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Calvin and Calvinism

Marlorate:

17 And loe, there came a voyce from heauen, saying: This is my beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased.

{And loe, there came a voyce.} M. Math. does not say simply that a voice was heard from heaven, but that a voice cam from heaven. C. For out of that division and opening of the heavens (which we touched even now) cam this voice, whereby he might have greater majesty.

{This is my beloued sonne.}

M. This testimony of the Father being brought from the heavens to the earth, as concerning his son, has a declaration of his will towards mankind, with a declaration also of Christ, the only begotten son of God. C. For the title of (son) does only pertain unto Christ, truly and naturally: but yet the son of God was made manifest in our flesh, that by the same right that God was Father unto him, he might make him our Father also. Wherefore God bringing unto us a mediator, in the title and commendation of his Son, does show himself to be a Father to us all. The Greek word does signify more then my beloved Son, in the superlative degree, my best beloved Son. For Christ is so called, because when we were hateful and odious unto God, it was necessary that his Fatherly love should flow from Christ unto us.  M. As if the Father should have said: “He whom I have sent unto you, and caused to come in your flesh, is my only beloved Son: In whom you may see how greatly I love mankind, and his salvation, wherefore see that you cleave unto him by faith.” But S. Paul does very well interpret this place saying: “By his grace he made us accepted through the beloved, [Eph. 1.].

{In whom I am well pleased.}

The Greek word does signify a mind so inclined, that it has a singular and ready good will and affection, separated from all anger and displeasure.

Augustine Marlorate, A Catholike and Ecclesiasticall exposition of the holy Gospel after S. Iohn, trans., Thomas Timme (Imprinted at London by Thomas Marshe, Anno Domini. 1575), 56. [Some spelling modernized.] [Key: B=Bucer; C=Calvin; E=Erasmus; M=Musculus; P=Melanchthon; S=Sarcerius; R=Brentius; BV=Bullinger; Z=Zwingli; V=Theodorus; A=Marlorate.] [See also Musculus on the love of God to mankind.]

28
Oct

Augustine Marlorate on John 3:16-17

   Posted by: CalvinandCalvinism   in John 3:16

Marlorate:

16. For so GOD loued the worlde, that hee gaue his onelye begotten Sonne that all that beleeue in him shoulde not perish, but haue euerlastig life.

R. Our Savior Christ, goes on still in the former disputation, still more plainly opening and declaring, that righteousness comes not by the Law, that is to say, by faith in Christ: and therewithal shows the first cause and principal original of our salvation, and that because we should not be the least in doubt.

No peace
of Conscience without
God’s love.

For our minds have no peaceable rest or quietness in which they may stay themselves, until we come to the free love of God. Therefore as the whole substance of our salvation consists in no other than in Christ, so we must so whereby Christ is united unto us, & why he is offered to us to be our savior.

Love in
God and
faith in us brings
us life eternal.

Both these thing are bear distinctly put down unto us: the first is a lively faith in Christ: the second is the love of God, by which he so loved the world that he sent life to the same by his only Son to save mankind from destruction. And this order is diligently to be noted. For when the original of our salvation comes in question, by and by, according to our natural ambition, burst forth devilish imaginations of or own merit. We fain that God is therefore merciful, because he has respect to none but those whom he judges worthy.

Mercy of God
makes man’s
merits frustrate.

But the Scripture does everywhere extol his mere and simple mercy, which clean abolishes all merits. And this is the very meaning of our Savior in these words, when he appoints the cause in God’s mercy. M. Therefore the love of God with the which he has loved the world, has so determined, that the world should be saved by the sending of the Son. And our Savior does slightly pass over this love, but does diligently amplify and inculcate the same, when he makes mention of sending of the only begotten son of God: who was given unto us, as a most certain and undoubted pledge of his Fatherly love toward us. R. Whereof then comes salvation, whereof comes justification? Whereof comes the hope of eternal life? Come these from the worthiness or merits of men? God forbid: but they have their original of the love of God. For we had always abode, so much as we could, in our sins, in death, and in hell, except God of his entire love, with the which he loved us being as yet miserable sinners, had not given his only begotten Son for us. Hereupon the Apostle says: “In this is love, not that we first loved him” (for the flesh is utterly void of the knowledge of God) “but because he loved us first, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins,” [1. Joh. 4:10.] And the Apostle Paul says: “GOD commends or declares his love toward us, in that when as yet we were miserable sinners, Christ died for us,” [Rom. 5:8.] C. Without all doubt where sin reigns, we shall find nothing but the wrath of God, which brings with it death. Therefore it is only mercy which reconciles us unto God, that therewithal we might be restored unto life. If any man demand in whom this love is founded, the Apostle Paul answers: “That it is founded in the purpose of his will.” Notwithstanding this manner of speech seeing to be contrary to many testimonies of Scriptures, which place the first and principal foundation of God’s love towards us, in Christ, and do show that without him, we are displeasing and hateful unto GOD.

