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Calvin
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General Editors
John Baillie (1886–1960) served as President of the World
Council of Churches, a member of the British Council of
Churches, Moderator of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland, and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity at
the University of Edinburgh.
John T. McNeill(1885–1975) was Professor of the History of
European Christianity at the University of Chicago and then
Auburn Professor of Church History at Union Theological
Seminary in New York.
Henry P. Van Dusen(1897–1975) was an early and influen-
tial member of the World Council of Churches and served
at Union Theological Seminary in New York as Roosevelt
Professor of Systematic Theology and later as President.
the library of christian classics
Calvin
Institutes of the Christian Religion
volume one
Edited by
John T. McNeill
Translated and indexed by
Ford Lewis Battles
CALVIN INSTITUTES ONE.qxp 3/9/06 4:51 PM Page 4
© 1960 The Westminster Press
Reissued 2006 by Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky.
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GENERAL EDITORS' PREFACE
The Christian Church possesses in its literature an abundant and
incomparable treasure. But it is an inheritance that must be re-
claimed by each generation. THE LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICS
is designed to present in the English language, and in twenty-six
volumes of convenient size, a selection of the most indispensable
Christian treatises written prior to the end of the sixteenth century.
The practice of giving circulation to writings selected for
superior worth or special interest was adopted at the beginning
of Christian history. The canonical Scriptures were themselves a
selection from a much wider literature. In the patristic era there
began to appear a class of works of compilation (often designed
for ready reference in controversy) of the opinions of well-
reputed predecessors, and in the Middle Ages many such works
were produced. These medieval anthologies actually preserve some
noteworthy materials from works otherwise lost.
In modern times, with the increasing inability even of those
trained in universities and theological colleges to read Latin and
Greek texts with ease and familiarity, the translation of selected
portions of earlier Christian literature into modern languages has
become more necessary than ever; while the wide range of dis-
tinguished books written in vernaculars such as English makes
selection there also needful. The efforts that have been made to
meet this need are too numerous to be noted here, but none of
these collections serves the purpose of the reader who desires a
library of representative treatises spanning the Christian centuries
as a whole. Most of them embrace only the age of the church
fathers, and some of them have long been out of print. A fresh
translation of a work already translated may shed much new light
X GENERAL EDITORS PREFACE
upon its meaning. This is true even of Bible translations despite
the work of many experts through the centuries. In some instances
old translations have been adopted in this series, but wherever
necessary or desirable, new ones have been made. Notes have been
supplied where these were needed to explain the author's mean-
ing. The introductions provided for the several treatises and
extracts will, we believe, furnish welcome guidance.
JOHN BAILLIE
JOHN T. MCNEILL
HENRY P. VAN DUSEN
CONTENTS
page
EDITOR'S PREFACE xix
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE xxiii
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xxv
INTRODUCTION xxix
JOHN CALVIN TO THE READER, 1559 3
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PRESENT WORK 6
PREFATORY ADDRESS TO KING FRANCIS I OF FRANCE . . .. 9
BOOK ONE. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE CREATOR . . .. 33
Chapter I. The Knowledge of God and That of
Ourselves Are Connected. How
They Are Interrelated 35
Chapter II. What It Is to Know God, and to What
Purpose the Knowledge of Him
Tends 39
Chapter III. The Knowledge of God Has Been Natu-
rally Implanted in the Minds of
Men 43
Chapter IV. This Knowledge Is Either Smothered or
Corrupted, Partly by Ignorance,
Partly by Malice 47
Chapter V. The Knowledge of God Shines Forth in
the Fashioning of the Universe and
the Continuing Government of It . 51
xi
XII CONTENTS
page
Chapter VI. Scripture Is Needed as Guide and
Teacher for Anyone Who Would
Come to God the Creator . . .. 69
Chapter VII. Scripture Must Be Confirmed by the
Witness of the Spirit. Thus May Its
Authority Be Established as Cer-
tain; and It Is a Wicked Falsehood
that Its Credibility Depends on the
Judgment of the Church . . .. 74
Chapter VIII. So Far as Human Reason Goes, Suffi-
ciently Firm Proofs Are at Hand to
Establish the Credibility of Scrip-
ture 81
Chapter IX. Fanatics, Abandoning Scripture and Fly-
ing Over to Revelation, Cast Down
All the Principles of Godliness . . 93
Chapter X. Scripture, to Correct All Superstition,
Has Set the True God Alone Over
Against All the Gods of the Heathen 96
Chapter XI. It Is Unlawful to Attribute a Visible
Form to God, and Generally Who-
ever Sets Up Idols Revolts Against
the True God 99
Chapter XII. How God Is to Be So Distinguished from
Idols that Perfect Honor May Be
Given to Him Alone 116
Chapter XIII. In Scripture, from the Creation Onward,
We Are Taught One Essence of
God, Which Contains Three Per-
sons 120
Chapter XIV. Even in the Creation of the Universe
and of All Things, Scripture by Un-
mistakable Marks Distinguishes the
True God from False Gods . . . 159
Chapter XV. Discussion of Human Nature as Created,
of the Faculties of the Soul, of the
Image of God, of Free Will, and of
the Original Integrity of Man's
Nature 183
Chapter XVI. God by His Power Nourishes and Main-
tains the World Created by Him,
and Rules Its Several Parts by His
Providence 197
CONTENTS Xlll
page
Chapter XVII. How We May Apply This Doctrine to
Our Greatest Benefit 210
Chapter XVIII. God So Uses the Works of the Ungodly,
and So Bends Their Minds to Carry
Out His Judgments, that He Re-
mains Pure from Every Stain . . . 228
BOOK TWO. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE REDEEMER IN
CHRIST, FIRST DISCLOSED TO THE FATHERS
UNDER THE LAW, AND THEN TO US IN THE
GOSPEL 239
Chapter I. By the Fall and Revolt of Adam the
Whole Human Race Was Delivered
to the Curse, and Degenerated from
Its Original Condition; the Doc-
trine of Original Sin 241
Chapter II. Man Has Now Been Deprived of Free-
dom of Choice and Bound Over to
Miserable Servitude 255
Chapter III. Only Damnable Things Come Forth
from Man's Corrupt Nature . . . 289
Chapter IV. How God Works in Men's Hearts . . 309
Chapter V. Refutation of the Objections Commonly
Put Forward in Defense of Free
Will 316
Chapter VI. Fallen Man Ought to Seek Redemption
in Christ 340
Chapter VII. The Law Was Given, Not to Restrain
the Folk of the Old Covenant Under
Itself, but to Foster Hope of Salva-
tion in Christ Until His Coming . 348
Chapter VIII. Explanation of the Moral Law (the
Ten Commandments) 367
Chapter IX. Christ, Although He Was Known to the
Jews Under the Law, Was at Length
Clearly Revealed Only in the
Gospel 423
Chapter X. The Similarity of the Old and New
Testaments 428
Chapter XI. The Difference Between the Two Testa-
ments 449
