John Knox and the Word of God:

A Comparison with John Calvin

by Prof. V .E. D'Assonville,
Dept. of Ecclesiastical History,
Potchefstroom University for
Christian Higher Education
In essence the Reformation of the
16th century differed wholly from the
movements of the Renaissance and
Humanism. Firstly, it was not con-
cerned with a renewal in science and arts
and the improvement of social and poli
7
tical conditions, but was, in its origin,
purely religious in nature. Its principle
is briefly and powerfully expressed in
the tripartite creed: Scriptura.sola, gratia
sola, fides sola, ill other words, the
Scriptures alone, grace alone, faith
alone!
But this was not a new principle; it
was the old Gospel of Jesus Christ
which was preached by the apostles in
the first century of the Christian era.
Mter the Dark Ages, it was a new dis-
covery and re-discovery. As Columbus
discovered the New World and the
Renaissance revived the old Latium and
Hellas, so the Reformation shed new
light on the meaning and significance
of the Holy Scriptures. The Word of
God, as revealed in the Scriptures, be-
gan to take over the dominant role in
the church in a radical way.
We see this, in particular, if we take
up, in earnest, the claim of Roman
Catholicism that the Pope is the
"Vicarius Christi". This is an express
attempt to give the church full control
over all spheres of life. And with this
the church came to rule over the Scrip-
tures as well. The church, according to
Roman Catholic theology, precedes the
Scriptures temporally and logically.
Roman Catholic theology correctly
saw that the dominion of Christ over
all spheres of life is a totalitarian do-
minion, but the fact that this dominion
was further subordinated to the church
obviously gave the Scriptures a sub-
ordinate role.
This is the focal point of the dispute
between Rome and the Reformation. It
is the question of authority. The
authority of the church or the authority
of the Scriptures?
In the stormy times after Luther had
published his 95 theses there remained
to him only one refuge from the
authority of the Pope and the Council
of the Church, viz. the Scriptures
alone. It was one of the greatest histori-
cal moments in world history when he
proclaimed the authority of God's Word
over his conscience before the Diet at
Worms on 18th April1521:
"Since then Your Majesty and you
lordships desire a simple reply, I will
answer without horns and without
teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scrip-
ture and plain reason--! do not accept
the authority of popes and councils, for
they have contradicted each other--my
conscience is captive to the Word of
God, I cannot and I will not recant any-
thing, for to go against conscience is
neither right nor sane. Here I stand, I
cannot do otherwise. God help me.
Amen."
No less than Luther, Calvin also
consistently upheld the authority of the
Holy Scriptures. It was he who de-
veloped a doctrine in this regard in his
Institutes in which he . stated that
nothing "can be more absurd than the
fiction, that the power of judging Scrip-
ti.rre is in the chruch, and that on her
nod its certainty depends."
. Even the letter accompanying the
first edition of the Institutes, which Cal-
l
vin addressed to the French king, Fran-
cis, was one long plea for the authority
of the Scriptures as the "sceptre of
God."
"The characteristic of a true sovereign
is to acknowledge that, in the adminis-
tration of his kingdom, he is a minister
of God. He who does not make his
reign subservient to the divine glory,
acts the part not of a king, but a robber.
He, moreover, deceives himself who
anticipates long prosperity to any king-
dom which is not ruled by the sceptre
of God, that is, by his divine Word."
The way in which Calvin frequently
brings the real secret of the Reforma-
tion to the fore, is magnificent. Like a
refrain it constantly returns, that the
Scriptures do not derive their authority
from an ecclesiastical institution or
from arguments or proofs, but in them-
selves alone, througn the Holy Spirit:
"Let it therefore be held as fixed, that
those who are inwardly taught by the
Holy Spirit acquiesce implicitly in
Scripture; that Scripture, carrying it
own evidence along with it, deigns, not
to submit to proofs and arguments, but
owes the full conviction with which we
ought to receive it to the testimony of
the Spirit."
These extracts from the Institutes, in
which Calvin so unequivocally acknow-
ledges the authority of the Scriptures,
can be multiplied tenfold. The "authori-
tas Scripturae" is prominantly in the
foreground. The "Scriptures are from
God," they come "from the very mouth
of God" and sconsequently Calvin sees
no distinction between the Holy Scrip-
tures and the Word of God, "hence, the
highest proof of Scripture is uniformly
taken from the character of Him whose
word. it is."
And these are precisely the words
which John Knox must have read in the
1539 Institutes. But he not only read
them; he suited the deed to the word.
The "ad verbum est veniendum" (we
must go to the Word) is the one main
theme of Knox's reform work. It is pre-
cisely in this that he reveals himself as
a fiery Calvinist and through this gave
(Continued on page 36)
The Counsel of Chalcedon, February-March, 1989
Role of the Churches
Continued from page 23
the diversity among us does not divide
us, but rather serve the unity of the
body of Christ.
