DE E P.O 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2002, AL DEC 241.

Calvin believed that the Spirit is the power involved in the sanctification of “the Christian life.” He also saw the Spirit to sanctify believers in his understanding of the Christian life is a life of “Grace” and “Gratitude.”

In “the Christian life,” Calvin saw the Spirit bringing forth faith, the first mark of the work of the Spirit in the individual believer. As the Spirit brings forth faith, sanctification in the Christian life takes place through the efficacy of the Spirit through the aspects of faith, namely, repentance, a life of righteousness and prayer.

In “repentance,” the efficacy of the Spirit is the power through which the process of repentance takes place. Calvin understood repentance as a process of “turning” towards God, a process that continues throughout a lifetime; it is through the power of the Spirit that such “turning” towards God is realised. As the Spirit enables individuals to turn towards God, it also transforms and renews a believer into the Image of God, hence sanctifying them.

In the Christian life, or the life of righteousness, the Spirit is the power through which the practical Christian life is demonstrated. The Spirit enables individuals to live according to God’s expectations, hence at the same time transforming and renewing a believer into the likeness of Christ.

Calvin’s views of the sanctifying work of the Spirit in a believer become more evident in the study when he pointed out that Scripture supports the argument that a life of righteousness

ought to be demonstrated. In Calvin’s teaching, the Scripture would never be efficacious without the power of the Spirit. As the Spirit works through the Scripture in the life of a believer, it transforms and renews a believer into the Image of God.

Furthermore, Calvin pointed out that a life of righteousness necessarily involves sacrifice. The individual who is seeking to live a righteous life must be ready to sacrifice since such a life is not easy to live. It is a life of challenges and one lived through self-denial. In order to exercise such a life, one must be ready to forgo the pleasures of this world since the pleasures of the world hinder us from giving ourselves fully to righteous living. A life of righteousness must, instead, be lived in such a manner that the focus is not on the gains of this life but on the life to come. It is in the future life where true and everlasting treasures are found. Individuals in this life must therefore prepare for the future life. Preparation for the future life entails care and support of the poor and the needy in this life. Calvin strongly emphasised that the poor and the needy must be taken care of. It is in this manner that this temporal life can be well-utilised to prepare for the future life. In all these teachings, Calvin believed that the Spirit was the power that worked in the individual believers, enabling the believers to demonstrate such lives. And as the Spirit worked in the believers, it also transforms them into the likeness of Christ.

Furthermore, Calvin saw “prayer” as an aspect through which a Christian life is sanctified. He taught that every believer must be inspired by faith in pray to God. He saw the Spirit as the power through which such faith comes forth. Furthermore, he believed that the Spirit is the Person who intercedes before God on our behalf. Due to our sinful nature, our prayers do not necessarily invoke God’s response. The Spirit is therefore the aid through which our prayers invoke God’s response. Furthermore, Calvin believed that the Spirit teaches us how to pray to God aright. We are limited in finding the right words to utter before God in prayer and so it is through the guidance of the Spirit that we present our prayers. More so, the study also demonstrates that Calvin taught and emphasized human responsibility in prayer. During all such activity in prayer, it is the Spirit who is the efficacy and power. As the Spirit becomes part of the exercise of prayer, He renews believers into the image of God; hence, there is further growth in sanctification.

In each of these three aspects of “the Christian life” (repentance, the life of righteousness and prayer), therefore, the Spirit sanctifies us. That is, we are renewed and transformed into the likeness of Christ.

The aspect of justification, which Calvin discussed under “the Christian life” immediately after the aspect of the Christian life and before that of prayer, is a one-time activity and not a process like that of sanctification. The Spirit is seen to function with God the Father and God the Son as One, in imputing righteousness to us. The role played by the Spirit in our justification is equally significant since it is through justification that righteousness is imputed to us; hence, we are counted sinless before God. As God imputes rigteuosnessness to us, the Spirit also transforms and renews us into the Image of God.

Furthermore, the study has shown that Calvin believed that the Spirit sanctified believers in his interpretation of the Christian life as a life of “Grace” and “Gratitude.” Calvin understood sanctification taking place through the elements he discusses. He also sees them as the means through which the grace of God is received and gratitude demonstrated toward God. These are the elements of the Word, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and the Church.

Among the above-mentioned elements, Calvin believed that the Word constituted the important foundation upon which the Christian life is built. He believed that the Spirit sanctifies believers as they live in obedience to the teaching of the Word. At the same time, he saw the Word as a means through which the grace of God is attained. This is in the sense that through the teaching of the Word, individuals are drawn to faith in Christ and enabled to live in obedience to God. Furthermore, as believers live in obedience to the Word, they honour God since the Word of God is given by God for the purpose of instructing believers to demonstrate gratitude to him for his works in creation and salvation.

