This week we will review Ch. 3, Sec. 2, and continue to Sec.s 3-4 (pp. 62-66 D&P).
Beveridge’s translation of Calvin’s headings for these two sections are as follows:
Sec. 3. Manifold uses of the cross.
1. Produces patience, hope, and firm confidence in God,
gives us victory and perseverance. Faith invincible.Sec. 4.
Calvin, J., & Beveridge, H. (1845). Institutes of the Christian religion (Vol. 2, p. 273). Edinburgh: The Calvin Translation Society.
2. Frames us to obedience.
Example of Abraham. This training how useful.
The Scripture cited by Calvin for Sec.s 3-4 are shown in the below pdf:
The Issue of Our “Weakness”
In Sec. 2 of this chapter, there is a key sentence that helps us further understand the need for “the cross.” As discussed in Week #9, the cross provides a “shelter” for us to escape (as much as such is possible) the enveloping arms of TRI (The Religion Industry), and to an extent TPI (The Political Industry). But why do we need such help? The answer relates to our “weakness,” even “helplessness.”
Let us return to the opening sentences of Sec. 2, which I have highlighted and reads:
2. We may add, that the only thing which made it necessary for our Lord to undertake to bear the cross, was to testify and prove his obedience to the Father; whereas there are many reasons which make it necessary for us to live constantly under the cross. Feeble as we are by nature, and prone to ascribe all perfection to our flesh, unless we receive as it were ocular demonstration of our weakness, we readily estimate our virtue above its proper worth, and doubt not that, whatever happens, it will stand unimpaired and invincible against all difficulties. Hence we indulge a stupid and empty confidence in the flesh, and then trusting to it wax proud against the Lord himself; as if our own faculties were sufficient without his grace.
Calvin, J. (1997). Institutes of the Christian religion. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software
In our D&P translation it expresses the bold phrases highlighted above as: “our weaknesses are regularly displayed,” and “drawn into foolish and inflated view of our flesh.”
In Calvin’s Latin original writing we find the following key words that were part of the highlighted portions above: “imbecillitas…oculo demonstrata,” and “virtutem…supra iustum..aestimamus.” Let’s consider these meanings as follows:
- oculo: eye, so as to mean know by evidence as opposed to simple reasoning, which in the case of ourselves, notably our fallen selves, our reasoning is deeply flawed by nature, as is also our perceiving, but for dramatic ‘out of our reasoning’ proclamations that penetrate into us, as below.
- demonstrata: means to reveal and even to draw attention to something, which the innermost, new nature of “me” needs to grasp fully, namely:
- imbecillitas: means something very different than the cognate in our day “imbecile.” The Latin word means weakness, and even more feebleness (including intellectual and moral forms). Calvin likely intended this to mean feebleness as to a total condition, not just something compartmentalized or self-recoverable by efforts of self-development.
- virtutem: means strength, power, and even worth (intrinsic value), a word that was used for “manliness” in that sense of a mature, trained man capable of some particular, notable work of accomplishment.
- supra: means above or on top
- iustum: means right, proper, so in that sense the obvious English word “just” (there is no letter “j” in Latin)
- aestimanmus: the base “manus” means “hand,” leading to the idea of a collected / coordinated capability as in fist, or even team, band (so “manuscript” simply means “hand” writing; and it is interesting that our word “man” is directly from “hand,” so ‘man the tool-maker,’ or tool-worker/user).
These few words are very important as they speak to our human nature encountering and responding to God’s call to self-denial and gives context to the difficult-to-comprehend command of the Lord that His disciples are “take up…the cross.”
Drill Down on Weakness
As seen above, the key word “weakness” is a translation of Calvin’s Latin imbecillitas which semantic range includes feebleness in the sense of innate inability. This distinction between some limited impairment, which could be considered as the meaning of weakness, and a far more extensive incapacity is essential to our perspective on the cross as a personal calling.
Let us suppose that we were to use numbers on a five star rating scale as a superscript on the word “weakness” to designate the extent and seriousness of its meaning, where a “1” star rating would mean a very slight degree of it, something like a “tenderness” in bone or muscle, a “3” star rating would mean something like a serious, hobbling limp in reference to a leg, and a “5” star “weakness” score would mean needing to carried out of bed to be placed in a wheelchair. So we could have the following expressions: weakness* all the way to weakness*****.
Well, our language works a different way. In a dictionary, “weakness” might be expressed by many different definitions based on the range of extent (as our five star example), and context of occurrence. If we were to use a thesaurus it would give us a range of words that are synonyms which are another form providing a definition. Using such a thesaurus for “weakness” we can find nearly 90 synonyms, an amazing number. Some of the more interesting, and rare, examples are given below:
- anility adj. Unable to think clearly or infirm because of old age. [Latin anīlis, from anus, old woman.]
- impuissance. Lack of power or effectiveness; weakness.
- decrepitude. Source of the word “decrepit.”
- enervation, n. A feeling of being drained of energy or vitality; fatigue.
- inconstancy. Inability to hold ‘a course’ or direction / purpose.
- asthenia, n (medical.) Abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy.
- atony, n. In medicine, atony or atonia is a condition in which a muscle has lost its strength. It is frequently associated with the conditions atonic seizure, atonic colon, uterine atony, gastrointestinal atony (occurs postoperatively) and choreatic atonia.
- errability. Liable to mistake; fallible.
- lanquor. The state of tiredness, being inert, unmoving, often used in a non-judgmental sense.
