In his classic systematic theological work The Institutes of the Christian Religion,
the foundational Reformer John Calvin articulates the doctrine of the providential
preservation of Scripture (see Book One, Chapter VIII).
As part of his historical survey of how God has preserved his
Word through the ages, Calvin discusses the time when the Greek tyrant
Antiochus IV Epiphanes “ordered all the books to be burned” (as recorded in the
apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees). Calvin
observes:
….let us rather ponder here how much
care the Lord has taken to preserve his Word, when, contrary to everybody’s
expectation, he snatched it away from a most cruel and savage tyrant, as from a
raging fire. Let us consider how he
armed godly priests and others with so great constancy that they did not
hesitate to transmit to their posterity this treasure redeemed, if necessary at
the expense of their own lives; and how he frustrated the whole fierce book hunt
of rulers and their minions. Who does
not recognize as a remarkable and wonderful work of God the fact that those
sacred monuments, which the wicked have persuaded themselves had utterly
perished, soon returned and took their former place once more, and even with
enhanced dignity?
He later adds:
By countless wondrous means Satan with
the whole world has tried either to oppress it or overturn it, to obscure and
obliterate it utterly from the memory of men—yet, like the palm, it has risen
ever higher and has remained unassailable.
Calvin held not only that God had inspired his Word but that
he also had preserved his Word in all ages.
This understanding of the providential preservation of Scripture came to
be reflected in the classical Reformed confessions like the Westminster
Confession and the Second London Baptist Confession when they affirm that the
Scriptures “being immediately inspired by God, and by His singular care and
providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as in all
controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them” (2LBCF, Chapter
One, “Of the Holy Scriptures”). Though traditional
and evangelical Christians in the modern age have generally articulated and defended
the divine inspiration of the Bible,
they have been less confident and clear in their defense of its providential preservation. Let us be vigilant to uphold both these vital doctrines.
Grace and peace, Pastor
Jeffrey Riddle
This is very helpful and encouraging information. Especially in a day when the Scriptures are frequently subverted.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. Glad you found this encouraging. In my view, you can't read this (and other comments by Calvin on this topic in this section of the Institutes) and think that he interprets divine preservation as having to do with the illusive autographs. Rather, he sees the divine hand in the preservation of the text in the copies (the apographs).
ReplyDeletePastor Riddle,
ReplyDeleteThis goes right along with an article I saw by Pastor Robert Truelove on how adherence to the traditional text of Scripture is the only position which is consistent with our confessional standards. As many within Reformed Baptist circles are rediscovering what our forefathers had to say about covenant theology (i.e., 1689 Federalism), I wonder if they're going to pick up on what they also said regarding the providential preservation of the Scriptures.