Lord’s Day, Vol. 13 No. 23

Reformation Study Tour 2025

The Life of John Calvin – Theologian, Pastor, Reformer

Birth – John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509, in the town of Noyon, in northwest France. He was born about twenty-five years after Luther and Zwingli. Noyon still contains the large cathedral in which Calvin’s father was the bishop’s secretary. His father wanted him to enter the priesthood. In 1520, at the remarkable young age of eleven, John Calvin became a chaplain in the cathedral, giving him a close look at some of questionable workings of the Catholic Church.

University In Paris, Orleans, and Bourges – In 1523, at the age of fourteen, Calvin was sent to Paris to study theology. In 1524, he entered the college of Montaigu, graduating at nineteen with a Master of Arts degree. In 1528, Calvin went to Orleans to study law, and then to Bourges. He received his Doctor (Licentiate) of Law degree in 1532. He also published his commentary on De Clementia by Seneca.

Conversion to Christ – It was during the days in Bourges that Calvin came across Luther’s writings, which had swept across Europe. He was converted to Jesus Christ during the time, and thus to the Protestant faith. He described his own conversion in these words: “God by a sudden conversion, subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life. Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not altogether leave off other studies yet I pursued them with less ardour.” Having come to understand the meaning of salvation by grace through faith alone, Calvin began to write on his discoveries and to preach and counsel people. But this quickly caused him to be viewed with suspicion and forced him to move continuously to avoid arrest.

Flees Paris – In 1533, Nicolas Cops, rector of the University of Paris, gave a speech many scholars believe was written by Calvin. Calvin was now a marked man and considered an outlaw. Fleeing France for his life, he escaped by using sheets to let himself down from a window.

Goes to Basel and Writes the “Institutes of the Christian Religion” – After a few months travelling in France, Calvin finally went to Basel, Switzerland in 1535, and began to write the Institutes of the Christian Religion in Latin (the official language, though French was widely spoken), in which he systemized the Protestant doctrines in an orderly and logical manner. Commenting on this work, Calvin wrote: “I laboured at the task especially for our own Frenchmen, for I saw many were hungering and thirsting after Christ and yet that only a very few had any knowledge of Him.” Calvin dedicated the Institutes to Francis I, King of France, who was cruelly persecuting Protestants. In his introduction, Calvin tried to convince him of his error, and sought to explain “… the whole sum of godliness and whatever is necessary to know about saving doctrine.” In the Institutes, Calvin gave his views on the church, the sacraments, justification, Christian liberty, political government, predestination. 

In March 1536, the first edition of the Institutes was published. It was widely received, immediately bringing Calvin to international prominence. Without seeking it, he thus became the leader of the French Protestant cause.

Geneva Adopts the Reformation – On May 21, 1536, just two months after Calvin’s Institutes were published, Geneva officially voted by raised hands to adopt the Reformation. The city was no longer Catholic.

Farel Coerces Calvin to Come to Geneva – In July 1536, Calvin travelling and stopped in Geneva for the night. William Farel, having read the Institutes, heard about Calvin’s presence in Geneva and went to see him at his hotel. There, he forcefully told Calvin that he felt it was God’s will for him to stay in Geneva and lead the Reformation work in the city. Farel actually threatened him with a curse: “I denounce unto you, in the name of Almighty God, that if, under the pretext of prosecuting your studies, you refuse to labour with us in this work of the Lord, the Lord will curse you, as seeking yourself rather than Christ.”

Calvin himself described this incident and his reaction in the preface to his commentary on Psalms: “Farel, who burned with an extraordinary zeal to advance the gospel, immediately learned that my heart was set upon devoting myself to private studies, for which I wished to keep myself free from other pursuits, and finding that he gained nothing by entreaties, he proceeded to utter an imprecation that God would curse my retirement and the tranquility of the studies which I sought, if I should withdraw and refuse to give assistance, when the necessity was so urgent. By this imprecation I was so stricken with terror that I desisted from the journey which I had taken.” Calvin thus agreed to come to Geneva. He ended up staying in Geneva a total of twenty-eight years, mi nus the three years of banishment. He became a professor of sacred scripture and was soon thereafter appointed pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Geneva.

Calvin’s Goals in Geneva – Peter Hammond says this about Calvin’s goals in Geneva, “Calvin’s goal in Geneva was a well-taught, faithful church, dedicated to honouring God by orthodox praise and obedient holiness. He prepared a confession of faith to be accepted by everyone who wished to be a citizen, planned an educational program for all, and insisted on effective church discipline, including excommunication for those whose lives did not conform to biblical standards. His was the most strenuous program of moral discipline in the Protestant world, and quite a lot more than the city fathers of Geneva had bargained for. In April 1538 the City Counsel expelled Calvin and Farel.

Banishment from Geneva – Indeed, rigorous church discipline was not at first appreciated in Geneva. Calvin and Farel were thus banished from the city in 1538. Calvin went to Strasbourg and pastored a church of about 500 refugees. Farel went to Neuchatel, in Switzerland.

Marriage to Idelette – It was during this time that Calvin married a widow, named Idelette De Bure Storeur, who brought a son and a daughter into the marriage. Calvin was 31 when they married in 1540. He and Idelette had one child, Jacques, who died shortly after birth. The Strasbourg years were some of Calvin’s happiest.

Return to Geneva – In 1541, three years after being banished by Geneva, the City Counsel of Geneva recognized the huge mistake it had made regarding Calvin and rescinded their decision. They asked him to come back. Calvin agonized over the decision. Geneva, he knew, would be nothing but controversy and danger. But he went back to Geneva on September 13, 1541 and stayed until May 21, 1564 the day of his death. Interesting, and resumed his exposition of the scriptures exactly where he had left off three years earlier.

Continues to Write – That same year Calvin published the first French edition of Institutes of Christian Religion, in Geneva and The Ecclesiastical Ordinances. The following year, 1542, he wrote the Catechism of the Church of Geneva. He also began work on the Geneva Paslter.

Death of Idelette – In March of 1549 Calvin’s wife, Idelette, died from tuberculosis after nine years of marriage. Calvin never remarried. Instead, he gave himself totally to his work.

Execution of Michael Servetus – The year 1553 saw the trial and execution of Michael Servetus, a heretic, who was burned at the stake in Champel on October 27.

The Founding of the College and Academy – In 1559, the College and Academy were founded. Theodore Beze became its first rector. Pierre Viret and other professors left Lausanne and went to teach in Geneva. Calvin was also officially made a citizen of Geneva that same year.

Calvin’s Illnesses – Calvin never had good health and his workload clearly did not help. It is said he rarely slept more than four hours a night. He ate one meal a day and suffered severe headaches, fever, gallstones, chronic asthma and tuberculosis. Yet he studied, preached and wrote extensively: commentaries, correspondences, and theological treatises. He also received a steady stream of visitors. By 1560, Calvin’s health was quickly deteriorating, but amazingly, while ill and bed-ridden, he finished his final edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Calvin’s Last Sermon – In early 1564, Calvin gave his last lecture in the Auditoire and preached his last sermon at St. Peter’s Cathedral. On April 25, he dictated his last well and testament. Then, on April 27 he gave his final farewells to the Councils of Geneva and his fellow pastors.

Calvin’s Death – On May 27, 1564, Calvin died with Farel at his side. [Following the Footsteps of the Great Reformer by John Glass]

Thank God for His grace in enabling the church’s Reformation Tour 2025. May the Lord strengthen His people to hold fast to the faith once delivered unto the saints (Jude 4). Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee