John Calvin’s (1509–1564) Reference to Augustine on God’s Love and Hate

I will supply both translations from Calvin's Institutes (II, XVI, 4) and then the complete reference to Augustine on The Gospel of John in what follows. We will see that both Calvin and Augustine believe that God can both love and hate the same individual(s) at the same time, but in different respects.

Here are the Calvin quotes first:

For this reason, Paul says that the love with which God embraced us “before the creation of the world” was established and grounded in Christ [Ephesians 1:4-5]. These things are plain and in agreement with Scripture, and beautifully harmonize those passages in which it is said that God declared his love toward us in giving his only-begotten Son to die [John 3:16]; and, conversely, that God was our enemy before he was again made favorable to us by Christ’s death [Romans 5:10]. But to render these things more certain among those who require the testimony of the ancient church, I shall quote a passage of Augustine where the very thing is taught: “God’s love,” says he, “is incomprehensible and unchangeable. For it was not after we were reconciled to him through the blood of his Son that he began to love us. Rather, he has loved us before the world was created, that we also might be his sons along with his only-begotten Son — before we became anything at all. The fact that we were reconciled through Christ’s death must not be understood as if his Son reconciled us to him that he might now begin to love those whom he had hated. Rather, we have already been reconciled him who loves us, with whom we were enemies on account of sin. The apostle will testify whether I am speaking the truth: ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’ [Romans 5:8]. Therefore, he loved us even when we practiced enmity toward him and committed wickedness. Thus in a marvelous and divine way he loved us even when he hated us. For he hated us for what we were that he had not made; yet because our wickedness had not entirely consumed his handiwork, he knew how, at the same time, to hate in each one of us what we had made, and to love what he had made.” These are Augustine’s words.

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols., ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), 1:505–507; 2.16.4.

4. For this reason Paul says, that God “has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,” (Ephesians 1:3, 4.) These things are clear and conformable to Scripture, and admirably reconcile the passages in which it is said, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” (John 3:16;) and yet that it was “when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,” (Romans 5:10.) But to give additional assurance to those who require the authority of the ancient Church, I will quote a passage of Augustine to the same effect: “Incomprehensible and immutable is the love of God. For it was not after we were reconciled to him by the blood of his Son that he began to love us, but he loved us before the foundation of the world, that with his only begotten Son we too might be sons of God before we were any thing at all. Our being reconciled by the death of Christ must not be understood as if the Son reconciled us, in order that the Father, then hating, might begin to love us, but that we were reconciled to him already, loving, though at enmity with us because of sin. To the truth of both propositions we have the attestation of the Apostle, ‘God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,’ (Romans 5:8.) Therefore he had this love towards us even when, exercising enmity towards him, we were the workers of iniquity. Accordingly in a manner wondrous and divine, he loved even when he hated us. For he hated us when we were such as he had not made us, and yet because our iniquity had not destroyed his work in every respect, he knew in regard to each one of us, both to hate what we had made, and love what he had made.” Such are the words of Augustine, (Tract in Jo. 110.)

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols., trans. Henry Beveridge (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 1:436–437; 2.16.4

4. Atque hac ratione dicit Paulus (Eph. 1:4.), eam dilectionem, qua nos ante mundi creationem complexus est Deus, in Christo constitisse ac fuisse fundatam. Haec perspicua sunt et Scripturae consentanea, locosque illos optime inter se conciliant, ubi dicitur (Io. 3:16.), Deum suam erga nos dilectionem in eo declarasse, quod unigenitum Filium in mortem dederit: et tamen fuisse inimicum, antequam morte Christi in gratiam reductus esset (Rom. 5:10.). Verum quo firmiora sint apud eos, qui veteris ecclesiae testimonium requirunt, citabo locum Augustini, ubi id ipsum docetur: “Incomprehensibilis (inquit Tract. in Io. 110.) ac immutabilis est Dei dilectio. Non enim ex quo ei reconciliati sumus per sanguinem Filii eius, coepit nos diligere, sed ante mundi constitutionem dilexit nos, ut cum eius Unigenito etiam nos filii eius essemus, antequam omnino aliquid essemus. Quod ergo reconciliati sumus per mortem Christi, non sic accipiatur, quasi ideo nos reconciliaverit ei Filius, ut iam amare inciperet, quos oderat: sed iam nos diligenti reconciliati sumus, cum quo propter peccatum inimicitias habebamus. Quod utrum verum dicam, attestetur Apostolus. “Commendat (inquit Rom. 5:8.) dilectionem suam erga nos, quoniam quum adhuc peccatores essemus, Christus pro nobis mortuus est.” Habebat itaque ille erga nos caritatem, etiam quum inimicitias adversus eum exercentes operaremur iniquitatem. Proinde miro et divino modo, et quando nos oderat, diligebat. Oderat enim nos, quales ipse non fecerat: et quia iniquitas nostra opus eius non omni ex parte consumpserat, noverat simul in unoquoque nostrùm et odisse quod feceramus, et amare quod fecerat.” Haec sunt Augustini verba.

