and firm testimony that we have been inscribed in the book of life [cf. Rev. 21:27] if we are in communion with Christ” (Institutes 3.24.5).
“Therefore, Word and sacraments confirm our faith when they said before our eyes the goodwill of our Heavenly Father toward us, by the knowledge of whom the whole firmness of our faith stands fast and increases in strength. The Spirit confirms it when, by engraving this confirmation in our minds, he makes it effective. Meanwhile, the Father of Lights [cf. James 1:17] cannot be hindered from illumining our minds with a sort of intermediate brilliance through the sacraments, just as he illumines our bodily eyes by the rays of the sun” (Institutes 4.14.10).
“In water, washing is represented; in blood, satisfaction. These two are found in Christ ‘… who,’ as John says, ‘came in water and blood’ [I John 5:6]; that is, to wash and to redeem. The Spirit of God is also witness of this. Indeed, ‘there are three witnesses in one: the water, the blood, and the Spirit’ [I John 5:8 p.]. In the water and the blood we have testimony of cleansing and redemption. But the Spirit, the primary witness, makes us certain of such testimony” (Institutes 4.14.22).
II. Calvin’s Commentaries
“It amounts to this, that God is not properly worshipped but by the certainty of faith, which cannot be produced in any other way than by the word of God … You worship what you do not know It follows from this that, if we wish our religion to be approved by God, it must rest on knowledge obtained from His word” (Comm. on John 4:24).
“… this is required necessarily for the certainty of faith, that every one be fully persuaded of this, that he is comprehended in the number of those unto whom God speaketh. Finally, this is the rule of a true faith, when I am thus persuaded that salvation is mine, because that promise appertaineth unto me which offereth the same” (Comm. on Acts 2:39).
“Therefore, let us hold and mark that which Luke saith, that those were ordained before unto life, who, being in-grafted into the body of Christ by faith, do receive the earnest and pledge of their adoption in Christ. Whence we do also gather what force the preaching of the gospel hath of itself. For it doth not find faith in men, save only because God doth call those inwardly whom he hath chosen, and because he draweth those who were his own before unto Christ (John 6:37). Also Luke teacheth in the same words, that it cannot be that any of the elect should perish. For he saith not that one or a few of the elect did believe, but so many as were elect. For though God’s election be unknown to us until we perceive it by faith, yet is it not doubtful or in suspense in his secret counsel; because he commendeth all those whom he counteth his to the safeguard and tuition of his Son, who will continue a faithful keeper even unto the end. Both members are necessary to be known. When election is placed above faith, there is no cause why men should challenge to themselves any thing in any part of their salvation. For if faith, wherein consisteth salvation, which is unto us a witness of the free adoption of God, which coupleth us to Christ, and maketh his life ours, whereby we possess God with his righteousness, and, finally, whereby we receive the grace of sanctification, be grounded without us in the eternal counsel of God; what good things so ever we have, we must needs acknowledge that we have received it of the grace of God, which doth prevent us of its own accord. Again, because many entangle themselves in doubtful and thorny imaginations, whilst that they seek for their salvation in the hidden counsel of God, let us learn that the election of God is therefore approved by faith, that our minds may be turned unto Christ as unto the pledge of election, and that they may seek no other certainty save that which is revealed to us in the gospel; I say, let this seal suffice us, that ‘whosoever believeth in the only-begotten Son of God hath eternal life’ (John 3:36)” (Comm. on Acts 13:48).
“He [i.e., Paul] now confirms the certainty of that confidence, in which he has already bidden the faithful to rest secure; and he does this by mentioning the special effect produced by the Spirit; for he has not been given for the purpose of harassing us with trembling or of tormenting us with anxiety; but on the contrary, for this end — that having calmed every perturbation, and restoring our minds to a tranquil state, he may stir us up to call on God with confidence and freedom. He does not then pursue only the argument which he had before stated, but dwells more on another clause, which he had connected with it, even the paternal mercy of God, by which he forgives his people the infirmities of the flesh and the sins which still remain in them. He teaches us that our confidence in this respect is made certain by the Spirit of adoption, who could not inspire us with confidence in prayer without sealing to us a gratuitous pardon: and that he might make this more evident, he mentions a twofold spirit; he calls one the spirit of bondage, which we receive from the law; and the other, the spirit of adoption, which proceeds from the gospel. The first, he says, was given formerly to produce fear; the other is given now to afford assurance. By such a comparison of contrary things the certainty of our salvation, which he intended to confirm, is, as you see, made more evident … So then persons only must be regarded as to the Jewish people; for when the law was published, and also after it was published, the godly were illuminated by the same Spirit of faith; and thus the hope of eternal life, of which the Spirit is the earnest and seal, was sealed on their hearts. The only difference is, that the Spirit is more largely and abundantly poured forth in the kingdom of Christ. But if you regard only the dispensation of the law, it will then appear, that salvation was first clearly revealed at that time, when Christ was manifested in the flesh. All things under the Old Testament were involved in great obscurity, when compared with the clear light of the gospel. And then, if the law be viewed in itself, it can do nothing but restrain those, devoted to its miserable bondage, by the horror of death; for it promises no good except under condition, and denounces death on all transgressors. Hence, as there is the spirit of bondage under the law, which oppresses the conscience with fear; so under the gospel there is the spirit of adoption, which exhilarates our souls by bearing a testimony as to our salvation. But observe, that fear is connected with bondage, as it cannot be otherwise, but that the law will harass and torment souls with miserable disquietness, as long as it exercises its dominion. There is then no other remedy for quieting them, except God forgives us our sin and deals kindly with us as a father with his children. Through whom we cry, etc. He has changed the person, that he might describe the common privilege of all the saints; as though he had said — ‘Ye have the spirit, through whom you and all we, the rest of the faithful, cry,’ etc. The imitation of their language is very significant; when he introduces the word Father, in the person of the faithful. The repetition of the name is for the sake of amplification; for Paul intimates, that God’s mercy was so published through the whole world … The word cry is set down for the purpose of expressing confidence; as though he said, ‘We pray not doubtingly, but we confidently raise up a loud voice to heaven.’ The faithful also under the law did indeed call God their Father, but not with such full confidence, as the vail kept them at a distance from the sanctuary: but now, since an entrance has been opened to us by the blood of Christ, we may rejoice fully and openly that we are the children of God; hence arises this crying. In short, thus is fulfilled the prophecy of Hosea, ‘I will say to them, My people are ye: they in their turn will answer, Thou art our God’ (Hos. 2:23). For the more evident the promise is, the greater the freedom in prayer” (Comm. on Rom. 8:15).
