I now want the show the relationship between human reason and the kingdom of God. When we speak of the kingdom and spiritual realities, there are three main things we’re talking about. The first one is the knowledge of God. The second one is God’s fatherly kindness towards us which leads us to salvation. And the third one is how we can in obedience to God’s commands. When we think about human reason in relationship to knowledge about who God is and his fatherly kindness toward us (especially this one!), people are blinder than moles to them! I don’t deny that philosophers occasionally have a shrewd insight on the nature of God. Even when they make such an observation, it is usually soured by other unstable claims.

The Lord sometimes has given them a slight perception of his divine nature, so that they can’t plead ignorance as an excuse for their lack of worship. He sometimes moves these philosophers to speak some truths, which end up being the very source of their own condemnation. Although they “saw” the truth, did not actually understand it! Their discernment did not direct them to the truth much less grasp it and understand it. Rather, they resembled a confused hiker who sees a flash of lightning in the darkness. A brief flash of that lightning would not be enough to put him on the right path. Furthermore, so many monstrous falsehoods are mixed in with their particle of truth.

Even the most brilliant philosophers have never approached divine favor through their own abilities. Unless the mind is given God’s grace, it remains in a state of confusion about the truth. People do not naturally understand the greatest truths: who God is in himself and what he is in relation to us!

“Blogging the Institutes” is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin’s work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List.