Book 3, Chapter 2, Sections 8-13

“Since faith embraces Christ as he is offered by the Father, and he is offered not only for justification, for forgiveness of sins and peace, but also for sanctification, as the fountain of living waters, it is certain that no man will ever know him aright without at the same time receiving the sanctification of the Spirit; or, to express the matter more plainly, faith consists in the knowledge of Christ; Christ cannot be known without the sanctification of his Spirit: therefore faith cannot possibly be disjoined from pious affection” (3.2.8).

It is important to highlight here that, for Calvin, faith is not a “cold” mental exercise merely seeking to identify known facts that even the unbeliever could grasp. Nor can faith can be “formed” through acts of works or piety that add to an intellectual clasping at faith. Faith, Calvin argues, is a matter of the heart. The “heart” does not refer to simple subjective human emotion, such as love, empathy, or shame that inherently points to the individual. Instead, heart refers to the reconciliation of a relationship which points to Christ. As the Spirit causes our dead, sinful hearts to turn from stone to flesh, we are resuscitated into an obedient relationship with Christ that convicts us of our sin, confirms in us of our knowledge of God, and assures us to pursue salvation in him with confidence and trust. He cites Paul in Romans 10:10 saying, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.”

This faith that embraces Christ cannot be received without sanctification through the Spirit. To state it more positively: at the same time that we embrace Christ through faith so too are we sanctified through the Spirit. Although we can economically divide faith and sanctification, one is not possible without the other. The same Spirit that has sown this “seed of life” within the elect is the Spirit who works to sanctify us.

Calvin also reminds us that this seed sown into the hearts of the elect cannot be stolen away. Calvin writes in section 12 about the true faith of the believer versus the false faith of the reprobate. Compared to the reprobate, who may have “a taste of heavenly gifts” but does not “truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith,” in the elect “he implants the living root of faith, so that they persevere even to the end.” When describing the assurance of true faith Calvin says, “We must remember that however feeble and slender the faith of the elect may be, yet as the Spirit of God is to them a sure earnest and seal of their adoption, the impression once engraven can never be effaced from their hearts, whereas the light which glimmers in the reprobate is afterwards quenched.” The Romanist position leaves a believer continually in doubt of his faith and questioning his salvation.

How encouraging it is for Calvinists to be assured of the believer’s salvation. Rather than rely on human achievement or individual piety, we are assured of our effectual calling in Christ.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Carl Trueman provides helpful commentary and context on the true faith versus false faith and “formed” faith versus “unformed” faith notions against which Calvin is arguing.

W. Robert Godfrey’s lecture “Calvin on Faith” provides a helpful summary going forward in Books 3. In it, Godfrey summarizes the Calvinist notion of faith as “knowledge, trust, confidence, and a fountain.”