“Paul means, that the Spirit of God gives us such a testimony, that when he is our guide and teacher, our spirit is made assured of the adoption of God: for our mind of its own self, without the preceding testimony of the Spirit, could not convey to us this assurance. There is also here an explanation of the former verse; for when the Spirit testifies to us, that we are the children of God, he at the same time pours into our hearts such confidence, that we venture to call God our Father. And doubtless, since the confidence of the heart alone opens our mouth, except the Spirit testifies to our heart respecting the paternal love of God, our tongues would be dumb, so that they could utter no prayers. For we must ever hold fast this principle — that we do not rightly pray to God, unless we are surely persuaded in our hearts, that he is our Father, when we so call him with our lips. To this there is a corresponding part — that our faith has no true evidence, except we call upon God. It is not then without reason that Paul, bringing us to this test, shows that it then only appears how truly any one believes, when they who have embraced the promise of grace, exercise themselves in prayers. But there is here a striking refutation of the vain notions of the Sophists respecting moral conjecture, which is nothing else but uncertainty and anxiety of mind; nay, rather vacillation and delusion. There is also an answer given here to their objection, for they ask, ‘How can a man fully know the will of God?’ This certainly is not within the reach of man, but it is the testimony of God’s Spirit; and this subject he treats more at large in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, from which we may derive a fuller explanation of a passage. Let this truth then stand sure — that no one can be called a son of God, who does not know himself to be such; and this is called knowledge by John, in order to set forth its certainty (I John 5:19-20)” (Comm. on Rom. 8:16).
“Further, he [i.e., Paul] so mentions the elect, as one who doubted not but that he was of their number; and he knew this, not by special revelation (as some sophists falsely imagine) but by a perception (sensu—feeling) common to all the godly. What then is here said of the elect, every one of the godly, according to the example of Paul, may apply to himself; for this doctrine would have been not only frigid, but wholly lifeless had he buried election in the secret purpose of God. But when we know, that there is here designedly set before us what every one of the godly ought to appropriate to himself, there is no doubt but that we are all encouraged to examine our calling, so that we may become assured that we are the children of God” (Comm. on Rom. 8:33).
“It hence follows, that when any one seeks to condemn us, he not only seeks to render void the death of Christ, but also contends with that unequalled power with which the Father has honored him, and who with that power conferred on him supreme authority. This so great an assurance; which dares to triumph over the devil, death, sin, and the gates of hell, ought to lodge deep in the hearts of all the godly; for our faith is nothing, except we feel assured that Christ is ours, and that the Father is in him propitious to us. Nothing then can be devised more pestilent and ruinous, than the scholastic dogma respecting the uncertainty of salvation” (Comm. on Rom. 8:34).
“This declaration is clearly against the schoolmen, who idly talk and say, that no one is certain of final perseverance, except through the gift of special revelation, which they make to be very rare. By such a dogma the whole faith is destroyed, which is certainly nothing, except it extends to death and beyond death. But we, on the contrary, ought to feel confident, that he who has begun in us a good work, will carry it on until the day of the Lord Jesus” (Comm. on Rom. 8:38).
“Which is in Christ, etc. That is, of which Christ is the bond; for he is the beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased. If, then, we are through him united to God, we may be assured of the immutable and unfailing kindness of God towards us. He now speaks here more distinctly than before, as he declares that the fountain of love is in the Father, and affirms that it flows to us from Christ” (Comm. on Rom. 8:39).
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world He [i.e., Paul] heightens by contrast the certainty of which he had made mention. ‘The Spirit of revelation,’ says he, ‘which we have received, is not of the world, so as to be merely creeping upon the ground, so as to be subject to vanity, or be in suspense, or vary or fluctuate, or hold us in doubt and perplexity. On the contrary, it is from God, and hence it is above all heavens, of solid and unvarying truth, and placed above all risk of doubt.’ It is a passage that is most abundantly clear, for refuting that diabolical doctrine of the Sophists as to a constant hesitancy on the part of believers. For they require all believers to be in doubt, whether they are in the grace of God or not, and allow of no assurance of salvation, but what hangs on moral or probable conjecture. In this, however, they overthrow faith in two respects: for first they would have us be in doubt, whether we are in a state of grace, and then afterwards they suggest a second occasion of doubt — as to final perseverance. Here, however, the Apostle declares in general terms, that the elect have the Spirit given them, by whose testimony they are assured that they have been adopted to the hope of eternal salvation. Undoubtedly, if they would maintain their doctrine, they must of necessity either take away the Spirit of God from the elect, or make even the Spirit himself subject to uncertainty. Both of these things are openly at variance with Paul’s doctrine. Hence we may know the nature of faith to be this, that conscience has from the Holy Spirit a sure testimony of the good-will of God towards it, so that, resting upon this, it does not hesitate to invoke God as a Father. Thus Paul lifts up our faith above the world, that it may look down with lofty disdain upon all the pride of the flesh; for otherwise it will be always timid and wavering, because we see how boldly human ingenuity exalts itself, the haughtiness of which requires to be trodden under foot by the sons of God through means of an opposing haughtiness of heroical magnanimity. That we may know the things that are given us by Christ. The word know is made use of to express more fully the assurance of confidence. Let us observe, however, that it is not acquired in a natural way, and is not attained by the mental capacity, but depends entirely on the revelation of the Spirit. The things that he makes mention of as given by Christ are the blessings that we obtain through his death and resurrection — that being reconciled to God, and having obtained remission of sins, we know that we have been adopted to the hope of eternal life, and that, being sanctified by the Spirit of regeneration, we are made new creatures, that we may live to God. In Ephesians 1:18, he says what amounts to the same thing — ‘That ye may know what is the hope of your calling'” (Comm. on I Cor. 2:12).
