"John Calvin, the influential French theologian of the Protestant Reformation, left behind a legacy of profound insights and wisdom through his writings and teachings. His theological works, including his magnum opus 'Institutes of the Christian Religion,' continue to shape the thoughts and beliefs of Christians worldwide. Among Calvin's contributions are his poignant and thought-provoking quotes that delve into various aspects of faith, theology, and human nature. As we explore the Quotes By John Calvin, we embark on a journey of spiritual enrichment and intellectual stimulation, encountering timeless truths that continue to inspire and guide believers in their Christian walk."
Quotes By John Calvin (2024)
Delve into the profound insights and timeless wisdom of John Calvin with these unique quotes that encapsulate his theological depth and keen observations of the human condition:
"Knowledge of self is knowledge of God."
"The human heart is a factory of idols."
"Man's mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition."
"Without the knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God."
"Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves."
"Faith is a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ."
"Prayer is the chief exercise of faith."
"The Lord has willed that we should seek and find Him in His Word."
"The Scriptures are the spectacles through which we see God and His truth."
"Our faith must not be content with empty speculation, but must penetrate to our hearts, dwell there, and affect our daily living."
"The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life."
"The law is a mirror of our sin, but the gospel is the remedy for it."
"There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence."
"We should not be too ready to disregard the mirror of the law, without which we cannot profitably use the gospel."
"Preaching is the public exposition of Scripture by the man sent from God, in which God Himself is present in judgment and in grace."
"All the wisdom, all the understanding, all the prudence of which we are capable, ought to be exerted in meditating on the mysteries of God."
"Our prayers must not be inspired by the spirit of distrust, but by the spirit of hope and confidence."
"True humility consists in knowing and acknowledging ourselves as we truly are."
"We are not our own; therefore, neither our reason nor our will should rule our plans and actions."
"All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it, for it has come from God."
"The heart is a permanent factory of idols."
"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."
"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
"No one can travel so far that he does not make some progress each day. So let us never give up. Then we shall move forward daily in the Lord's way. And let us never despair because of our limited success. Even though it is so much less than we would like, our labour is not wasted when today is better than yesterday!"
"Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them."
"The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul."
"All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors."
"A man's heart is so under the influence of its depravity that it can never be sufficiently purified to render him fit for the service of God until it be entirely renewed."
"It is an absurd contradiction to speak of the freedom of the will, for a man's will is free only insofar as it is subject to the laws of God."
"All the arts come from God and are to be respected as divine inventions."
"Our present life is a race; let us run diligently, that we may obtain the prize set before us."
"Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols."
"Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols."
"Christ is the most perfect image of God, into which we are so renewed as to bear the image of God."
"We shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own."
"There is no work, however vile or sordid, that does not look toward the glory of God, if done in obedience to his word."
"True repentance means turning from every sin to God, with full purpose of heart to strive earnestly to forsake every known sin, and to seek from him grace to live in obedience to his law."
"Our only safety lies in total dependence on Jesus Christ, our Redeemer."
"We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown."
"Our hope must be founded on Christ alone, because in him alone it becomes solid and secure."
"The person who knows that he depends upon God alone will cultivate every grace and seek every spiritual gift from him alone."
"Without the knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God."
"Man's mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition; so much so that if a man believes his own mind it is certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain."
"We are not to reflect on the wickedness of men but to look to the image of God in them, an image which, covering and obliterating their faults, should by its beauty and dignity allure us to love and embrace them."
"Ignorance of God is the greatest blindness and the heaviest curse."
"To know God as the master and bestower of all good things, who invites us to request them of him, and still not go to him and ask of him — this would be of as little profit as for a man to neglect a treasure, buried and hidden in the earth, after it had been pointed out to him."
"Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he has determined in himself what he would have to become of every individual of mankind."
"For there is no one so great or mighty that he can avoid the misery that will rise up against him when he resists and strives against God."
"True wisdom consists in two things: Knowledge of God and Knowledge of self."
"Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness."
"Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own."
"It is the Lord’s prerogative to penetrate into the abyss of our hearts, and to examine the most secret recesses of our reins, and to obtain an accurate knowledge of the inmost faculties of our minds."
"For if the Providence of God, as they commonly say, has a watchful eye for the human race, and if his will is the arbiter of all our affairs, our plans and undertakings cannot be prosperous unless he shows us favor."
"It behooves us to accomplish what God requires of us, even when we are in the greatest despair respecting the results."
"Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols."
"But as the devil's imps, by a wicked desire to defraud the grace of God, always [pervert] his works into occasions of sin, we ought to repudiate their falsehoods."
"The highest knowledge we can have of God is to know that we do not know Him."
"We must remember that Satan has his miracles, too."
"The punishment of sin is the wrath of God, which is also called death."
"The only assurance of our safety is in resting in the providence of God."
"The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols."
"For it is not lawful for us to take away life, because God only is the Lord of life."
"We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds."
"God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us — as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray."
"If we truly love and reverence him, let us lay down our lives to show it."
"Our only wisdom is to embrace with humble teachableness, and at once to submit to the word of God."
"True humility consists wholly in God's presence."
"To make the word of God rule in us, it must regulate the whole of our life and conduct."
"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God’s truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
"Every one of us is, even from his mother’s womb, a master craftsman of idols."
"Men are undoubtedly more in danger from prosperity than from adversity. For when matters go smoothly, they flatter themselves, and are intoxicated by their success."
"The church is the theater of God’s grace."
"In forming an estimate of sins, we are often imposed upon by imagining that the more hidden the less heinous they are."
"The principal exercise of our freedom is the choice of a master."
