CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHIES J-L

ABOUT JOHN ALBERT BENGEL

JOHN ALBERT BENGEL, a celebrated Biblical scholar and critic, was born at Winnenden, in Wurtemberg, on the 24th June 1687. His father, who was one of the ministers of that town, having died when Bengel was only six years old, his education was taken in hand by a friend of his father named Spindler, who having afterwards be-come a master in the gymnasium at Stuttgart, carried the boy thither with him, and superintended his education until he entered the University of Tubingen in the year 1703. While at the university, the works to which, among others, he gave special attention as private studies were those of Aristotle and Spinoza, and so thoroughly did he make himself acquainted with the metaphysics of the latter, that he was selected by one of the professors to prepare materials for a treatise De Spinosumo which the pro-fessor afterwards published. He himself used to express his " great thankfulness for the benefit which he had de-rived from the study of metaphysics and mathematics, in respect of the clearness of thought which they imparted, which was of the utmost value to him in the analysis and exposition of the language of Scripture." After taking his degree, Bengel devoted himself to the study of theology, to which the grave and religious tone of his mind, deep-ened and strengthened by his early training and discipline, naturally inclined him. Like other young men of thought-ful character, before and since, he had to struggle with doubts and difficulties of a religious nature, and he alludes, with much feeling, to the " many arrows which pierced his poor heart, and made his youth hard to bear." It is in-teresting to know that at this early date his attention was directed to the various readings of the Greek New Testa-ment, and that one cause of his mental perplexities was the difficulty of ascertaining the true reading among the great number of those which were presented to his notice. In 1707 Bengel entered the church, and was appointed to the parochial charge of Metzingen-unter-Urach. Here he remained only one year, and during that time devoted himself to the study of the writings of Spener, Arndt, A. H. Franke, and Chemnitz. The profound impression which the works of these men made upon his mind was never effaced, and may be traced in that vein of devotional, not to saypietistic, feeling which runs through all his religious compositions. In 1708 Bengel was recalled to Tubingen to undertake the office of Repetent or theological tutor. Here he remained until 1713, when he was appointed the head of a seminary recently established at Denkendorf and intended as a preparatory school of theology. Before entering on his duties there, he made a literary journey through the greater part of Germany, to acquaint himself with the various systems of education which were in use, in order to qualify himself for the better discharge of his official duties. In prosecuting the journey he visited with laudable impartiality the seminaries of the Jesuits as well as those of the Lutheran and Reformed Churches. Among other places he visited Heidelberg and Halle, and had his attention directed at the former city to the canons of Scrip-ture criticism published by Gerhard von Mastricht, and at the latter to Vitringa's Anacrisis ad Apocalypsin. 

The in-fluence exerted by these upon his theological studies will be apparent when we come to notice his works upon the criticism and interpretation of Scripture. For twenty-eight years—from 1713-1741—he discharged his import-ant duties as head of the school of Denkendorf with dis-tinguished ability and success, devoting all his energies to the religious and intellectual improvement of his students. It is impossible to read the extracts from his diary and correspondence, which have been preserved, without being struck with the spirit of fervent piety, combined with sagacity and good sense, which characterized his manage-ment of the institution. These twenty-eight years were the period of Bengel's greatest intellectual activity, many of the works on which his reputation rests being included within them. In 1741 he was appointed prelate of the cloister of Herbrechtingen, an office which he held for eight years. In 1749 he was raised to the dignity of consis-torial counsellor and prelate of Alpirsbach, with a residence in Stuttgart. Bengel henceforth devoted himself to the discharge of his duties as a member of the consistory. A question of considerable difficulty was at that time occu-pying the attention of the church courts, viz., the manner in which those who separated themselves from the church were to be dealt with, and the amount of toleration which should be accorded to meetings held in private houses for the purpose of religious edification. The civil power (the duke of Wurtemberg was a Roman Catholic) was disposed to have recourse to measures of repression, while the mem-bers of the consistory, recognizing the good effects of such meetings, were inclined to concede a considerable degree of liberty. Bengel exerted himself on the side of the latter. The admirer of Spener, the founder of the collegia pietatis, could not but show himself favourably disposed to meetings held for religious purposes, and while main-taining the rights and privileges of the church, he was an advocate for all reasonable freedom being accorded to those who felt themselves bound on grounds of conscience to withdraw from her communion. The good effects of this policy may be seen at this day in the attitude taken up by those who in Wurtemberg have separated from the church. Bengel's public position necessarily brought him into contact with many individuals of celebrity, by whom he was consulted on all important theological and ecclesi-astical questions. In a single year he received no fewer than 1200 letters. In the year 1751 the University of Tubingen, his own alma mater, conferred upon him the degree of doctor of divinity. Bengel's life was now drawing to a close. He died, after a short illness, in 1752, aged sixty-five years and four months. He himself is reported to have said, " I shall be forgotten for a while, but I shall again come into remembranceand his favourite pupil Oetinger re-marked of him, " His like is not left in Wurtemberg."

Source: 1902encyclopedia.com/B/BEN/john-albert-bengel.html

QUOTES BY JOHN A. BENGEL

APPLY YOURSELF WHOLLY TO THE TEXT

"Apply yourself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to yourself."

- Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687–1752) Lutheran Clergyman and Greek Scholar

THE HISTORICAL MATTERS OF SCRIPTURE

"The historical matters of Scripture, both narrative and prophecy, constitute as it were the bones of its system; whereas the spiritual matters are as its muscles, blood-vessels and nerves. As the bones are necessary to the human system, so Scripture must have its historical matters. The expositor who nullifies the historical ground-work of Scripture for the sake of finding only spiritual truths everywhere, brings death on all correct interpretation." 

- Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687–1752) Lutheran Clergyman and Greek Scholar

JOHN A. BENGEL BOOKS AND SERMONS

• Bengel, Johann Albrecht, 1687-1752: Apparatus Criticus ad Novum Testamentum, Criseos Sacrae Compendium, Limam Supplementum Ac Fructum Exhibens (second edition, in Latin; Tubingen: I. G. Cottae, 1763), ed. by Philipp David Burk
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Bengel, Johann Albrecht, 1687-1752: Gnomon Novi Testamenti, in Quo Ex Nativa Verborum vi Simplicitas Profunditas Concinnitas Salubritas Sensuum Coelestium Indicatur (second edition, in Latin; Tubingen: I. H. P. Schramm, 1759), ed. by Ernest Bengel
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Bengel, Johann Albrecht, 1687-1752: Gnomon of the New Testament (5 volumes; Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1858), ed. by A. R. Fausset, contrib. by Ernest Bengel and J. C. F. Steudel 

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Bengel%2C%20Johann%20Albrecht%2C%201687%2D1752

Photo Credit: prabook.com/web/harry.fosdick/3734594

ABOUT JOHN BUNYAN

John Bunyan was born in Elstow, near Bedford, in 1628, the son of Thomas Bunyan and Margaret Bentley. He followed his father into the tinker’s trade but rebelled against God and ‘had but few equals, both for cursing, swearing, lying, and blaspheming the holy name of God’. As a teenager, he joined Cromwell’s New Model Army, but continued his rebellious ways. His life was saved on one occasion when a fellow-soldier took his place at the siege of Leicester, and ‘as he stood sentinel he was shot in the head with a musket bullet and died’.

Discharged from the army after three years, Bunyan married a God-fearing woman (whose name is unknown) in 1648, who brought two books to the marriage: The Plain Man’s Pathway to Heaven (Arthur Dent) and The Practice of Piety (Lewis Bayly). These convicted Bunyan of his sin and he made attempts to reform his life. But he realised that he was lost and without Christ when he came into contact with a group of women whose ‘joyous conversation about the new birth and Christ deeply impressed him’. In 1651 the women introduced him to their pastor in Bedford, John Gifford, who was instrumental in leading Bunyan to repentance and faith.

That same year he moved to Bedford with his wife and four children, including Mary, his firstborn, who had been blind from birth. He was baptised by immersion in the River Ouse in 1653. Appointed a deacon of Gifford’s church, Bunyan’s testimony was used to lead several people to conversion. By 1655 Bunyan was himself preaching to various congregations in Bedford, and hundreds came to hear him. John Owen said of him that he would gladly exchange all his learning for Bunyan’s power of touching men’s hearts.

In the following years, Bunyan began publishing books and became established as a reputable Puritan writer, but around this time, his first wife died. He remarried in 1659, a godly young woman named Elizabeth, who was to be a staunch advocate for her husband during his imprisonments – for in 1660 Bunyan was arrested for preaching without official permission from King Charles II; he was to spend the next 12½ years in Bedford County Gaol.

Although a time of much suffering, Bunyan’s years in prison were productive, for he wrote extensively, with only the Bible and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs beside him, publishing such titles as Christian Behaviour, The Holy City and A Defence of the Doctrine of Justification. Of particular significance for his life-story was Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, which chronicled his life up to the time of his imprisonment.

He was eventually released in 1672, and took up his pastorate in Bedford, having been appointed by the congregation the preceding January. After some fruitful years of ministry, in March of 1675 Bunyan was again imprisoned for preaching publicly without a license. It was during this imprisonment that he began the first part of his most famous book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, which was to sell more than 100,000 copies in its first ten years in print.