“God, indeed, is always true and steadfast in his promises, and has always his Amen, as often as he speaks. But as for us, such is our vanity, that we do not utter our Amen in return, except when he gives a sure testimony in our hearts by his word. This he does by his Spirit. That is what Paul means here. He had previously taught, that this is a befitting harmony — when, on the one hand, the calling of God is without repentance (Rom. 11:29) and we, in our turn, with an unwavering faith, accept of the blessing of adoption that is held out to us. That God remains steadfast to his promise is not surprising; but to keep pace with God in the steadfastness of our faith in return — that truly is not in man’s power. He teaches us, also, that God cures our weakness or defect (as they term it) when, by correcting our belief, he confirms us by his Spirit. Thus it comes, that we glorify him by a firm steadfastness of faith. He associates himself, however, with the Corinthians, expressly for the purpose of conciliating their affections the better, with a view to the cultivation of unity. Who hath anointed us. He employs different terms to express one and the same thing. For along with confirmation, he employs the terms anointing and sealing, or, by this twofold metaphor, he explains more distinctly what he had previously stated without a figure. For God, by pouring down upon us the heavenly grace of the Spirit, does, in this manner, seal upon our hearts the certainty of his own word. He then introduces a fourth idea — that the Spirit has been given to us as an earnest — a similitude which he frequently makes use of, and is also exceedingly appropriate. For as the Spirit, in bearing witness of our adoption, is our security, and, by confirming the faith of the promises, is the seal (σφραγὶς), so it is on good grounds that he is called an earnest, because it is owing to him, that the covenant of God is ratified on both sides, which would, but for this, have hung in suspense. Here we must notice, in the first place, the relation which Paul requires between the gospel of God and our faith; for as every thing that God says is more than merely certain, so he wishes that this should be established in our minds by a firm and sure assent. Secondly, we must observe that, as an assurance of this nature is a thing that is above the capacity of the human mind, it is the part of the Holy Spirit to confirm within us what God promises in his word. Hence it is that he has those titles of distinction — the Anointing, the Earnest, the Comforter, and the Seal. In the third place we must observe, that all that have not the Holy Spirit as a witness, so as to return their Amen to God, when calling them to an assured hope of salvation, do on false grounds assume the name of Christians” (Comm. on II Cor. 1:21-22).
“[II Corinthians 13:5] serves to prove the assurance of faith, as to which the Sorbonnic sophists have made us stagger, nay more, have altogether rooted out from the minds of men. They bid us be satisfied with a ‘moral conjecture,’ as they call it—that is, with a mere opinion, so that our consciences remain constantly in suspense, and in a state of perplexity. But what does Paul say here? He declares, that all are reprobates, who doubt whether they profess Christ and are a part of His body. Let us, therefore, reckon that alone to be right faith, which leads us to repose in safety in the favour of God, with no wavering opinion, but with a firm and steadfast assurance” (Comm. on II Cor. 13:5).
“And because ye are sons. The adoption which he had mentioned, is proved to belong to the Galatians by the following argument. This adoption must have preceded the testimony of adoption given by the Holy Spirit; but the effect is the sign of the cause. In venturing, he says, to call God your Father, you have the advice and direction of the Spirit of Christ; therefore it is certain that you are the sons of God. This agrees with what is elsewhere taught by him, that the Spirit is the earnest and pledge of our adoption, and gives to us a well-founded belief that God regards us with a father’s love. ‘Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts’ (2 Cor. 1:22). ‘Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit’ (2 Cor. 5:5). But it will be objected, do not wicked men, too, carry their rashness so far as to proclaim that God is their Father? Do they not frequently, with greater confidence than others, utter their false boasts? I reply, Paul’s language does not relate to idle boasting, or to the proud opinion of himself which any man may entertain, but to the testimony of a pious conscience which accompanies the new birth. This argument can have no weight but in the case of believers, for ungodly men have no experience of this certainty; as our Lord himself declares. ‘The Spirit of truth,” says he, ‘whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him’ (John 14:17). This is implied in Paul’s words, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. It is not what the persons themselves, in the foolish judgment of the flesh, may venture to believe, but what God declares in their hearts by his Spirit. The Spirit of his Son is a title more strictly adapted to the present occasion than any other that could have been employed. We are the sons of God, because we have received the same Spirit as his only Son. Let it be observed, that Paul ascribes this universally to all Christians; for where this pledge of the Divine love towards us is wanting, there is assuredly no faith. Hence it is evident what sort of Christianity belongs to Popery, since any man who says, that he has the Spirit of God, is charged by them with impious presumption. Neither the Spirit of God, nor certainty, belongs to their notion of faith. This single tenet held by them is a remarkable proof that, in all the schools of the Papists, the devil, the father of unbelief, reigns. I acknowledge, indeed, that the scholastic divines, when they enjoin upon the consciences of men the agitation of perpetual doubt, are in perfect agreement with what the natural feelings of mankind would dictate. It is the more necessary to fix in our minds this doctrine of Paul, that no man is a Christian who has not learned, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to call God his Father. Crying. This participle, I think, is used in order to express greater boldness. Hesitation does not allow us to speak freely, but keeps the mouth nearly shut, while the half-broken words can hardly escape from a stammering tongue. ‘Crying,’ on the other hand, expresses firmness and unwavering confidence. ‘For we have not received again the spirit of bondage to fear, but of freedom to full confidence’ (Rom. 8:15)” (Comm. on Gal. 4:6).
“Having maintained that the gospel is certain, he [i.e., Paul] now comes to the proof. And what higher surety can be found than the Holy Spirit? ‘Having denominated the gospel the word of truth, I will not prove it by the authority of men; for you have the testimony of the Spirit of God himself, who seals the truth of it in your hearts.’ This elegant comparison is taken from Seals, which among men have the effect of removing doubt. Seals give validity both to charters and to testaments; anciently, they were the principal means by which the writer of a letter could be known; and, in short, a seal distinguishes what is true and certain, from what is false and spurious. This office the apostle ascribes to the Holy Spirit, not only here, but in another part of this Epistle (Eph. 4:30) and in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (II Cor. 1:22) Our minds never become so firmly established in the truth of God as to resist all the temptations of Satan, until we have been confirmed in it by the Holy Spirit. The true conviction which believers have of the word of God, of their own salvation, and of religion in general, does not spring from the judgment of the flesh, or from human and philosophical arguments, but from the sealing of the Spirit, who imparts to their consciences such certainty as to remove all doubt. The foundation of faith would be frail and unsteady, if it rested on human wisdom; and therefore, as preaching is the instrument of faith, so the Holy Spirit makes preaching efficacious. But is it not the faith itself which is here said to be sealed by the Holy Spirit? If so, faith goes before the sealing. I answer, there are two operations of the Spirit in faith, corresponding to the two parts of which faith consists, as it enlightens, and as it establishes the mind. The commencement of faith is knowledge: the completion of it is a firm and steady conviction, which admits of no opposing doubt. Both, I have said, are the work of the Spirit. No wonder, then, if Paul should declare that the Ephesians, who received by faith the truth of the gospel, were confirmed in that faith by the seal of the Holy Spirit. With that Holy Spirit of promise. This title is derived from the effect produced; for to him we owe it that the promise of salvation is not made to us in vain. As God promises in his word, ‘that he will be to us a Father’ (II Cor. 6:18) so he gives to us the evidence of having adopted us by the Holy Spirit” (Comm. on Eph. 1:13).