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27
Oct

Augustine Marlorate (1506-1562) on the Death of Christ

   Posted by: CalvinandCalvinism   in For Whom did Christ Die?

Marlorate:

Christ came for the salvation of the whole world:

1) 44. And he sayde vnto them. These are the wordes which I spake vnto you whylest I was yet wyth you, that all muste needes bee fulfylled which were written of mee in the law of Moises, and in the prophets and in the Psalmes.

R. [Brentius] After that our Saviour Christ had proved by manifest and evident signs to his Disciples, that he was resen from death to life, he proceeds to set forth that which was th emost necessary of all others to enlarge the Borders of his Kingdom, and to set forth the glory of his majesty on Earth.

For Christ came not into this world to profit the nation of the Jews only, but that he might be salvation to the whole world. Christ rose again from death, not that this one Jew or that may have life, but that the happiness of everlasting life might be offered to all nations. A. [Marlorate] For so it was prophesied before I have given the all light to the Gentiles, that thou may be my salvation to the whole world.

R. [Brentius] And there is not a more convenient Instrument whereby these things may be revealed to the whole world, and to all nations then the preaching of the gospel [Esai. 49.6.]. Augustine Marlorate, A Catholike and Ecclesiastical Exposition of the Holy Gospel after S. Marke and Lvke, trans Thomas Timme (Imprinted at London in the Fleetesteate neare, unto S. Dunstanes Church, by Thomas Marsh, 1583), Luke 24:44; p., 334.

Christ died for the salvation of all mankind:

1) Therefore works do not justify, that is to say, they do not make us the more acceptable unto God: the which works can be nothing else but sin, condemning, if so be they be wrought before thou be purified, and regenerated by the Spirit of God: because that an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit. But the Lord describing his judgment, says (after the manner of men): that every man shall be judged, according to his works: even as we commonly are wont to judge.

Neither does he say, that every man shall receive according to his works, as though our works were the first cause of our salvation. For the special cause why we obtain everlasting life, is the voluntary & free will of God: and the second cause are the merits of Christ, for he died for salvation of all mankind: but this also is a free gift of good will of God. The third cause, our faith, by the which we embrace and receive this good will of God, and the merits of Christ. Augustine Marlorate, A Catholike and Ecclesiastical Exposition of the Holy Gospel after S. Mathew, gathered out of all the singular and approued Deuines (which the Lorde hath geuen to his Churche) by Augustine Marlorate. And translated out of Latine into Englishe, by Thomas Tymme, Minister, Sene and allowed according to the order appointed (Imprinted at London in Fletestreate near vnto S. Dunstones churche, by Thomas Marshe, 1570), Matt. 16:27; pp., 373-374. [Some spelling modernized.].

2) {Thou wente one of the twelue}

C. [Calvin] What fruit reprehensions bring forth, we here see The disciples are still & silent, nor for shame, but for true obedience sake. For they stand so much to the judgement of Christ, that after they knkow that the thing which displeased them, pleased him, they are quiet. Even so ought we do when we have recieved a fall, being taught not to be ashamed to rise from our error. On the contrary part we see what good reprehension does in the minds of obstinate: for the admonition of Christ did profit so little to turn the heart of Judas, or to make it better, that he went by & by void of care, to make a most wicked bargain with the enemies of Christ. But it was a wonderful & monstrous insensible dulness, that in the loss of the ointment that he thought he had gotten an honest excuse to so wicked a fact: & futher that he being admonished by the words of Christ, knew not what to do. The only mention of his burial had been enough to mollify and iron heart: when he might have gathered thereby that Christ offered himself a sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. Augustine Marlorate, A Catholike and Ecclesiastical Exposition of the Holy Gospel after S. Mathew, gathered out of all the singular and approued Deuines (which the Lorde hath geuen to his Churche) by Augustine Marlorate. And translated out of Latine into Englishe, by Thomas Tymme, Minister, Sene and allowed according to the order appointed (Imprinted at London in Fletestreate near vnto S. Dunstones churche, by Thomas Marshe, 1570), Matt. 27:14, p., 625. [Some spelling modernized.]

