In John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion he spends a great deal of time expounding his doctrine of God’s Divine providence in all of creation. He explains not only how God continually governs the laws of nature, but also how God governs man’s actions and intentions to bring about His own Divine Will. Calvin believes that God’s providence is so encompassing in creation that even a man’s own actions, in many ways, are decreed by God. Because of this belief there arises the question, “Does Calvin leave room for the free will of man?”At the outset I must make clear that Calvin defines Providence as this: “providence means not that by which God idly observes from heaven what takes place on earth, but that by which, as keeper of the keys, he governs all events.” (Calvin 202) Calvin does not believe, like many, that God after creating all things sits back and allows creation to run. For him terms such as “fortune” and “chance” are pagan terms and not fit for use by Christians. He believes that these are ideas for those who either do not or cannot believe that God is in control of all things. Which is iterated in Calvin’s statement, “anyone who has been taught by Christ’s lips that all the hairs of his head are numbered [Matt. 10:30] will look farther afield for a cause, and will consider that all events are governed by God’s secret plan.” (Calvin 199) Likewise, Calvin in many places distinguishes between what he calls “carnal sense” and “faith”. “Carnal sense” seems to be that which is understandable to man, or what man can see or comprehend. Such as fortune, chance, natural orders, etc. Whereas, “faith” looks deeper into what God tells us is true. I.e. that He is omnipotent and controls all things. For Calvin, God’s Divine control spreads all throughout ...
