During the 1500s, we know and we talked about Martin Luther. We talked about the Reformation that was already taking place and how through Martin Luther it was accentuated as a movement. And there were different types of reformers. There were the radical reformers, there was the you know magisterial reformers and and so forth.
But during Martin Luther's time, there was also a contemporary who was a little younger than he was. And his name is John Calvin. He's known as a French theologian. He's also known, some people call him the teaching apostle, but he was a reformer from France. And so John Calvin was born July 10th, 1509 in Nantes, France.
And some people call him, he was French. So, you know, his name was really Jean Calvin or, you know, we know him as John Calvin. He was raised in a Roman Catholic family and the local bishop. employed Calvin's father as an administrator in the town's cathedral.
So they were very closely tied in to the church during that day. And so the father, in turn, wanted John to become a priest. But because of close ties with the bishop and his noble family, John's playmates and classmates in Noyon, and later in Paris, were aristocratic and culturally influential in his early life. So at the age of 14, Calvin went to Paris to study at the Collège des Marchés in preparation for the university to study.
And the studies consisted of seven subjects. Grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. And so toward the end of 1523, around that period, Calvin transferred to the more famous Collège Montague.
And while in Paris he changed his name from the Latin form Ionis Calvinus, which in French became Jean Calvin, during this time Calvin's education was paid for in part by the income from a couple of small parishes. So although the new theological teachings of individuals like Luther and Jean de Tauplis were spreading throughout Paris, Calvin was closely tied to the Roman Church still. But in 1527, Calvin developed friendships with individuals who were very reform-minded, who were very reformational in this sense.
And so these contacts set the stage for Calvin's eventual switch from the Roman Catholic Church to the Reformed faith. Also at this time, Calvin's father advised him to study law rather than theology. And again, they were tied in with the aristocrats, and they weren't just tied with the church, but really an influencer of the day. And so by 1528, Calvin moved to Orleans to study civil law, city, and France.
And the following years found Calvin studying in various places and under various scholars. And he received a humanist education, you know, and so he studied the Renaissance humanism as well. So he then returned to Paris and during these years he was also exposed to what I just shared, the Renaissance humanism, really influenced by Erasmus.
You know, again, Erasmus was the one who translated the Bible and, you know, where the King James Version stemmed from and came from. You know, and as he studied this, you know, he constituted the radical student movement of his time, you know, Erasmus did. And so this movement, which antedates the Reformation, aimed to reform church and society of the model of both classical and Christian antiquity, to be established by a return to the Bible studied in its original languages. So it left a mark on Calvin that would mark him really for the rest of his life.
And under its influence, he studied Greek, he studied Hebrew, as well as Latin. And so... Calvin himself became this astute scholar, well-spoken, well-represented in these subjects.
And the three languages of ancient Christian discourse, which was the three, prepared him for serious study of the scriptures. And so it intensified his interest in the classics. You know, and his first publication came forth in 1532. It was known as the commentary on Seneca's essay on clemency.
But the movement, above all, emphasized salvation of individuals by grace rather than good works and ceremonies. And again, he was influenced by Luther's work. that we're saved by grace, not by works. It's by faith.
Through grace, we're saved. And so his chief interest in these years was in classical letters and in the death of his father in 1531. You know, basically, it set him free to pursue the study of his own interests rather than just complying to his father's orders or his desires. But he does eventually complete his law degree.
And then he returns to France and in 1532 he publishes his first work, as we spoke a little while ago, a commentary on the Dei Clementia of Seneca. And Calvin deals here with political ethics, a subject which interested him really all of his life. And so the following year, Calvin fled Paris because of his contacts with individuals.
who though lectures and writings opposed the Roman Catholic Church. So Calvin's parish years came to an abrupt end late in 1532 because the government there became less tolerant of his reform movement that Calvin has bought into. You know, Calvin collaborated in a preparation of a strong statement of theological principles for a public address delivered by Nicholas Cobb.
He was a rector of the university. He found it prudent to leave Paris during that time. And so here it was during this period where it was known as really the conversion of John Calvin.
And so it's thought that in 1533, Calvin experienced a sudden and unexpected conversion. And this is what he said. He says how God subdued him and brought my heart to docility. And this was Calvin's own words. So apparently he had encountered the writings of Luther.
He broke from Catholicism. He left France. He settled in Basel, Switzerland as an exile. And then he writes about this in his foreword to his commentary on the book of Psalms.