Let us never forget: Christ bought us
dearly. Never should our lives, our atti-
tudes, our conduct be an embarrassment
for the kingdom of Christ. Only the
Word of God should be the final norm
for faith and life.
But on the other hand our responsi-
bility towards the world is grave and
challenging. We received a Word that
must be heard in the world. The evangel-
ization of the world will remain our
duty. The gospel must arrive as the one
and unique and only word of salvation
for mankind. This will be our highest
priority. Every one who hears it should
know: this Word of God is meant for
me personally, to determine my relation-
ship to God, but also to determine my
relationship to all God's people who
cross my way. Towards this end, we
believe that there are many clear and
distinct Biblical-ethical guidelines:
these apply to inter-personal as well as
to group relationships. They also have
a very direct bearing on the role of the
church in our country.
The General Synod of the Dutch
Reformed Church discerned five particu-
larly important ethical directives, which
will determine the role of the church in
society (Church and Society, page 22f).
First of all is Christian love for one's
neighbour. This must always be the
very essence of the church's message
concerning group relationships. We
must continually pray that God will
root out of our lives the noxious weeds
of lovelessness, egoism, suspicion and
bitterness. Our love for our neighbour
should never be determined by who our
neighbour is; rather, it should bridge
the chasms that separate people from
one another. Christian love includes a
deep concern for our neighbour's
spiritual needs, but also for his material
needs. The more privileges you have,
the greater your responsibility becomes
towards those who suffer in society.
The second directive is that of Bibli-
cal righteousness and justice. This
mearis that the church should strive for
justice for all groups in our country
with regard to social, educational, eco-
nomic and political matters, as well as ,
in all other spheres of life. It also
means that government policy, and the
actions of all individuals, groups and
goverrtment, must be tested against the
demand of what is right and just before
God. In its proclamation, the church
must point out the needs of the people
and bring injustice and need to the
attention of the authorities and all
parties concerned.
A third directive is Christian compas-
sion. The church ought to develop ave-
nues and structures for a ministry of
compassion transcending all boundaries.
Another directive is that of truth,
which implies listening to other peo-
ple's views with open minds.
Finally there is the honouring of
man's God-given dignity. In this regard
the role of the church will be to furnish
a biblically based concept of human
rights and to call for its implementa-
tion.
To summarize: In its proclamation
the church must translate the Gospel
message soundly and realistically into
the social idiom of its own day. It must
also focus the light of Scripture oil
those burning issues that are currently
ruling in South Africa. D
John Knox
Continued from page 24
the Scottish church its own individual
stamp.
But what is of great importance to us
is the fact that we find the exact
thoughts of Knox about the Word. as
the mark of the true church, "the voice
of its own pastor, Jesus Christ," in the
first edition of Calvin's Institutes.
As regards the dominion of the Word
over the Church and over all spheres of
life, Knox, like Calvin, was in no
doubt whatsoever, "as for me, I will be
on none other church except of that
which hath Christ Jesus to be pastor,
which hears his voice, arid will not hear
a stranger."
The absolute dominion of God's
Word over the State, is another of
Knox's primary principles. In a sermon
which was also heard by Darnley, the
husband of Mary Queen of Scots, he
stated expressly:
"Kings then have not an absolute
power in their regiment what pleaseth
them; but their power is limited by
God's Word: so that if they strike where
God commaundeth not, they are but
murderers; and if they spare when God
commaundeth to strike, they and their
throne are criminal and giltie of the
wickednesse that aboundeth upon the
face of the earth, for lacke of punish-
ment."
lh regard to the formal principle, that
the Bible is God's Word and that God
exercises his authopty:bver church and
state and all spheres of life through the
Bible, Knox does not differ .from Cal-
vin. On the contrary, Where the author-
ity of the Scriptures is' concerned, he is
one of the most fiery of the
Reformation. That the final decision is
to be found in the Word of God, Knox
regarded as a sine qua non even to his
Queen. When, in the crisis of the con-
flict between Roman Catholicism and
the Protestant faith, she cried out,
"Whom shall I believe? And who shall
be judge?" his reply is clear and to the
point:
"Ye shall believe God that plainly
speaketh in his word: and further than
the word teaches you, ye neither shall
believe the one or the other."
Here all the subjectivity of Knox
himself, or the individual group or tradi-
tion or custom or utility, are simply
penetrated by the statement of the one
objective truth which holds good for
everyone: the Word!
Although Knox never left us an
elaborated view about the Word of God,
we may nevertheless discover a few
general principles from his works:
1. The great merit in Knox's work is
the authority of the Holy Scriptures so .
(Continued on page 41)
Page36----------------------------------------------
The Counsel of Chakedon, February-March, 1989
Frontline Fellowship
Continued from page 29
days because of the risk of capture, he
assured me that there are indigenous
pastors who are willing to follow
through on the converts and who super-
vise the distribution of the precious
Scriptures.
