Institutes of the Christian Religion (John Calvin)

Description

Institutes of the Christian Religion is Calvin's single most important work and one of the key texts to emerge from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The book accompanied the Reformer throughout his life, growing in size from what was essentially an expanded catechism in 1536 to a full-scale work of biblical theology in 1559-60.

Among the intermediate editions of the Institutes, none deserves to be better known than the first French edition of 1541.

Avoiding the technical details and much of the polemics of the final work, the Institutes of 1541 offers a clear and comprehensive account of the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in creation, revelation, and redemption in the life of the individual Christian and in the worship and witness of the church.

Not doctrine only but its practical use is Calvin’s abiding concern. The author of the Institutes invites us both to know and to live the truth, and thus allow God’s Spirit to transform us.

The present translation is newly made from the French of 1541. It has been designed and annotated with the needs of a wide readership in mind.

Endorsements

‘Any who wish to encounter Calvin’s systematic theology at its most pastoral, freest from controversial preoccupations, and mediated through superlative translation, should devour this rendering of the Reformer’s own French version of the second edition of his Institutes.’ — J. I. PACKER

Table of Contents

Translator’s Introduction vii

Outline of the Present Book xv

Prefatory Letter to Francis I xvii

Institutes of the Christian Religion (1541 Edition)

Chapter 1: The Knowledge of God 1

Chapter 2: The Knowledge of Man and Free Will 29

Chapter 3: The Law 109

Chapter 4: Faith, with an Explanation of the Apostles’ Creed 183

Chapter 5: Repentance 295

Chapter 6: Justification by Faith and the Merits of Works 351

Chapter 7: The Similarity and Difference between the Old and New Testaments 429

Chapter 8: The Predestination and Providence of God 463

Chapter 9: Prayer, with an Explanation of Our Lord’s Prayer 517

Chapter 10: The Sacraments 561

Chapter 11: Baptism 579

Chapter 12: The Lord’s Supper 623

Chapter 13: The Five Ceremonies Falsely Called Sacraments 669

Chapter 14: Christian Freedom 707

Chapter 15: The Power of the Church 721

Chapter 16: Civil Government 755

Chapter 17: The Christian Life 785

Appendix: Comparative Table of the 1541 and 1560 Institutes 823

Index of Scripture References 837

Index of Names 873

Index of Principal Subjects 877

Product Details

Title: Institutes of the Christian Religion  

Author: John Calvin

Publisher: Banner of Truth

Pages: 920

Binding: Cloth-bound

Size: 22.3 x 14.6 x 5.5 cm

ISBN: 9781848714632