Andrew Meredith’s Reviews > Institutes of the Christian Religion (text only) Revised edition by J. Calvin,H. Beveridge > Status Update
Andrew Meredith
is on page 80 of 1059
Chapter 13 (Sections 16-20)
With the divinity of both the Son and the Holy Spirit firmly established, what must be believed concerning the doctrine of the Trinity? Calvin lays out the orthodox understanding agreed upon by the catholic (universal) Church as it has faithfully sought to rightly worship the triune God as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word.
— Dec 03, 2025 06:04AM
With the divinity of both the Son and the Holy Spirit firmly established, what must be believed concerning the doctrine of the Trinity? Calvin lays out the orthodox understanding agreed upon by the catholic (universal) Church as it has faithfully sought to rightly worship the triune God as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word.
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Andrew’s Previous Updates
Andrew Meredith
is on page 101 of 1059
Chapter 14 (Sections 13-19)
DEMONS!!! Well, Calvin's doctinal section on demons, at least.
— Jan 07, 2026 02:51AM
DEMONS!!! Well, Calvin's doctinal section on demons, at least.
Andrew Meredith
is on page 97 of 1059
Chapter 14 (Sections 3-12)
Calvin elucidates all that can be ascertained from Scripture concerning angels, and in so doing, takes on some popular myths and ancient heterodox/speculative teachings that have plagued the Church over the centuries. He also briefly gives his answer to the problem of evil. (He will cover demons in depth next.)
— Dec 12, 2025 11:41AM
Calvin elucidates all that can be ascertained from Scripture concerning angels, and in so doing, takes on some popular myths and ancient heterodox/speculative teachings that have plagued the Church over the centuries. He also briefly gives his answer to the problem of evil. (He will cover demons in depth next.)
Andrew Meredith
is on page 91 of 1059
Chapter 14 (Sections 1-2)
This long chapter is a bit all over the place. Calvin starts with a treatment of the creation account, then proceeds to a long treatment of angels and demons before returning to creation as a whole to ask what should be gained by studying it. I'll just cover the first part for now.
— Dec 10, 2025 11:34AM
This long chapter is a bit all over the place. Calvin starts with a treatment of the creation account, then proceeds to a long treatment of angels and demons before returning to creation as a whole to ask what should be gained by studying it. I'll just cover the first part for now.
Andrew Meredith
is on page 88 of 1059
Chapter 13 (Sections 21-29)
In these final sections, Calvin turns his attention to the contemporary (circa. 16th Century) ways the doctrine of the Trinity had been perverted or denied, and ends by proving that the orthodox view he just articulated was the standard doctrine from the church's earliest days.
— Dec 09, 2025 12:07PM
In these final sections, Calvin turns his attention to the contemporary (circa. 16th Century) ways the doctrine of the Trinity had been perverted or denied, and ends by proving that the orthodox view he just articulated was the standard doctrine from the church's earliest days.
Andrew Meredith
is on page 77 of 1059
Chapter 13 (Sections 7-15)
"Before proceeding farther, it will never necessary to prove the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit." It being vain to argue for any of the above definitions of "person," "essence," or "Trinity" if the Scriptures weren't perfectly clear on this matter.
— Dec 02, 2025 11:10AM
"Before proceeding farther, it will never necessary to prove the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit." It being vain to argue for any of the above definitions of "person," "essence," or "Trinity" if the Scriptures weren't perfectly clear on this matter.
Andrew Meredith
is on page 70 of 1059
Chapter 13 (Sections 1-6)
This incredibly long chapter is Calvin's in-depth treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity. He begins with a warning to approach such an incomprehensible revelation with the utmost humility, before giving some necessary historical background information on the origin, use, and necessity of important theological terms (e.g., hypostasis, Trinity, homoousios, etc.).
— Nov 28, 2025 05:14AM
This incredibly long chapter is Calvin's in-depth treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity. He begins with a warning to approach such an incomprehensible revelation with the utmost humility, before giving some necessary historical background information on the origin, use, and necessity of important theological terms (e.g., hypostasis, Trinity, homoousios, etc.).
Andrew Meredith
is on page 63 of 1059
Chapter 12
God and God alone must ever and always be our exclusive object of worship, whether that be defined as douleia (service) or latria (adoration). Any superstitious devotion to or attribution of help from lesser heavenly beings, be they gods or saints, is an abomination to our Jealous God. He demands our whole heart.
