John Calvin and God's Love for all Mankind

[Justified]

Calvin writes:

Now, without controversy, God loves no man out of Christ. He is the beloved Son, in whom the love of the Father dwells, and form whom it afterward extends to us (Inst., III.ii.32).

Is Calvin saying here God loves only those inside Christ, i.e., only the elect? Or is Calvin saying that God only loves mankind as mediated through the Son (although I do not mean mediator in the sense as Christ is the mediator of all believers)? I hope my question is clear. Just wanted to ask PBers their opinions, especially those who are more well-read in Calvin.

 

[MW]

The Institutes would be cited as Inst., III.ii.32.

Calvin's thought on the difference in God's love is articulated in the Sermons on Deuteronomy, 1189: "God then doth love all people. Yea, but not in comparison of his Church. And why? For all the children of Adam are enemies unto God by reason of the corruption that is in them. True it is that God loveth them as his creatures: but yet he must needs hate them, because they be perverted and given to all evil. And that is the cause why the Scripture telleth us that God repented him that he ever made man, considering that he is so marred."

 

[Justified]

The Institutes would be cited as Inst., III.ii.32.

Calvin's thought on the difference in God's love is articulated in the Sermons on Deuteronomy, 1189: "God then doth love all people. Yea, but not in comparison of his Church. And why? For all the children of Adam are enemies unto God by reason of the corruption that is in them. True it is that God loveth them as his creatures: but yet he must needs hate them, because they be perverted and given to all evil. And that is the cause why the Scripture telleth us that God repented him that he ever made man, considering that he is so marred."

Mr. Winzer, would it be accurate to summarize Calvin's view as follows? God's love is not egalitarian; although he loves all mankind as they are his creatures, he also hates them because of their sin and rebellion. God has a special, saving love for his Church that is not equal to that of mankind in general.

I'm not sure if your views are similar to Calvin's, but how do we reconcile God's hatred toward sinners, because of their sin, and God's love for them as they are his creatures? It seems to me that is what Scripture teaches, but it seems like a difficult question.

 

[MW]

Evan, I concur with your analysis and also with the fact this is a difficult question. "Common love" is like "common grace," in that it is not explicitly stated in Scripture, but Scripture does seem to require a distinction between "special" and "common" expressions of goodness, mercy, etc. At the same time, the fact Scripture is not explicit should lead to caution about making too much of those expressions. We might liken it to the way we use an analogy but qualify that the analogy will break down and should not be consistently applied.