17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,” (1 Timothy 1:17–19 (ESV)
The following is a sermon by 16th century Protestant reformer, pastor, and theologian John Calvin (1509-1564). He addresses the subject of the believer’s assurance of salvation.
But we see how the miserable world wanders and goes astray through its own foolish rashness, estranging itself from God and not keeping to the way. If this one word were well understood, first of all, the rash boldness would be completely beaten down in us. For every man would know that, however we proceed to know what God is, we enter into a bottomless pit that is incomprehensible. But we thrust ourselves into it unthinkingly. And by this many men are given to so many errors, to so many wicked and devilish fancies, because they do not realize that God is invisible.
For they would have thought this way, ‘We must seek him in his image. God can be known by no other means but by beholding him in our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is impossible for men to be brought to this reason, as we see they have always this frenzy that carries them away, that they want to understand more than is good for them. In the meantime, they wander up and down the field, while we know that there is only one way which can bring us to God, as it is said in the 14th chapter of John, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’
Therefore we must practice this doctrine so much the more, and exercise ourselves in it, that we may come to Jesus Christ, and being come to him, may suffer ourselves to be taught in his school, with all humbleness; and that in knowing him we may say also, that we knew God, so far forth as was profitable for us, and so far forth also as our nature could bear, until we be fully made new in his heavenly glory.
Herein we see, after what a strange sort good works, and how it pleases him to enlighten us with the knowledge of his Gospel. As for himself, he is invisible. It is true; but yet he finds the means to show himself, that we may see him. And how is it? It is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have we to consider, that faith is a miracle of God, whereby he makes himself to be seen by us, although he is hidden from us, and we can by no means come close to him.
Thus we see how there are two things contained in faith: the one is humbleness, the other is glory. Yea, for we must thoroughly humble ourselves. If we think that we are poor blind men, we shall know, that we can in no wise comprehend the majesty of God, nor come near unto it. Thus must faith beat down all pride and presumption in us; but on the other side, we may well brag and boast ourselves in the goodness of God, in that it has pleased him to exalt us above the measure of our senses, to the end that we should know him, although by nature it could not be done.
After St. Paul has given this title to God, to call him invisible, he adds, that only he is wise. Whereby he shows that when we speak of God and his righteousness, all reason and wisdom of man must be ashamed and amazed. Let not men therefore think at their pleasures to control that which he does, and to dispute against him; for without any word speaking of his, this wisdom that is in him must needs set a bar against us, being such that if we would go about to have but one drop of it in ourselves, we were mad men?
What is then the wisdom of men? Nothing but double folly. Why so? For they would rob God of that which belongs to him, they would spoil him; and in so doing they only cast away themselves. Thus, let us bear well away, (as I have said already) that St. Paul speaking of the wisdom of God, makes a comparison between him and the creatures, to the end, that when there is question of our salvation, we may know that we are nothing, that we can do nothing, that there is neither worthiness or value in us; yea, and that more is, that there is neither life nor strength in us. And seeing that all these things are in God, we must run to him, praying him that it would please him to instruct us in his will, knowing that all our wisdom stands in this, to be subject to him, beseeching him to draw us out of the bottomless pit of death, and to make us partakers of that life whereof he is the wellspring and fountain; requesting him to call us to his kingdom, from whence we were shut out and banished. And although we are nothing but a shadow that quickly passes away and vanishes, that he would give us a steadiness in himself.
Afterward St. Paul returns to that which he had begun to say to Timothy. He had exhorted him to do his office well, and to execute faithfully that so high and hard a charge as God had committed to him. But because Timothy had need to be authorized, to the end that his doctrine might be reverently received, (for he was a young man, and therefore might easily have been despised,) St. Paul has given him authority, as requisite it was, to the end that he might edify the Church.
Nevertheless, because there were many, either light headed fellows, or puffed up with pride, which slandered St. Paul, it was requisite also for him to show that he spoke not in his own name, that he brought nothing of his own, but that he was sent from God, that our Lord Jesus Christ had given him that preeminence, that he spoke, as it were, in his name and in his person. And this is the reason why St. Paul made mention of his faults which he had committed, and of his conversation, and magnified the goodness of God, for that he was not far from being utterly cast away, because he had been a little while an enemy of the faith. And this served for a further confirmation of his doctrine, as we see a miracle that God wrought in changing him so soon.
More to come. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.
Soli deo Gloria!
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