Never have I encountered more de-
voted missionaries of the cross than
these courageous young men, who,
after fighting together for their country
in combat, are now taking the Gospel
of the Prince of Peace to places where
most missionaries would be unable to
go and where no missionary could
possibly stay. They deserve our prayers
and our support.
[The Rev. Robert Slimp is a free-
lance writer in the P.CA. who has
travelled extensively. This article is
reprinted from the November-December,
1987 issue of Journey magazine. It is
used by permission.] D
John Knox
Continued from page 36
unconditionally. In this respect his in-
fluence on the Reformation is incalcu-
lable and finds magnificent expression
in the Scottish "Confession of Faith,"
Cap XIX:
" ... we affirm and avow the authority
of the same to be of God, and neither to
depend on men nor angels. We affirm
therefore that such as allege the Scrip-
ture to have no (other) authority, but
that which is received from the Kirk, to
be blasphemous against God, and injuri-
ous to the true Kirk, which always hear-
eth and obeyeth the voice of her own
Spouse and Pastor, but taketh not upon
her to be mistress over the same."
fThis article contains excerpts from Prof.
V.E. D'Assonville's chapter 11 in Calvinus
ReformaJor, Potchefstroom University for
Cnristian Higher Education, 1982, Potchef-
stroom, Soutli Africa.] 0
JOHNCAU'IN
News Briefs
Continued from page 30
Africa, an organization supporting Com-
munist dictatorship in the third world is
a leading voice in the uproar over divest-
ment in South Africa. He too favors
revolutionary action to overthrow the
South African government. Robinson
does not like Savimbi, and he said this
about the Dec. 22 accord signed by
South Africa, Angola and Cuba: "If the
settlement actually comes off, Chester
Crocker will have produced fruit from a
very barren source and will deserve ku-
dos for a major effort."
Chester Crocker, an assistant secre-
tary of state, who is soft on commun-
ism, has been working on an agreement
such as the one mentioned above for
years. The question asked by Human
Events, "The National Conservative
Weekly," is "Can this pact be so sound
if this bosom buddy of Red revolution-
aries (Robinson) appears so content?"
The Soviet Union is very interested
in South Africa because of the country's
geostrategic position. Gorbachev, as
other Communist USSR leaders before
him, wants to run the world. A report
published in a Washington, D.C., news-
paper Dec. 26, shows that Moscow
doesn't care as much about communist
doctrine as much as furthering world
conquest. The Soviets have been im-
pressing some South African officials
and making friends because of osten-
sible changes in the communist sys-
tem.
To summarize what has been hap-
pening between South Africa and the
Soviet Union, a spokesman for the
South African Department of Foreign
Affairs said, "We have made a com-
parison of Soviet and American press
reports in recent months, and it makes
interesting reading. While the American
press, as a whole, continues to high-
light apartheid and the grievances of the
black population, the Soviet press is
running articles on South Africa that
are mainly informative. If you had told
me two years ago that we sould be
; getting a more objective press from
Russia than from America, I would
. never have believed it."
Three terrorists, members of the Afri-
can National Congress, were sentenced
in Cape Town Jan. 16 for planting land-
mines on white-owned farms in
Swaziland. The mastermind of the
scheme was Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, a
South African Indian. That is an appro-
priate middle name for a terrorist (Gen.
16:11, 12). Ebrahim was sentenced to
20 years in prison, but the judge said he
had "strong moral qualities." Whatever
these strong moral qualities may be,
they don't apply to marriage. He has a
common-law wife named Julie Wells.
The tragic part of this trial was not
that more terrorists will take up cell
space in South Africa. According to one
report, a Deputy Chief State Prose-
cutor, Louise van der Walt, showed her
extremist sympathies after the verdict
was handed down. The convicted men
went to their cells, the blacks in the
gallery started to sing, and Mrs. Van der
Walt raised her hand in the salute of the
Afrikaaner Resistance Movement. Ebra-
him and his comrades had aimed to kill
when they planted the mines, and Mrs.
Vander Walt was right to demand the
death penalty for the terrorists.
But she certainly didn't enhance the
credibility of her correct commitment to
proper criminal penalties with this
apalling action. Ori the other hand, she
too has a point when she asks her
colleagues in the courtroom, "Why do
you have to shut me up while others
are allowed to sing?" This event under-
scores the need for Christians not to
choose between the two false options
concerning South Africa. When both
sides are wrong, we must not be afraid
to say so. D
Join us
in the
Worship of God
<CllMnJI.tred(Q)mt

<Clhl1U1flCllil
(Corner Roberts Dr. & Spalding Dr.,
one-half mile south of Northridge exit
off highway 400)
North Dunwoody, Georgia
The Counsel of Chalcedon, 1989
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