Day 117 — Book 1, Chapter 14, §14

Yesterday: Scripture's talk of devils has one use — vigilance. Today: how big is the enemy? Calvin answers with arithmetic: not one, not two, not a few — a great host. And then, in the very last sentences, he flips the lens: the Bible keeps saying "Satan" in the singular because the many are one organized kingdom of evil, mirror-opposite of Christ and his body.

Why examiners love it. Seven sentences, each a different syntax drill: a fronted purpose clause + not A or B, or C, but D ladder (S1), a is said to have been V-ed passive-infinitive + assures us that it is an ordinary circumstance… to V dummy-it with a stuffed conditional (S2), a one-line Nay, intensifier (S3), a By this, then, we are taught that… , that we may not… be remiss…, or from imagining that… indulge in sloth — a double-barreled purpose clause with a gapped from pair (S4), a gerund-absolute-ish In one Satan or devil being often mentioned (S5), a as… so… correlative (S6), and a verbless Hence the expression (S7). The traps are scope-flips: Calvin does not say the demons are equal to God, not that every believer has seven devils, and not that "Satan" is a mere symbol — it is a collective-singular naming one real domination.

Text traps. ⚠️ urged (S1) = impelled, spurred on. ⚠️ ordinary circumstance (S2) = a common occurrence. ⚠️ vacant possession (S2) = the empty house it can move back into. ⚠️ Nay (S3) = indeed, even more so. ⚠️ remiss (S4) = careless, slack. ⚠️ occasional truce (S4) = a pause from time to time. ⚠️ indulge in sloth (S4) = give way to laziness. ⚠️ faction (S6) = a party, organized group. ⚠️ supremacy (S6) = rule at the top.

Today's 3 Big Points

1. That we may feel the more strongly urged to do so, the Scripture declares that the enemies… are not one or two, or few in number, but a great host. (S1) → fronted purpose clause + not… or…, but… ladder + the more comparative of degree. Formula 1.
2. By this, then, we are taught that the number of enemies… is almost infinite, that we may not, from a contemptuous idea of the fewness of their numbers, be more remiss in the contest, or from imagining that an occasional truce is given us, indulge in sloth. (S4) → passive we are taught that… + purpose that we may not… V, or… V with two inserted from-phrases. Formula 2.
3. For, as the Church… has Christ for its head, so the faction of the wicked… is portrayed with its prince exercising supremacy. (S6) → as… so… correlative + have X for Y + with + N + V-ing absolute. Formula 3.

That we may feel the more strongly urged to do so, the Scripture declares that the enemies who war against us are not one or two, or few in number, but a great host. Mary Magdalene is said to have been delivered from seven devils by which she was possessed; and our Saviour assures us that it is an ordinary circumstance, when a devil has been expelled, if access is again given to it, to take seven other spirits, more wicked than itself, and resume the vacant possession. Nay, one man is said to have been possessed by a whole legion. By this, then, we are taught that the number of enemies with whom we have to war is almost infinite, that we may not, from a contemptuous idea of the fewness of their numbers, be more remiss in the contest, or from imagining that an occasional truce is given us, indulge in sloth. In one Satan or devil being often mentioned in the singular number, the thing denoted is that domination of iniquity which is opposed to the reign of righteousness. For, as the Church and the communion of saints has Christ for its head, so the faction of the wicked and wickedness itself, is portrayed with its prince exercising supremacy. Hence the expression, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,” (Mt. 25:41).

[THESIS]     S1       Scripture says our enemies are not one or two, or few, but a great host (to spur us on)
[EVIDENCE]   S2–S3    Mary Magdalene's seven devils; the returning spirit + seven worse; the man with a legion
[LESSON]     S4       Enemy number almost infinite → no contempt for their fewness, no hope of an occasional truce
[TURN]       S5       Yet "Satan/devil" in the singular = one domination of iniquity vs. the reign of righteousness
[ANALOGY]    S6       As the Church has Christ for head, so wickedness has its prince
[PROOF TEXT] S7       Matt 25:41 — "the devil and his angels" (one prince + his host)

Examiner's Eye. - ⚠️ Number trap (S1, S4): almost infinite — not "infinite"; Calvin hedges. Any option saying the devils are "literally infinite" or "equal in number to humans" is wrong. - ⚠️ Direction trap (S4): the lesson of the number is do not relax (not… be more remiss, indulge in sloth). An option saying "since they are so many, the fight is hopeless" flips the direction. - ⚠️ Evidence trap (S2): Mary Magdalene = seven devils delivered; the vacant possession = seven other spirits more wicked than itself — two different sevens (Luke 8:2 / Matt 12:45). - ⚠️ Singular/plural trap (S5): the singular Satan/devil does not deny the many; it names the domination (kingdom) they form. - ⚠️ Source trap (S7): Matt 25:41 says "the devil and his angels" — a prince with a host, matching S6's prince exercising supremacy.

