Calvin's church theory covers a wide range, including the freedom of Christians, the authority of the church, the basic characteristics of the true church, etc. Among them, he believes that the characteristics of the true church should include: "spreading the word of God", "church discipline" and "observing the sacraments". Therefore, it is very important to preach the gospel, listen to the word of God, accept the supervision of the church and observe the sacraments. The definition of sacrament Calvin's definition of sacrament is: "The evidence given to us by God's grace is an external seal, which confirms each other with our piety to him."
The necessary sacraments especially refer to "baptism" and "Eucharist". "Baptism": Calvin believes that baptism is the first sacrament of Christians, and its meaning is to join the church so that people can be connected to Christ and listed as children of God. Calvin was very opposed to private baptism. Because he believes that baptism and communion are the public priesthood of the church, and private people are not allowed to baptize without authorization. And the baptized person must fully understand the truth before he can be baptized.
Calvin emphasized that believers can connect with Christ through the Eucharist. He doesn't value bread and cup, and he advocates "the real presence of the body of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit". In other words, people change in the Holy Spirit and experience the presence, body and blood of Jesus Christ. But when you receive the Eucharist, you must preach the word of God. Therefore, at that time, Catholicism kept cakes and cups and held private mass for believers who were unable to come because of illness or princes and nobles. Calvin did not approve of these practices. Because he thinks it is meaningless not to receive the Eucharist on the occasion of worshipping and fully preaching the word of God.
John Calvin (1) Calvin's early years: The third famous leader of the Reformed Movement was John Calvin, who was born in France in 159. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to Paris University to study. He is very talented, but he is very self-restrained when he is studying and never violates the school rules. Some people say: if Jia studies for a week, he will spend one day reviewing his lessons for a week; If you study for a year, you will spend a month reviewing your lessons for that year. His perseverance in studying can be shown from this.
Jia said, "When I was a child, my father decided that I should study theology. Later, I saw that the study of law benefited more everywhere, and his plan suddenly changed because of this hope. So I have to abandon my philosophy to study law. Although I obeyed my father's advice and wanted to study hard in law, God had incredible preparations to guide me in other directions. At first, I lived under the influence of the heretical pope, as if I had fallen into a bottomless pit and was not easily dragged out. Although I am very young and hard-natured, God suddenly made me repent, yield to my heart and make me gentle.
in 1531, after his father died, he studied theology according to his own wishes. After he repented, he made up his mind to obey God's will and be a servant of God.
(2) Becoming a Reformed Leader and Writer: Calvin made many influential friends when he was traveling in his youth, one of whom was Cobb, President of Paris University. In 1533, Cobb gave a Halloween speech. The speech is full of Erasmus and Luther's views. Because of the rumor that the speech had been instructed by Calvin, both of them had to run for their lives. While his friends were talking to the local governor in front, Calvin fled from the back window.
next, it's a year of wandering. Jia Shi fled from one city to another, and he had to be an alias frequently. Everywhere I go, I teach a small group of people in a secret place.
In 1535, the fugitive life of Karl Marx finally got a respite in Basel, Switzerland. During this period, he systematically sorted out the truth of the whole Bible. In the spring of 1536, he published his "Institutions of the Christian Religion". This book is regarded as the most influential and great work of Christianity, not only during the reformation period, but also today. Calvin was only 26 years old when he wrote this great book.
The Principles of Christianity was originally just a pamphlet, summarizing the basic truth of Christian faith, so as to make people understand the beliefs held by many loyal saints who were burned alive in France recently. (Later, Calvin gradually increased its length, making it one of the most detailed expositions of Christian doctrine. ) Because this book spread to the reformers all over Europe, the young man became the leader of the new doctrine.
(3) Meet Farrell in Geneva: After the publication of Principles of Christianity, Karl Friedrich decided to live a quiet academic life in Strassburg, southwest Germany. However, due to the obstruction of the war, we had to make a detour and pass through Geneva, Switzerland. We originally planned to stay there for only one night. But as soon as William Farel, the leader of the Geneva Reformed Movement, learned that the author of Christian principles had arrived, he hurried to the hotel to find him. Fajale is twenty years older than Calvin, with short stature, strong personality, bright eyes and red beard. No wonder he is called "elijah of the Reformed Movement".
Calvin personally described the dramatic events that took place on that important night: "Fajal was very passionate about the promotion of the gospel and tried his best to keep me. When he found out that I decided to study behind closed doors and stay away from other jobs, since the plea was ineffective, he began to ask God to curse my withdrawal and break the peace of my study-if I had to withdraw from my study and refused to give help when the need was so urgent. I was frightened by this prayer, so I stopped my plan.
