John Calvin as Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian by Randall C. Zachman

Author:Randall C. Zachman [Randall C. Zachman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL093000, REL015000
ISBN: 9781441241924
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

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MANIFESTATION AND PROCLAMATION IN CALVIN’S THEOLOGY

“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 RSV). These words of Paul became the rallying cry of the evangelical reformers of the sixteenth century and have shaped the understanding of the nature of faith in Protestant traditions to this day, including the Reformed tradition. The focus on the preaching of Christ received its decisive impetus in the sixteenth century from the theology of Martin Luther; it was revived in earnest in the twentieth century by the theology of Karl Barth. According to this vision of faith, the most important aspect of our knowledge of God is the words we use to speak about God. The words of the preacher must be based in and related to the words of Scripture about Christ. Faith is only possible if the language we use to proclaim Christ truly represents the language of Scripture about Christ. This leads to a vision of the church in which teaching and doctrine become primary. The office of the pastor is to teach doctrine drawn from the genuine meaning of Scripture. The congregation is to hear this preaching teachably, while at the same time they are to read Scripture for themselves in order to verify that what they are hearing truly reflects the teaching of Scripture. The goal of both the pastor and the congregation, by means of such preaching, hearing, and reading, is to apply the doctrine drawn from Scripture to their lives, both collectively and individually.

There can be no doubt that John Calvin contributed to this vision of the church as a preaching and teaching community. One of Calvin’s favorite metaphors for the church was “the school of Christ,” whose primary textbook was Scripture. He thought that the ruin of the church by the Roman hierarchy was rooted in the way they took Scripture away from preachers and ordinary Christians. In order to restore the church, Calvin wanted all Christians to read Scripture and hear it expounded. Pastors were to hear the expositions of Scripture by teachers of the church, to guide their interpretation of Scripture, and ordinary Christians were to hear the expositions of Scripture by their pastors, to guide their own reading of Scripture. The emphasis on teaching, hearing, and reading was reinforced by the liturgical changes made by Calvin and his fellow pastors and teachers. All images, paintings, statues, and stained glass were removed from church, so that nothing would distract the congregation from hearing the exposition and application of Scripture in the sermons. Even the sacraments could be seen as secondary in this construction of the church: Calvin could describe them as “secondary appendages” to the word of promise. In this understanding of faith, the true knowledge of God comes from hearing, reading, and applying the doctrine of Scripture. Such application frequently culminates in exhortation and even in rebuke, as Calvin tries to bring the recalcitrant congregation to obey the teaching and preaching of Christ.

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