Magyar Egyház, 1959 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1959-06-01 / 6-7. szám
14 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ JOHN CALVIN SPEAKS One of the most outstanding literary works of John Calvin, the great XVI. century reformer, whose 450th anniversary the Reformed world now celebrates, is his COMMENTARY on the Bible, from the first book to the last. Here are excerpts of the commentary on Matthew 16:19: “And I will give unto thee (Jesus speaks to Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; ad whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” “Here Christ begins now to speak of the public office, that is, of the Apostleship, which he dignifies with a twofold title, First, he says that the ministers of the gospel are porters, so to speak, of the kingdom of heaven, because they carry its keys; and secondly, he adds, that they are invested with power of binding and loosing, which is ratified in heaven.”.. .“We know that there is no other way in which the gate of life is opened to us than by the word of God; and hence it follows that the key is placed, as it were, in the hands of the ministers of the word”... “The second metaphor, or comparison, is intended directly to point out the forgiveness of sins; for Christ, in delivering us, by his gospel, from the condemnation of eternal death, looses the cords of the curse by which we are held bound. The doctrine of the gospel is, therefore, declared to be appointed for loosing our bonds, that, being loosed on earth by the voice and testimony of men, we may be actually loosed in heaven. But as there are many who not only are guilty of wickedly rejecting the deliverance that is offered to them, but by their obstinacy bring down on thmeselves a heavier judgement, the power and authority to bind is likewise granted to the ministers of the gospel.” Twofold purpose “The substance of this statement is, that Christ intended to assure his followers of the salvation promised to them in the gospel, that they might expect it as firmly as if he were himself to descend from heaven to bear testimony concerning it; and, on the other hand, to strike despisers with terror, that they might not expect their mockery of the ministers of the word to remain unpunished. Both are exceedingly necessary; for the inestimable treasure of life is exhibited to us in earthen vessels, (2 Cor. 4:7) and had not the authority on the doctrine been established in this manner, the faith of it would have been, almost any moment, ready to give way. The reason why the ungodly become so daring and presumptuous is, that they imagine that they have to deal with men. Christ therefore declares that, by the preaching of the gospel, is revealed on the earth what will be the heavenly judgement of God, and that the certainty of life or death is not to be obtained from any other source.” The great honor “This is a great honor, that we are God’s messengers to assure the world of its salvation. It is the highest honor conferred on the gospel, that it is declared to be the embassy of mutual reconciliation between God and men, (2 Cor. 5:20). In a word, it is a wonderful consolation to devout minds to know, that the message of salvation brought to them by a mortal man is ratified before God. Meanwhile, let the ungodly ridicule, as they may think fit, the doctrine which is preached to them by the command of God, they will one day learn with what truth and seriousness God threatened them by the mouth of men. Finally, let pious teachers, resting on this assurance, encourage themselves and others to defend with boldness the life-giving grace of God, and yet let them not the less boldly thunder against the hardened despisers of their doctrine.” Refutation of Romanists “Hitherto I have given a plain exposition of the native meaning of the words, — said Calvin —, so that nothing further could have been desired, had it not been that the Roman Antichrist, wishing to cloak his tyranny, has wickedly and dishonestly dared to prevent the whole of this pessage. The light of the true interpretation which I have stated would be of itself sufficient, one would think, for dispelling his darkness; but that pious readers may feel no uneasiness, I shall briefly refute his disgusting calumnies. First, he alleges that Peter is declared to be the foundation of the church. But who does not see that what he applies to the person of a man is said in reference to Peter’s faith in Christ.?”... The foundation of the church is Christ “But not to be tedious, as we must acknowledge the truth and certainty of the declaration of Paul, that the church can have no other foundation than Christ alone, (I Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:20) it can be nothing less than blasphemy and sacrilege, when the Pope has contrived another foundation. And certainly no words can express the detestation with which we ought to regard the tyranny of the Papal system on this single account, that, in order to maintain it, the foundation of the church has been subverted, that the mouth of hell might be opened and swallow up wretched souls. ...The commendations that follow relate to the Apostolic office; and hence we conclude that nothing is here said to Peter which does not apply equally to the others who were his companions, for if the rank of apostleship was common to them all, whatever was connected with it must also have been held in common.” Foolish interference of the Papists “But it will be said, Christ addresses Peter alone: he does so, because Peter alone, in the name of all, held confessed Christ to be the Son of God, and to him alone is addressed the discourse, which applies equally to the rest Christ spake to all in the person of one man, in order to recommend the unity of the church. The Romanists reply, that he to whom this privilege was granted in a peculiar manner is preferred to all others. But that is equivalent to saying that he was more an apostle than his companions, for the power to bind and to loose can no more be separated from the office of teaching and the Apostleship than light or heat can be separated from the sun. And even granting that something more was bestowed on Peter than on the rest, that he might hold a distinguished place among the apostles, it is a foolish inference of the Papists, that he received the primacy, and became the universal head of the church. Rank is different thing from power, and to be elevated to the highest place of honor among a few persons is a different thing from embracing the whole world under his dominion. ”... The tyranny of the Pope “But though there were no strife or controversy about Peter, still this passage would not lend countenance to the tyranny of the Peope. For no man in