The study further demonstrates that Calvin believed that the sanctification of believers is experienced in a deep manner during baptism. Calvin understood baptism itself as a sacrament which every individual brought to faith through the teaching of the Word needs to observe. He taught that it was necessary for a believer to observe baptism. Calvin understood the sacrament as an initiatory sign through which believers are initiated into the life of the Church. It plays an important role by demonstrating who should be regarded as legitimate members of the Church. As individuals observe the ordinance, therefore, he believed the efficacy of the Spirit was experienced by those baptized in a deep manner. More so, he believed that the Spirit transforms and renews believers into the Image of God during the process. Furthermore, as in the case of the Word, Calvin also saw baptism as a means through which the Grace of God is attained and Gratitude is as well demonstrated to God. It

serves as a means through which the Grace of God is attained in the sense that through the exercise, God draws us to faith, hence extending his gracious act of salvation to us. More so, it is a means through which Gratitude is demonstrated to God in this sense: that since the sacrament is instituted by God, as believers observe it, they honour God, hence demonstrating Gratitude to Him particularly for his work in salvation.

While discussing the sacrament of the baptism, Calvin also taught about the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. He believed that the Spirit sanctifies believers through the Lord’s Supper. He believed that the Spirit itself was the efficacy and power in the observance of the Lord’s Supper as well as the bond of union between believers and Christ. As the Spirit plays such role in the Supper, it also transforms and renews believers into the likeness of Christ. Here again, as in the element of the Word and Baptism, Calvin saw the Lord’s Supper as a means through which the grace of God is attained and gratitude demonstrated to God. Firstly, the sacrament becomes a means of grace in the sense that through it God draws individuals to faith, hence extending His gracious acts to them. Secondly, it is a means of gratitude in the sense that it is instituted by Christ; as believers partake of it, they honour God, hence expressing thanksgiving to Him for his work in salvation in Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, Calvin believed that the Spirit sanctifies believers as they actively continue to be part of the life of the Church. He taught and emphasised that individual members ought to participate in the life of the Church. As individuals participate in the life of the Church, the Spirit transforms and renews them into the likeness of Christ. More so, he believed that the institution of the Church is a means through which the grace of God is attained and gratitude is demonstrated to God. Firstly, it is a means through which the grace of God is attained in the sense that through the Church God draws his people to faith in Christ and also further provides for their needs, hence extending his gracious acts to them. Secondly, as believers participate in the life of the Church, they acknowledge what God has instituted, hence demonstrating Gratitude to him for his work in salvation.

In the life of the Church, Calvin believed, the sanctification of believers takes place through “discipline” and “service to the Community.” This is in the power of the Holy Spirit.

To begin with, concerning the matter of “discipline,” Calvin taught two different kinds of discipline: “common discipline” and discipline that concerns “the clergy.” Regarding “common discipline,” Calvin emphasised that discipline for all believers is extremely

necessary in the life of the Church and ought to the observed by all, including the clergy. When such discipline is observed, believers seek to live according to God’s expectations and in fellowship with each other, hence yielding to the work of the Spirit in them. As the Spirit’s efficacy is experienced in the believers, the Spirit transforms and renews believers into the likeness of Christ.

According to Calvin, “discipline” was enforced through “excommunication.” Those under discipline were excommunicated from the fellowship of the Church and not allowed to partake of the Lord’s Supper. To miss out on the Lord’s Supper had further implications on the efficacy of the Spirit in the lives of the individual believers, since Calvin saw the efficacy of the Spirit in the Lord’s Supper, as discussed earlier. As believers partake of the Lord’s Supper, the efficacy of the Spirit is deeply experienced in them, hence the Spirit brings forth further sanctification. On the other hand, when believers are not partaking the Lord’s Supper, such sanctifying work of the Spirit is not taking place since the efficacy of the Spirit is not deeply experienced.

“Discipline” that concerns “the clergy,” on the other hand, involved the clergy’s work in exhorting the members to observe particular actions that move people to worship, such as fasting. The intent of the discipline of fasting was to enable believers to focus on God and to dedicate themselves to him in worship. Such focus and dedication to God in worship is not something that can be realised without the efficacy of the Spirit. It is, therefore, through the power the Spirit that worship becomes meaningful in such moments of focus and dedication to God; hence the Spirit, at the same time, renews the individual believers from within.

On the matter of “service to the Community,” Calvin taught and emphasised the need to care for each other. He exhorted on the need of care and support for each other in the “Community” or the fellowship of the people of God. He stressed that the people of the Community of God must indeed demonstrate care and support for each other. For Calvin, the Spirit is the source and power through which such care is demonstrated. As the Spirit enables believers to demonstrate such care, it also transforms and renews believers into the Image of God.

For Calvin, all these elements form part of the life of “Grace” and “Gratitude.” He saw the elements as those through which the Spirit would sanctify believers in the life of “Grace” and “Gratitude.”

In summary, therefore, Calvin saw the sanctifying power of the Spirit working in “the Christian life.” He further saw the Spirit to sanctify believers in his understanding of the Christian life as a life of “Grace” and “Gratitude.”

Having seen how Calvin understood the work of the Spirit in the sanctification of a believer, we next move on to evaluate his view of sanctification from the perspective of the Luo of the Africa Inland Church of Kenya. This is to establish how the Luo respond to Calvin’s views already discussed in this chapter.

CHAPTER 4