This week we will cover the first two sections of Calvin’s Little Book, Ch 5. This final chapter is on the the important follow on topic to our call to heavenly focus on Ch 4, namely: how do we straddle this life, focused on the next but living in the present one.
Ch 5: How the Present Life and Its Comforts Should Be Used
As Calvin relates, and our own experience reflects, there are two opposite perspectives, both wrong. The one is the monastic, ascetic, utter withdrawal from earthly life to some even unto literal isolation, but to others a non-being beingness, and still to others extreme denial of as many physical comforts as possible, and proud of doing so.
The opposite extreme is closely related to antinomianism (no “law” in Christ means no boundary on whatever impulse / appetite one may have), namely everything and anything should be enjoyed to the full, which is sometimes expressed as “if it feels good do it,” or “if it feels good it is good.”
In Ch 5 of Calvin he lays out for us a middle course that is consistent with the Bible’s teaching. Jesus began His public miracles with the converting of water into wine at a wedding feast. In accordance with typical custom of that time, such celebration might last a week, and involve the entire village. That sounds physically joyful. Likewise on the last night, the night on which He was later betrayed, the Lord had a special meal with his disciples.
On the other hand, the Lord’s own life example began by His birth in a stable in a feed trough (“manger”) for sheep or goats, even in a humble small town, not the major city of Jerusalem with the palaces, and of course the Temple itself. During her growing up years He lived in another nondescript village, Nazareth, in the ‘outback’ of Israel, the Galilee region. Then in His three year public ministry He travelled about on foot, like an ordinary person of the time, experienced thirst and hunger, and the need for sleep and rest. His only earthy possession (that we know) was the garments He wore and even that was stripped from Him by His crucifiers.
Calvin’s Heading
From the Beveridge translation we have the below headings Calvin assigned to Ch 5 and Sec. 1 and 2.
How to Use the Present Life, and the Comforts of It
The divisions of this chapter are,—
I. The necessity and usefulness of this doctrine.
Extremes to be avoided, if we would rightly use the present life and its comforts,
Sec. 1, 2. II. One of these extremes, viz., the intemperance of the flesh, to be carefully avoided.
Four methods of doing so described in order, sec. 3–6.Sections
1. Necessity of this doctrine.
Use of the goods of the present life.
Extremes to be avoided.
1. Excessive austerity.
2. Carnal intemperance and lasciviousness.2. God, by creating so many mercies,
Calvin, J., & Beveridge, H. (1845). Institutes of the Christian religion (Vol. 2, p. 293). Edinburgh: The Calvin Translation Society.
consulted not only for our necessities, but also for our comfort and delight.
Confirmation from a passage in the Psalms, and from experience.
Scripture Cited by Calvin in Sec.s 1-2:
A pdf of the two verses cited by Calvin is directly below:
The Value and Use of a “Rule” or “Model”
Calvin returns to a theme idea he used in Ch 1, namely that of a “rule” or “model” for living to guide one’s day to day walk, choices, perspectives.
In the D&P translation we see:
- “Composing a rule for life” (2nd sentence of the opening paragraph of Sec. 5.1, p. 111)
- “We should hold to some rule so that we can use the things of this world…with a pure conscience.” (later in this same opening paragraph)
- “The Lord prescribes this rule in His Word…life is a kind of pilgrimage…” (opening sentence of the 2nd paragraph, still on p. 111)
- “rule” also occurs in the context of misuse at the top of p. 113.
- “…Scriptures gives us general rules for the proper use of external things…restrain ourselves according to those rules.” (occurring twice in the closing sentence of 5.1, p. 114)
In Sec. 5.2, Calvin refines such rule / model discussion by reference to us being “governed” by God’s purposes in “creating and designing” things of this world “for us.” (5.2, opening paragraph, p. 114). Such design of God includes things / matters / experiences intended for “our pleasure and enjoyment.” (same opening paragraph).