And so for the next three years, Calvin lived in various places outside of France. He lived under various names. He studied on his own. He preached. And he began work on his first edition.
of what's known as the Institutes. And this became the best seller of his day. And this is really what he became known for.
And so the Institutes, it was published first in 1536. And eventually, there were additions made to that. But the Institutes of the Christian Religion, what it's called, is John Calvin's magnum opus. And so it's very important, extremely important for the Protestant Reformation of that time, and even to now. And the Institutes have remained important for Protestant theology for almost five centuries, you know, written to aid those who desire to be instructed in a doctrine of salvation.
And so the Institutes, which follows the ordering of the Apostles'Creed, which I believe we need to get back to, majority of our generation, perhaps we don't even know what the Apostles'Creed is, but it gives us a firm foundation from the early church. and the writings of the early church forefathers as a foundation for the church. And Calvin wrote, it has four parts.
The first part examines God the Father. The second part, the Son. The third part, Holy Spirit. And so again, you see the triunity of God, the triune God being displayed, which then there's a fourth part to this, which is the church.
It's you and I. And so through these four parts, it explores both the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves. You know, with profound theological insight, challenging and informing, you know, just all the while. And so if you look at this, we talked about how John Calvin, he studied the Renaissance humanism, how it impacted him profoundly.
You know, but he coupled the study of Renaissance humanism with the knowledge of God, with scripture. And so in today's movement of humanism, There's a complete separation, there's a delineation between humanism along with biblical thinking and the biblical ways. But back in the original Renaissance humanism, still God was at the center. Although humanism and the idea of ourselves, you know, again, Protagoras, he mentions how man is the measure of all things. You know, in this, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves were really converged together at that time.
And so God was still a core focus as the humanist ideologies were on the rise. And so during this time, you know, going back, you know, the recent convert of a longtime believer for the inquisitive beginner or the serious scholar at the time, this became very important. And so we come to the age of 27 for Calvin.
He already produced a major systematic theology with a clear articulation of Reformation teachings. And so a lot of the other reformers, they had teachings, they were preaching, they were influencing education and culture through that. But what delineates and what separates Calvin amongst the rest of the reformers was this.
He was the first one to produce and bring all the teachings into a very systematic order, which we call systematic theology today. And he was the one that's able to really compile these teachings and put order into it, where he's saying God is a God of order, not chaos. So he took all the teachings from these different ones that he believed was scripturally based for people to understand.
from that place. So this is what John Calvin did. He was a profound teacher. So during this time, Calvin had completely disengaged himself from the Roman Catholic Church and made plans to permanently leave France for good. And he goes to Strasbourg, you know, Germany.
But however, war had broken out between Francis I and Charles V. So Calvin decided to make one night detour to a city called Geneva. And it was in this place where he decides because of persecution and because of the war, he makes a detour where all of a sudden it alters the course of his life. And so, you know, look at your own life and your own journey. You know, how many detours have there been because of circumstances out of our control?
We didn't choose the path, but we were, you know, we were forced to go certain directions. And it was in this time where... God, all of a sudden, there's something that took place within the unknown, the detour of life.
You know, like the Apostle Paul, he was detoured. He was trying to go into Asia and all of a sudden the Holy Spirit stopped him and he detours all around. And in that place of this detour, you know, there's over a million people who came to know Jesus within the Apostle Paul's time. And so watch what happens.
You know, in Calvin's life, as he's detoured because of war, it was something that was out of his control, but God led him in this way. And you know what? And I want to tell you, within the detours of life, of your life, God has significant elements and there's significant experiences with God and awakenings during the times of unknown, where he's going to awaken your heart to some things for you to even create greater impact. on those around you, you know, in your journey in the pursuit of His presence. And so ask the Holy Spirit what detours was divine, you know, by Him and what He wanted to teach you and what He's showing you.
And perhaps you're in the season right now, like Calvin, where you're on a detour. But, you know, stay before the face of God and ask Him, where is He taking you and what's this detour about? Because there's life lessons that's divine that God is setting you up for the future.
And so find out from Holy Spirit what this is. And just take a moment right now to ask Him. What are some things that He wants to show you? What are some things that He wants to teach you?
You know, who is He to you in this moment? Because this whole aspect of Reformation is about God is the measure of all things. And we have to come back to who He is, what He thinks.
and what he's teaching us during this process.