Released in 1677, Bunyan spent the last ten years of his life ministering to his congregation and writing, including – Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ (1678), The Life and Death of Mr Badman (1680), The Holy War (1682), and the second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress (1685). He published ten more books in the last three years of his life, amongst them The Jerusalem Sinner Saved and The Acceptable Sacrifice.

In August 1688, after successfully mediating in a disagreement between a father and son, as he was riding from Reading in Berkshire to London, Bunyan caught a cold and developed a fever. He died at the house of his friend John Strudwick, a grocer and chandler on Snow Hill in Holborn.

[See also George Offor’s ‘Memoir’ in Volume 1 of The Works of John Bunyan; John Bunyan by Frank Mott Harrison; and the biographical study of Bunyan in Marcus L. Loane’s Makers of Puritan History – all published by the Trust.

Source: banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/john-bunyan/

QUOTES BY JOHN BUNYAN

THEIR ADVANTAGE OF HIS GLORY  

"The people of the Lord in humility are to lay themselves and their prayers, and all that they have, at the foot of their God, to be disposed of by him as he in his heavenly wisdom seeth best. Yet not doubting but God will answer the desire of his people that way that shall be most for their advantage and his glory. When the saints therefore do pray with submission to the will of God, it doth not argue that they are to doubt or question God's love and kindness to them. But because they at all times are not so wise, but that sometimes Satan may get that advantage of them, as to tempt them to pray for that which, if they had it, would neither prove to God's glory nor his people's good."  

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

POSSESSION OF HIM TO ALL ETERNITY

Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father. What solace then must that soul be filled with, that has the possession of Him to all eternity!  

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

HE MUST TAKE OUR INIQUITY UPON HIMSELF

"If He hides the sin, or lesseneth it, He is faulty; if He leaves it still upon us, we die. He must then take our iniquity to Himself, make it His own, and so deliver us; for thus having taken the sin upon Himself, as lawfully He may, and lovingly He doth, it followeth that we live if He lives; and who can desire more?"

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

A HEART SET ON FIRE TO BE SAVED

"It gave me no pleasure to see people drink in my opinions if they seemed ignorant of Jesus Christ and the value of being saved by Him. Sound conviction for sin, especially the sin of unbelief, and a heart set on fire to be saved by Christ, with a strong yearning for a truly sanctified soul-this was what delighted me; those were the souls I considered blessed."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DIVIDE THE WORD ARIGHT

"If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the Man Christ without, and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the word of God."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

ME SHALL BE JUDGED ACCORDING TO THEIR FRUITS

"At the day of Doom men shall be judged according to their fruits. It will not be said then, Did you believe? But, Were you doers, or talkers only?"

- John Bunyan

MEN SHALL BE JUDGED ACCORDING TO THEIR FRUITS

"At the day of Doom men shall be judged according to their fruits. It will not be said then, Did you believe? But, Were you doers, or talkers only?"

 - John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

NOT LICENSED TO INDULGE IN THE FLESH    

"Wherefore, though the Christian, as a Christian, is the only man at liberty, as called thereunto of God; yet his liberty is limited to things that are good: he is not licensed thereby to indulge the flesh."  

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

IF THEY REJECT THE WORD OF THE LORD

"Zeal without knowledge is like a mettled horse without eyes, or like a sword in a madman's hand; and there is no knowledge where there is not the word: for if they reject the word of the Lord, and act not by that, 'What wisdom is in them?' saith the prophet (Jer 8:9; Isa 8:20)."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

WE MUST CONTINUE ON THIS SIDE OF GLORY

"Prayer is an ordinance of God, that must continue with a soul so long as it is on this side glory."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

SCOURGE TO SATAN 

"You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

SHALL BRING FORTH PLENTY REWARD

"There hath not one tear dropped from thy tender eye against thy lusts, the love of this world, or for more communion with Jesus Christ, but as it is now in the bottle of God; so then it shall bring forth such plenty of reward, that it shall return upon thee with abundance of increase."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLWDGE

"Zeal without knowledge is like a mettled horse without eyes, or like a sword in a madman's hand; and there is no knowledge where there is not the word: for if they reject the word of the Lord, and act not by that, 'What wisdom is in them?' saith the prophet (Jer 8:9; Isa 8:20)."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUSTIFICATION  

"If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the Man Christ without, and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the word of God."  

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer 

THAT WE MAY NE MADE TO PERSEVERE

"God will not lightly or easily lose His people. He has provided well for us: blood to wash us in; a Priest to pray for us, that we may be made to persevere; and, in case we foully fall, an Advocate to plead our cause."

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

AN ADVOCATE TO PLEAD OUR CAUSE  

"God will not lightly or easily lose His people. He has provided well for us: blood to wash us in; a Priest to pray for us, that we may be made to persevere; and, in case we foully fall, an Advocate to plead our cause."  

- John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

THE HEART WAKES US WHEN WE SLEEP

"Our heart oft times wakes when we sleep, and God can speak to that, either by words, by proverbs, by signs and similitudes, as well as if one was awake."

 - John Bunyan (1628-1688) English Minister Writer

THERE WAS A CASTLE CALLED DOUBTING CASTLE  

"There was a castle called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair."  

- John Bunyan

JOHN BUNYAN BOOKS AND SERMONS

• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: A Book for Boys and Girls (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: Christ a Complete Saviour: or, The Intercession of Christ, and Who Are Privileged in It (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: Christian Behavior (multiple formats at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ: or, A Plain and Profitable Discourse on John 6:37 (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: A Discourse Upon the Pharisee and the Publican (
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Doctrine of the Law and Grace Unfolded (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners 
  • multiple formats with commentary at CCEL
  • Gutenberg text
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: I Will Pray With the Spirit, and I Will Pray With the Understanding Also: or, A Discourse Touching Prayer (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Jerusalem Sinner Saved, or, Good News for the Vilest of Men (Gutenberg text)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (Gutenberg text and illustrated HTML)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Pamphlet Debate Between John Bunyan and Edward Burrough, 1656-57, also by Edward Burrough, ed. by Larry Kuenning (HTML with commentary at qhpress.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Pharisee and the Publican (London: Thomas Nelson, 1845) (Gutenberg text)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Pilgrim's Progress
  • multiple formats with commentary at CCEL
  • HTML at Bartleby
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Pilgrim's Progress, From This World to That Which is to Come (Peerless edition; Philadelphia et al.: J. C. Winston and Co., 1892), contrib. by William Landels, illust. by Frederick Barnard, Edward Frederick Brewtnall, Townley Green, William Small, Edward Gurdon Dalziel, Joseph Wolf, John McL. Ralston, and James Dromgole Linton (page images at childrensbooksonline.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Pilgrim's Progress From This World to That Which is to Come: Delivered Under the Similitude of a Dream, in Two Parts (new edition, with life of the author and notes; New York: J. Tiebout, 1811)
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Pilgrim's Progress in Words of One Syllable, also by Lucy Aikin (Gutenberg text)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Resurrection of the Dead and Eternal Judgment (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Riches of Bunyan, Selected From His Works for the American Tract Society, ed. by Jeremiah Chaplin, contrib. by William R. Williams (Gutenberg text)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Saints' Knowledge of Christ's Love: or, The Unsearchable Riches of Christ (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688, contrib.: "Scenes from Dreamland": or, "Christian and Christina's Journey", Arranged from "Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress" (New York: Hints Pub. Co., c1902), by Margaret Holmes Francisco (page images at HathiTrust)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: Seasonable Counsel: or, Advice to Sufferers (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: Some Gospel Truths Opened According to the Scriptures, or, The Divine and Humane Nature of Christ Jesus, His Coming Into the World, His Righteousness, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Intercession, and Second Coming to Judgment, Plainly Demonstrated and Proved (HTML with commentary at qhpress.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Strait Gate: or, Great Difficulty of Going to Heaven (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: A Treatise of the Fear of God (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: A Vindication of Some Gospel Truths Opened (HTML with commentary at qhpress.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate (PDF at chapellibrary.org)
• Bunyan, John, 1628-1688: The Works of John Bunyan, ed. by George Offor
  • multiple formats at chapellibrary.org

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book//lookupname?key=Bunyan%2C%20John%2C%201628%2D1688

Photo Credit: billmuehlenberg.com/2019/01/05/notable-christians-john-bunyan/

ABOUT JOHN CALVIN

Born July 10, 1509 in Noyon, France, Jean Calvin was raised in a staunch Roman Catholic family. The local bishop employed Calvin’s father as an administrator in the town’s cathedral. The father, in turn, wanted John to become a priest. Because of close ties with the bishop and his noble family, John’s playmates and classmates in Noyon (and later in Paris) were aristocratic and culturally influential in his early life.

At the age of 14, Calvin went to Paris to study at the College de Marche in preparation for university study. His studies consisted of seven subjects: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Toward the end of 1523, Calvin transferred to the more famous College Montaigu. While in Paris he changed his name to its Latin form, Ioannis Calvinus, which in French became Jean Calvin. During this time, Calvin’s education was paid for in part by income from a couple of small parishes. So although the new theological teachings of individuals like Luther and Jacques Lefevre d’ Etaples were spreading throughout Paris, Calvin was closely tied to the Roman Church. However, by 1527, Calvin had developed friendships with individuals who were reform-minded. These contacts set the stage for Calvin’s eventual switch to the Reformed faith. Also, at this time Calvin’s father advised him to study law rather than theology.

