Institutes I.II.II

Knowledge of God involves trust and reverence. It is not mere idle speculation on great questions such as “What is God?”

Institutes I.II.I

Piety is requisite for the knowledge of God. In man’s ruin he does not experience God as Father or Saviour. It is one thing to experience him as Maker, another to experience reconcilliation through Christ. Further, we cannot apprehend him without giving honour to him.

Institutes I.I.III

Before God’s majesty, therefore, scripture shows many examples of men who are bowed down under a weight of their own sinfulness.

Institutes I.I.II

The reverse is also true. Without a true knowledge of God man cannot truly know himself. Failure to truly know God allows hypocrisy to persist.

Institutes I.I.I

Nearly all wisdom is found in two parts: knowledge of God and knowledge of self.  Contemplation of man and his miserable condition inevitably leads to contemplation of God.

comment: it seems to me that Calvin would argue that the reason that man’s mind does not turn to God is that he has not truly considered himself. It is a universal truth that people do not know themselves!