John Calvin Quotes

All things being at God's disposal, and the decision of salvation or death belonging to him, he orders all things by his counsel and decree in such a manner, that some men are born devoted from the womb to certain death, that his name may be glorified in their destruction. ~ John Calvin

We are not to reflect on the wickedness of men but to look to the image of God in them, an image which, covering and obliterating their faults, an image which, by its beauty and dignity, should allure us to love and embrace them. ~ John Calvin

All have been blind to the light, deaf to admonitions, and hardened against the commandments. ~ John Calvin

True and sound wisdom consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. ~ John Calvin

They who prematurely put themselves forward to root out whatever is displeasing to them overthrow the judgment of God and rashly intrude upon the office of angels. ~ John Calvin

Things that are seen are temporal; things that are unseen are eternal. ~ John Calvin

If everything proceeded according to their wishes, they would not understand what it means to follow God. ~ John Calvin

The vices of which we are full we carefully hide from others, and we flatter ourselves with the notion that they are small and trivial; we sometimes even embrace them as virtues. ~ John Calvin

ELet this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated;16 hence, it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning. ~ John Calvin

Prayer unaccompanied by perseverance leads to no result. ~ John Calvin

God orders what we cannot do, that we may know what we ought to ask of him. ~ John Calvin

I exhort all, who reverence the Word of the Lord, to read it, and diligently imprint it on their memory. ~ John Calvin

Such rich features of Calvin's ecclesiology highlight how his work of reform was in large respect a reform of ecclesiastical culture. One can only imagine how differently the citizen of Geneva must have experienced the church before and after its reformation. Under Calvin's vision, as implemented in Geneva, Christianity now entailed a very different kind of worship, a very different place of word and sacraments, a very different idea of ecclesiastical discipline, and a very different conception of ecclesiastical government. This was a reformed Christianity, and a reformed Christianity meant a reformed church. ~ David VanDrunen

Secondly, [man] should weigh his abilities-or rather lack of abilities. ~ John Calvin

Faith consists not in ignorance, but in knowledge - knowledge not of God merely ... but when we recognize God as a propitious Father through the reconciliation made by Christ, and Christ as given to us for righteousness, sanctification, and life. ~ John Calvin

Therefore, in reading profane authors, the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears. In
despising the gifts, we insult the Giver. ~ John Calvin

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. ~ John Calvin

Whoever shall now contend that it is unjust to put heretics and blasphemers to death will knowingly and willingly incur their very guilt. ~ John Calvin

Mingled vanity and pride appear in this, that when miserable men do seek after God, instead of ascending higher than themselves as they ought to do, they measure him by their own carnal stupidity, and neglecting solid inquiry, fly off to indulge their curiosity in vain speculation. ~ John Calvin

Faith and hope ... are the wings by which our souls, rising above the world, are lifted up to God. ~ John Calvin

But if God has set his seat in the sanctuary of the heavens in order to rule the universe, it follows that he by no means ignores earthly affairs, but controls them with the highest reason and wisdom. ~ John Calvin

Let us not cease to do the utmost, that we may incessantly go forward in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair of the smallness of our accomplishments. ~ John Calvin

Suppose a man falls among thieves, or wild beasts; is shipwrecked at sea by a sudden gale; is killed by a falling house or tree. Suppose another man wandering through the desert finds help in his straits; having been tossed by the waves, reaches harbor; miraculously escapes death by a finger's breadth. Carnal reason ascribes all such happenings, whether prosperous or adverse, to fortune. But anyone who has been taught by Christ's lips that all the hairs of his head are numbered [Matt. 10:30] will look farther afield for a cause, and will consider that all events are governed by God's secret plan. ~ John Calvin

He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God is poor in spirit ~ John Calvin

The human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood works, is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy, that it often dupes itself. ~ John Calvin

It is now clear that faith is a singular pledge of paternal love, treasured up for the sons whom he has adopted. ~ John Calvin

Faith is like an empty, open hand stretched out towards God, with nothing to offer and everything to recieve ~ John Calvin

We must remember that Satan has his miracles, too. ~ John Calvin

So today those who scorn to go to school to Christ and to train themselves in listening to the Word, really mock God himself and judge both the law and the prophets - and even the gospel itself - as without value. ~ John Calvin

Scripture is like a pair of spectacles which dispels the darkness and gives us a clear view of God. ~ John Calvin

But a most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the church. As if the eternal and inviolable truth of God depended upon the decision of men! ~ John Calvin

Where is our acknowledgement of God if our thoughts are fixed on the glamour of our garments? ~ John Calvin

Unless we fix certain hours in the day for prayer, it easily slips from our memory. ~ John Calvin