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There is an old argument that seeks to correlate John 11:51-52 with 1 John 2:2. John Owen is probably one of the first to make this connection;

Owen:

1) Hence are those terms of the world, all men, all nations, every creature, and the like, used in the business of redemption and preaching of the gospel; these things being not restrained, according as they supposed, to one certain nation and family, but extended to the universality of God’s people scattered abroad in every region under heaven. Especially are these expressions used by John, who, living to see the first coming of the Lord, in that fearful judgment and vengeance which he executed upon the Jewish nation some forty years after his death, is very frequent in the asserting of the benefit of the world by Christ, in opposition, as I said before, to the Jewish nation, — giving us a rule how to understand such phrases and locutions: John 11:51, 52,

“He signified that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad;” conformably whereunto he tells the believing Jews that Christ is not a propitiation for them only, “but for the sins of the whole world,” 1 John 2:2, or the people of God scattered throughout the whole world, not tied to any one nation, as they sometime vainly imagined. And this may and doth give much light into the sense and meaning of those places where the words world and all are used in the business of redemption. They do not hold out a collective universality, but a general distribution into men of all sorts, in opposition to the before-recounted erroneous persuasion. Works, 10:302.

2) How, this being thus cleared, if withal ye will remind what was said before concerning the inveterate hatred of that people towards the Gentiles, and the engrafted opinion they had concerning their own sole interest in the redemption procured and purchased by their Messiah, it will be no difficult thing for any to discern the aim of the apostle in this place, in the expression so much stuck at. “He,” saith he, “is the propitiation for our sins,” — that is, our sins who are believers of the Jews; and lest by this assertion they should take occasion to confirm themselves in their former error, he adds, “And not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world,” or, “The children of God scattered abroad,” as John xi. 51, 52, of what nation, kindred, tongue, or language soever they were. So that we have not here an opposition between the effectual salvation of all believers and the ineffectual redemption of all others, but an extending of the same effectual redemption which belonged to the Jewish believers to all other believers, or children of God throughout the whole world. Works, 10:332.

This argument has been developed by others. Phil Johnson has posted using it, and so have these folk, Understanding 1 John 2:2 by Pastor John Samson

A few years back I decided to work through some of the assumptions in this argument, which I nick-named “parallel/overlay argument” just as a tag.

Normally when we look for parallel ideas we look for parallel contexts. For example, the synoptics may discuss the same event in different ways, with different words. But the grounds for the connection is the event. Or a writer may have a common pattern of speech, a favoured idiom which he may use many times, all with some differences. We can put these together and get a picture. But here, now, there is nothing. There is only the hinge structure of the semantics, ‘not only this, but this also.’ even that does not exactly match both for in one its third person, the other its second person.

The structure of the overlay would look something like this:

“Die for the nation” not only for the nation, but also for “The Children scattered abroad “

compared with:

Christ is the expiation our our sins, not only our sins but for the sins of the whole world

The argument, then, is that structure of j11:51-52 is overlayed on top of 1j2:2 such that the overlay DELIMITS the meanings of the terms in 1j2:2. Children scattered abroad delimits the meaning of holos kosmos. That is, the latter (holos kosmos) is reduced to mean only the elect scattered abroad. (Here we assume children is equivalent to elect for the sake of the argument.)

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24
Oct

John Trapp (1601-1669) on John 3:16

   Posted by: CalvinandCalvinism   in John 3:16

Trapp:

Verse 16. God so loved the world,] This is a sic without a sicut, there being nothing in nature wherewith to parallel it. The world, that is, all mankind fallen in Adam. This the Apostle fitly calls God’s Philanthropy, Tit. 3.4. it being a sweet favor to the whole kind of us, that any be saved by Christ.

John Trapp, A Brief Commentary or Exposition Vpon the Gospel According to St John (London: Printed by G.M. for John Bellamy, and are to be sold his his Shop, at the Signe of the three Golden-Lyons in Cornehill, near the Royal Exchange, 1646), 16.