John Calvin, Institutio Christianae Religionis, 2 vols. (Berolini: Gustavum Eichler, 1834), 1:329.

4. Pour ceste cause sainct Paul dit, que la dilection de laquelle Dieu nous a aimé devant la creation du monde, a tousjours esté fondée en Christ (Ephes. 1:4). Ceste doctrine est claire et conforme à l’Escriture, et est propre pour accorder ces passages, oú il est dit que Dieu nous a monstré sa dilection en ce qu’il a exposé son Fils unique à la mort: et neantmoins qu’il nous estoit ennemy, devant que Jesus Christ en mourant eust fait l’appointement (Jean 3:16; Rom. 5:10). Toutesfois encore afin que ceux qui desirent tousjours l’approbation de l’Eglise ancienne, en soyent encore plus certains, j’allegueray un passage de sainct Augustin, auquel il deduit tresbien cela: La dilection de Dieu, ditil, est incomprehensible et immuable: car il n’a point commencé à nous aymer depuis que nous sommes reconciliez avec luy par la mort de son Fils: mais devant la creation du monde il nous a aimé, afin que nous fussions ses enfans avec son Fils unique, devant que nous fussions du tout rien.97 Touchant ce que nous avons esté reconciliez par le sang de Christ, il ne le nous faut pas prendre comme si Jesus Christ avoit fait l’appointement entre Dieu et nous, afin que Dieu commençast à nous aimer, comme s’il nous eust hay auparavant: mais nous avons esté reconciliez à celuy qui nous aimoit desja, lequel toutesfois avoit inimitié avec nous, à cause de noz iniquitez. Que l’Apostre soit tesmoin si je dy verité, ou non: Dieu, dit-il, approuve sa dilection envers nous, en ce que Jesus Christ est mort pour nous, du temps que nous estions encore pecheurs; il nous portoit amour desja du temps que nous avions inimitié avec luy en mal vaivant (Rom. 5:8). Pourtant d’une façon admirable et divine il nous aimoit et hayssoit tout ensemble. Il nous hayssoit, d’autant que nous n’estions point tels qu’il nous avoit fait: mais d’autant que l’iniquité n’avoit pas du tout destruit son œuvre en nous, il hayssoit en chacun de nous ce que nous avions fait, et aimoit ce qu’il avoit fait. Voila les parolles de sainct Augustin.

Jean Calvin, Institution de La Religion Chrétienne (Genève: E. Beroud & C., 1888), 232.

Now here is the reference to Augustine:

6. The love, therefore, wherewith God loveth, is incomprehensible and immutable. For it was not from the time that we were reconciled unto Him by the blood of His Son that He began to love us; but He did so before the foundation of the world, that we also might be His sons along with His Only-begotten, before as yet we had any existence of our own. Let not the fact, then, of our having been reconciled unto God through the death of His Son be so listened to or so understood, as if the Son reconciled us to Him in this respect, that He now began to love those whom He formerly hated, in the same way as enemy is reconciled to enemy, so that thereafter they become friends, and mutual love takes the place of their mutual hatred; but we were reconciled unto Him who already loved us, but with whom we were at enmity because of our sin. Whether I say the truth on this, let the apostle testify, when he says: “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. v. 8, 9. He, therefore, had love toward us even when we were practising enmity against Him and working iniquity; and yet to Him it is said with perfect truth, “Thou hatest, O Lord, all workers of iniquity.” Ps. v. 5. Accordingly, in a wonderful and divine manner, even when He hated us, He loved us; for He hated us, in so far as we were not what He Himself had made; and because our own iniquity had not in every part consumed His work, He knew at once both how, in each of us, to hate what we had done, and to love what He had done. And this, indeed, may be understood in the case of all regarding Him to whom it is truly said, “Thou hatest nothing that Thou hast made.” Wisd. xi. 25. For He would never have wished anything that He hated to exist, nor would aught that the Omnipotent had not wished exist at all, were it not that in what He hated there was also something that He loved. For He justly hateth and reprobateth vice as utterly repugnant to the principle of His procedure, yet He loveth even in the persons of the vitiated what is susceptible either of His own beneficence through healing, or of His judgment by condemnation. In this way God at the same time hateth nothing of what He has made; for as the Creator of natures, and not of vices, it was not He who made the evil that He hateth; and of these same evils, all is good that He really doeth, either by mercifully healing them, or by judicially regulating them. Seeing, then, that He hateth nothing that He hath made, who can worthily describe how much He loveth the members of His Only-begotten, and how much more the Only-begotten Himself, in whom are hid all things visible and invisible, which were ordained in their various classes, and which He loves in fullest harmony with such ordination? For the members of His Only-begotten He is leading on by the liberality of His grace to an equality with the holy angels; while the Only-begotten Himself, being Lord of all, is doubtless Lord of angels, being by nature, as God, the equal not of angels, but rather of the Father Himself; while through grace, in respect of which He is man, how can He otherwise than surpass all angelic excellence, seeing that in Him human flesh and the Word constitute but one personality?