Digging Deeper on Calvin’s “Rule”
The Latin phrase from which the first occurrence of “rule” is as follows: utendum quoque necessariis vitae adminiculis [also use the necessary life aids]. The Latin word translated “rule” (or as Google has it, “aids”) comes from adminiculum, which can be parsed into three parts: “ad” + “manus” + “culum.” Ad means toward or at, manus means hand (so a manuscript is a hand-writing), and culum mean tool. So adminiculum is something that supports, helps, assists. This is a better understanding that “rule,” which is freighted more with “law” and something external and looming. Calvin appears to be teaching that we need a support / assist that can help us readily navigate the myriad choices, and temptations, we face each day.
The Two Errors on Either Side of Such Rule / Model
So, such rule / model cannot be the automatic “if it feels or looks good…it is bad” that have down through the centuries been the prescription of some (wayward) followers of Christ (if they were indeed such followers). Extreme self-denial is often a manifestation of pride, and self-achievement. It is also the ‘coin’ used by people who believe they in some way earn their way to heaven, achieve sufficient merit for their justification. For such a perspective, ‘less is more, or better’ in that it gives more evidence for God looking down upon such acts to be impressed by them (as though such were the case). What we contribute to our salvation is the sin that necessitated it. (A brilliant summary of true Redemption, that is not original to me, but I don’t know its attribution).
On the other hand, and there is another error on the other side of this question, Calvin makes clear that such realization that God’s gifts are to be enjoyed can be a “truly slippery slope” (p. 112). This is because “unbridled desire [can be, often is?] perpetually taken too far.” (p. 112). “Self-indulgence” is not the right response to enjoying God’s gift.
At the beginning of Ch 4, Calvin used a Latin word translated “mire” by D&P that is more accurately “beastial” (Lat. belluinum) namely the unrestrained reactive impulsive expression of those beasts of the wild. This would be a rightful term for someone who falls to the wrong side of this freedom we have been given to delight in God’s gifts. Three times in Ch 4 and 5 he uses the Latin words “bruta” and “brutas,” both conveying the idea of “brutish” that is beastial-like (Sec. 9.1, shortly after the above cite; 9.5 about 10 lines down; 10.3 about 8 lines from the end; and multiple additional times in his Institutes, beyond our five little chapters in his Little Book).
Biblically-Inspired Thoughts on the Errors of Such “Rule” “Adminiscullis”
Consider the following references as to how, or in what way, error as to the use of this world and its goods can occur.
- The Ten Commandments, especially #10
- Numbers #1-9 of the Ten Commandments
- “I Know, I’ll Just Build a Bigger Barn”
- Ananias and Sapphira
- The Lesson(s) of Ecclesiastes
- Eve’s Choice (Gen. 3)
- Luke 16:14 re the Pharisees
- 2 Timothy 3:2 re Latter Day Man
- Judas and the Anointing Oil
- The Pharisees Hypocrisy as to the Grounds by which they Criticized Both John the Baptist and Jesus
- The ‘Rule’ of Thinking of Job’s Wife and His Three Friends
- The Corinthians and their ‘Celebration’ of the Lord’s Supper
- The Corinthians ‘Tolerance’ of Certain Sexual Behavior
- The Lesson from 1 John 2:16
- The Sin of Achan, the Defeat at Ai (Josh 7)
- The ‘Gift’ Sought by Gehazi, and the One He Received (2 Kings 5)
- The First Miracle, the Wedding at Cana
- The Prayer of the Canaanite Woman of Matt 15
- The Prayer of the Two Blind Men of Matt 20, and the
- The Prayer of Bartimaeus (Mark 16; Luke 18)
What “rule” can you extract from these 20 examples?
A Proposed “Rule” / Guideline for Life Here and Now
Calvin makes use of a useful term in his discussion of living the present life in light our real life, the one yet-to-come in its full form, namely that our life here is a “Pilgrimage:”
The Lord prescribes this rule in His Word when He says that this present life is a kind of pilgrimage for His people, wherein they eagerly travel toward the heavenly kingdom.
Calvin’s Little Book, D&P Sec. 5.1, p. 111.
Pilgrim?
Words change their meaning over time, and by usage. Pilgrim is a rarely used word today and when it appears it calls back memory to the people (sometimes known as “the Separatists”) who came by ship from England early in the 17th Century to escape religious persecution and disfunction, to create a new world order. And, so, we think of black clothing, certain unusual to our eyes hats, and Thanksgiving.
