Institutes of Christian religion - Calvin - III - Chapters 1 to 4 of Book 1

Required reading
Institutes of Christian religion by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapters 1 to 4 of Book 1.

My summary
Today we start Book 1 which is on God the Father, and so accordingly this week we learn a lot about man's knowledge of God.

In Chapter One Calvin teaches us about wisdom:
(i) our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.;
(ii) man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself;
(iii) people who behold the presence of God are seen to be in dread and amazement with which as Scripture uniformly relates.

In Chapter Two we learn that:
(i) the knowledge of God is that by which we not only conceive that there is some God, but also apprehend what it is for our interest, and conducive to his glory;
(ii) those who propose to inquire what the essence of God is, only delude us with frigid speculations,—it being much more our interest to know what kind of being God is, and what things are agreeable to his nature.

In Chapter Three we observe that:
(i) there exists in the human minds and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity;
(ii) it is most absurd to maintain that religion was devised by the cunning and craft of a few individuals, as a means of keeping the body of the people in due subjection;
(iii) all men of sound Judgment will therefore hold, that a sense of Deity is indelibly engraven on the human heart.

In Chapter Four we hear that:
(i) though experience testifies that a seed of religion is divinely sown in all, scarcely one in a hundred is found who cherishes it in his heart, and not one in whom it grows to maturity so far is it from yielding fruit in its season;
(ii) the expression of David (Psalm 14:1, 53:1), “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” is primarily applied to those who stifle the light of nature, and intentionally stupefy themselves;
(iii) the vain pretext which many employ to clothe their superstition is overthrown;
(iv) when they do think of God it is against their will.

What grabbed me
I really enjoyed this point about man's blindness to his own condition: '...it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself. For (such is our innate pride) we always seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced, by clear evidence, of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity. Convinced, however, we are not, if we look to ourselves only, and not to the Lord also —He being the only standard by the application of which this conviction can be produced. For, since we are all naturally prone to hypocrisy, any empty semblance of righteousness is quite enough to satisfy us instead of righteousness itself. And since nothing appears within us or around us that is not tainted with very great impurity, so long as we keep our mind within the confines of human pollution, anything which is in some small degree less defiled delights us as if it were most pure just as an eye, to which nothing but black had been previously presented, deems an object of a whitish, or even of a brownish hue, to be perfectly white.'

Until we look at God, we simply do not understand how black we really are.

Next week's reading
Read Chapter 5 of Book 1.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.