By 1528, Calvin moved to Orleans to study civil law. The following years found Calvin studying in various places and under various scholars, as he received a humanist education. By 1532, Calvin finished his law studies and also published his first book, a commentary on De Clementia by the Roman philosopher, Seneca. The following year Calvin fled Paris because of contacts with individuals who through lectures and writings opposed the Roman Catholic Church. It is thought that in 1533, Calvin experienced the sudden and unexpected conversion that he writes about in his foreword to his commentary on the Psalms.

For the next three years, Calvin lived in various places outside of France under various names. He studied on his own, preached, and began work on his first edition of the Institutes—an instant best seller. By 1536, Calvin had disengaged himself from the Roman Catholic Church and made plans to permanently leave France and go to Strasbourg. However, war had broken out between Francis I and Charles V, so Calvin decided to make a one-night detour to Geneva.

But Calvin’s fame in Geneva preceded him. Farel, a local reformer, invited him to stay in Geneva and threatened him with God’s anger if he did not. Thus began a long, difficult, yet ultimately fruitful relationship with that city. He began as a lecturer and preacher, but by 1538 was asked to leave because of theological conflicts. He went to Strasbourg until 1541. His stay there as a pastor to French refugees was so peaceful and happy that when in 1541 the Council of Geneva requested that he return to Geneva, he was emotionally torn. He wanted to stay in Strasbourg but felt a responsibility to return to Geneva. He did so and remained in Geneva until his death May 27, 1564. Those years were filled with lecturing, preaching, and the writing of commentaries, treatises, and various editions of the Institutes of the Christian Religion.

— Dr. Karin Maag, H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies

Source: calvin.edu/about/history/john-calvin.html

QUOTES BY JOHN CALVIN

ALL CHRISTIAN LIFE IS MEASURED BY SCRIPTURE

"All Christian life is to be measured by Scripture; by every word thereof."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

THE SCRIPTURES ARE THE ONLY RECORD IN WHICH GOD

"Since no daily responses are given from heaven, and the Scriptures are the only record in which God has been pleased to consign His truth to perpetual remembrance, the full authority which they ought to possess with the faithful is not recognized unless they are believed to have come from heaven as directly as if God had been heard giving utterance to them."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

AVOID THE MISERY OF STRIVING AGAINST GOD  

“For there is no one so great or mighty that he can avoid the misery that will rise up against him when he resists and strives against God.”   

-John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

COMPARED HIMSELF WITH GOD'S MAJESTY  

"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty."   

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

THE SOLE ANCHOR OF YOUR SALVATION

"Our assurance, our glory, and the sole anchor of our salvation are that Christ the Son of God is ours, and we in turn are in him sons of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, called to the hope of eternal blessedness by God's grace, not by our worth."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Protestant Reformer 

THE TORTURE OF A BAD CONSCIENCE  

"The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul." 

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

THROUGH THE RECONCILIATION MADE BY CHRIST  

"Faith consists not in ignorance, but in knowledge - knowledge not of God merely...but when we recognize God as a propitious Father through the reconciliation made by Christ, and Christ as given to us for righteousness, sanctification, and life."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

SPEEDY RESTAINT OF LICENTIOUS SPIRITS  

"The moment any mention is made of Christian liberty lust begins to boil, or insane commotions arise, if a speedy restraint is not laid on those licentious spirits by whom the best things are perverted into the worst."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

HIS PROMISE TO BE WITH US UNTIL THE END 

"When Christ returned to heaven, He withdrew His physical presence from our sight. He didn't stop being with the disciples but by the ascension fulfilled His promise to be with us to the end of the world. As His body was raised to heaven, so His power and reign have spread to the uttermost parts."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

TO KNOW GOD AS MASTER AND BESTOWER

"To know God as the Master and Bestower of all good things, who invites us to request them of Him, and still not go to Him and ask of Him - this would be of as little profit as for a man to neglect a treasure, buried and hidden in the earth, after it had been pointed out to him."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

WITH SHAME AT THEIR WRETCHEDNESS

"Only those who have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves, and to be confounded with shame at their wretchedness truly understand the Christian gospel."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

ALL THE BLESSING WE ENJOY

"All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian 

MAXIMS OF THE LAW  

"In the maxims of the law, God is seen as the rewarder of perfect righteousness and the avenger of sin. But in Christ, His face shines out, full of grace and gentleness to poor, unworthy sinners." 

 
- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

PERVERSE AND TREACHEROUS

"It is a sign of a perverse and treacherous disposition to wound the good name of another, when he has no opportunity of defending himself."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

A PRAISE WORTHY VIRTUE

"As idle talk is often concealed under the garb of jesting, and wit, the Apostle Paul expressly condemns pleasantry, which is so agreeable as to seem a praiseworthy virtue, as a part of foolish talking."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian 

ENTIRELY BY THE INTERVENTION OF CHRIST

“It is entirely by the intervention of Christ’s righteousness that we obtain justification before God. This is equivalent to saying that man is not just in himself, but that the righteousness of Christ is communicated to him by imputation, while he is strictly deserving of punishment.”  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

ALL THE BLESSINGS WE ENJOY ARE DIVINE DEPOSITS

"All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors."

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

THERE IS NOT ONE BLADE OF GRASS  

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

THE WHOLE LIFE OF CHRISTIANS 

"The whole life of Christians ought to be an exercise of piety, since they are called to sanctification. It is the office of the law to remind them of their duty and thereby to excite them to the pursuit of holiness and integrity. But when their consciences are solicitous how God may be propitiated, what answer they shall make, and on what they shall rest their confidence, if called to his tribunal, there must then be no consideration of the requisitions of the law, but Christ alone must be proposed for righteousness, who exceeds all the perfection of the law." 

-  John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

WHEN HE DOES NOT ANSWER OUR WISHES  

"We must not think that [God] takes no notice of us, when He does not answer our wishes: for He has a right to distinguish what we actually need."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

JUDGE ACCORDING TO THE WORD  

"The one who judges according to the word and law of the Lord, and forms his judgments by the rule of charity, always begins with subjecting himself to examination, and preserves a proper medium and order in his judgments. " 

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian 

JOHN CALVIN BOOKS AND SERMONS 

• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: Commentaries (1-volume selection), ed. by Joseph Haroutunian (HTML at CCEL)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: Commentaries (complete version), ed. by John King (multiple formats with commentary at CCEL)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: The Covenant Enforced: Sermons on Deuteronomy 27 and 28 (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, c1990), ed. by James B. Jordan (PDF with commentary at garynorth.com)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564, contrib.: A Harmonie Upon the Three Evangelistes Matthewe, Marke, and Luke, With the Commentarie of M Iohn Calvine: Faithfully Translated out of Latine into English by E. P.; Whereunto is Also Added a Commentarie Upon the Euangelist S. Iohn, by the Same Authour (London: T. Adams, 1610), trans. by Eusebius Pagit and Christopher Fetherston
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. by Henry Beveridge (multiple formats with commentary at CCEL)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: The Necessity of Reforming the Church, trans. by Henry Beveridge (HTML at Still Waters)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564, contrib.: Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books, With Introductions and Notes (Harvard Classics v39; New York: P.F. Collier and Son, c1910), ed. by Charles William Eliot and William Allan Neilson, also contrib. by William Caxton, Nicolaus Copernicus, John Knox, Edmund Spenser, Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon, John Heminge, Henry Condell, Isaac Newton, John Dryden, Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, William Wordsworth, Victor Hugo, Walt Whitman, and Hippolyte Taine
  • multiple formats at archive.org
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: Psychopannychia (translated 1851), trans. by Henry Beveridge (HTML at monergism.com)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: A Reformation Debate: Sadoleto's Letter to the Genevans, and Calvin's Reply, With an Appendix on the Justification Controversy (New York: Fordham University Press, 2000), also by Jacopo Sadoleto, ed. by John C. Olin (PDF with commentary at bepress.com)
• Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564: A Treatise on Relics (Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter, 1854), trans. by Valerian Krasinski (page images at Google)

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Calvin%2C%20Jean%2C%201509%2D1564

Photo Credit: history.pcusa.org/history-online/exhibits/john-calvin-french-theologian-and-reformer-page-6

ABOUT JOHN DARBY

John N. DARBY was the youngest son of John Darby of Leap Castle, King´s County. The year of his birth, at Westminster, was 1800; that also of E. B. Pusey, who was to champion Anglo-Catholicism; and the career of each ended in the same year. The name “Nelson” was derived from the connection between his uncle, Henry Darby, commander of the “Bellerophon” in the battle of the Nile, and the famous admiral, Lord Nelson. He was educated at Westminster School, then at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1819 as Classical Medallist. He was called to the Irish Chancery Bar, but soon afterwards, in 1825, took Deacon´s orders from Archbishop Magee, by whom he was priested the next year. He was appointed to the Wicklow parish of Calary, residing in a peasant´s cottage on the bog.

