# “It is the will of the Lord of lights to teach the ignorant, to strengthen the feeble, to illumine the blind, and to make His truth to reign” by John Calvin

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2020/03/19/it-is-the-will-of-the-lord-of-lights-to-teach-the-ignorant-to-strengthen-the-feeble-to-illumine-the-blind-and-to-make-his-truth-to-reign-by-john-calvin/
- Published: 2020-03-19T12:00:46-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“O you who call yourselves bishops and pastors of the poor people, see to it that
the sheep of Jesus Christ are not deprived of their proper pasture; and that it 
is not prohibited and forbidden to any Christian freely and in his own language 
to read, handle, and hear this holy gospel, seeing that such is the will of God,
and Jesus Christ commands it.

For it is for this cause that he has sent His apostles and servants throughout the
whole world; giving them the power to speak in all tongues, so that they may in 
every language preach to every creature; and he has made them debtors to the Greeks
and the barbarians, to the wise and the simple, in order that none might be excluded
from their teaching.

Surely, if you are truly their vicars, successors, and imitators, it is your office
to do the same, watching over the flock and seeking every possible means to have
everyone instructed in the faith of Jesus Christ, by the pure Word of God. Otherwise,
the sentence is already proclaimed and put down in writing, that God will demand
their souls at your hands.

It is the will of the Lord of lights by His Holy Spirit, by means of this holy and
saving gospel, to teach the ignorant, to strengthen the feeble, to illumine the 
blind, and to make His truth to reign among all peoples and nations, to the end 
that the whole world may know but one God and one Savior, Jesus Christ; one faith,
and one gospel.

So be it.”

–John Calvin, “[Preface to Olivetan’s New Testament](https://amzn.to/32I3ixO),” 
[_Calvin: Commentaries_](https://amzn.to/32I3ixO), Ed. Joseph Haroutunian (Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1958), 72-73.

More on [The Church](https://tollelege.net/category/the-church/)