A Word from Bob
You’re reading part of a series of posts on Reformed thinking on “common grace.”
In my first post, I shared a collation of quotations on 7 Reformed Theologians on “Common Grace.” That included what John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, John Murray, John Frame, Charles Hodges, Tim Keller, and R.C. Sproul said about common grace and what believers can learn from unbelievers. As those quotes showed, the Reformed doctrine of common grace explains how unsaved, unregenerate, totally depraved people under the noetic impact of sin can still make a legitimate contribution to culture, to the arts, to science, to research, and more.
In my second post, I added quotes from an 8th reformed theologian: Herman Bavinck on “Common Grace,” Part 1. I derived that post from: Bavinck, Herman. “Herman Bavinck’s ‘Common Grace.” Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, Translator. Calvin Theological Journal, 24(1), April 1989.
Today, I continue with additional posts from Bavinck on common grace. Many of the quotes in this post are from: Bavinck, Herman. “Calvin and Common Grace.” Geerhardus Vos, Translator. The Princeton Theological Review, 7(3), 1909, 437-465.
Calvin and Bavinck on God’s Gifts to All People
Bavinck presents Calvin as delicately balancing the two scriptural truths of the depravity of the unregenerate person and common grace which is the foundation for the legitimate contribution of the unregenerate person.
“…with Calvin reprobation does not mean the withholding of all grace. Although man through sin has been rendered blind to all the spiritual realities of the kingdom of God, so that a special revelation of God’s fatherly love in Christ and a specialis illuminatio by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the sinners here become necessary, nevertheless there exists alongside of these a generalis gratia which dispenses to all men various gifts. If God had not spared man, his fall would have involved the whole of nature in ruin. As it was, God immediately after the Fall interposed, in order by His common grace to curb sin and to uphold in being the universitas rerum. For after all sin is rather an adventitia qualitas than a substantialis proprietas, and for this reason God is operis sui corruptioni magis infensus quam operi suo. Although for man’s sake the whole of nature is subject to vanity, nevertheless nature is upheld by the hope which God implanted in its heart. There is no part of the world in which some spark of the divine glory does not glimmer. Though it be a metaphorical mode of expression, since God should not be confounded with nature, it may be affirmed in a truly religious sense that nature is God. Heaven and earth with their innumerable wonders are a magnificent display of the divine wisdom” (PDF, 9) (all page numbers are from the PDF linked above) (all bold wording has been added by me for emphasis).
“Especially the human race is still a clear mirror of the operation of God, an exhibition of His manifold gifts. In every man there is still a seed of religion, a consciousness of God, wholly ineradicable, convincing all of the heavenly grace on which their life depends, and leading even the heathen to name God the Father of mankind. The supernatural gifts have been lost, and the natural gifts have become corrupted, so that man by nature no longer knows who and what God seeks to be to him. Still these latter gifts have not been withdrawn entirely from man. Reason and judgment and will, however corrupt, yet, in so far as they belong to man’s nature, have not been wholly lost. The fact that men are found either wholly or in part deprived of reason, proves that the tithe to these gifts is not self-evident and that they are not distributed to men on the basis of merit. Nonetheless, the grace of God imparts them to us” (PDF, 9).
Calvin and Bavinck on Honoring and Making the Most of Art and Science
Based upon their theology of common grace, both Calvin and Bavinck teach that unregenerate persons can make contributes in the arts, sciences, and other areas that regenerate persons should not despise.
“The reason whereby man distinguishes between truth and error, good and evil, and forms conceptions and judgments, and also the will which is inseparable from human nature as the faculty whereby man strives after what he deems good for himself,—these raise him above the animals. Consequently it is contrary to Scripture as well as to experience to attribute to man such a perpetual blindness as would render him unable to form any true conception. On the contrary, there is light still shining in the darkness, men still retain a degree of love for the truth, some sparks of the truth have still been preserved. Men carry in themselves the principles of the laws which are to govern them individually and in their association with one another. They agree in regard to the fundamentals of justice and equity, and everywhere exhibit an aptness and liking for social order (PDF, 9-10).
“Sometimes a remarkable sagacity is given to men whereby they are not only able to learn certain things, but also to make important inventions and discoveries, and to put these to practical use in life. Owing to all this, not only is an orderly civil society made possible among men, but arts and sciences develop, which are not to be despised. For these should be considered gifts of the Holy Spirit” (PDF, 10).
“It is true the Holy Spirit as a spirit of sanctification dwells in believers only, but as a spirit of life, of wisdom and of power He works also in those who do not believe. No Christian, therefore, should despise these gifts; on the contrary, he should honor art and science, music and philosophy and various other products of the human mind as praestantissima Spiritus dona, and make the most of them for his own personal use” (PDF, 10).
“In the diversity of all these gifts we see the remnants of the divine image whereby man is distinguished from all other creatures” (PDF, 10).
“Calvin affirms, it is true, that the virtues of the natural man, however noble, do not suffice for justification at the judgment-bar of God, but this is due to his profound conviction of the majesty and spiritual character of the moral law. Aside from this, he is more generous in his recognition of what is true and good, wherever it be found, than any other Reformer. He surveys the entire earth and finds everywhere the evidence of the divine goodness, wisdom and power (PDF, 10).
Reformed Appreciation for the Good and Beautiful Given by God to the Unsaved
The following quotes are from Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, pages 190-191, and derived from Bavinck’s 1894 lecture entitled Common Grace. You can find the source of these quotes here.
(Bavinck writing): “From this common grace proceeds all that is good and true that we still see in fallen man. The light still shines in the darkness. The Spirit of God lives and works in everything that has been created. Therefore there still remain in man certain traces of the image of God. There is still intellect and reason; all kinds of natural gifts are still present in him. Man still has a feeling and an impression of divinity, a seed of religion. Reason is a priceless gift. Philosophy is an admirable gift from God. Music is also a gift of God. Arts and sciences are good, profitable, and of high value” (Created in God’s Image, 190-191).
(Bavinck writing): “The state has been instituted by God…. There is still a desire for truth and virtue, and for natural love between parents and children. In matters that concern this earthly life, man is still able to do much good…. Through the doctrine of common grace the Reformed have, on the one hand, maintained the specific and absolute character of the Christian religion, but on the other hand they have been second to none in their appreciation for whatever of the good and beautiful is still being given by God to sinful human beings” (Created in God’s Image, 190-191).
Join the Conversation
Which of the quotations from Bavinck stand out to you as most important? Why? What implications do these quotes have for how we view the arts, science, and research?