The Viscountess Powerscourt, from attending Drummond´s Albury Conferences on Prophecy, started like meetings at her mansion near Bray, through which Darby met A. N. Groves and J. V. Parnell (Lord Congleton), introduced by his friend J. G. Bellett, who was in touch also with Edward Cronin and others like-minded in Dublin. All of these vindicated the functions of the Holy Spirit and the Christian hope, generally neglected. Darby, constrained by the Scriptural view of the Church as independent of the State, relinquished his parochial position in 1827, and in the next year completed his separation from the Establishment by “breaking bread” in Dublin with some of the above-named associates.

He had also become acquainted in Ireland with Francis William, brother of John Henry (Cardinal) Newman. The younger of these, who was a Fellow of Balliol College, had so distinguished himself in the Oxford schools that, when presented in 1826 for the B.A. degree, the whole congregation rose in his honour. He became tutor to the family of Mr. (Chief Justice) Pennefather, Darby´s brother-in-law. Thrilled by the personality of J.N.D., Newman persuaded “the Irish clergyman” to visit Oxford in 1830, and then introduced to him a former pupil, Benjamin Wills Newton, another First Classman, who was a Fellow of Exeter; G. V. Wigram of Queen´s, Lancelot Brenton of Oriel; and W. E. Gladstone (afterwards British Premier) of Christchurch, also met Darby, but succumbed to the influence of the elder Newman, who just then was select preacher before the University.

Benjamin Wills Newton, who was a native of Plymouth brought about a visit by Darby to that town, strongly evangelical through the ministry of Dr. Hawker, and influenced by the “separation” principles of John Walker, another Irish ex-clergyman. By the year 1832 a “gathering” of believers “to the name of Jesus,” the first of its order in England, was definitely formed there. James L. Harris, resigning his local incumbency of Plymstock, united with the brethren, and started their first organ, The Christian Witness, to which J.N.D. contributed. S. P. Tregelles, the textual critic, who was Newton´s brother-in-law, was “received” in 1836; after R. Chapman, at Barnstaple, and H. Craik with G. Muller, at Bristol, had taken a like position. Great simplicity and devotedness marked the company in those golden days.

In the year 1837 Darby carried the “testimony” to the continent, beginning with Methodists in Switzerland, so that by 1840 several French-speaking congregations had been formed, when his lectures on the hopes of the Church of God were delivered at Geneva. It was from his Etudes sur la Parole that the “Synopsis of the Books of the Bible” was produced.

Revisiting Plymouth in 1845, he found considerable departure from the teaching maintained elsewhere on ministry, justification, the secret rapture, etc. J. N. D. withdrew from the meeting as dominated by Newton, and the first division amongst those called ´brethren´ had happened.

After developing the work in France, from 1853 Darby laboured amongst Baptists in Germany; and assemblies of believers arose at Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, etc., for whose use he produced the “Elberfeld Bible.” Amongst others, Fraulein von Bunsen, amanuensis of her father the Chevalier, united with the Darbisten, so-called. During meetings of the Evangelical Alliance at Berlin, J. N. D. met Dr. Tholuck (cf. “Autobiography of G. Muller”), to whom he explained his views on gifts. The Halle theologian agreed that such was the primitive system, but queried if it could still be realised. Darby´s very pertinent reply was, “Have you ever tried?” He provided his French-speaking associates with the “Pau Bible,” and rendered like service to brethren in Great Britain. His English version of the New Testament, which Drs. Field and Weymouth have independently turned to account, was before the revisers in the seventies, and a complete edition of his English Bible appeared in 1890

From 1859, besides the fields of labour already mentioned, J.N.D. ministered in Canada, the States, the West Indies, and New Zealand; also in Holland and Italy.

For fifty years he was strenuously engaged in original exposition of Scripture. The “Synopsis,” recommended by Bishop Ellicott to the Gloucester theological students, acquired amongst J.N.D.´s adherents authority like that commanded by Wesley´s “Notes” amongst Methodists. Professor Stokes has described it as “the standard of appeal. Every departure from that model is bitterly resented” (“Expositor´s Bible,” Acts 1, page 382). But nobody has protested against such use of his writings more than Darby himself, for whom truth was “a growing tree” (C. W., XXIII, page 191). J.N.D.´s ordinary style is repugnant, and in his correspondence reference is made to this as having exercised him. By contrast, his living ministry was matchless and his “spiritual songs” are powerfully beautiful. Weakness in detail was another of his limitations. Nevertheless, in his own generation he singularly served the counsel of God. His criticism of that which he deemed error is usually trenchant and luminous.

The governing idea is the ruin of the Church, or apostasy of the dispensation (C. W., I, p. 192), which was his “burden” (“Correspondence,” I,, 52); but he could echo words of Calvin (commentary on Ps. 102: 14): “The sadder the desolation into which the Church has been brought, the less ought our affection to be alienated from her” Loof´s criticism of Darby´s conception of the apostolic Church as “an organised visible society” (C. W., XX, 450, cf.“Correspondence,” II, 245, 278), that “Church” with him meant “that which the Protestant faith has always made of it” fails, because J.N.D. did not accept Augustine´s distinction. He found “the essential principle of unity” (“Correspondence,” I, 114) in the operations of the Holy Spirit. The Bishop of Birmingham considers him wholly wrong here; but then Dr. Gore´s view of the relation of the Church to the Bible is very different from that of J.N.D. No one, indeed, rightly instructed, pretends that the position –one of weakness, as J.N.D. always said–is a logical one; none, for that matter, is to be found, pace Bishop Gore, outside Rome, as to which Darby held that the “historical” Church is a caricature of that exhibited in the New Testament. A controversy (1866) over his papers on the sufferings of Christ arose only from the objectors´ failure to seize his real position.

J N D wrote many hymns, including “Hark! ten thousand voices crying,” “O Lord, Thy love´s unbounded”, “Rest of the saints above”, “Rise, my soul, thy God directs thee”, “This world is a wilderness wide” and others which are sung world-wide. A volume of the poems has been issued.

Of the first little band in Dublin, already Groves, Bellett, and Cronin had passed away — Lord Congleton shortly to do so — when the turn came of J.N.D., on the 29th April, 1882. In his closing days at Bournemouth he recorded that he knew of nothing to recall; that Christ had been his object. Although a born leader, he was nobly simple in habit and manner, equally transparent and trustful. He had nothing petty about him. As occasion arose he would throw off religious conventionality. His ministry was ever in close touch with his pastoral visitation, in which he engaged every afternoon. Even if weakness lurked in it, his strength of judgment came of the predominance that the moralaspect of any matter had for him. He lived in the Bible, and recommended “thinking in Scripture”. May that similarly ever remain our sole spiritual food, mainstay, and weapon.

John Nelson Darby as I Knew Him (By W. K.)

John Darby is credited by some critics as the man who invented the rapture in 1830 AD..

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

"The rapture of the church is in this age. The new age will not begin till after this is done."  

Source: lambfollower.wordpress.com/history/john-nelson-darby/

QUOTES BY JOHN DARBY

WE SHALL SEE HIM FACE TO FACE

"We shall see Him face to face whose visage was more marred than any man's. He washed me from my sins the first time He came, and He is only waiting to come and take me to Himself. Have you seen Christ in glory in this way? God Himself has interfered and made me as white as snow. Christ took the fruit of what I did, and I get the fruit of what He did. I am the fruit of the travail of Christ's soul. He is my everything, and I must seek to please Him in everything I do. The more we look at Him, the more we shall see what poor weak creatures we are; but let those of us who are Christians make it our business to glorify Him in everything, remembering how He has loved us and given Himself for us." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

THE EXPECTATION OF THE LORD'S RETURN

"The expectation of the Lord's return would not prevent me going on with the ordinary business of life. If I am really expecting my Lord, I shall earnestly desire to be found doing my duty at the moment of His return." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

THERE IS STILL AN ECONOMY TO COME

"In my retreat, the 32nd chapter of Isaiah taught me clearly, on God's behalf, that there was still an economy to come, of His ordering; a state of things in no way established as yet. The consciousness of my union with Christ had given me the present heavenly portion of the glory, whereas this chapter clearly sets forth the corresponding earthly part. I was not able to put these things in their respective places or arrange them in order, as I can now; but the truths themselves were then revealed of God, through the action of His Spirit, by reading His word."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

WALKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE WORLD

"Is the thought of the Lord's coming your daily delight? Does it influence you in the ten thousand details of your everyday life? Or are you so walking hand in hand with the world that the very thought of His coming fills you with shame?" 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

IT IS THE WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS

"But will fruits of grace give you forgiveness, righteousness? They are not the blood of Christ; they are not Christ. How can they cleanse from sin? God delights in the fruits of grace, but they cannot put away sin. It is the work of Christ on the cross which alone does that God has set Him at His own right hand; and when I believe it, I see how God has loved me. May you be in yourself so broken down, that you may find One who never breaks down!"  

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

CHRIST IS GOD COME DOWN TO SINNERS 

"Christ is God come down to sinners in their sins. The law could only say, If you do not do this, you are cursed. Christ comes to these sinners, and He shews us what we are; but He shews us also what He is: love, that brought Him down to us as we are, the vilest, the most wilful, sinners."  

