Hidden God? Revealed God? Glorified God? Or What?

Martin Luther

John Calvin

With Reformation Day being two days away on October 31, our churches (and this blog!) adorned in red and Reformation Sunday being last Sunday where we bellowed out hymns such as "A Mighty Fortress," publicly read Holy Scripture from Romans 3:19-28, and received the Body and Blood of Our Lord, it is a good time to address some differences between Calvinists and Lutherans.




Luther's hammer thunders into the door of the Wittenberg church; putting the Roman Church on notice for its corruption, mainly involving indulgences. The 95 theses are posted, and in time the Gospel given in Holy Scripture is proclaimed boldly and clearly in Christendom.

Interesting topic, this. In fact, it is one of the main topics that separate the Lutherans and the Calvinists. Of course the sacraments are another large one. If you want to see just how far apart the Lutherans and Calvinists are historically, check out the Consensus Tigurinus (Calvinist) and The Saxon Visitation Articles (Lutheran).

Both can be found on the Book of Concord site.

Consensus Tigurinus (1549)

Saxon Visitation Articles (1592)

The Consensus Tigurinus is very clear that the Lutheran views on the Lord's Supper are heretical; although Calvin does not refer to the Lutherans specifically. Read Articles 21-25 in the Consensus Tigurinus to see this.

The Saxon Visitation Articles specifically address errors within Calvinism.

In short, those who would try to reconcile the two camps and say that they teach pretty much the same thing and the differences are minor are in error here. The Prussian Union sought to unify the Continental Reformed and the Lutheran churches in Germany, but this was foolish to do. The Prussian Union was directly influential in the formation of the Missouri Synod in fact, as many Germans immigrated to the United States.

This brings us to a major difference in thought in the Calvinist and Lutheran camps. Let us begin by stating from the outset that both camps are purely monergistic. That is to say, God alone saves, by Himself, apart from our cooperation; although both camps do of course affirm that we do cooperate with God as a result of being saved, but certainly not in order to be saved. How we view that monergism is different, but nevertheless, we both affirm God alone saves through no effort or cooperation of our own.

One major difference we can point to between the camps is how we view the hidden God, the revealed God, and the glorified God. Our major point of focus is different in these matters.

For the Calvinist, the material principle(s) behind their entire theology is the glory of God. Let's be clear: the glory of God is huge. Of course we Lutherans have no problem with the glory of God!

Here is where we begin to diverge however. The Calvinist tends to see the glory of God through all of God's hidden decrees that He carries out through time and space. This is to say, they tend to hold up the absolute sovereignty of God, His divine election to salvation (and reprobation too), and His foreordination of all things as the foundation of their entire theology. God is glorified through these things.

Due to their doctrine of double predestination, most Calvinists see the Pactum Salutis (Covenant of Redemption) of the Father the Son and the Spirit as the foundation of everything. It's important to note that not all Calvinists affirm the Pactum Salutis.

Thus, the glory of God in Calvinism is located primarily in the hidden God. God the Father decreeing all things, the Father, Son, and Spirit making a covenant to elect (Father), redeem (Son), and regenerate (Spirit). Thus, you have three petals of the TULIP right there, with the other two being logical necessities based on some texts in Scripture.

It's a very attractive, logically rigorous, and sensible system. Calvinism is very linear. It starts in eternity past and has the Triune God working our His plan and foreordination through time as He governs by His absolute sovereignty and providence. Sounds good right? So why do we Lutherans disagree with it?

Very simple: The hidden decrees of God are *hidden.* Why would we make the material principle of our whole theology the hidden decrees of God? In Lutheranism, that constitutes a theology of glory, as Christians try to peer into the hidden mind of God, true as the decrees may be. Supralapsarianism in particular is a big time theology of glory as it places God's decree to elect right at the beginning of everything.

Yes, the Holy Scriptures do talk about decrees of God. Yes, the Holy Scriptures do speak of many of these things that the Calvinists are high on. But, in Lutheranism, if you begin your theology in hidden decrees, you end up wrong about some things.

So, what is the material principle in Lutheran hermeneutics? Where do Lutherans locate the glory of God? Easy, it's in Christ, the revealed God. God has chosen to keep many things hidden to us, but He has chosen to reveal Christ to us.

In this way, Lutheran theology is not linear as Calvinist theology is. It's better described as a theology that starts at the cross and ripples out like waves on a lake in concentric circles. Jesus is in the middle.

Instead of beginning with a covenant of redemption and the sovereignty of God, we begin with Christ. We begin with what the Triune God has revealed to us tangibly and visibly in time and space: the God-man Jesus Christ, given for you at Calvary and given to you objectively by His Word and Sacrament. Instead of wondering about hidden decrees, we have baptism, the preaching of the Gospel, and the Lord's Supper, which are all objective means of grace through which the Spirit works; and the Spirit works via these means of grace all the time. We don't need to look to some separate act of grace apart from the means. The whole of salvation is mediated; including regeneration.

Let's be clear, the Calvinists do not reject the means of grace. I am not saying that. In fact, the Continental Reformed actually have some very "Lutheranish" tendencies. That said, they're not close enough to be in communion with them. In fact, John Calvin himself said something that sounds Lutheran in practice regarding God's predestination being hidden and Christ being revealed. So it would be unfair to say that Calvinists are not Christ centered Christians.

God does decree. Yeah, that is true. But God does us one better: He gives us the revealed Christ in time and space, dying at Calvary for you and rising from the grace for you. That work is given to us objectively as a one-sided act of divine grace in Word and Sacrament for you.

God is most glorified not in His decrees, not in election, not in His sovereignty, but...wait for it...

On the cross, dying for you.

Right there ----------------------------------------------------------->

Is where God is most glorified.




Hence, the Saxon Visitation Articles of 1592, addressed specifically to the Calvinists:

The False and Erroneous doctrine of the Calvinists On Predestination and the Providence of God.

1. That Christ did not die for all men, but only for the elect.

2. That God created the greater part of mankind for eternal damnation, and wills not that the greater part should be converted and live. 

3. That the elected and regenerated can not lose faith and the Holy Spirit, or be damned, though they commit great sins and crimes of every kind.

4. That those who are not elect are necessarily damned, and can not arrive at salvation, though they be baptized a thousand times, and receive the Eucharist every day, and lead as blameless a life as ever can be led.

And there you have it in a nutshell.

We should rejoice for our Calvinist brothers and sisters in Christ, for they preach a purely gracious Gospel. Yet we should also pray and strive for unity in the truth with them. As of right now, that unity does not exist, and the hidden vs. revealed God is a big topic in this discussion.

Let us keep the lines of communication open with our Calvinist brothers; especially our Continental Reformed Calvinist brothers. But let us not sacrifice truth in the process. We do not teach the same thing.