Farrell and Calvin soon completed the reformation movement in Geneva, and the Roman Catholicism was expelled from the city. On May 1, 1998 (that is, in 1536 BC), the people voted to accept Protestantism to rule the city and take the gospel as their living standard.
(4) Great Ministry in Geneva: An Italian nobleman went to Geneva and wrote to tell his friend, "I have seen many reformed churches, and I have never seen anything as good as Geneva. Every Thursday, the priest and the twelve elders meet once. All believers who are accused of disrespecting God and the Christian "creed" in words and deeds are called to reprimand them; Based on the Bible, they exhort people to turn to the truth with kind and gentle words. Usually, the interesting scene in this city is that someone preaches every afternoon. When the bell rings, the shopkeepers at home close the door, and friends or pedestrians on the street stop talking about their careers and go to the nearby chapel; Take out a small book from his pocket, which contains David's poems and their singing scores. They have communion four times a year. When holding the Eucharist, the priest should go through the formalities of dividing the whole city into several parts one week before the Eucharist, and asking the believers one by one about the importance of this Eucharist with the elders of the board of directors, just as a father teaches his son. And advise those who are not ready not to receive this gift. Anyone with a fearful conscience should comfort him again and again, so that he can understand how merciful God is in Jesus Christ. In the large and small churches, all signs of heresy and idolatry are removed, leaving only the podium and seats, which are dedicated to cleanliness. The former monk's residence was converted into a school. Students learn Latin, Greek and Hebrew besides reading and writing; In particular, pious behavior is what students learn especially.
(5) Similarities and differences between Calvin and Luther: Calvin and Luther have the same view on predestination. They all believe that God has chosen people who will inherit eternal life before the end of the ages. Both of them developed this doctrine according to Augustine and Paul's letters.
In the worship ceremony, Calvin is different from Luther: Luther tries to keep the worship ceremony of Roman Catholicism, and he keeps everything that is not prohibited by the Bible; Calvin kept away from Roman Catholic worship as much as possible. He only did what the Bible told him. However, both of them take preaching as their main worship project; Both of them prepared poetry books for the congregation, but Luther emphasized hymns, while Calvin emphasized poems.
Calvin is different from Luther in church administration: Luther allowed the government to ask about the church; Calvin did not admit that the government had any authority in the church, and he even gave the church the right to interfere with the government; Moreover, Calvin emphasized church punishment more than Luther. Both of them care about the poor, and both arrange deacons in the church to do the work of caring for the poor.
They both believe that "everyone has the right to read the Bible by himself". In order to achieve this goal, Luther translated the Bible into German and Calvin translated it into French. Both of them are experts in language and writing, and their translations have contributed a lot to the writing structure of their country.
Both of them attach importance to education: Luther was a professor at Wittenberg University and also preached; Calvin was originally a preacher of the Geneva church. In his later years, he founded the Geneva College and became a professor of it himself. They both stressed that faith must be based on pure teachings, so they both wrote a quiz for believers.
In the view of Eucharist, Calvin is different from Luther and Zwingli. Calvin and Zwingli both denied Luther's view that "the body of Christ really exists in bread and cup". However, Calvin disagreed with Zwingli's view that the Eucharist is only a memorial ceremony. Calvin said: "The spirit of Christ really exists in the bread and cup. When believers receive the Eucharist with faith, they really receive Christ, not physically, but spiritually.
both Calvin and Luther firmly believe in the truth that "righteousness is only justified by faith". For Luther, "justification by faith" is the basis for the church to stand firm or fall; For Calvin, predestination is the foundation of the church. Calvin believes that the church is the sum of all the surviving and dead chosen people, and around the periphery of the chosen people, a tangible institution is established, with the purpose of implementing God's plan for all human relations. Because many people are called and few are elected (Mt. 22: 14), the external church certainly includes many nominal Christians or those who have not been elected.
Luther emphasized "human salvation"; Calvin emphasized "the glory of God".
(6) Calvin's death: From September 1541 to May 1564, Calvin worked diligently for twenty-three years without a break. In this period of extraordinary activities, there are three consecutive stages, which can be divided into the following: (1) five years of peaceful preparation, from 1541 to 1546; (2) Nine terrible years of conflict, from 1546 to 1555; (3) The fruits of the nine-year bumper harvest, from 1555 to 1564. Calvin's reformation had a great influence. When he was in Geneva, many people approached him and imitated his rules. He himself used letters to guide churches in many places. So his truth spread more and more widely. People in Britain, Holland, France and Scotland were influenced by him. On the evening of May 27, 1564, Calvin devoted himself to death at the age of 55. His symbol is "holding a fiery heart in one hand"; His motto is: "Lord, my heart is dedicated to you, agile and sincere!" Calvin lived by this motto all his life.