It is only the goodness of God sensibly experienced by us which opens our mouth to celebrate His praise. ~ John Calvin

God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation. ~ John Calvin

He gave the tree of life its name, not because it could confer on man that life with which he had been previously endued, but in order that it might be a symbol and memorial of the ~ John Calvin

For, to my mind, this is a certain principle, that nothing is here treated of but the visible form of the world. He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere.
(on commenting the text of Genesis 1:6) ~ John Calvin

The word "hope" I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith. ~ John Calvin

Therefore, as Paul testifies, election, which is the cause of good works, does not depend upon men. ~ John Calvin

There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. ~ John Calvin

Since Satan is always breathing down our necks, and is ready and scheming to plunge us into a thousand perils, we ought to be no less watchful and on our guard. ~ John Calvin

It is the peculiar privilege of the Church, to know what the Divine judgments mean, and what is their tendency. ~ John Calvin

Therefore, God's foreknowledge cannot be the reason of our election, because when God [looks into the future and] surveys all mankind, he will find them all, from the first to the last, under the same curse. ~ John Calvin

But the present life should never be hated, except insofar as it subjects us to sin, although even that hatred should not properly be applied to life itself. ~ John Calvin

Yet before I answer, I should like my readers again to be warned that this cavil is not hurled against me but against the Holy Spirit, who surely put this confession in the mouth of the holy man Job, "As it pleased God, so was it done" [Job 1:21, cf. Vg.]. When he had been robbed by thieves, in their unjust acts and evil-doing toward him he recognized God's just scourge. What does Scripture say elsewhere? Eli's sons did not obey their father because God willed to slay them [I Sam. 2:25]. Another ~ John Calvin

In particular, we must observe this general rule, that we cordially desire and labor for the welfare of the whole human race. Thus it will come to pass, that we shall not only give way to the exercise of God's mercy, but shall also wish the conversion of those who seem obstinately to rush upon their own destruction. In ~ John Calvin

Justification by faith is the hinge on which all true religion turns. ~ John Calvin

If we are proud of our talents we betray our lack of gratitude to God. ~ John Calvin

What then is the Word of God which gives us life; what but the law, the prophets, and the gospel? Anyone ~ John Calvin

Surely in Judas' betrayal it will be no more right, because God both willed that his Son be delivered up, and delivered him up to death, to ascribe the guilt of the crime to God than to transfer the credit for redemption to Judas. ~ John Calvin

We are nowhere forbidden to laugh, or be satisfied with food ... or to be delighted with music or to drink wine. ~ John Calvin

The fire of affliction reveals the quality of our faith ~ John Calvin

We should never insult others on account of their faults, for it is our duty to show charity and respect to everyone. ~ John Calvin

And we must so discuss them as to bear in mind that this is the main hinge on which religion turns,3 so that we devote the greater attention and care to it. For unless you first of all grasp what your relationship to God is, and the nature of his judgment concerning you, you have neither a foundation on which to establish your salvation nor one on which to build piety toward God. But the need to know this will better appear from the knowledge itself. ~ John Calvin

Now among the other things proper to recreate man and give him pleasure, music is either the first or one of the principal;and we must think that it is a gift of God deputed for that purpose'. ~ John Calvin

The unborn baby, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and should not be robbed of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. ~ John Calvin

We must not think that [God] takes no notice of us, when He does not answer our wishes: for He has a right to distinguish what we actually need. ~ John Calvin

The surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves. ~ John Calvin

Indeed, men who have either quaffed or even tasted the liberal arts penetrate with their aid far more deeply
into the secrets of the divine wisdom." - John Calvin ~ John Calvin

For what is idolatry if not this: to worship the gifts in place of the Giver himself? ~ John Calvin

All whom the Lord has chosen and received into the society of his saints ought to prepare themselves for a life that is hard, difficult, laborious and full of countless griefs. ~ John Calvin

Whoever the Lord has adopted ought to prepare themselves for hard, toilsome and unquiet living. ~ John Calvin

When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers. ~ John Calvin

God works in his elect in two ways: inwardly, by his Spirit; outwardly, by his Word. ~ John Calvin

the apostle teaches us that nothing from us will please God, unless we are purged by the blood of Christ. Since ~ John Calvin

Here, if any where, in considering the hidden mysteries of Scripture, we should speculate soberly and with great moderation, cautiously guarding against allowing either our mind or our tongue to go a step beyond the confines of God's word. ~ John Calvin

Tears that are shed in time of affliction are rarely tears of penitence, but more likely they are shed out of self pity and pain or sorrow. ~ John Calvin

Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols. ~ John Calvin

Therefore, we are today far from wrong in applying this prophecy to the papists, who urge celibacy and abstinence from foods more forcefully than any precept of God. They ~ John Calvin

Just as the light of the sun, while it invigorates a living and animated body, produces effluvia in a carcass; so it is certain that the sacraments where the Spirit of faith is not present, breathes mortiferous rather than vital odour. ~ John Calvin

We may rest assured that God would never have suffered any infants to be slain except those who were already damned and predestined for eternal death. ~ John Calvin

To search for wisdom apart from Christ means not simply foolhardiness but utter insanity. ~ John Calvin

The invention of the arts, and other things which serve the common use and convenience of life, is a gift of God by no means to be despised, and a faculty worthy of commendation. ~ John Calvin

I've come to believe that genius is an exceedingly common human quality, probably natural to most of us. I didn't want to accept that notion - far from it: my own training in two elite universities taught me that intelligence and talent distributed themselves economically over a bell curve and that human destiny, because of those mathematical, seemingly irrefutable scientific facts, was as rigorously determined as John Calvin contended. ~ John Taylor Gatto

There is no knowing that does not begin with knowing God. ~ John Calvin

We must make the invisible kingdom visible in our midst. ~ John Calvin

Thus Paul denies that the causes of our election can be sought anywhere except in the hidden good pleasure of God. This ~ John Calvin

To crave wealth and honor, to demand power, to pile up riches, to gather all those vanities which seem to make for pomp and empty display, that is our furious passion and our unbounded desire.On the other hand, we fear and abhor poverty, obscurity, and humility, and we seek to avoid them by all possible means. ~ John Calvin

We are promised abundance of all good things
yet we are rich only in hunger and thirst. What would become of us if we did not take our stand on hope, and if our heart did not hasten beyond this world! ~ John Calvin

Peace and friendship are an amiable thing among men. They be so indeed, and we ought to seek them to the uttermost of our power. But yet for all that, we must set such store by God's truth, that if all the world should be set on fire for the maintenance thereof, we should not stick at it. ~ John Calvin

Assuredly there is but one way in which to achieve what is not merely difficult but utterly against human nature: to love those who hate us, to repay their evil deeds with benefits, to return blessings for reproaches. It is that we remember not to consider men's evil intention but to look upon the image of God in them, which cancels and effaces their transgressions, and with its beauty and dignity allures us to love and embrace them. ~ John Calvin

The true knowledge of God is not only to know him as the maker of the world, but also to be persuaded that the world is directed by him, and further to know the nature of that direction. He ~ John Calvin

We see it was the Lord's purpose to deliver nothing in his sacred oracles which we might not learn for edification. Therefore, instead of dwelling on superfluous matters, let it be sufficient for us briefly to hold, with regard to the nature of devils, that at their first creation they were the angels of God, but by revolting they both ruined themselves, and became the instruments of perdition to others. ~ John Calvin

The very word baptize, however, signifies to immerse; and it is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church. ~ John Calvin

Man's disposition voluntarily so inclines to falsehood that he more quickly derives error from one word than truth from a wordy discourse. In ~ John Calvin

I am rather inclined, however, to agree with ancient writers, that in those passages[1]wherein it is stated that the angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, Christ was that angel. ~ John Calvin

There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy. ~ John Calvin

The Institutes is not only the classic of Christian theology; it is also a model of Christian devotion. ~ John Calvin

For, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that nought is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; nay, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity. ~ John Calvin

No one will calmly and quietly submit to bear the cross except those who have learned to seek their happiness beyond this world. ~ John Calvin

The Holy Spirit is the bond by which Christ efficaciously unites us to himself. ~ John Calvin

The one condition for spiritual progress is that we remain sincere and humble. ~ John Calvin

There is no inconsistency when God raises up those who have fallen prostrate. ~ John Calvin

Angels are the dispensers and administrators of the divine beneficence toward us. ~ John Calvin

Faith rests not on ignorance, but on knowledge. ~ John Calvin

We shall never arrive at true meekness by any other way than by humiliating ourselves and by honoring others from the depth of our hearts. ~ John Calvin

The more we are oppressed by the cross, the fuller will be our spiritual joy. ~ John Calvin

8. I have told you that it is I. Here we see how the Son of God not only submits to death of his own accord, that by his obedience he may blot out our transgressions, but also how he discharges the office of a good Shepherd in protecting his flock. ~ John Calvin

For so blindly do we all rush in the direction of self-love, that every one thinks he has a good reason for exalting himself and despising all others in comparison. ~ John Calvin

For if by natural instinct or wisdom we could bring ourselves back to the road and escape from error, we would have no need for Christ. But ~ John Calvin