“Which is the earnest of our inheritance. This phrase is twice used by Paul in another Epistle (II Cor. 1:22; 5:5). The metaphor is taken from bargains, in which, when a pledge has been given and accepted, the whole is confirmed, and no room is left for a change of mind. Thus, when we have received the Spirit of God, his promises are confirmed to us, and no dread is felt that they will be revoked. In themselves, indeed, the promises of God are not weak; but, until we are supported by the testimony of the Spirit, we never rest upon them with unshaken confidence. The Spirit, then, is the earnest of our inheritance of eternal life, until the redemption, that is, until the day of complete redemption is arrived. So long as we are in this world, our warfare is sustained by hope, and therefore this earnest is necessary; but when the possession itself shall have been obtained, the necessity and use of the earnest will then cease” (Comm. on Eph. 1:14).
“To separate faith from confidence would be an attempt to take away heat and light from the sun. I acknowledge, indeed, that, in proportion to the measure of faith, confidence is small in some and greater in others; but faith will never be found unaccompanied by these effects or fruits. A trembling, hesitating, doubting conscience, will always be a sure evidence of unbelief; but a firm, steady faith, will prove to be invincible against the gates of hell. To trust in Christ as Mediator, and to entertain a firm conviction of our heavenly Father’s love — to venture boldly to promise to ourselves eternal life, and not to tremble at death or hell — is, to use a common phrase, a holy presumption. Observe the expression, access with confidence. Wicked men seek rest in forgetfulness of God, and are never at ease but when they remove to the greatest possible distance from God. His own children differ from them in this respect, that they ‘have peace with God’ (Rom. 5:1) and approach to him with cheerfulness and delight. We infer, likewise, from this passage, that, in order to call on God in a proper manner, confidence is necessary, and thus becomes the key that opens to us the gate of heaven. Those who doubt and hesitate will never be heard. ‘Let him ask in faith,’ says James, ‘nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord’ (James 1:6-7). The sophists of the Sorbonne, when they enjoin men to hesitate, know not what it is to call upon God” (Comm. on Eph. 3:12).
“And of the knowledge of the Son of God. This clause appears to be added for the sake of explanation. It was the apostle’s intention to explain what is the nature of true faith, and in what it consists; that is, when the Son of God is known. To the Son of God alone faith ought to look; on him it relies; in him it rests and terminates. If it proceed farther, it will disappear, and will no longer be faith, but a delusion. Let us remember, that true faith confines its view so entirely to Christ, that it neither knows, nor desires to know, anything else” (Comm. on Eph. 4:13).
“By whom ye are sealed. The Spirit of God is the seal, by which we are distinguished from the wicked, and which is impressed on our hearts as a sure evidence of adoption” (Comm. on Eph. 4:30).
“It is on good ground that he [i.e., Paul] calls it the peace of God, inasmuch as it does not depend on the present aspect of things, and does not bend itself to the various shiftings of the world, but is founded on the firm and immutable word of God. It is on good grounds, also, that he speaks of it as surpassing all understanding or perception, for nothing is more foreign to the human mind, than in the depth of despair to exercise, nevertheless, a feeling of hope, in the depth of poverty to see opulence, and in the depth of weakness to keep from giving way, and, in fine, to promise ourselves that nothing will be wanting to us when we are left destitute of all things; and all this in the grace of God alone, which is not itself known otherwise than through the word, and the inward earnest of the Spirit” (Comm. on Phil. 4:7).
“Now he [i.e., Paul] paints in lively colours assurance of faith when he bids the Colossians be grounded and settled in it. For faith is not like mere opinion, which is shaken by various movements, but has a firm steadfastness, which can withstand all the machinations of hell. Hence the whole system of Popish theology will never afford even the slightest taste of true faith, which holds it as a settled point, that we must always be in doubt respecting the present state of grace, as well as respecting final perseverance” (Comm. on Col. 1:23).
“In the term assurance, he [i.e., Paul] distinguishes between faith and mere opinion; for that man truly knows the Lord who does not vacillate or waver in doubt, but stands fast in a firm and constant persuasion. This constancy and stability Paul frequently calls (πληροφορίαν) full assurance, (which term he makes use of here also,) and always connects it with faith, as undoubtedly it can no more be separated from it than heat or light can be from the sun. The doctrine, therefore, of the schoolmen is devilish, inasmuch as it takes away assurance, and substitutes in its place moral conjecture, as they term it” (Comm. on Col. 2:2).
“And, doubtless, he [i.e., Christ] alone is the end and perfection of the law; and James adds liberty, as an inseparable associate, because the Spirit of Christ never regenerates but that he becomes also a witness and an earnest of our divine adoption, so as to free our hearts from fear and trembling” (Comm. on James 1:25).
“But as the certainty of salvation can bring us but little comfort, except each one knows that it belongs to himself, Peter adds, for you For consciences will calmly recumb here, that is, when the Lord cries to them from heaven, ‘Behold, your salvation is in my hand and is kept for you.’ But as salvation is not indiscriminately for all, he calls our attention to faith, that all who are endued with faith, might be distinguished from the rest, and that they might not doubt but that they are the true and legitimate heirs of God. For, as faith penetrates into the heavens, so also it appropriates to us the blessings which are in heaven” (Comm. on I Pet. 1:4).
“The sum of what is said, then, is, that the faithful know of a certainty, that they are accepted by God, because he has been reconciled to them through the sacrifice of the death of Christ. And sacrifice includes cleansing and satisfaction. Hence the power and efficiency of these belong to the blood of Christ alone” (Comm. on I John 1:7).
