“Calvin at 500”
2
Corinthians 12:2-10
July 12, 2009
In this passage we find the core message of 2 Corinthians as a diamond in the rough
through the words; “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in
weakness” (12:9). Not only does this verse go to the heart of the apostle and
his mission, but it is the word of the Lord given to him personally—a divine
revelation Paul shares with the Corinthians and us.
Please listen for how the Spirit is addressing us through God’s word found on pages
174 to 175 of your pew Bibles from Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth
chapter twelve verses two through ten….
2I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third
heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. 3And I know
that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God
knows— 4was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no
mortal is permitted to repeat. 5On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf
I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool,
for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better
of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, 7even considering the exceptional
character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was
given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too
elated. 8Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, 9but he
said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in
weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,
persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am
strong.
This is God’s word to us…
“It’s not about you.” Those are the opening words of Rick
Warren’s mega-best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life which goes on to say;
“If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with
God.”
It’s not about you. It’s all about God. Where did Rick Warren get
such an idea? It’s hard to say, exactly. But if you pick up this
particular thread of Christian thinking and tug on it, you’re going to find yourself
face to face with a 500-year-old man named John Calvin.
Famous for his floppy hat, plain dress and stern expression, Calvin seems to be the
antithesis of a laidback, California-cool pastor like Rick Warren. So why even
bother comparing the two pastors? Well, both men believe that knowledge of self
requires knowledge of God. And both believe that God was acting in love when God
created the world and everything in it. “There is not one blade of grass, there
is no color in this world,” said John Calvin, “that is not intended to make us
rejoice.”
Born in France on July 10th 1509, he turned 500 this past Friday so people around the
world are pausing to pay him some respect. But why; amid the struggling economy,
continued conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the numerous issues plaguing our own
families, why should we take time to think about a 500-year-old-dead-white-guy? We
should do so because some of Calvin’s ideas, which he came to through prayer and
study of the Bible, remain foundational for how we understand our relationship with God
and how we live our faith.
For starters, Calvin emphasized the sovereignty of God where he wrote “God is Lord
over all!” (Institutes, 1.14.3) That was good news in his day as it is
now. Calvin stressed that no human being—whether king or bishop—could
demand our ultimate loyalty, and this attracted people who were suffering under the
authority of oppressive churches and governments. This belief in God’s
sovereignty has shaped Christian thought through the centuries; it had a dramatic impact
before World War II, when a group of faithful Germans took a stand against Hitler in
writing “The Theological Declaration of Barmen;” which rejected attempts by the
Third Reich to “become the single and totalitarian order of human life.”
Today the Sovereignty of God encourages us to hold our government accountable on a whole
range of issues from “Bridges to No Where” to the cost of bailouts. The
sovereignty of God also calls us to see God’s hand at work in a variety of ways
throughout our everyday lives. Because God is Creator and Lover of all there is no
aspect of our life where God is not working wonders, if only we open ourselves to
God’s presence. And when we do we are often reminded: it’s not about us;
it’s all about God.
Calvin also emphasized the importance of grace and claimed that salvation is possible only
through the grace of God. He believed that nothing earthly can save us, and he
criticized the Roman Catholic Church of his day for being a religion of salvation by
works. Because God is Lord over all, Calvin reasoned, human beings, human works and
human institutions cannot manipulate or control God in any way. We cannot be saved
by anything but God’s grace, which is a completely free gift to people who trust in
Jesus Christ.
“My grace is sufficient for you,” said Jesus to the apostle Paul in today’s
reading, “for power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul goes on to say,
“So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
may dwell in me.” We are saved through no cause of our own but by grace alone.
When Calvin wrote his masterpiece of theology, The Institutes of Christian Religion he
looked closely at today’s New Testament reading and saw the unity of God and
Jesus. Paul appeals to the Lord, and Christ answers with the promise, “My grace
is sufficient.” “When Paul calls upon God in an absolute sense, he
immediately adds the name of Christ,” says Calvin (Institutes, 2.3.13). So the
grace of God is really the same as the grace of Jesus Christ.