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

THE FASHIONS OF THIS WORLD PASSETH AWAY

"The Lord give us only to remember that the fashion of this world passeth away; but there is one thing that abides for ever, and that is the word of God - that through His grace, we may follow hard after Him. Oh, it is a wonderful thing that the Son of God became a man, on purpose to win us back to God."
 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

IF ALL THE SINS THAT WERE EVER COMMITTED IN THE WORLD

"If all the sins that ever were committed in the world were congregated in your persons and were your own act, this need not prevent your believing in Christ and coming unto God through Him." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

ALL MY SINS WERE FUTURE WHEN CHRIST DIED FOR THEM

"People talk of whether future sins are forgiven. All my sins were future when Christ died for them." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN MY OWN HEART

"I am sure I do not love the Lord enough, but I am sure it is the Lord I love. I have no confidence in my own heart, but all confidence in Him. He has died for me; that is what I count on: He has put away my sins; that is what I need: He is coming again; that is what I am longing for." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

TO SERVE THEE HERE ON EARTH ALONE

"Lord let me wait for thee alone. My life be only this. To serve thee here on earth unknown, then share thy heavenly bliss."  

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

THEREFORE WE WAIT FOR HIM TO TAKE US TO HIMSELF

"We love His appearing, but we love Himself better. Therefore we wait for Him to take us to Himself. If our hearts have known what Himself is, we cannot confound His taking us to Himself, with His appearing. We are "members of his body." "Our life is hid with Christ." He is to take us up to the Father's house, the fulness of His own blessedness - with Christ; the blessed outshining of His Father's love connects itself with the church's position. All through there is an identity of blessedness with Christ in life, hope, object, all. If this hope is let into the heart, there must be a break with the world. I cannot be waiting for God's Son from heaven if I am expecting wrath; and I cannot be waiting for God's Son from heaven if I am linked up with the world. If this world is the scene where my heart is building itself up, if I have an object in this world, Christ will spoil it all." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

HE IS OUR PRESENT AND ETERNAL JOY

"He is our present and eternal joy. The time will come when all our sorrow will be over, but our Friend will remain. He is our tried and true Friend. He has entered into the deepest woes of our heart, and will make us the sharers of His joy for ever. Our blessing, our safety, our hope are all grounded on the atonement. Is there a soul reading this who cannot rejoice in Christ, who knows Him not as his portion? Is there one who is saying, My sin is too great to be pardoned? To feel about your sin is right, but to be in despair about it is quite wrong. You are virtually saying, My sin is greater than the grace of God. You will not dare to say so if you are looking at Christ. Is Christ come short? Is grace beneath your need or above it? Christ is the portion of every poor soul who believes on Him. The atoning work is done. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth from all sin."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

THE MORE SCRIPTURE IS GONE THROUGH

"You see, the more Scripture is gone through, the more comes to light that He is the true God and Eternal Life." 

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

HOW BLESSED IT IS TO LOOK AT THE LORD IN THIS WAY

"How blessed it is to look at the Lord in this way! He is our present and eternal joy. The time will come when all our sorrow will be over, but our Friend will remain. He is our tried and true Friend. He has entered into the deepest woes of our heart, and will make us the sharers of His joy for ever. Our blessing, our safety, our hope are all grounded on the atonement. Is there a soul reading this who cannot rejoice in Christ, who knows Him not as his portion? Is there one who is saying, My sin is too great to be pardoned? To feel about your sin is right, but to be in despair about it is quite wrong. You are virtually saying, My sin is greater than the grace of God. You will not dare to say so if you are looking at Christ. Is Christ come short? Is grace beneath your need or above it? Christ is the portion of every poor soul who believes on Him. The atoning work is done. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth from all sin."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

WHEN I SEE HIM IN THAT GLORY

"When I see Him in that glory, instead of seeing my sins, I see that they are gone. I have seen my sins laid on the Mediator. I have seen my sins confessed on the head of the scapegoat, and they have been borne away; Leviticus 16. So much has God been glorified about my sins (that is, in respect of what Christ has done on account of my sins), that this is the title of Christ to be there, at the right hand of God. I am not afraid to look at Christ there. Where are my sins now? where are they to be found in heaven or on earth? I see Christ in the glory. Once they were found upon the head of that blessed One; but they are gone, never more to be found. Were it a dead Christ, so to speak, that I saw, I might fear that my sins would be found again; but with Christ alive in the glory the search is in vain. He who bore them all has been received up to the throne of God, and no sin can be there."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

FOR CHRIST DIED FOR SINNERS

"For Christ died for sinners; and those who believe stand before God in all the infinite value of that precious blood which He shed for them as their substitute. God therefore righteously pardons, accepts, justifies every believer: that righteousness which flowed out to Christ, raised Him from the dead, and glorified Him at His right hand, meets also and embraces every one who believes in Jesus, and brings him where Christ is in the presence of God. It could not be otherwise; for since the - blood has met all God's claims, and even glorified Him, every sinner, the moment he believes, stands invested with all its infinite value. It is, therefore, in response to the value of the blood, that God's righteousness — for it is due to Christ — flows out rejoicingly, and invests the sinner with its own perfection, so that in Christ he is justified for ever before God. Yea, he is accepted in the Beloved."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist

THE TESTING OF SCRIPTURE IS THE ONLY SECURE RESTING PLACE

"The testimony of Scripture is the only secure resting-place for man amid the darkness of this world."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO GOD

"The word of God presents to us this very precious fact, that we do not only find there certain truths and doctrines, but also every relation between God and man fully developed on earth, and each day we can clearly see all these things in the Person of Jesus. It is a great mercy of God to have brought Him so near to us, as so to make known to us those relationships in the circumstances in which we are ourselves found. At bottom the life of Jesus was like ours. He was in all things tempted in like manner as ourselves. It was indeed God manifested in flesh; but it was also life, and the expression of a life; perfectly acceptable to God."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Anglo-Irish Evangelist 

HE GIVES A NEW LIFE

"God gives a power apart from man. He gives a new life - a life in His Son. In virtue of Him, it cannot fail. It is eternal life - life in Christ. God was perfectly manifested in the Son, when He came down from heaven to give life. But this is not enough. What about my sins? Where are my sins? To have life without the question of sin being settled will not do. Christ had them on the cross. Christ came down from heaven to put my sin away, and He did put it away and can say, "at that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." Christ's life is in me - "eternal life, and this life is in his Son." I have His life, not His Godhead, of course. As surely as I have partaken of the life and nature of the first Adam, so have I life in the second Adam. "If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation." The divine nature is there. It is in a poor earthen vessel, it is true; but the nature is divine, and I should be shewing it out in my life and character."

- John Nelson Darby (1800-82) Irish Bible Teacher and Evangelist

JOHN DARBY BOOKS AND SERMONS 

• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: The Man of Sorrows, As Set Forth in the Gospel of Luke (HTML at sacred-texts.com)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Notes on the Book of the Revelation, To Assist Enquirers Searching Into That Book (second edition, 1876) (HTML at sacred-texts.com)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Analysis of Cardinal Newman's "Apologia pro vitâ suâ" : with a glance at the history of popes, councils, and the church. (London : Elliot Stock, 1891) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Analysis of Dr. Newman's Apologia pro vitâ suâ: with a glance at the history of popes, councils, and the church. (London, W. H. Broom, 1866) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: The collected writings of J. N. Darby / (London : G. Morrish, [1867-1900?]), also by William Kelly thiTrust; US access only)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Dialogues on the essays and reviews / (London : W.H. Broom, 1863) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Études sur la parole : destinées a aider le chrétien dans la lecture du Saint Livre / (Paris : Cherbuliez, 1857-18??) (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Études sur la parole : destinées a aider le chrétien dans la lecture du saint livre / (Paris : Cherbuliez, 1849-1854) 
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Études sur la parole : destinées a aider le chrétien dans la lecture du saint livre / (Pau : Etienne Malan, 1854-1861) 
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: The Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and book of Revelation; commonly called the New Testament : a new translation from a revised text of the Greek original. (London : G. Morrish, 1872?) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: The irrationalism of infidelity : being a reply to "Phases of Faith" / (London : Groombridge and sons, 1853), also by Francis William Newman (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Notes on the Epistles of John, from notes of lectures, (London, Allan, [18--?]) (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: On the eternity of punishment; and the immortality of the soul / (London : Robert L. Allan, 1870) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Practical reflections on the Psalms ... (London, Allan, [1870]) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Seven lectures on the prophetical addresses to the seven churches : delivered in Davies Street, London, during February and March, 1852 / (London : G. Morrish, [between 1852 and 1859]) 
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Studies on the book of Daniel : a course of lectures / (London : J. B. Bateman, 1864) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Darby, J. N. (John Nelson), 1800-1882: Vorlesungen über den Propheten Daniel, in neun Abenden; (Düsseldorf : J. Buddeus'chen Buch-und-Kunsthandlung, 1849) 

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Darby%2C%20J%2E%20N%2E%20%28John%20Nelson%29%2C%201800%2D1882

Photo Credit: baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/creationisms-henry-m-morris-dead-at-87-upheld-genesis-flood/

ABOUT JOHN F. WALVOORD

John Flipse Walvoord, theologian, writer, and teacher, seminary president, and defender of dispensational pretribulational premillennialism, was born on May 1, 1910, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was the youngest of three children.  John was raised in a home that valued education in general and religious training in particular. His father, John Garrett Walvoord, was a school teacher.  During his mother Mary Flipse Walvoord’s difficult pregnancy, her doctors advised an abortion; however, because of their conviction that the child was a gift from the Lord, they brought John to term. The child proved to be robust, and Mary lived to be 102. The family were members of the First Presbyterian Church, his father an elder and Sunday school superintendent. His parents determined that their children would be reared on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Scripture memory.