“Now are we the sons of God He [i.e., John] comes now to what every one knows and feels himself; for though the ungodly may not entice us to give up our hope, yet our present condition is very short of the glow of God’s children; for as to our body we are dust and a shadow, and death is always before our eyes; we are also subject to thousand miseries, and the soul is exposed to innumerable evils; so that we find always a hell within us. The more necessary it is that all our thoughts should be withdrawn from the present view of things, lest the miseries by which we are on every side surrounded and almost overwhelmed, should shake our faith in that felicity which as yet lies hid. For the Apostle’s meaning is this, that we act very foolishly when we estimate what God has bestowed on us according to the present state of things, but that we ought with undoubting faith to hold to that which does not yet appear … The word to know, shews the certainty of faith, in order to distinguish it from opinion. Neither simple nor universal knowledge is here intended, but that which every one ought to have for himself, so that he may feel assured that he will be sometime like Christ. Though, then, the manifestation of our glory is connected with the coming of Christ, yet our knowledge of this is well founded” (Comm. on I John 3:2).
“… as love is the special fruit of the Spirit, it is also a sure symbol of regeneration. Then the Apostle draws an argument from the sign, and not from the cause. For as no one sincerely loves his brethren, except he is regenerated by the Spirit of God, he hence rightly concludes that the Spirit of God, who is life, dwells in all who love the brethren. But it would be preposterous for any one to infer hence, that life is obtained by love, since love is in order of time posterior to it. The argument would be more plausible, were it said that love makes us more certain of life: then confidence as to salvation would recumb on works. But the answer to this is obvious; for though faith is confirmed by all the graces of God as aids, yet it ceases not to have its foundation in the mercy of God only. As for instance, when we enjoy the light, we are certain that the sun shines; if the sun shines on the place in which we are, we have a clearer view of it; but yet when the visible rays do not come to us, we are satisfied that the sun diffuses its brightness for our benefit. So when faith is founded on Christ, some things may happen to assist it, still it rests on Christ’s grace alone” (Comm. on I John 3:14).
“If we, in truth, love our neighbors, we have an evidence that we are born of God, who is truth, or that the truth of God dwells in us. But we must ever remember, that we have not from love the knowledge which the Apostle mentions, as though we were to seek from it the certainty of salvation. And doubtless we know not otherwise that we are the children of God, than as he seals his free adoption on our hearts by his own Spirit, and as we receive by faith the sure pledge of it offered in Christ. Then love is accessory or an inferior aid, a prop to our faith, not a foundation on which it rests. Why then does the Apostle say, We shall assure our hearts before God? He reminds us by these words, that faith does not exist without a good conscience; not that assurance arises from it or depends on it, but that then only we are really and not falsely assured of our union with God, when by the efficacy of his Holy Spirit he manifests himself in our love. For it is ever meet and proper to consider what the Apostle handles; for as he condemns feigned and false profession of faith, he says that a genuine assurance before God we cannot have, except his Spirit produces in us the fruit of love. Nevertheless, though a good conscience cannot be separated from faith, yet no one should hence conclude that we must look to our works in order that our assurance may be certain” (Comm. on I John 3:19).
“And we have known and believed It is the same as though he had said, ‘We have known by believing;’ for such knowledge is not attained but by faith. But we hence learn how different, is an uncertain or doubtful opinion from faith. Besides, though he meant here, as I have already said, to accommodate the last sentence to his readers, yet he defines faith in various ways. He had said before, that it is to confess that Jesus is the Son of God; but, he now says, We know by faith God’s love towards us. It hence appears, that the paternal love of God is found in Christ, and that nothing certain is known of Christ, except by those who know themselves to be the children of God by his grace. For the Father sets his own Son daily before us for this end, that he may adopt us in him” (Comm. on I John 4:16).
“As there ought to be a daily progress in faith, so he [i.e., John] says that he wrote to those who had already believed, so that they might believe more firmly and with greater certainty, and thus enjoy a fuller confidence as to eternal life. Then the use of doctrine is, not only to initiate the ignorant in the knowledge of Christ, but also to confirm those more and more who have been already taught. It therefore becomes us assiduously to attend to the duty of learning, that our faith may increase through the whole course of our life. For there are still in us many remnants of unbelief, and so weak is our faith that what we believe is not yet really believed except there be a fuller confirmation. But we ought to observe the way in which faith is confirmed, even by having the office and power of Christ explained to us. For the Apostle says that he wrote these things, that is, that eternal life is to be sought nowhere else but in Christ, in order that they who were believers already might believe, that is, make progress in believing. It is therefore the duty of a godly teacher, in order to confirm disciples in the faith, to extol as much as possible the grace of Christ, so that being satisfied with that, we may seek nothing else” (Comm. on I John 5:13).
“And this is the confidence He [i.e., John] commends the faith which he mentioned by its fruit, or he shews that in which our confidence especially is, that is, that the godly dare confidently to call on God; as also Paul speaks in Ephesians 3:12, that we have by faith access to God with confidence; and also in Romans 8:15, that the Spirit gives us a mouth to cry Abba, Father. And doubtless, were we driven away from an access to God, nothing could make us more miserable; but, on the other hand, provided this asylum be opened to us, we should be happy even in extreme evils; nay, this one thing renders our troubles blessed, because we surely know that God will be our deliverer, and relying on his paternal love towards us, we flee to him … It hence appears that the doctrine of faith is buried and nearly extinct under the Papacy, for all certainty is taken away. They indeed mutter many prayers, and prattle much about praying to God; but they pray with doubtful and fluctuating hearts, and bid us to pray; and yet they even condemn this confidence which the Apostle requires as necessary” (Comm. on I John 5:14).
“Let readers observe, that it is only true faith, that applies to us, so to speak, the grace of God; for the Apostle acknowledges none as faithful, but those who have the dignity of being God’s children. Nor does he indeed put probable conjecture, as the Sophists speak, for confidence; for he says that we know” (Comm. on I John 5:19).