"Let us not cease to do the utmost, that we may incessantly go forward in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair of the smallness of our accomplishments."
"For those who sleep, sleep in the night, and those who get drunk, are drunk in the night."
"Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake."
"Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God."
"Our minds have a cradle as well as a coffin."
"The Scriptures are the spectacles through which we behold the Creator."
"There is not one of us who, if he seriously inquires into himself, will not find some of those desires lurking at least in some corner of his heart."
"The Church is the mother of all believers."
"A good husband should not be a tyrant, but a good father must."
"Our union with Christ is twofold, namely, the secret union of the elect before the foundation of the world, and the manifest union of believers in time."
"The reformation was a time when men went blind, staggering drunk because they had discovered, in the dusty basement of late medievalism, a whole cellar full of fifteen-hundred-year-old, two-hundred proof grace—bottle after bottle of pure distillate of Scripture, one sip of which would convince anyone that God saves us single-handedly."
"The Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer."
"The Holy Spirit, by his power, forms Christ in our hearts."
"The more we know God, the more unreservedly we will trust him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more child-like will be our faith."
"All human inventions seem monstrous to me."
"He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit."
"We should be satisfied with the good things God gives us and not always be seeking something new."
"No man is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvation is set open unto all men: neither is there any other thing which keepeth us back from entering in, save only our own unbelief."
"The Bible is the anvil that has worn out many hammers."
"To know God as the Master and Bestower of all good things, who invites us to request them of Him, and still not go to Him and ask of Him -- this would be of as little profit as for a man to neglect a treasure, buried and hidden in the earth, after it had been pointed out to him."
"We must always remember that Satan has his miracles."
"The secret providence of God rules over all."
"The sum of the whole gospel is: Repentance and amendment of life, and the remission of sins."
"A true church is not made up of a mixed multitude, as if God were like Pluto, with one half good and the other bad."
"To know God as the master and bestower of all good things, who invites us to request them of Him, and still not go to Him and ask of Him – this would be of as little profit as for a man to neglect a treasure, buried and hidden in the earth, after it had been pointed out to him."
"We should not dread troubles in so far as they are real evils, but should rather glory in them as occasions for triumph."
"Our hope of immortality does not come from any philosophical belief, but from the declaration of God's Holy Word."
"The Lord, by his Spirit, stretches forth his hand to us, though we regard it not."
"God not only provides for our necessities, but also for our happiness."
"The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart."
"It is necessary to call upon God, that by his Spirit we may know what is expedient for us."
"There is no other entrance into the kingdom of God than that which consists in being received by grace."
"The doctrine of justification itself requires man to be excluded from all merit, because it acknowledges that he is destitute of good works, and brought empty to God, to be justified by faith alone."
"If we do not at times feel bitterness in our mouth, we shall never know how sweet the grace of God is."
"Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he has determined in himself, what he would have to become of every individual of mankind."
"For, until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by his fatherly care, that he is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond him – they will never yield him willing service."
"Faith is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit."
"Our being is from God, and it is therefore reasonable that it be devoted to him."
"We must make the invisible kingdom of God visible in so far as it is possible, and so bring it home to men’s minds."
"Let this be our chief exercise, to bear with patience the burden of our cross, until the time of the divine redemption shall arrive."
"Seeing it is the will of God that we must have wars, we ought to regard it as our chief study to preserve peace."
"It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment."
"He only has rest to his soul who has found Christ."
"We can only attain to a true conception of things when we know ourselves to be sinners, and Christ to be the only Saviour of sinners."
"Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults."
"Christ is the most excellent, and sole, possession of his people."
"God always chooses his own people, and it is the mark of their being his that they are drawn to him."
"There is no worse prison than a heart that is in bondage; there is no worse servitude than that which is willing."
"We should not be discouraged on account of our imperfections, for God is willing to perfect us."
"We have no other gospel than Christ, who takes away the sins of the world, who blots out the handwriting of our iniquities, who abolishes death, and by whose resurrection and eternal life is restored to us."
"The grace of God is the beginning, the middle, and the end in everything."
"The sum is this: that God, who can by no means bear iniquity, hath nevertheless devised a way by which he can pardon it."
"Faith does not come from ourselves, but is the gift of God, so that none may boast that he has anything."
"The knowledge of God, the head and the source of religion, does not reside in the intellect or the understanding only, but in the heart."
"God does not look to the worthiness of those whom he chooses, but considers his own mercy."
"We shall find that the sum of our happiness is this, to cleave to God with all our heart, and to live in the enjoyment of his favor."
"The light of nature is a participation of the eternal light."
"It is God alone who has the power of making all things new."
"There is no tribunal so magnificent, no throne so stately, no show of triumph so distinguished, no chariot so elevated, as is the gibbet on which Christ hath subdued death and the devil."
"The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual exercise in repentance and mortification."
"There is no other remedy than to learn to despise ourselves."
"We must not seek any glory except in God alone."
"Let us not be too confident in our own wisdom, but rather be sober with a soberness that is directed to the fear of God."
"We must not put the strength of our trust in anything other than God alone."
"True piety consists in a sincere feeling which loves God as Father as much as it fears and reverences him as Lord."
"We must bear with one another’s weaknesses, and learn to temper one another’s faults."
In reflecting on the profound insights of John Calvin, it becomes evident that his words resonate with timeless wisdom and enduring relevance. Through his writings, Calvin not only illuminated theological concepts but also offered practical guidance for navigating the complexities of life. His emphasis on faith, humility, and the sovereignty of God serves as a guiding light for those seeking to deepen their spiritual understanding and live with integrity. As we ponder his quotes and delve into his teachings, we are reminded of the importance of continuous growth, introspection, and reliance on divine grace.