When John was fifteen, the family moved to Racine where his father was a junior high school superintendent. During his high school years, John excelled in academics and athletics but continued to have only a nominal interest in Christianity, although he had committed his life to Christian work when he was twelve. His family joined the Union Gospel Tabernacle (now the nondenominational Racine Bible Church). While attending a study of the book of Galatians, he became assured of God’s mercy toward him. Three years later (1928), he entered Wheaton College. John continued to excel in academics and athletics, though he also distinguished himself as a member of the debate team that won state championships in 1930 and 1931. Additionally, he was president of the college’s Christian Endeavor where he made a commitment to foreign missions. He completed his undergraduate degree in 1931 with honors having accelerated his progress due to summer school work at the University of Colorado.

He married Geraldine Delores Lundgren in her hometown of Geneva, Illinois. Geraldine was the fifth of six children born to native Swedes Gustaf Edward Lundgren and Emily Skoglund.

Geraldine was born September 6, 1914 in Geneva, Illinois. Geraldine made a personal decision to accept Christ as her Savior at an early age. After developing avenues of ministry in music and youth programs in her church, Geraldine continued her education at Wheaton College and Northern Illinois University. It was during this time that Geraldine`s sister Harriet Lundgren began dating Ellwood Evans, a student from Evangelical Theological College (later renamed Dallas Theological Seminary). One Christmas holiday, another theology student traveled with Ellwood as he headed north to visit Harriet. When they arrived, Ellwood made the simple introduction, “Geraldine, I want you to meet my friend John Walvoord.”

John accepted the invitation to stay for dinner before traveling on to his parents’ home in Wisconsin and over the next several years more than a few letters and visits cultivated their friendship into a lifelong romance. Deeply in love and convinced of God’s will for their lives, John and Geraldine were married on June 28, 1939.

“What I covet for you is the same experience that I had — and that is discovering God’s perfect will for your life — nothing less, nothing more, nothing else.”

– John F. Walvoord

John graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1934. He wanted to go to China as a missionary. At the time he couldn’t believe that everyone didn’t want to go to China. But the Lord had different plans for him. As he launched into his doctoral studies in Dallas in 1934, the young graduate was called to the Rosen Heights Presbyterian Church in nearby Fort Worth where he served as a pastor for sixteen years. Then in 1936 more responsibility came. He was asked to temporarily fill the position of registrar at the Seminary and in a short time he did much to organize and structure the office. In 1945, after nine years of faculty service, Dr. Walvoord was asked to assume the role of assistant to the president, a position he held until the death of Dr. Chafer seven years later. On February 6, 1953, John F. Walvoord was inaugurated as the second president of Dallas Theological Seminary.

Dr. John F. Walvoord is considered perhaps the world’s foremost interpreter of biblical prophecy. He was a member of the Dallas Theological Seminary faculty for fifty years from 1936 to 1986. He served as president and professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986. He has served as chancellor at that institution since that time. He holds A.B. and D.D. degrees from Wheaton College; an A. M. degree from Texas Christian University; a Th.B., Th.M., and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary; and a Litt.D. from Liberty Baptist Seminary.

Under Dr. Walvoord’s leadership, Dallas Theological Seminary enrollment grew from 300 to over 1,700, four major educational buildings were erected on campus, and the degree programs increased from three to six. Dr. Walvoord is known worldwide for his evangelical scholarship in Christology, pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit), and Bible prophecy. Dallas Theological Seminary, one of the world’s largest, is recognized for its commitment to the inerrancy of the Scriptures, premillennial theology, and biblical preaching and teaching.

SOURCE: walvoordhistory.com/biographies/hendrik-walvoort-1802-1865/gerrit-jan-walvoord-1826-1856/henry-walvoord-1847-1909/john-garrett-walvoord-1872-1932/john-f-walvoord-1910-2002/

QUOTES BY JOHN F. WALVOORD

NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER COME

"No one else has ever come from infinite heights of glory to such a shameful death. If there had been a better way or another way by which the sin of the whole world could have been taken away, surely God would not have required His beloved Son to submit to such a death."

- John F. Walvoord (1910–2002) Christian Theologian, Pastor

EXAMPLE OF WHAT OUR ATTITUDE SHOULD BE

"His great act of condescension in becoming man and His willingness to be completely humiliated in the death on the cross is set before us here as the supreme example of what our attitude should be. If Jesus Christ the Lord of glory was willing to be obedient unto death, how much more should sinners saved by grace who owe everything to God give back to the God who saved them the life which He has redeemed."

- John F. Walvoord (1910-2002) Christian Theologian, Pastor

CHRISTIAN CHURCH CENTURIES OF PROSECUTION

"The fact that the Christian church was able to endure centuries of persecution and survived centuries of neglect and opposition is difficult to explain apart from the system of theology stemming from belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who actually died, rose, and ascended into heaven."

- John F. Walvoord (1910-2002) Christian Theolgian, Pastor

JOHN F. WALVOORD BOOKS AND SERMONS

Dr. Walvoord is the author of nearly thirty books including:

• The Bible Knowledge Commentary* (co-editor of two volumes).
• The Holy Spirit,
• The Rapture Question
• Israel in Prophecy
• The Nations In Prophecy
• The Church In Prophecy
• The Return of the Lord
• The Millennial Kingdom
• To Live Is Christ
• The Thessalonian Epistle
• The Revelation Of Jesus Christ
• Jesus Christ Our Lord
• Daniel, The Key to Prophetic Revelation
• The Holy Spirit At Work Today
• Major Bible Themes
• Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come
• The Blessed Hope And The Tribulation
• Major Bible Prophecies: 37 Crucial Prophecies That Affect You Today
• The Final Drama: 14 Essential Keys To Understanding the Prophetic Scriptures
• The End Times: An Explanation of World Events in Biblical Prophecy
• What We Believe: Understanding & Applying The Basics Of The Christian Life
• Four Views On Hell (co-author)
• Every Prophecy of the Bible
• Blessed Hope: The Autobiography of John F. Walvoord

Photo Credit: walvoordhistory.com/biographies/hendrik-walvoort-1802-1865/gerrit-jan-walvoord-1826-1856/henry-walvoord-1847-1909/john-garrett-walvoord-1872-1932/john-f-walvoord-1910-2002/

ABOUT JOHN FOXE

John Foxe was born 1516 or 1517 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. He became a member of the clergy and martyrologist, best known for The Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perilous Dayes, an account of the persecutions of Protestant, often abbreviated to ‘Acts and Monuments’ commonly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, a highly influential book in England and Scotland which contributed to popular rejection of Catholicism in those countries.

His father died when he was young and his mother subsequently married Richard Melton, a prosperous yeoman of the nearby village of Coningsby. At Coningsby he came to the attention of the rector, John Hawarden, a Fellow, and subsequently Principal, of Brasenose College, Oxford.

He attended Brasenose College in 1533, possibly influenced by Hawarden and was awarded his B.A. 17 July, 1537. He became a fellow of Magdalen College achieving his M.A. 6 June, 1543. During this period he was a close friend of Alexander Nowell the future dean of St. Paul’s. Strongly influenced by the theology of Martin Luther, his views slowly changed from papist to evangelical protestant, a position incompatible with the majority view.

While at university he was a witness to the burning of William Cowbridge in September 1538. This incident became a touchpaper for Foxes later work but at the same time his handling of the facts became an ongoing source of heated controversy between him and the Catholic apologist Nicholas Harpsfield. 

The six articles became law in 1539 and Anne Askew and other protestants were burned at the stake in London in1546. These were dangerous times to be labelled a heretic. He was also required to take priests orders within the year and did not plan to be celibate. He was expelled or resigned from his fellowship 1545.

Following his resignation he stayed with Hugh Latimer, the Bishop of Worcester probably through whom he found temporary employment with William Lucy at Charlecote, as tutor to his son Thomas.[4] Here he probably met and certainly married Agnes Randall of Coventry, in Charlecote 3 Feb 1547/8.

He arrived in London in 1547 and probably lived in Stepney for a while but then managed to obtain a post as tutor to the children of the recently executed Earl of Surrey in the home of the Earls sister the Duchess of Richmond. He subsequently removed to the manor of her father the Duke of Norfolk in Reigate. This post lasted for 5 years. One of his pupils was Charles Howard later Lord Howard of Effingham. 

Death of Latimer 1555

1548 he lodged with John Bale at Mountjoy House, the London residence of Duchess of Richmond. Bale loaned him valuable manuscripts and became a major contributor to the Book of Martyrs.

In 1550 he was ordained deacon by Bishop Ridley of London and his fame as a preacher in Reigate was spreading as was his notoriety following his suppression of the cult attendant upon a shrine of the Virgin Mary at Ouldsworth.[8] His network of contacts grew and included William Cecil, William Turner, John Hooper and John Rogers. Hooper and Rogers were both burned at the stake in 1555 as was his long-standing friend Hugh Latimer. 