“And we know that the Son of God is come As the children of God are assailed on every side, he [i.e., John], as we have said, encourages and exhorts them to persevere in resisting their enemies, and for this reason, because they fight under the banner of God, and certainly know that they are ruled by his Spirit; but he now reminds them where this knowledge is especially to be found. He then says that God has been so made known to us, that now there is no reason for doubting. The Apostle does not without reason dwell on this point; for except our faith is really founded on God, we shall never stand firm in the contest. For this purpose the Apostle shews that we have obtained through Christ a sure knowledge of the true God, so that we may not fluctuate in uncertainty … he justly ascribes to Christ this office of illuminating our minds as to the knowledge of God. For, as he is the only true image of the invisible God, as he is the only interpreter of the Father, as he is the only guide of life, yea, as he is the life and light of the world and the truth, as soon as we depart from him, we necessarily become vain in our own devices. And Christ is said to have given us an understanding, not only because he shews us in the gospel what sort of being is the true God, and also illuminates us by his Spirit; but because in Christ himself we have God manifested in the flesh, as Paul says, since in him dwells all the fullness of the Deity, and are hid all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom (Col. 2:9). Thus it is that the face of God in a manner appears to us in Christ; not that there was no knowledge, or a doubtful knowledge of God, before the coming of Christ,, but that now he manifests himself more fully and more clearly. And this is what Paul says in II Corinthians 4:6, that God, who formerly commanded light to shine out of darkness at the creation of the world, hath now shone in our hearts through the brightness of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Christ. And it must be observed, that this gift is peculiar to the elect … We are in him that is true By these words he reminds us how efficacious is that knowledge which he mentions, even because by it we are united to Christ; and become one with God; for it has a living root, fixed in the heart, by which it comes that God lives in us and we in him. As he says, without a copulative, that: we are in him that is true, in his Son, he seems to express the manner of our union with God, as though he had said, that we are in God through Christ” (Comm. on I John 5:20).
III. Calvin’s Other Writings
“What then is Belief? It is to receive whatsoever is spoken unto us from the mouth of God, with such reverence, as that we hold it to be certain and sure … is not enough for us to hear the word of God with that authority that it deserveth: but it must also be qualified: that is to say, it must be such a sure and certain word unto us as may make us approach near unto God, and make us partakers of his bounty and goodness: and not to doubt but that he will be our Father and Savior, and so thereupon may be bold to call upon him, and hold ourselves for his children, and fly unto him for succor and aid” (Sermons on Melchizedek and Abraham [Audubon, NJ: Old Paths, 2000], pp. 98-99).
“Lastly, there was another most pestilential error, which not only occupied the minds of men, but was regarded as one of the principal articles of faith, of which it was impious to doubt, viz., that believers ought to be perpetually in suspense and uncertainty as to their interest in the divine favor. By this suggestion of the devil, the power of faith was completely extinguished, the benefits of Christ’s purchase destroyed, and the salvation of men overthrown. For, as Paul declares, that faith only is Christian faith which inspires our hearts with confidence, and emboldens us to appear in the presence of God (Rom. 5:2). On no other view could his doctrine in another passage be maintained, viz., that ‘we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father’ (Rom. 8:15). But what is the effect of that hesitancy which our enemies require in their disciples, save to annihilate all confidence in the promises of God? Paul argues, that ‘If they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect’ (Rom. 4:14). Why so? Just because the law keeps a man in doubt, and does not permit him to entertain a sure and firm confidence. But they, on the other hand, dream of a faith, which, excluding and repelling man from that confidence which Paul requires, throws him back upon conjecture, to be tossed like a reed shaken by the wind” (The Necessity of Reforming the Church [Dallas, TX: Reformation Heritage Press, 1995], pp. 27-28).
IV. Others on Calvin’s Doctrine
François Wendel: “[Calvin states,] ‘… we not only believe that God and Christ exist, but we also believe in God and in Christ. That means not only holding all that is written or said on the subject of God and of Christ to be true, but putting all our hope and trust in one God and Christ alone, and being so confirmed in that faith that we have no doubt of God’s good will towards us, that we have the certitude that everything necessary to our soul and our body will be given us by him, that we confidently expect the fulfilment of all the promises of Scripture concerning him, that we unflinchingly believe that for us Jesus is the Christ—that is, the Saviour, that through him we receive forgiveness of sins and sanctification, and that in this way salvation is given to us, so that we are led at last into the kingdom of God which is to be revealed at the last day’ … Nor is this a matter of rationally understanding God’s attitude towards us, but of having a full and entire certitude about him. ‘The things that we understand by faith are absent and hidden from our view. Wherefore we conclude that the intelligence of faith consists more in certitude than in apprehension’ [Institutes 3.2.14]” (Calvin: The Origins and Development of His Religious Thought, trans. Philip Mairet [London: William Collins, Sons & Co., 1963], pp. 240, 241).
Edward A. Dowey, Jr.: “THE CERTAINTY OF FAITH’S KNOWLEDGE.—The illumination of the Spirit, like the testimonium internum Spiritus Sancti, is presented by Calvin in connection with the certainty of faith. ‘There are two operations of the Spirit in faith, just as faith consists of two principle parts: it both illuminates and establishes (confirmat) the mind’ [Comm. on Eph. 1:13; Comm. on Rom. 8:38]. Faith without certainty is no faith at all. ‘He is no believer, I say, who does not, relying on the security of his salvation, triumph over death and the Devil’ [Institutes 3.2.16]. The certainty comes from God: ‘This is the character of faith, that it rests solely in God, without depending on men’ [Comm. on I Cor. 2:5]. ‘The commencement of faith is knowledge (notitia); the completion of it is a firm and fixed persuasion (persuasio) which admits no opposing doubts. Both, as I have said, are the works of the Spirit’ [Comm. on Eph. 1:13]. Although this certainty has God’s veracity and the authority of the word behind it, its real nature is seen in man’s personal individual appropriation of God’s promise. It is not an abstract or syllogistic certainty, but personal, existential assurance. It is always applied to the one whose faith is in question. ‘The goodness of God cannot be placed beyond all doubt unless we really feel and experience its sweetness within ourselves’ [Institutes 3.2.15]. ‘The chief axis on which faith turns is this: we must not think that the promises of mercy which God offers are true apart from us and not all in us, but rather we should make them ours by inwardly embracing them’ [Institutes 3.2.16]. ‘In a word, none is truly a believer unless he is firmly persuaded that God is a propitious and benevolent father to him and promises him all things from his goodness, unless, relying upon the promise of divine benevolence toward himself he anticipates salvation with undoubting expectation’ [Institutes 3.2.16]. Paul, according to Romans 8:33, was certain of his salvation, ‘not by a special [that is, private] revelation (as some sophists feign), but by a perception (sensu) common to all the pious. Therefore, what is here said of the elect, every one of the godly may, according to the example of Paul, apply to himself … But when we know that there is designedly set before us what everyone of the pious ought to appropriate to himself, there is no doubt but that we are all encouraged to examine our calling, so that we may become assured that we are children of God’ [Comm. on Rom. 8:33]. The erga nos, of which we have spoken before, is now seen in its true perspective. ‘Toward us’ is not merely toward men, or even toward the elect in general, but ‘toward me’ as one among the elect. It is an unshakable conviction of one’s own personal salvation, procured in Christ. ‘Faith is nothing unless we are certainly persuaded that Christ is ours and that the Father is propitious to us in him’ [Comm. on Rom. 8:34]. The believer looks exclusively at the mercy of God in Christ and at his own personal election to salvation through Christ, and thus the problem of formal authority vanishes by coalescing as it should with the ‘material’ of salvation, Christ” (The Knowledge of God in Calvin’s Theology [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994], pp. 181-182).
