Misinterpretations of John Calvin's theology are legion. It is hoped that this thesis does not add to their number. The basis for this lies in the fact that the task of writing on the subject has of course compelled the writer to do his utmost to comprehend what Calvin had to say concerning the Sacraments both in the Institutions and in the Scriptural Commentaries ... .The attempt has been made to refract Calvin's thought on the Sacrament, using certain key-concepts as prisms, and from the results thus obtained, to draw certain conclusions from which, it is hoped, will not be unprofitable to the life of the Holy Catholic Church. It is thus to be reagrded as an essay in historical theology rather than a whole-hearted attempt to reconstruct Calvin's exposition of the sacrament in the light of what has been revealed to us in the intervening years.

In our time we, of course, face problems in Christian dogmatics within a different context from Calvin. let in the Reformed Churches we believe we would greatly impoverish ourselves if we departed from his locus or disregarded his seminal teaching. Thus, the underlying question of the thesis is: can Reformed theology go the same fundamental way as Calvin and yet go further, i.e., let Calvin's theology extend and make itself explicit in the face of our theological problems? We think so. We have chosen three areas in which to test this assertion, all of which are lively areas of discussion in modern theology: natural knowledge of God, history and ethics. In each of the respective chapters we try first to represent what Calvin said; then we suggest the problems these doctrines of Calvin present for modern (Reformed) theology. Finally, we let Calvin's doctrine of the Word extend and make explicit his statements in each of these areas; i.e., knowledge, history and ethics, in the face of the problems of today. In order to follow this procedure we set forth in the First Chapter the heart and norm for all of Calvin's theology, his doctrine of the Word, In sum, then, we let Calvin's doctrine of the Word clarify the Christological character of Calvin's doctrines of our knowledge of God, the Providence of God, the Law of God and the life of the Christian man in the face of contemporary theological discussion.