In denying the efficacy of human works in our justification before God, Calvin makes this passing, but nevertheless interesting, remark about angels:
Although he refers to that spotless righteousness of God, before which even angels are not clean, he however shows, that when brought to the bar of Gods all that mortals can do is to stand dumb. He does not merely mean that he chooses rather to give way spontaneously than to risk a contest with the divine severity, but that he was not conscious of possessing any righteousness that would not fall the very first moment it was brought into the presence of God. Confidence being banished, all glorying must necessarily cease. For who can attribute any merit of righteousness to works, which instead of giving confidence, only make us tremble in the presence of God? We must, therefore, come to what Isaiah invites us: “In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory,” (Isaiah 45:25); for it is most true, as he elsewhere says, that we are “the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified,” (Isaiah 61:3). Our soul, therefore, will not be duly purified until it ceases to have any confidence, or feel any exultation in works. Foolish men are puffed up to this false and lying confidence by the erroneous idea that the cause of their salvation is in works.
Institutes III.14.16
It is tempting to assume this is but an exaggeration or rhetorical move, but I think it sheds light on a bigger issue. You see, for Calvin, the question of man’s standing before God was not merely a moral one. It was also an ontological question.
No creature could obtain life from his own efforts because life comes from the Lord and Giver, God himself. Assuming that the natural man could obtain life simply as man, yes even morally upright man, is to attribute to him an amount of autonomy. That Calvin is thinking in this direction can be seen in a few other statements.
In his commentary on John’s gospel, Calvin states:
What he formerly called the bread of heaven, he now calls the bread of God; not that the bread which supports us in the present life comes from any other than God, but because that alone can be reckoned the bread of God which quickens souls to a blessed immortality. This passage teaches that the whole world is dead to God, except so far as Christ quickens it, because life will be found nowhere else than in him.
Which hath come down from heaven. In the coming down from heaven two things are worthy of observation; first, that we have a Divine life in Christ, because he has come from God to be the Author of life to us; secondly, that the heavenly life is near us, so that we do not need to fly above the clouds or to cross the sea, for the reason why Christ descended to us was, that no man could ascend above.
Commentary on the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 33
And also:
Having formerly called himself the bread of life, he now calls himself the living bread, but in the same sense, namely, life-giving bread. — Which have come down from heaven He frequently mentions his coming down from heaven, because spiritual and incorruptible life will not be found in this world, the fashion of which passes away and vanishes, but only in the heavenly kingdom of God.
Commentary on John 6:51
So, life comes from heaven. Jesus comes from heaven and gives us eternal life. But how does this work? Calvin further explains:
The bread which I shall give is my flesh. As this secret power to bestow life, of which he has spoken, might be referred to his Divine essence, he now comes down to the second step, and shows that this life is placed in his flesh, that it may be drawn out of it. It is, undoubtedly, a wonderful purpose of God that he has exhibited life to us in that flesh, where formerly there was nothing but the cause of death. And thus he provides for our weakness, when he does not call us above the clouds to enjoy life, but displays it on earth, in the same manner as if he were exalting us to the secrets of his kingdom. And yet, while he corrects the pride of our mind, he tries the humility and obedience of our faith, when he enjoins those who would seek life to place reliance on his flesh, which is contemptible in its appearance.
But an objection is brought, that the flesh of Christ cannot give life, because it was liable to death, and because even now it is not immortal in itself; and next, that it does not at all belong to the nature of flesh to quicken souls. I reply, though this power comes from another source than from the flesh, still this is no reason why the designation may not accurately apply to it; for as the eternal Word of God is the fountain of life, so his flesh, as a channel, conveys to us that life which dwells intrinsically, as we say, in his Divinity. And in this sense it is called life-giving, because it conveys to us that life which it borrows for us from another quarter. This will not be difficult to understand, if we consider what is the cause of life, namely, righteousness. And though righteousness flows from God alone, still we shall not attain the full manifestation of it any where else than in the flesh of Christ; for in it was accomplished the redemption of man, in it a sacrifice was offered to atone for sins, and an obedience yielded to God, to reconcile him to us; it was also filled with the sanctification of the Spirit, and at length, having vanquished death, it was received into the heavenly glory. It follows, therefore that all the parts of life have been placed in it, that no man may have reason to complain that he is deprived of life, as if it were placed in concealment, or at a distance.
ibid
Now I find this to be a really remarkable passage from Calvin. It is also one that I have heard precious little explanation of in subsequent Calvinistic thought. Zanchi uses deification language, as does Polhill, but for the most part, the concept has not taken root in Reformed theology. If, as seems to be the case, this is an aspect of Calvin’s understanding of justification, then I suggest we seek to take up the topic afresh.