- unsubstantiability (or insubstantiability; “un” and “in” are often interchangeable prefixes, though “un” more often heads words with Germanic roots, and “in” Latin roots). The property of not being substantiable or substantial, holding firm, form.
- anoxia (a medical term). Literally the absence of oxygen, but paralleling our colloquialism of “I’m gassed,” or “out of gas.”
- flimsyness. No substance, rigid form. Perhaps deriving from the word “film” and so suggesting “gauzy covering,” which obscures that there’s no ‘there’ there.
- inadequacy. The condition of being inadequate, that is not being equal to that which is required. Insufficient. “not equal to what is required, insufficient to effect the end desired,” 1670s; see in- (1) “not, opposite of” + adequate: adequate (adj.) “equal to what is needed or desired, sufficient,” from the Latin word adaequatus “equalized,” past participle of adaequare “to make equal to, to level with,” from ad “to” and aequare “make level,” The sense is of being equal to, up to, that required to work what is necessary.
- helplessness. The condition of not being able “to help”
Why so many words that convey some aspect of “weakness?” This suggests that there is an underlying universal condition, much as the idea of “scarcity” in the field of economics, or “immoral” in social theory and ethics. There is a flaw here in our spacetime world. Weakness will not be part of heaven, just as we make sure it is not part of “bridges” and “high rise buildings.” But when it comes upon us, even “regenerated us,” there is “weakness” in its full range of application and extent. This can be seen in the biographies of God’s people, as identified individuals and groups, in the Old Testament and to an extent in the New Testament. And in can be seen inside each of us, as the text in Romans 7 expounds.
The key point of this text from Calvin is that even as regenerated beings in God’s Kingdom, we are not fully outside of the influence of our old, fallen nature. And such nature reasserts itself seemingly at every opportunity with a particular interest in corrupting what should otherwise be pure work on behalf of God. Further, as discussed in Week 9, TRI (and to an extent TPI) is a ready snare to disadvantage further such natural weakness.
Knowing Inadequacy (Weakness)
I would have preferred “inadequacy” to translate Calvin’s imbecillitas, as such choice would better fit our five star model of weakness*****. Whichever way we express the core idea, should lead us to some response about ourselves. The most natural, obvious one would be sorrow, even resentment. How could being inadequate or even weak be anything but a bad thing?
In the reverse world of God’s Calling, however, what looks bad in human terms turns out for the good. Alistair Begg, an excellent preacher and teacher, has given an excellent message on exactly this observation, available here and here:
The Alternative to Knowing Such Inadequacy
As Calvin makes clear (in the Beveridge translation) the failure to grasp such weakness / inadequacy leads, inevitably to: we indulge a stupid and empty confidence in the flesh.
God’s Use of Tribulations
As Calvin notes, the Scriptures teach us that “tribulations,” various forms of difficulty and suffering, are used by God purposefully, for our benefit. In particular, Calvin cites Romans 5:3-4. Given below is an interlinear of the context of these two verses, using a Greek manuscript format instead the usual reverse interlinear:
The true manuscript form given above shows us some important things because of its word order. Specifically, the passage begins and ends with a participle (a verb used as an adjective) that describes our condition–namely, justification (vs. 1), by receipt (vs. 5)–with the aorist tense meaning something that took place prior to the present tense of the main verbs of this passage. This is powerful because it makes clear that justification was given as a settled matter previous to the multistep explanation of the role of tribulation in our lives. It is all to easy to reach the opposite, and erroneous, conclusion that such tribulation was for the purpose of causing us to overcome such so as to reach a state of justification, based upon our own merit. This was would be a conditional life of always seeking the measure up to being worthy of such blessing by our demonstrated response to tribulation, which is the opposite of experience Grace.
Further we can see in the above very clearly the sequence from tribulations (which is in the plural) to hope (literally “the hope,” in the singular).
Additionally, there are multiple words and phrases in the dative case, which in this context is emphasizing the idea of agency or instrumentality as means by which something occurs.
The number below each word is the Strong’s G number. By doing a web search with such number, preferenced by “Strongs G” will lead to multiple resources that will give parallel uses and additional teaching. In particular the word translated “boast” can be misconstrued to being about one’s own pride, rather than the glorying in the source of the gift of justification and the means of establishing “the hope” in us, by the use, even, especially, of tribulation. Which then, as the text clearly says, should cause us to boast in the tribulation(s) themselves, an act contrary to our human nature.
Our Bearing Our Cross Produces Benefits
Calvin lists five such benefits (p. 63, the below quoting D&P’s translation):
- Destroys the false notion of our own strength that we’ve dared to entertain
- Destroys the hypocrisy in which we have taken refuge and pleasure
- It strips us of carnal self-confidence, and thus humbling us.
- Instructs us to cast ourselves on God alone so that we won’t be crusted of defeated.
- Such victory is followed by hope since the Lord–by providing what He has promised–establishes His truthfulness for what likes ahead.
Our Weakness, In Turn, Leads Us to Well-Being
Calvin summarizes the benefits of our resulting weakness by the work, in time, that such does in our walk and life (p. 64, again quoting D&P).
- We learn to despair of ourselves
- We transfer our trust to God
- We rest in our trust in God and rely on His help
- [We] Persevere unconquered to the end
- Then standing on His grace we see that He is true to His promises
- Finally, being confident in the certainty of His promises our hope is strengthened.