Theology of John Calvin

¶ … Wilhelm Niesel's book entitled the Theology of Calvin. This paper will explore the doctrines and opinions of the greater reformer and offer a modern view of the works.

Wilhem Niesel's book explores the many issues that Calvin's Theology brings to light. This book can be described as having a great range and sweep of covering the theology that has been rarely comprehensively presented in one work. This is an important book for Calvinists and religious scholars worldwide. It is essential work to the Reform church.

Niesel does not waste time in exploring the vital core elements of theology. He devotes Chapter Two to Theology and the Holy Scripture. Calvin presents the problem of Scripture as we try to understand it, what we see is what he reflects about himself. Still he also creates a basic purpose of Christian doctrine. He wants the Christian reader to discover the Word of God and believes his work can act as a guide to instruct them. He wants to try and make the whole body of doctrine easier to understand by giving it order. Calvin wants people to judge the Scripture on its contents alone, not just grown frustrated by its difficulty to decide what to seek within. In this respect, Niesel offers summaries of Calvin's views on the Word of God making it in the modern sense, more user-friendly.

Still Niesel takes his purpose seriously and one can see this in his attention to detail as he tackles each subject step-by-step. This is evident as once he establishes the framework of the Word of God, he then wants to push the envelope and inquire about the content. This allows the reader to remain within the framework and not stray due to complicated content. He returns to the Word of God as a means to remain focused in this seeking and questioning tone. The one idea that remains solid throughout the book is his continued respect for Calvin and Calvin's straight forward way of explaining the Scripture without introducing his own original thoughts and ideas. Calvin has utmost respect for the Scripture as he understands that not only does it belong to him but also to the people of the world. Niesel writes, "As a hearer of the Word he knows that he belongs to the multitude of those who have interpreted Scripture before him, and in connexion with the witness of the early church establishes the principle with 'Thus God proclaims Himself as the One'" (54). Calvin respects this authority but Niesel believes that by allowing this respect Calvin is also limiting his view on the Scripture. As ground breaking as Calvin's work is, this is where it can grow confusing to the modern reader because Calvin allows for the older doctrine to be the framework for his work. This creates conflict for the reader but also the reader understands that Calvin is just struggling with his own notion that he is just a vessel for which the words to travel and be written. In other words, Niesel is conveying the idea that Calvin is not creating this information from scratch but rather looking to God and His Word as a divine messenger. Calvin is merely the secretary and not the writer.

Calvin's respect for the earlier church and its framework for study only continues further throughout Niesel's work. When it comes to the definition of sin and man's dignity, Calvin clearly must be objective. Yet, the work portrays the view of sin and man as having "no longer a trace of the original goodness in which he was created" (Niesel 80). This further supports Calvin's view of the current doctrine of his time. It is suggested that man can only truly see himself when looking at himself in God's truthful mirror of Holy Scripture. This once again brings the reader back to the tight framework that Calvin wants the reader to remember. Calvin does not want to voice an opinion as to the state of man's fall from Eden. In other words, he does not want to impose a pessimistic view in an optimistic world of man. The real question posed by Chapter Five is what man is in the presence of God and whether or not man is able to stand before God. Calvin believes such questions can only be answered by God on an individual basis.

The ideas expressed in Chapter Five continue to resonate with Calvin's views of Christ within Us. Chapter Nine establishes again the role of Calvin as he is doing his work for Jesus Christ. Calvin's work suggests the importance of Jesus as a form in the flesh as it pertains to everyone's salvation. This is not meant to elevate us to the higher world but to save us from this one. It is here that Calvin deviates from his usual style and focuses deeply on understanding Christ and His work as part of the Holy Trinity. He created a special section to explore this. At this point, Niesel finds it important to remind the reader that there is no way we can understand all of Calvin's ideas or doctrines but that we can only "investigate the tendency of his teaching as a whole" (120). With this in respect, it is a good idea to forego this section as it may confuse the reader. At the same time Niesel asks his own questions of Christ and the reader must also take this with a grain of salt. On one hand, this questioning may also motivate the reader to explore deeper issues of Christ but to the same token may cause conflict, confusion and difficulty understanding the subject matter.