Karl Barth and John Calvin on Church Resilience

Rev. Dr. Michael Knowles, a retired professor of preaching at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, recently shared an insightful reflection on hope in the life of the Church. Drawing from Karl Barth's use of John Calvin's commentary on Micah 4:6, Dr. Knowles illuminated the resilience of the Church through "many resurrections."

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Rev. Dr. Michael Knowles: In the course of some of my research, I ran across this astonishing quote where Karl Barth quotes John Calvin before the Reformation has really taken hold. He uses this quotation as he's speaking to a gathering of pastors—so a pastor's retreat. And if you just give me a moment, I'd like to read it. It's at the end of this book I wrote. Barth writes, "I should like to close with a confession of hope.

It consists of a few sentences taken from Calvin's commentary on Micah 4:6."

"Although the church," Calvin comments, "is at the present time hardly to be distinguished from a dead, or at best a sick man, there is no reason for despair. For the Lord raises up his own suddenly as he wakes the dead from the grave. This we must clearly remember, lest when the church fails to shine forth, we conclude too quickly that her light has died utterly away. But the church in the world is so preserved that she rises suddenly from the dead.

Her very preservation through the days is due to a succession of such miracles. Let us cling to the remembrance that she is not without her resurrection, or rather, not without her many resurrections."

I just found that so helpful because, you know, we say, "Okay, we need a new pastor, we need a new preacher, we need a new fundraiser." But God's the one who gives life, and that's my source of hope. And I just, you know, become hungrier and hungrier to see the works of God.

Reflection

Rev. Dr. Michael Knowles’ words remind us that the Church has faced many eras of decline and renewal. John Calvin’s vivid imagery of the Church as a "dead or sick man" calls us to honesty about the struggles we face.

For preachers and theological educators, this reflection is a call to root ministry not in human ingenuity but in divine grace. How often do we, like the Church in Calvin’s time, rush to diagnose solutions rather than relying on the Spirit to bring renewal?

Where do you see God’s "many resurrections" in your life and community?

Explore Rev. Dr. Michael Knowles’ full sermon from episode 4166.
Read the Full Sermon Transcript >>>