Institutes of the Christian Religion

Definition and Meaning

The original Latin title is Institutio Christianae Religionis. The word institutio means "instruction" or "education," while gangyo (綱要), the term used in the Korean title, means "an outline of the essentials." Korean churches commonly render the author's name as Kalbin (칼빈), and the work is widely known as "Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion."

The final edition of 1559 is divided into four books:

• Book I: The Knowledge of God the Creator
• Book II: The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ
• Book III: The Way in Which We Receive the Grace of Christ
• Book IV: The Church, the Sacraments, and Civil Government

This arrangement is commonly explained as following the structure of the Apostles' Creed (Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Church). The work opens with the statement that "the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves" are bound together. The doctrine of the threefold office of Christ, which presents Christ as Prophet, King, and Priest, appears in Book II.

Historical Background

In 1536, in his mid-twenties, John Calvin published the six-chapter first edition in Basel, Switzerland. Its preface takes the form of a letter to King Francis I of France defending the legitimacy of the faith of persecuted French Protestants. Calvin repeatedly revised and expanded the Latin edition, and in 1541 he also published a French edition. The final Latin edition of 1559 was several times longer than the first. The work became the leading systematic exposition of Protestant theology in the era of the Reformation and is regarded as the theological foundation for later Reformed confessions such as the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Use in the Korean Church

Both the 1559 final edition and the 1536 first edition have been translated into Korean. Denominations approach the work in different ways.

• Presbyterian: Presbyterians give it the greatest weight as a classic of Reformed theology. It is read as a foundational text in the teaching of systematic and historical theology at Presbyterian theological seminaries. It is also frequently cited in explanations of predestination and of the presbyterian system of church government.
• Methodist and Holiness: These churches stand in the tradition of Wesleyan theology. They read the work as an important classic of the Reformation, but on questions of predestination and free will they hold positions closer to Arminianism.
• Baptist: Some Baptists accept Calvin's soteriology. However, they part ways with the work where Book IV defends infant baptism and criticizes the Anabaptists.
• Lutheran: The ways in which Calvin's account of the Lord's Supper differs from the Lutheran tradition are discussed in connection with the Eucharistic controversy.

The work is thus widely read in the Korean church as a starting point for understanding Calvinism, although the extent to which it is received varies from denomination to denomination.