Calvin is clear that life comes from the Divine essence. It is given to the flesh of Christ in the incarnation, and then that flesh is given to us. “Righteousness” is the “cause” of that life, but as Calvin has said several times now, this is a heavenly righteousness.
With this in mind, we can read Calvin on Romans 1:17 with an eye for detail:
For the righteousness of God, etc. This is an explanation and a confirmation of the preceding clause — that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. For if we seek salvation, that is, life with God, righteousness must be first sought, by which being reconciled to him, we may, through him being propitious to us, obtain that life which consists only in his favor; for, in order to be loved by God, we must first become righteous, since he regards unrighteousness with hatred. He therefore intimates, that we cannot obtain salvation otherwise than from the gospel, since nowhere else does God reveal to us his righteousness, which alone delivers us from perdition. Now this righteousness, which is the groundwork of our salvation, is revealed in the gospel: hence the gospel is said to be the power of God unto salvation. Thus he reasons from the cause to the effect. Notice further, how extraordinary and valuable a treasure does God bestow on us through the gospel, even the communication of his own righteousness. I take the righteousness of God to mean, that which is approved before his tribunal; as that, on the contrary, is usually called the righteousness of men, which is by men counted and supposed to be righteousness, though it be only vapor. Paul, however, I doubt not, alludes to the many prophecies in which the Spirit makes known everywhere the righteousness of God in the future kingdom of Christ.
Again we see mention that man’s righteousness is only vapor, and that it is God’s own righteousness which we should look to. It is tempting to suppose that Calvin means that man’s righteousness is a vapor because of its sinful imperfections, but this is not what he means. He continues to explain his understanding of δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ:
Some explain it as the righteousness which is freely given us by God: and I indeed confess that the words will bear this sense; for God justifies us by the gospel, and thus saves us: yet the former view [that it means God's own righteousness] seems to me more suitable, though it is not what I make much of. Of greater moment is what some think, that this righteousness does not only consist in the free remission of sins, but also, in part, includes the grace of regeneration. But I consider, that we are restored to life because God freely reconciles us to himself, as we shall hereafter show in its proper place.
So, to the question of whether “the righteousness of God” means God’s own righteousness or a righteousness that God gives, Calvin answers “Yes.” This both/and answer to the dilemma makes sense given all that Calvin has elsewhere said about righteousness coming from the divine nature.
Another interesting observation would be the editorial note from Pareus, which says:
The causative, γὰρ, indicates a connection with the preceding, that the gospel is the power of God: the reason is, because by the gospel is revealed the righteousness of God, that is, made known by it is a way of righteousness and of obtaining life before God, which neither the law, nor philosophy, nor any other doctrine, was able to show.
The gospel makes known a new way because it makes known the God who has become man.
The significance of this way of reading Calvin is difficult to exaggerate. Rather than “active” and “passive” obedience, Calvin mentions reconciliation with God, which is to say, renewed union between the God and man. This new birth is a divine one, for we are living, through the human flesh of Christ, the divine life of God. Calvin is not working with only a forensic paradigm, but one that includes ontological reconciliation as well.
Mankind is advanced in Christ to a position that it never before, not even in pre-fallen Adam, enjoyed. This heavenization of earth is possible because the bread of heaven came down to earth and offered himself as food for the world.
Needless to say, this has to inform our use of “union with Christ,” as well as our formulation of the way in which Christ carried out his mediation. For Calvin, Jesus isn’t simply a perfect man, he is the heavenly man, and thus his accomplishment was something that could never before have happened in history. This understanding also allows for a harmony between the old and new perspectives when it comes to “the righteousness of God,” and that issue itself informs our theology proper, as salvation reflects God’s own nature. God’s righteousness is himself, for each attribute of God is God. This produces a Christo-eschatological soteriology that integrates the various loci of our dogmatic thought.
The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of the incarnate Word.