Exile

With the accession of Queen Mary, many of her Protestant subjects felt themselves at greater risk and in the spring of 1554 John and Agnes Foxe joined the so called ‘Marian exiles’, finding their way via Rotterdam and Frankfurt to Strasbourg. During this period he published materials that would later be incorporated into the Book of Martyrs.

After returning to Frankfurt he sided with John Knox over a disagreement concerning a revised version of the 1552 prayer book. After Knox lost the argument, Foxe left for Basel, Switzerland in 1555. This turned out to be a positive move, creating relationships with the print shops and with the help of John Bale, broadening his contacts, including Matthias Flacius a great scholarly influence. His time in Basel revived his career and enabled printing of minor works, often guided by Edmund Grindal. 

Return to England

Foxe had left England in 1554 and returned in October 1559 not much richer, but with a substantial reputation. He also returned determined to complete the martyrology.

He stayed at the duke of Norfolk's mansion in Aldgate and on 25 January 1560 he was ordained priest by Grindal. He left London in autumn 1560 and went to Norwich, where he lived with his friend John Parkhurst, bishop of Norwich. Son Samuel was baptised there.[10]He preached in the diocese, and also conducted archival and oral research there. He soon completed several works including the first edition of the Book of Martyrs in 1562, published by John Day. 

1563 he was appointed to the prebend of Shipton, Salisbury. In the same year, plague broke out in London. He stayed in London where he ministering to the afflicted. One of his daughters died and also lost a close friend and mentor John Bale, after which his energies went into the second edition of the Book of Martyrs eventually printed in 1570. It included material collected by Bale, Grindal, Bull, and Parker, ran to 2300 pages and took a correspondingly heavy toll on his health.  

The book which became essential reading in Elizabethan society and his reputation for effective preaching, giving alms and supporting charitable causes added to his celebrity.

1563 he became vicar of St. Giles, Cripplegate 

1565 he was at Waltham Abbey. In the Register of the parish there is an entry.  

Baptised Rafe and Mary foxe, the sonne and dowter of John foxe, 29th Jennary, Ano. Do. 1565

Rafe and Mary may have been twins and Rafe at least died young. Simeon was referred to as ‘second son’ when he was born in 1568 after which the family moved to Grub Street in the parish of St Giles Cripplegate, where John spent the rest of his life.  

He was briefly, by Proxy canon of Durham 1572-3 In the same year his pupil and patron, the Duke of Norfolk, was executed, at the age of thirty-six, for conspiring with Mary Queen of Scots and the catholic nobility against Elizabeth. Foxe attended him to the scaffold. 

Final Years

In his final years he published some of the works he lately promised such as a collection of the works of William Tyndale, John Frith, and Robert Barnes, published in January 1573, translations of Luther and the third edition of the Book of Martyrs in 1576. The fourth edition, a more considered version of the third, with better paper and type appeared in 1583, the last in his lifetime.

His son, Samuel assisted him with his last great project, a weighty Latin commentary on Revelation. John Foxe died 18 April, 1587, at his house in Grub Street whist still working on this project. He was buried in the chancel of St. Giles, Cripplegate. He did not wish his sons to see him die. A short time before his death he asked Samuel, to go a three days' journey about some important matter, and that Simeon and Robert should not be sent for. 

- wikitree.com/wiki/Foxe-20

QUOTES BY JOHN FOXE

WHEN THE CHRISTIANS, UPON THESE OCCASIONS

"When the Christians, upon these occasions, received martyrdom, they were ornamented, and crowned with garlands of flowers; for which they, in heaven, received eternal crowns of glory."

- John Foxe (1516/1517-1587), English Historian and Martyrologist

MY LORD JESUS CHRIST, FOR MY SAKE

“My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious?” 

- John Foxe (1516/1517-1587), English Historian and Martyrologist

CROWNED WITH GRALANDS OF FLOWERS  

"When the Christians, upon these occasions, received martyrdom, they were ornamented, and crowned with garlands of flowers; for which they, in heaven, received eternal crowns of glory." 

- John Foxe (1516/1517-1587), English Historian and Martyrologist

JOHN FOXE BOOKS AND SERMONS

• Foxe, John, 1516-1587: Fox's Book of Martyrs: A History of the Lives, Sufferings and Triumphant Deaths of the Early Christian and the Protestant Martyrs (Philadelphia and Chicago: J. C. Winston Co., c1926), ed. by William Byron Forbush (page images at HathiTrust)
• Foxe, John, 1516-1587: Martyrologia: or, Records of Religious Persecution, Being a New and Comprehensive Book of Martyrs, of Ancient and Modern Times (3 volumes; London: J. Mason, 1848-1851), also by John S. Stamp and William Harris Rule
  • Volume I: multiple formats at archive.org
  • Volume II: multiple formats at archive.org
  • Volume III: multiple formats at archive.org
• Foxe, John, 1516-1587, contrib.: The Treasure of Trueth Touching the Grounde Worke of Man His Salvation, and Chiefest Pointes of Christian Religion, With a Briefe Summe of the Comfortable Doctrine of God his Providence, Comprised in 38 Short Aphorismes (with added treatises by Foxe and Gilby; London: J. Charlewood, 1576), by Théodore de Bèze, trans. by John Stockwood, also contrib. by Anthony Gilby (HTML at EEBO TCP)
• Foxe, John, 1516-1587: The Unabridged Acts and Monuments Online (variorum online edition of Foxe's "Book of Marytrs", with transcriptions of four 16th century editions and modern commentary) (HTML at johnfoxe.org)

Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Foxe

ABOUT JOHN KNOX

He was a minister of the Christian gospel who advocated violent revolution. He was considered one of the most powerful preachers of his day, but only two of the hundreds of sermons he preached were ever published. He is a key figure in the formation of modern Scotland, yet there is only one monument erected to him in Scotland, and his grave lies beneath a parking lot.

John Knox was indeed a man of many paradoxes, a Hebrew Jeremiah set down on Scottish soil. In a relentless campaign of fiery oratory, he sought to destroy what he felt was idolatry and to purify Scotland's religion.

John Knox was born around 1514, at Haddington, a small town south of Edinburgh. Around 1529 he entered the University of St. Andrews and went on to study theology. He was ordained in 1536, but became a notary, then a tutor to the sons of local lairds (lower ranking Scottish nobility).

Dramatic events were unfolding in Scotland during Knox's youth. Many were angry with the Catholic church, which owned more than half the real estate and gathered an annual income of nearly 18 times that of the crown. Bishops and priests were often mere political appointments, and many never hid their immoral lives: the archbishop of St. Andrews, Cardinal Beaton, openly consorted with concubines and sired 10 children.

The constant sea traffic between Scotland and Europe allowed Lutheran literature to be smuggled into the country. Church authorities were alarmed by this "heresy" and tried to suppress it. Patrick Hamilton, an outspoken Protestant convert, was burned at the stake in 1528.

In the early 1540s, Knox came under the influence of converted reformers, and under the preaching of Thomas Guilliame, he joined them. Knox then became a bodyguard for the fiery Protestant preacher George Wishart, who was speaking throughout Scotland.

In 1546, however, Beaton had Wishart arrested, tried, strangled, and burned. In response, a party of 16 Protestant nobles stormed the castle, assassinated Beaton, and mutilated his body. The castle was immediately put to siege by a fleet of French ships (Catholic France was an ally to Scotland). Though Knox was not privy to the murder, he did approve of it, and during a break in the siege, he joined the besieged party in the castle.

During a Protestant service one Sunday, preacher John Rough spoke on the election of ministers, and publicly asked Knox to undertake the office of preacher. When the congregation confirmed the call, Knox was shaken and reduced to tears. He declined at first, but eventually submitted to what he felt was a divine call.

It was a short-lived ministry. In 1547, after St. Andrews Castle had again been put under siege, it finally capitulated. Some of the occupants were imprisoned. Others, like Knox, were sent to the galleys as slaves.

Traveling preacher

Nineteen months passed before he and others were released. Knox spent the next five years in England, and his reputation for preaching quickly blossomed. But when Catholic Mary Tudor took the throne, Knox was forced to flee to France.

He made his way to Geneva, where he met John Calvin. The French reformer described Knox as a "brother … laboring energetically for the faith." Knox for his part, was so impressed with Calvin's Geneva, he called it, "the most perfect school of Christ that was ever on earth since the days of the apostles."

Knox traveled on to Frankfurt am Main, where he joined other Protestant refugees—and quickly became embroiled in controversy. The Protestants could not agree on an order of worship. Arguments became so heated that one group stormed out of a church one Sunday, refusing to worship in the same building as Knox.

Back in Scotland, Protestants were redoubling their efforts, and congregations were forming all over the country. A group that came to be called "The Lords of the Congregation" vowed to make Protestantism the religion of the land. In 1555, they invited Knox to return to Scotland to inspire the reforming task. Knox spent nine months preaching extensively and persuasively in Scotland before he was forced to return to Geneva.

Away from his homeland again, he published some of his most controversial tracts: In his Admonition to England he virulently attacked the leaders who allowed Catholicism back in England. In The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women he argued that a female ruler (like English Queen Mary Tudor) was "most odious in the presence of God" and that she was "a traitoress and rebel against God." In his Appellations to the Nobility and Commonality of Scotland, he extended to ordinary people the right—indeed the duty—to rebel against unjust rulers. As he told Queen Mary of Scotland later, "The sword of justice is God's, and if princes and rulers fail to use it, others may."