The word “pilgrim” comes from the Latin pelegrinus (or peregrines; the French expression changes the “r” to an “l” the German the “n” to an “m” and thus “pilgrim”); the root meaning is to be a “traveler,” but in the sense of being an extended, even unending traveler. A derived sense of the word is then being that of a “stranger” as wherever such pilgrim encounters settled peoples he is such to them.
“Pilgrimage” describes the travel, and travel-purpose, of the “Pilgrim.” Calvin uses the term in Ch 10.1 (D&P 5.1) as follows:
Latin peregrinationem
[quum docet, vitam praesentem quandam peregrinationem suis esse, qua in coeleste regnum contendunt;
when He teaches that their present life is a pilgrimage by which they strive for the heavenly kingdom]French. pelerinage
Calvin, J. (1888). Institution de la Religion Chrétienne (p. 331). Genève: E. Beroud & C.
[que la vie presente est à ses serviteurs comme un pelerinage par lequel ils tendent au Royaume celeste;
that the present life is to His servants as a pilgrimage by which they tend to the heavenly Kingdom]
Calvin, J. (1834). Institutio Christianae religionis (Vol. 1, p. 464). Berolini: Gustavum Eichler.
“Pilgrim” has evolved to connote a religious or spiritual significance, particularly with respect to a “sacred” destination. The famous story by John Bunyan of Pilgrim’s Progress is exactly such an example, as it is of a man named Christian who receives a vision that his home village, The City of Destruction, will become its namesake, and is called to pass through a “Wicker Gate” on a long journey guided by a man name “Evangelist” to his destination, “The Celestial City. This book is frequently cited as the most published book in the English language after the Bible itself.
The point of being a pilgrim is a purposeful going somewhere, while most-definitely not as a tourist. There is meaning to be sought, and found, on the journey itself–the Pilgrimage–and the destination. It some cases, it is the journey that becomes the meaning; this was the claim of ‘The Wizard’ in the famous movie The Wizard of Oz. In other cases it is only upon reaching the destination and deriving its meaning that the journey comes to express its own true meaning. In such contexts the use of the terms–pilgrim, pilgrimage, the journey, the destination–are all freighted with religious tones.
We Being Pilgrims, on Pilgrimage, Means What (as a Rule(s) of Life)?
Calvin makes further use of the term “Pilgrimage” as below (here I’ve taken the text from the Allen translation which precedes even the Beveridge one):
It behoves us, therefore, to observe moderation, that we may use them with a pure conscience, whether for necessity or for pleasure. This the Lord prescribes in his word, when he teaches us, that to his servants the present life is like a pilgrimage, in which they are travelling towards the celestial kingdom.
Calvin, J., & Allen, J. (1816). Institutes of the Christian religion (Vol. 2, p. 196). New-Haven; Philadelphia: Hezekiah Howe; Philip H. Nicklin
Calvin’s Latin: Modum ergo tenere oportet, ut pura conscientia sive ad necessitatem, sive ad oblectamentum utamur: eum Dominus verbo suo praescribit, quum docet, vitam praesentem quandam peregrinationem suis esse, qua in coeleste regnum contendunt.
Calvin’s French: Ceste mesure nous est monstrée de Dieu, quand il enseigne que la vie presente est à ses serviteurs comme un pelerinage par lequel ils tendent au Royaume celeste.
Calvin, J. (1888). Institution de la Religion Chrétienne (p. 331). Genève: E. Beroud & C.
Calvin, J. (1834). Institutes of the Christian religion (Vol. 1, p. 464). Berolini: Gustavum Eichler.
The answer to the practical, down to earth and here and now “so what?” question of life, what does it practically mean for us to see ourselves as a Pilgrim on Pilgrimage? This issue warrants a separate special topic, which is given here.
What picture does such description of the Christian Life pending our final redemption, resurrection to new Life, bring to mind as a rule of Christian living, specially of a “Mature Christian” (or a seeking to be such), as the is the sometimes title of Calvin’s Little Book?