T. H. L. Parker: “Knowledge is no less real because it is the knowledge of faith. Indeed, according to Calvin it is stronger than natural cognition, which is subject to the variations of opinion incidental to human reasoning. But the knowledge of faith is peculiarly firm because it rests upon the promises of God which are true because God is true. The knowledge of God in Jesus Christ is, then, precisely because it is a transcendental knowledge, removed above the fluctuations of mortal existence. ‘To express the solid constancy of the persuasion, we further say, that it is a steadfast and sure knowledge. For as faith is not content with a dubious and versatile opinion, so neither with an obscure and perplexed conception; but requires a full and fixed certainty, such as is proved’ [Institutes 3.2.15]. ‘In short, no man is truly a believer, unless he is firmly persuaded that God is a propitious and benevolent Father to him and promises himself everything from his goodness; unless he depends on the promises of the Divine benevolence to him, and feels an undoubted expectation of salvation’ [Institutes 3.2.16]. We have a real knowledge of God, in Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, God really makes Himself known to us as the one who forgives our sins and quickens us to life in fellowship with Himself. Of this we are assured by the promises of God which are in Jesus Christ. And only so. For apart from Him we do not know God; if we do not rely upon Him we have no assurance of knowledge” (Calvin’s Doctrine of the Knowledge of God [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1959], p. 113).
Robert Letham: “Calvin more than anyone else was responsible for the emergence of the doctrine of the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit and for stressing that it was this that was the root cause of all assurance that the Christian enjoyed, whether it be assurance concerning the divine nature and origin of Scripture or certainty in regard to his own adoption and sonship. Not that Calvin retreated into mysticism for at all times he preserved a close connection between the work of the Spirit and the objectivity of the Word. But it was he who brought the pneumatic nature of this assurance into focus” (“The Relationship between Saving Faith and Assurance of Salvation” [Th.M. thesis, Westminster Theological Seminary, 1976], pp. 20-21).
Christopher D. Bass: “It is widely recognized that Calvin, like Luther, understood assurance to be of the essence of saving faith. This can be seen throughout his many writings but perhaps most clearly in book 3, chapter 2, paragraph 7 of his Institutes of Christian Religion, where he sets forth his definition of saving faith: ‘Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.’ This definition makes clear that assurance is of the essence of saving faith because it is fundamentally grounded upon the unconditional promise of God as fulfilled in Christ [Institutes 3.2.32]. Precisely because one’s faith is founded on the promises of God and not on one’s own works [Institutes 3.2.29], it is the ‘sure and secure possession of those things which God has promised us’ [Institutes 3.2.41; Comm. on I John 3:2]” (That You May Know: Assurance of Salvation in I John [Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2008], pp. 12-13; italics Bass’).
David J. Engelsma: “Faith for Calvin is not a bare, objective, intellectual assent to the doctrine of the Christian faith set forth in the Bible. It is not the case that only when Calvin comes to the second element—trust or confidence—does faith take on the character of personal assurance of one’s own salvation. That personal assurance is already an integral part of knowledge. ‘What is the knowledge of faith?’ we ask Calvin. His answer is that, although faith certainly is a knowledge of the teachings of the word of God, it is not such a knowledge of the teachings of the word of God as leaves it an open question whether these truths apply personally to the one who believes. Rather it is a knowledge that comprehends the love of God in Christ for him personally: ‘knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us.’ Away then with that pernicious notion that has infiltrated Reformed churches, that assurance is not of the essence of faith, so that one can make a certain external confession of being a believer for thirty, forty, or fifty years but never have the assurance of his own salvation. Whatever this notion may be, it is not the teaching of Calvin. The second element of faith as an activity is ‘certainty,’ indeed, ‘full and fixed certainty’ that God’s love and salvation in Jesus Christ are personally for the one who believes [Institutes 3.2.15]. ‘He alone is truly a believer who, convinced by a firm conviction that God is a kindly and well-disposed Father toward him, promises himself all things on the basis of his generosity; who, relying upon the promises of divine benevolence toward him, lays hold on an undoubted expectation of salvation’ [Institutes 3.2.16] … Calvin does not excuse, secretly promote, glorify, or countenance doubt in the Christian experience … For Calvin, assurance, certainty, or confidence of salvation, including perseverance unto eternal life, is not merely of the well-being of faith. It is also of the very essence of faith. A bold confidence of salvation in the face of many sins and troubles of all kinds is what true faith is. So important is this for Calvin that he says even about the element of knowledge that ‘the knowledge of faith consists in assurance rather than in comprehension’ [Institutes 3.2.14]. Calvin does not deny that faith is knowledge and comprehension, to which biblical truth the Institutes itself is a testimony, but he says that even the knowledge of faith is assurance; and, if it comes down to it, faith is more assurance than comprehension. So essential is assurance to faith that ‘there is no right faith except when we dare with tranquil hearts to stand in God’s sight’ [Institutes 3.2.15]. The Puritan doctrine that assurance of one’s own salvation is not of the being of faith, but merely of faith’s well-being, is a radical departure from Calvin, as indeed from the gospel of the sixteenth-century Reformation. Denying that true faith is confidence or assurance, leading Puritans taught, and their disciples teach today, that many, if not most, believers live in doubt of God’s love for them and of their salvation for many years, and some for as long as they live. Doubt of one’s own salvation is normal for believers. Assurance is extraordinary … Calvin, however, and all the other reformers were not describing their own, unique faith but the faith that God gives to all his children. When Calvin defined faith as assurance, he was defining the faith revealed in Scripture, not an extraordinary faith revealed in the sixteenth century, and then only in a few preachers of the gospel” (The Reformed Faith of John Calvin [Jenison, MI: RFPA, 2009], pp. 195, 196-197, 198; italics Engelsma’s).