Formula 1 — That S may V…, S declares that O are not A or B, or C, but D (S1)

(That  S1  may  V ... ),   S2  declares  that  O  are  not  A  or  B,  or  C ,  but  D
  → fronted purpose clause (`that… may` = so that) + not-ladder + but-affirmation

⚠️ Trap. (a) Fronted That… may = purpose, not a noun clause. (b) the more strongly urged = degree adverb with a participle, no the more… the more… pair. (c) not one or two, or few in number, but a great host — or continues the negation; but carries the one positive. (d) war is a verb. Drill. Calvin says the faithful are not alone, not weak, not few, but a great communion; he says so to comfort us. → That we may feel the more strongly comforted, Calvin declares that the faithful are not alone or weak, or few in number, but a great communion.

Formula 2 — we are taught that… , that we may not, from X, V1, or from V-ing…, V2 (S4)

We are taught that [N] is [adj],  that we may not,  (from  X),  V1 ... ,  or  (from  V-ing ... ),  V2 ...
  → negative purpose with two fronted `from`-cause adverbials, one before each verb

⚠️ Trap. (a) Each from-phrase belongs to the verb after it. (b) that we may not… or… = lest we… or…: the or joins two prohibited results, not two ways to avoid them. (c) with whom we have to war = pied-piped relative. (d) almost infinite hedge; keep it. Drill. We are told sin is deceptive so that we do not grow careless out of thinking it small or give up out of thinking it hopeless. → We are taught that sin is deceptive, that we may not, from a light estimate of its smallness, grow careless, or from imagining that it is hopeless, give up.

Formula 3 — as A has X for Y, so B is V-ed with Z V-ing (S6)

(as  A  has  X  for  Y),   so  B  is  V-ed  (with  Z  V-ing ... )
  → correlative `as… so…` + `have X for Y` (= as) + absolute `with + N + V-ing`

⚠️ Trap. (a) as… so… is analogy, not time or cause. (b) for after have X = as. (c) with its prince exercising supremacy is an absolute — the prince is not the agent of is portrayed. (d) Two noun phrases joined by and can take a singular verb when seen as one body. Drill. Just as the Church has Christ as her Lord, so the world is pictured as having Satan reigning over it. → As the Church has Christ for her Lord, so the world is portrayed with Satan exercising dominion.

The doctrine at stake. §13 gave the rule (every statement about Satan serves vigilance); §14 gives the first two facts that rule teaches: (a) number — the enemy is a great host; (b) unity — yet "Satan" in the singular points to one kingdom under one prince. Calvin therefore avoids both errors: dismissing the demonic as few or as myth, and fragmenting it into disconnected powers. Chapter 14 continues in §15 (the enemy of God and of us) and §16–19 (his fall, God's rule over him).

The argument shape. Purpose (S1) → three biblical data points (S2–S3) → the lesson of number (S4) → the lesson of unity (S5–S6) → proof text (S7). The structure echoes §13: Scripture first, then the practical use.

Historical lineage. The host/legion language runs through Origen (De principiis), Augustine (City of God XIV–XV, two cities with two heads — a direct ancestor of S6's Christ-Church/prince-faction mirror), and Gregory the Great's Moralia. Luther's Ein feste Burg (1529) stresses the "old evil foe" in the singular with "great might" — the same corporate-singular. Calvin's two-heads parallel (S6) is his Augustinian inheritance (civitas Dei / civitas diaboli), stripped of speculative detail.

Later reception. Reformed dogmatics (Turretin, Bavinck) keep the pair: demons are many yet bound under one prince; Barth (CD III/3 §50) reframes "the nihil" to avoid giving the demonic ontological weight. Modern commentators on Mark 5 note that Legion is a military term, so the story may carry a political overtone — but Calvin's own use is purely pastoral: it is about the size of the enemy.

Guardrails against over-reading. (1) almost infinite ≠ infinite, and ≠ equal to God. (2) The seven devils in Mary Magdalene are a datum about the enemy's multiplicity, not a claim that every believer is possessed by seven. (3) The singular Satan is a collective domination, not a denial of individual devils. (4) The purpose is vigilance, not fear: S4's that we may not… be more remiss points to resisting. (5) S6's parallel is structural, not metaphysical: wickedness has a head, but the head is under God (§§17–18).

