de Greef, Wulfert. The Writings of John Calvin: An Introductory Guide. Translated by Lyle D. Bierma. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1993. [254 pages]
Reviewed by Dr. Marcus J. Serven
I first read this book in preparation for a lecture that I had been invited to give at the Reformed Fellowship of the Southeastern United States in Columbia, South Carolina (April 28, 1998). My chosen topic was “A Reformation Hero: The Life and Theology of John Calvin.” During my time of preparation, it was difficult to find all of the correct dates and facts about the life of John Calvin in the standard biographies I already owned. This slim volume, however, put all of the essential information about Calvin’s life at my finger tips! Dr. de Greef has done us a great service by chronicling Calvin’s life and ministry on the basis of his writings. Moreover, that particular unifying theme (i.e. The Writings of John Calvin) gives the book an orderly, logical, and readable lens by which to examine Calvin’s rich and varied life.
One particular question that I have been curious about was “How could John Calvin, the extraordinarily busy pastor of Geneva, find time to write his scholarly Commentaries on various books from the Bible?” After all, these Commentaries total twenty-two volumes in the Baker Books edition (over 30,000 pages)! From the very beginning of Calvin’s ministry in Geneva he solemnly committed himself to teaching the Bible to the population of Geneva. He took his title of “Professor of Sacred Literature” (sacrarum literarum doctor) very seriously and disciplined himself to give regular public lectures on the Bible; oftentimes on a weekly basis in the auditorium (the Auditore) right next to the church building (St. Pierre). Dr. de Greef cites evidence to show that many, but not all, of the Commentaries were taken from lecture notes (praelectiones) given by Calvin and compiled by others. The draft editions of the Commentaries would then be reviewed by Calvin before going to publication. Dr. de Greef notes,
The first commentary Calvin published was on the Epistle to the Romans, which came off the press in Strasbourg in March 1540. The contents are probably a revised summary of lectures he had given in Geneva from 1536 to 1538…The commentary on the Epistle to the Romans was followed by a number of others…These publications were probably lectures that he had given…
de Greef, The Writings of John Calvin, 94-95
Here is a second example of this collaborative effort,
The commentary on Isaiah, which appeared in 1551, was the first commentary in which Calvin engaged in the interpretation of the Old Testament. It was not put together by Calvin himself, however, since he did not have enough time to devote to it then. In 1549 Nicolas Des Gellars (Gallasius) had attended Calvin’s lectures on Isaiah, taken notes, and then developed them at home, letting Calvin read the finished product for possible corrections. Calvin dedicated the commentary on December 25, 1550, to King Edward VI of England (CO 13:669-74), noting that the commentary was not from his own hand, but had been carefully compiled from lectures (praelectiones) that he had given.
de Greef, The Writings of John Calvin, 101-102
In addition, we see from Dr. de Greef’s research the persuasive evidence that the Commentaries also came from the weekly ministerial lectures given by Calvin on Friday mornings at the Congregation, and from certain Sermons that were later edited into the form of a commentary on Scripture. For example,
In Calvin’s forward [from his Commentary on the Psalms] of July 22, 1557, which contains various biographical data, he relates that he had first expounded on the Psalms for “our little school” a practice which, according to Nicolas Colladon (CO 21:75), he had begun in 1552. From 1555 until August 1559 the Psalms were also discussed during the weekly Bible studies (congregations). In addition, Calvin often chose a psalm for the Sunday afternoon sermon. At the repeated insistence of friends, he moved on to the writing of a commentary on the Psalms.
de Greef, The Writings of John Calvin, 105
At times, Calvin expressed a reluctance to have his material published in this manner, but due to the challenges of time he was unable to do otherwise. Dr. de Greef comments,
Calvin has lectured on the New Testament at the gymnasium in Strasbourg, where he covered the Gospel of John and 1 Corinthians. In Geneva he gave exegetical lectures on the Old Testament, addressing in Latin the students, ministers, and other interested persons. He thoroughly prepared for these lectures even though he had nothing written in front of him during the classes themselves; he could not find the time to carefully write everything down….It is striking that in later translations of Calvin’s commentaries and lectures, the differences in character between the two are often not distinguished. Calvin himself wrote the commentaries, following as closely as possible the criteria that he had established for a good commentary. Thus in a commentary Calvin always gives a very concise interpretation of the text. In the lectures, however, he generally discusses the text in somewhat more detail than in his commentaries… Considering the different value that Calvin placed on his commentaries and his lectures, we do him an injustice if we do not clearly distinguish between them…Calvin writes in the forward that originally he was not at all keen about the publication of these lectures. Since he had too little time to give to their preparation, he felt that they were not suitable for publication. But he also could not find the time to write a commentary on Hosea, so he agreed to publish the lectures as an experiment. It appears from a letter to Heinrich Bullinger (dated February 17, 1557—CO 16:412-13) that Calvin was not very happy with the publication. But the experiment proved to be successful, and all his subsequent lectures, therefore, were published in both Latin and French.
de Greef, The Writings of John Calvin, 107-108
Hence, the answer to my question of “How could John Calvin find time to write his scholarly Commentaries on various books from the Bible?” is answered by the research put forward by Dr. de Greef. In short, it was through Calvin’s hard work of preparing and giving weekly lectures on the Bible, and through the editing of the transcriptions of those remarks written down by others, that the large number of Commentaries came into existence.
Besides giving the background of the Commentraries, Dr. de Greef comments on many of the other publications of Calvin: his early writings as a young humanist, his shorter theological tracts, his sermon manuscripts, his letters, and his lengthier books. The history of the five separate editions of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, which stretches from 1536 to 1559, was especially helpful. Over the course of twenty-three years, Calvin’s Institutes steadily grew from a “small book” of six chapters that was designed to be “concealed in one’s pocket,” into a “large volume” containing eighty chapters in four books. This demonstrates the stellar effort that Calvin put into his literary projects over the course of his adult years.
What can be learned from Calvin’s example? As a busy pastor, his determined effort stimulates me to continue my practice of working hard to fill my sermons and lectures with excellent material. Moreover, it should be my goal to preserve all of my material in personal files and/or by audio recordings. In this way, the work that goes into a given sermon or lecture is not only limited to that particular moment; but it lives on to be used another day. This same principle works well for various theological lectures and conference talks–each presentation can be used in other settings to further the impact of that one effort. May it all be to the Glory of God! Soli Deo Gloria!
— Dr. Marcus J. Serven