Sinclair B. Ferguson:
[1] “Cardinal Robert Bellarmine [1542-1621], perhaps the most formidable Roman Catholic theologian of the sixteenth century, gave striking expression to this when he claimed that assurance is the greatest of all Protestant heresies … Judging by the emphasis Calvin would after place (in various contexts) on certainty in the Christian life, it seems likely that coming to an assured knowledge of God and the forgiveness of sins in Christ was a major element in his conversion” (“Calvin the Man: A Heart Aflame,” in Joel R. Beeke and Garry J. Williams (eds.), Calvin, Theologian and Reformer [Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010], pp. 12-13).
[2] “It is therefore something of a paradox that in some strands of the Reformed tradition believers have been discouraged from enjoying any assurance of their sonship. What good father in this world would want to bring his children up without the assurance that they are his children? Would the Father of lights (James 1:17) do that? The model for all true fatherhood is rooted in the fatherhood of God. Calvin considers this truth to be a glorious liberation, in some senses his own parallel to Luther’s appreciation of justification. The God of all glory not only becomes our Father, but wishes to assure His children that this is so. That is why Calvin says in Institutes 3.2.7 that we possess a right definition of faith only when we think of it as ‘a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence towards us’” (“Calvin and Christian Experience: The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Christian,” in Joel R. Beeke and Garry J. Williams (eds.), Calvin, Theologian and Reformer [Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010], pp. 102-103).
Anthony N. S. Lane: “There are strands of the Reformed, Calvinist tradition for which assurance has become a problem. This is especially acute among some circles that claim assurance of salvation is almost seen as presumptuous. An illustration is used that a sheep has a mark of ownership on its ear that can be seen by all—except by the sheep itself. The message is clear. If you are a Christian, it should be plain to everyone—except yourself. In those circles, there is a tradition of people noted for their great sanctity refraining from actually claiming to be converted. Indeed reluctance to claim this is itself at times seen as evidence of sanctification. Allied to this is the myth that Calvin denied that we can know whether we are elect and that he himself died in despair. Both of these are totally untrue. There is no shortage of evidence about his last days, and he clearly died confident of salvation. Again, so far was he from teaching that it is impossible to have assurance of salvation that he actually held that assurance of salvation is itself part of saving faith. (In doing so, he was following in the steps of Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and other mainstream Reformers.) This followed from his definition of faith, already quoted: ‘a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit’ [Institutes 3.2.7]” (“Calvin’s Way of Doing Theology: Exploring the Institutes,” in Joel R. Beeke and Garry J. Williams (eds.), Calvin, Theologian and Reformer [Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010], pp. 50-51).
W. Robert Godfrey: “… for many Protestants, part of the essential joy of being a Christian was that you could know that you are right with God, that you could know you have peace with God. The Apostle Paul, of course, says that so clearly, but the Roman Catholic apologist, said, ‘Well, that was a special revelation to Paul, that wasn’t meant for everybody.’ But Paul doesn’t say, ‘I have peace with God,’ he says, ‘We have peace with God’ [Rom. 5:1], that’s the assurance. And in the early days of the Reformation, that was a great theme that was preached, powerfully preached, by Calvin, incorporated in the Heidelberg Catechism. But by the seventeenth-century, in Puritan circles, assurance was beginning to become something of a problem, there were more and more people who said, ‘Well, I want to believe, I think I believe, but I don’t know that I believe. Now, what should I think about that? How should I feel about that?’ And some of the Puritan pastors began to say, maybe it would be helpful to separate faith from assurance. And say to people, ‘Well, you know, it’s possible to have faith and not know it fully. It’s possible to have peace with God, but not realize that you have peace with God. So let’s separate faith from assurance, so we can more easily help people become assured.’ Well, you know, whenever you try to improve on John Calvin, it’s like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa, you don’t—you have added something, but you haven’t improved it” (A Survey of Church History).
Thomas R. Schreiner and Ardel B. Caneday: “That assurance is inevitably correlated with faith is supported by John Calvin. Calvin says, ‘Now we possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit’ [Institutes 3.2.7]. Faith cannot be separated from assurance, according to Calvin, for those who come to God must be certain that God loves them, and such a belief is the work of the Holy Spirit. The use of the word sealed also suggests that the sealing of the Spirit occurred at conversion, in Calvin’s thinking. The Spirit seals to our hearts that God has good in store for us. Calvin remarks elsewhere, ‘He alone is a believer who, convinced by a firm conviction that God is a kindly and well disposed Father toward him, promises himself all things on the basis of his generosity’ [Institutes 3.2.16]. Again, genuine belief involves ‘firm conviction,’ and one must be ‘convinced’ of God’s goodness and beneficence toward us. Genuine faith means that we believe that God promises happiness to us in him. In his commentary on 1 Corinthians [2:12] Calvin expresses a similar idea: ‘There we may know that this is the nature of faith, that conscience has, by the Holy Spirit, a sure witness of God’s good will toward itself, and relying on this, it confidently calls on God as Father.’ We should note that contrary to some Puritans the witness of the Spirit here is identified with saving faith. The Holy Spirit stamps on our heart the truth that God loves us so that we can invoke him as our kind Father. Saving faith, according to Calvin has ‘firm assurance’ of the good that is ours both in the present and the future” (The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance [Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2001], pp. 275-276).
“Like Luther, Calvin believes that faith is assurance. To believe in Christ is to be assured objectively not only of God’s mercy and grace in general, but also of his favor toward me (pro me) in particular. Through faith in Christ, I know that I am elect and already declared just before his tribunal on the last day. What Rome calls presumption, the Reformers call faith. Faith is defined in the Geneva Catechism as ‘a sure and steadfast knowledge of the fatherly goodwill of God toward us, as he declares in the gospel that for the sake of Christ he will be our Father and Savior’” (Calvin on the Christian Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God Forever [Crossway, 2014]).