— Nov 27, 2025 04:07AM
God and God alone must ever and always be our exclusive object of worship, whether that be defined as douleia (service) or latria (adoration). Any superstitious devotion to or attribution of help from lesser heavenly beings, be they gods or saints, is an abomination to our Jealous God. He demands our whole heart.
Andrew Meredith
is on page 60 of 1059
Chapter 11
Calvin takes aim at the blasphemous utilization of idols, icons, and images in worship, both outside and inside the Church.
This is the first of many chapters interspersed throughout that could be subtitled "Calvin vs. The Roman Catholics" (whom he calls papists).
— Nov 26, 2025 03:10AM
Calvin takes aim at the blasphemous utilization of idols, icons, and images in worship, both outside and inside the Church.
This is the first of many chapters interspersed throughout that could be subtitled "Calvin vs. The Roman Catholics" (whom he calls papists).
Andrew Meredith
is on page 48 of 1059
Chapter 10
Having necessarily cleared away some rubble in the discussion, Calvin now picks up where he left off earlier by asking and then answering: What can be known of God as Creator from all of Scripture?
— Nov 25, 2025 03:19AM
Having necessarily cleared away some rubble in the discussion, Calvin now picks up where he left off earlier by asking and then answering: What can be known of God as Creator from all of Scripture?
Andrew Meredith
is on page 45 of 1059
Chapter 9
But what about other forms of revelation? Does the Spirit of God still speak authoritatively to His people in prophecies, dreams, visions, and the like, or are we bound to Scripture and Scripture alone to find the voice of God? Calvin gives us his answer.
— Nov 24, 2025 03:14AM
But what about other forms of revelation? Does the Spirit of God still speak authoritatively to His people in prophecies, dreams, visions, and the like, or are we bound to Scripture and Scripture alone to find the voice of God? Calvin gives us his answer.
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My thoughts: I didn't mention it in the summary since the topic is addressed for all of one or two sentences during Section 18, but Calvin does not believe the famous analogies (water, clover leaf, family, etc.) to be of any use in understanding the Trinity. For a humorous and yet detailed reason as to why, look up "St. Patrick's Bad Analogies" by Lutheran Satire on YouTube.Coming from a low church background as I do, it is always a bit jarring to me how integrated the theology of the Sacraments is in the thinking of the Reformers and the later Reformed. One can hardly go a chapter without one or the other being tied in with what is being discussed.
For the record, having the efficacy of the Sacraments integrated into one's theology is a good thing. One of my hopes with this detailed Institutes reread is to better incorporate Baptism and the Lord's Supper into my own understanding of the Christian faith and thereby rewire the shallow decisionism that I impulsively eisegete into both the Bible and historic theological texts.So, for instance, when one of my children sin, I will remind them of how the Lord Himself set them apart unto Himself in the rite of baptism, washing them with the water of the regeneration, and uniting them to Himself and His Body. They are Christians, saints by covenant from conception, proved by their baptism, and so they should live in light of their allegiance to Christ, putting sin to death by the power of the Spirit poured out upon them.
On the other hand, (17) Scripture demonstrates a distinction between the Persons of the Godhead. Here the magnitude of the mystery must remind us to use soberness and humility as our guides. "I cannot think of the unity without being irradiated by the Trinity: I cannot distinguish between the Trinity without being carried up to the unity," as Gregory Nazianzan once admirably said. We dare never divide the Trinity, but we must carefully make distinctions following Scripture's lead. The Son is sent by the Father, but the Father is not sent. The Spirit proceeds from the Father, but the Father does not proceed. The Spirit is "another Comforter" than Christ Whom He proceeds from as well. They are not the same.
(18) "To the Father is attributed the beginning of action, the fountain and source of all things; to the Son, wisdom, counsel, and arrangement in action; while the energy and efficacy of action is assigned to the Spirit."
Moreover, (19) the Son may be proved to be one God with the Father inasmuch as He constitutes one Spirit with Him, and the Spirit is not different from the Father and the Son inasmuch as He is the Spirit of the Father and the Son. "When we speak of the Son simply, without reference to the Father, we truly and properly affirm that He is of Himself, and accordingly, call Him the only beginning; but when we denote the relation which He bears to the Father, we correctly make the Father the beginning of the Son."
To summarize, (20) the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three gods there is but one God. Each Person when considered in themselves is God truly in full possession of all of the divine attributes in and of Themselves, but when placed in relation to one another, the Son has His personhood from the Father, and the Spirit has His personhood from the Father and the Son. The unity of essence always being maintained, the respect is had to the order.