1. S2 — Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9. "Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils." Calvin's delivered from seven devils.
2. S2 — Matt 12:43–45; Luke 11:24–26. The unclean spirit returns with "seven other spirits more wicked than himself" — take seven other spirits, more wicked than itself, and resume the vacant possession.
3. S3 — Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30. "My name is Legion: for we are many" — one man… possessed by a whole legion (Gk legiōn).
4. S4 — 1 Pet 5:8; Eph 6:12. Echoes §13: the enemy's reality keeps us watchful; the multiplicity (principalities, powers…) is why we may not be remiss.
5. S5/S6 — 2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31; Eph 2:2. The "god/prince of this world" — the one head behind that domination of iniquity.
6. S6 — Eph 1:22–23; Col 1:18. Christ as the Church's head — the model for has Christ for its head.
7. S7 — Matt 25:41. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Gk tō diabolō kai tois angelois autou — one prince, his host.

How Calvin uses Scripture: he lets narrative data (Mary, the returning spirit, Legion) establish number, and a single verse (Matt 25:41) establish structure — then draws the pastoral inference himself.

① Grammar — which statement about the grammar of §14 is wrong?

(A) In S1, That we may feel the more strongly urged to do so is a fronted purpose clause modifying the Scripture declares. (B) In S4, the two from-phrases (from a contemptuous idea…, from imagining…) each give the cause of the verb that follows (be more remiss, indulge in sloth). (C) In S5, In one Satan or devil being often mentioned in the singular number means that Calvin denies there are many devils. (D) In S6, with its prince exercising supremacy is an absolute construction (with + N + V-ing) and has Christ for its head means has Christ as its head.

Answer: (C). Rationale: S1–S4 insist on the many; S5 says the singular names the domination they form. (A) Formula 1. (B) Formula 2. (D) Formula 3.

② Comprehension — which statement is consistent with §14?

(A) Calvin says the number of enemies is literally infinite, so the fight is hopeless and we should expect no relief from it. (B) Calvin says Scripture shows the enemies to be a great host (Mary Magdalene's seven devils, the seven worse spirits, the Legion), so we must neither despise their fewness nor hope for an occasional truce; and the singular "Satan" names the one domination of iniquity set against the reign of righteousness. (C) Calvin says the singular "Satan" proves there is only one devil. (D) Calvin says the occasional truce is God's way of letting believers rest from vigilance.

Answer: (B). Rationale: (A) scope/direction-flip — almost infinite and the point is not hopelessness but not being remiss; (C) scope-flip — S1–S4 insist on many; (D) direction-flip — S4 treats an occasional truce as a false imagining that leads to sloth.

③ Composition — use Formula 1 and Formula 3.

Compose one English sentence (≈25 words): To make us more watchful, Scripture says the temptations of ministry are not few but many. Just as the Church has Christ as head, so the kingdom of evil has its prince ruling it.

Model answer: That we may be the more watchful, the Scripture declares that the temptations of ministry are not few in number, but many; for, as the Church has Christ for its head, so the kingdom of evil is portrayed with its prince exercising supremacy. Examiner's intent: fronted That… may + not… but… (Formula 1) + as… has X for Y, so… with Z V-ing (Formula 3). Alternative accepted (Formula 2): We are taught that the dangers are many, that we may not, from contempt of their fewness, grow remiss, or from imagining a truce, indulge in sloth.

One-line summary: The enemy is not one or two but a great host (Mary Magdalene, the returning spirit with seven worse, the Legion) — so we may not despise their fewness or imagine a truce — yet "Satan" in the singular names the one domination of iniquity, mirror-opposite of Christ's Church (Matt 25:41); the grammar keys are the fronted That… may + not… but… ladder (S1), the double from-phrase negative purpose (S4), and as… has X for Y, so… with Z V-ing (S6).

Homework (10 min).

1. Structure restoration. Restore the base pattern of S4's that we may not, from a contemptuous idea of the fewness of their numbers, be more remiss in the contest, or from imagining that an occasional truce is given us, indulge in sloth. (Answer shape: so that we may neither become slack in the fight through a scornful idea of their fewness, nor give way to sloth through imagining that we are granted an occasional truce.)
2. Composition. Write one sentence using as A has X for Y, so B is portrayed with Z exercising supremacy about two rival kingdoms.
3. Preview (tomorrow). §15 opens One thing which ought to animate us to perpetual contest with the devil is, that he is everywhere called both our adversary and the adversary of God. — watch the One thing which ought to V is, that… frame, the three if… we ought to… conditionals (God's glory, Christ's Kingdom, our salvation), and the Such… is the character given to Satan pair (Gen 3, Gospels).

Where we stopped: Book 1, Ch. 14, §14 끝. 다음은 Book 1, Ch. 14, §15.