Augustine, “Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John: CX.6,” in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 1st Series, ed. Philip Schaff, 14 vols. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2004), 7:411.

6. Hence, the love whereby God loves is incomprehensible, and it isn’t changeable. For it isn’t that he began to love us because we were reconciled to him through the blood of his Son; rather, he loved us before the foundation of the world,²² so that, with his Only-Begotten, we too might be his sons before we were anything at all.²³ That we have been reconciled to God through the death of his Son (Rom 5:10), then, shouldn’t be understood as though the Son reconciled us to him so that he would begin to love those whom he hated, as an enemy is reconciled with an enemy, so that from then on they would be friends, and those who hated one another would love one another. Rather, we have been reconciled to him who already loves us [but] with whom we were at enmity because of sin. Let the Apostle bear witness as to whether I am speaking the truth: God shows his love in us, he says, because, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).

And so he possessed charity towards us even when we acted with hostility against him and practiced wickedness, and yet it is most truly said to him, Lord, you hate all who practice wickedness (Ps 5:7). Accordingly, in a wondrous and divine way he loved us even when he hated us, for he hated us to the extent that we weren’t what he had made, and, because our wickedness hadn’t utterly destroyed his work, he could at the same time both hate what we had made and love what he had made in each one of us.²⁴ And this can indeed be understood in everything having to do with him to whom it is truthfully said, You hate nothing of the things that you have made (Wis 11:25). For he wouldn’t have willed something to exist that he would have hated, nor would the Almighty have willed anything to exist at all unless, even in what he hated, there was also something for him to love. Rightly indeed does he hate vice, rejecting it as opposed to the standard of his handiwork. Yet even in the vicious he loves his own beneficence in healing them or his judgment in condemning them.²⁵ Thus God hates nothing of the things that he has made, for the creator of their natures, not of their vices, hates the evils that he didn’t make, and what he does with those same evils, whether healing them through his mercy or dealing with them through judgment, is itself good.

Since, therefore, he hates nothing of the things that he has made, who could worthily tell how greatly he loves the members of his Only-Begotten, and how much more the Only-Begotten himself, in whom were created all things visible and invisible (Col 1:16), which, arranged in the most orderly fashion, he loves in their [various] ranks? Indeed, because of the largess of his grace, he is leading the members of the Only-Begotten to an equality with the holy angels.²⁶ Now, since the Only-Begotten is Lord of all, he is of course Lord of the angels, thanks to the nature by which he is God, being equal not to the angels but rather to the Father. But by the grace whereby he is a man, how doesn’t he excel the excellence of any angel whatsoever, since he is a single person composed of flesh and the Word?²⁷
_______________
22 See Eph 2:4.
23 See The Trinity IV, 10, 13–18, 24; XIII, 11, 15.
24 See Homilies 12, 13; 33, 6; 42, 16; Sermons 13, 8; 22, 7; 24, 3; 142, 5.
25 “Healing … condemning”: sanatione … damnatione. See The Literal Meaning of Genesis VIII, 26, 48.
26 See Mt 22:30 par.
27 See Homilies 108, 5; 78, 3; Sermon 294, 9.

Saint Augustine, Homilies on the Gospel of John 41–124, ed. Allan D. Fitzgerald and Boniface Ramsey, trans. Edmund Hill, vol. 13 of The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2020), 448–49; Homily 110.6.

According to these men, it is not a contradiction to say that God loves those whom he, in another respect, hates at the same time. For Beza’s reference to Augustine on God’s simultaneous love and hate, see See Theodore Beza, Ad acta Colloquii Montisbelgardensis Tubingae edita (Genevae: Johannes Le Preux, 1588), 212–213.