According to Jesus, Paul and Calvin this life is founded on nothing other than grace
alone; a completely free gift from the God who is Lord over all. This was good news
for the people of the 16th century, especially those who felt oppressed by powerful kings
and religious leaders. It also appealed to people who couldn’t figure out how
to make it through life’s many struggles and complexities on the way to life with
God. And Calvin’s insights continue to offer us hope today.
Whenever we’re feeling overwhelmed, oppressed, unclean or unqualified, we can reach
up and grab hold of the free gift that is offered by our loving Lord. “My grace
is sufficient for you,” says the Lord Jesus to us, “for power is made perfect in
weakness.” What a comforting message to so many of us who feel so powerless,
that our weakness is used by the one who let go of power to become powerless like us so
that we all might be lifted up in the perfect love of God in Jesus Christ.
That God is the Loving Lord of all who freely extends saving grace to all who will accept
it is still good news 500 years after the birth of John Calvin. This centuries old
message which proclaims “It’s not about us; it’s all about God” is
what Calvin taught and what many of us try to share with family and friends in need of the
Gospel.
At this point some of you might be wondering; so what about predestination? After
all, sovereignty and grace are great, but isn’t John Calvin all about
predestination? Although Calvin developed the idea of predestination, what he
thought and taught on the subject are not the same as what people believe when they use
that word today.
A scene in the 2003 film Gods and Generals captures the spirit of John Calvin’s
teaching about predestination through the Calvinist piety of Confederate General Stonewall
Jackson. You see, Stonewall Jackson, besides being a famous Confederate General was
also a devout Presbyterian elder and an ardent Calvinist, noted for his strong,
unflappable faith. His nickname, “Stonewall,” came from a fellow officer
who, observing him in the confusion of battle, said, “There is Jackson, standing like
a stone wall.”
Responding to a fellow officer who asked him how he could remain so calm in the midst of
the fray, Jackson replied, “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle
as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death; I do not concern myself with
that. But to be always ready, whenever it may overtake me—that is the way all
men should live.” God fixing the time of our death, it may sound overly
romantic or quaint but not for Calvin. Eat poorly, smoke heavily, drink to excess
and you’ll die young; such choices reflect our free-will and have nothing to do with
Calvin or God.
In contrast, for Calvin predestination was more a doctrine of comfort than a doctrine of
eternal judgment. He knew that if you believe in a sovereign God, then your faith
doesn’t have to be ruled by doubt and fear. “You don’t fret,” a
professor from Hope College says. “You don’t worry yourself to death
because you know, you are certain, that you are in God’s hands.” Moreover
Calvin argued that predestination is based on the foreknowledge of God which has nothing
to do with our actions, decisions and choices being predetermined.
In short, we can’t blame our bad decisions on God. God didn’t make you do
it. What God does is offers us grace and invites us to receive the mercy that God
has taken the initiative to offer. In life and in death, we belong to God. We
don’t have to be ruled by doubt or fear, or constantly worry that we aren’t
doing enough good deeds to earn God’s love. Our sovereign God is in control
offering us the gift of grace. That’s a promise we can hold on to, whether we
believe in strict predestination or not.
In the end, Calvin believed it was all about God and God’s grace. Reflecting
this belief in life and in death he chose to be buried in an unmarked grave so people
wouldn’t be tempted to make pilgrimages to pay him homage. He wanted our focus
to be on the Lord who is God over all and on grace that is truly sufficient for us.
In all Calvin did and said and wrote he tried to point us to God whom we know fully
through Jesus Christ.
And though I’m quite sure that California-Cool Rick Warren would not be comfortable
being labeled a Calvinist, I’m certain he wouldn’t mind his words being used to
drive home a Calvinist inspired message of the Gospel.
It’s not about you. It’s not about us.
It’s not about him. It’s not about her.
It’s not about your boss. And it’s not about loss.
It’s not about work. It’s not about play.
It’s not about money. It’s not about the economy.
It’s not about your parents. It’s not about your kids.
It’s not about your wife. It’s not about your husband.
It’s not about your friends. It’s not about your enemies.
It’s all about God … God’s Sovereign Love, God’s Amazingly Accessible
Grace and God’s foreknowledge which allows us to live boldly without worry.
This is the good news of Jesus Christ which our forefather in faith, John Calvin, taught,
of which God hopes we will live.
Amen.