Knox returned to Scotland in 1559, and he again deployed his formidable preaching skills to increase Protestant militancy. Within days of his arrival, he preached a violent sermon at Perth against Catholic "idolatry," causing a riot. Altars were demolished, images smashed, and religious houses destroyed.

In June, Knox was elected the minister of the Edinburgh church, where he continued to exhort and inspire. In his sermons, Knox typically spent half an hour calmly exegeting a biblical passage. Then as he applied the text to the Scottish situation, he became "active and vigorous" and would violently pound the pulpit. Said one note taker, "he made me so to grew [quake] and tremble, that I could not hold pen to write."

The Lords of the Congregation militarily occupied more and more cities, so that finally, in the 1560 Treaty of Berwick, the English and French agreed to leave Scotland. (The English, now under Protestant Elizabeth I, had come to the aid of the Protestant Scots; the French were aiding the Catholic party). The future of Protestantism in Scotland was assured.

The Parliament ordered Knox and five colleagues to write a Confession of Faith, the First Book of Discipline, and The Book of Common Order—all of which cast the Protestant faith of Scotland in a distinctly Calvinist and Presbyterian mode.

Knox finished out his years as preacher of the Edinburgh church, helping shape the developing Protestantism in Scotland. During this time, he wrote his History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland.

Though he remains a paradox to many, Knox was clearly a man of great courage: one man standing before Knox's open grave said, "Here lies a man who neither flattered nor feared any flesh." Knox's legacy is large: his spiritual progeny includes some 750,000 Presbyterians in Scotland, 3 million in the United States, and many millions more worldwide.

Source: christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-knox.html

QUOTES BY JOHN KNOX

THE NEED NOT FLESH NOT FEAR DEATH

“Live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death.”

- John Knox (c. 1510–1572) Scottish Clergyman   

PRAYER IS A EARNEST AND FAMILIAR TALKING WITH GOD

"Prayer is an earnest and familiar talking with God, to whom we declare all our miseries, whose support and help we implore and desire in our adversities, and whom we laud and praise for our benefits received. So that prayer contains the exposition of our sorrows, the desire of God's defence, and the praising of His magnificent name, as the Psalms of David clearly do teach."

- John Knox (c. 1510–1572) Scottish Clergyman  

I AM NOT THE MASTER OF MYSELF

“I am not master of myself, but must obey Him who commands me to speak plain, and to flatter no flesh upon the face of the earth.”

- John Knox (c. 1510–1572) Scottish Clergyman   

JOHN KNOX BOOKS BAND SERMONS 

An Epistle to the Congregation of the Castle of St Andrews; with a Brief Summary of Balnaves on Justification by Faith (1548)

A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry (1550)

A Godly Letter of Warning or Admonition to the Faithful in London, Newcastle, and Berwick (1554)

Certain Questions Concerning Obedience to Lawful Magistrates with Answers by Henry Bullinger (1554)

A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth in England (1554)

A Narrative of the Proceedings and Troubles of the English Congregation at Frankfurt on the Maine (1554–1555)

A Letter to the Queen Dowager, Regent of Scotland (1556)

A Letter of Wholesome Counsel Addressed to his Brethren in Scotland (1556)

The Form of Prayers and Ministration of the Sacraments Used in the English Congregation at Geneva (1556)

The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women (1558)

A Letter to the Queen Dowager, Regent of Scotland: Augmented and Explained by the Author (1558)

The Appellation from the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland (1558)

A Letter Addressed to the Commonalty of Scotland (1558)

On Predestination in Answer to the Cavillations by an Anabaptist (1560)

The History of the Reformation in Scotland (1586–1587)

Photo Credit: history.pcusa.org/history-online/exhibits/john-knox-scottish-reformer-page-8

ABOUT JOHN OF DAMASCUS

Saint John Damascene has the double honor of being the last but one of the fathers of the Eastern Church, and the greatest of her poets. It is surprising, however, how little that is authentic is known of his life. The account of him by John of Jerusalem, written some two hundred years after his death, contains an admixture of legendary matter, and it is not easy to say where truth ends and fiction begins.

The ancestors of John, according to his biographer, when Damascus fell into the hands of the Arabs, had alone remained faithful to Christianity. They commanded the respect of the conqueror, and were employed in judicial offices of trust and dignity, to administer, no doubt, the Christian law to the Christian subjects of the Sultan. His father, besides this honorable rank, had amassed great wealth; all this he devoted to the redemption of Christian slaves on whom he bestowed their freedom. John was the reward of these pious actions. John was baptized immediately on his birth, probably by Peter II, bishop of Damascus, afterwards a sufferer for the Faith.

The attainments of the young John of Damascus commanded the veneration of the Saracens; he was compelled reluctantly to accept an office of higher trust and dignity than that held by his father. As the Iconoclastic controversy became more violent, John of Damascus entered the field against the Emperor of the East, and wrote the first of his three treatises on the Veneration due to Images. This was probably composed immediately after the decree of Leo the Isaurian against images, in 730.

Before he wrote the second, he was apparently ordained priest, for he speaks as one having authority and commission. The third treatise is a recapitulation of the arguments used in the other two. These three treatises were disseminated with the utmost activity throughout Christianity.

John devoted himself to religious poetry, which became the heritage of the Eastern Church, and to theological arguments in defense of the doctrines of the Church, and refutation of all heresies. His three great hymns or "canons," are those on Easter, the Ascension, and Satin Thomas's Sunday. Probably also many of the Idiomela and Stichera which are scattered about the office- books under the title of John and John the Hermit are his. His eloquent defense of images has deservedly procured him the title of "The Doctor of Christian Art."

Source: ccel.org/ccel/damascus

QUOTES BY JOHN OF DAMASCUS

THE DIVINE NATURE PENETRATES ALL CREATION

"The divine nature has the property of penetrating all things without mixing with them and of being itself impenetrable by anything else."

THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH PEOPLE

"In the cosmogony of the universe, we accept the creation of a heaven…. But when we say, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” this does not mean that they send forth a voice that can be heard by bodily ears, but that from their own greatness they bring before our minds the power of the Creator: and when we contemplate their beauty we praise their Maker as the Master Craftsman."

- John of Damascus (c. 675-749) Christian Monk, Priest, Hymnographer, and Apologist

THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF LIFE

God says, “Of every tree of Paradise thou shalt eat,” meaning, I think: By means of all created things be thou drawn up to Me, their Creator, and from them reap the one fruit which is Myself, Who am the true Life. Let all things be fruitful life to thee and make participation in Me to be the substance of thy own existence; for thus thou shalt be immortal…. He made him a living being to be governed here according to this present life, and then to be removed elsewhere, that is, to the world to come, and so to complete the mystery by becoming divine through reversion to God – this however not by being transformed into the Divine substance, but by participation in the Divine illumination."

- John of Damascus (c. 675-749) Christian Monk, Priest, Hymnographer, and Apologist

THERE IS USELFULNESS IN EVERY PLANT

"Among plants and herbs, some are fruit bearing, others edible, others fragrant and flowery, given to us for our enjoyment, such as the rose. Others have healing properties. For there is not a single animal or plant in which the Creator has not implanted some form of energy capable of being used to satisfy man’s needs."

- John of Damascus (c. 675-749) Christian Monk, Priest, Hymnographer, and Apologist

TWO ENERGIES IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

"We hold that there are two energies in our Lord Jesus Christ. For He possesses on the one hand, as God and being of like essence with the Father, the divine energy, and likewise, since He became man and of life essence to us, the energy proper to human nature.

But observe that energy and capacity for energy, and the product of energy, and the agent of energy, are all different. Energy is the efficient and essential activity of nature: the capacity for energy is the nature from which proceeds energy; the product of energy is that which is effected by energy; and the agent of energy is the person or substance which uses the energy….

Life itself, it should be observed, is energy, yea, the primal energy of the living creature: and so is the whole economy of the living creature, its functions of nutrition and growth, that is, the vegetative side of its nature, and the movement stirred by impulse, that is, the sentient side, and its activity of intellect and free-will. Energy, moreover, is the perfect realization of power. If, then, we contemplate all these in Christ, surely we must also hold that He possesses human energy.

The first thought that arises in us is called energy…. Again the revelation and unfolding of thought by means of articulate speech is said to be energy…. And so in connection with our Lord Jesus Christ, the power of miracles is the energy of His divinity, while the work of His hands and the willing and the saying, “I will, be thou clean,” are the energy of His humanity. And again, if the providence that embraces all creation is not only of the Father and the Holy Spirit, but also of the Son, even after the incarnation, assuredly since that is energy, He must have even after the incarnation the same energy as the Father."

- John of Damascus (c. 675-749) Christian Monk, Priest, Hymnographer, and Apologist

JOHN OF DAMASCUS BOOKS AND SERMONS

St. John of Damascene on Holy Images (Followed by Three Sermons on the Assumption)

Works About John of Damascus - John of Damascus, St. (c. 675-749) (external)

Photo Credit: thecatholicspirit.com/commentary/hotdish/st-john-damascene-priest-doctor-of-the-church/