John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 16:22-24

22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus The close of the Epistle consists of three parts. He entreats the grace of Christ in behalf of the Corinthians: he makes a declaration of his love towards them, and, with the severest threatening, he inveighs against those that falsely took upon themselves the Lord’s name, while not loving him from the heart. For he is not speaking of strangers, who avowedly hated the Christian name, but of pretenders and hypocrites, who troubled the Churches for the sake of their own belly, or from empty boasting. “Ne cherehans que le proufit de lents ventres, et leur propre gloire;” “Seeking only the profit of their bellies, and their own glory.” On such persons he denounces an anathema, and he also pronounces a curse upon them. It is not certain, however, whether he desires their destruction in the presence of God, or whether he wishes to render them odious — nay, even execrable, in the view of believers. Thus in Galatians 1:8, when pronouncing one who corrupts the Gospel to be accursed, Calvin, when commenting on Galatians 1:8, remarks that the original term there employed, anathema, denotes cursing, and answers to the Hebrew word חרם; and he explains the expression — “let him be accursed,” as meaning, “Let him be held by you as accursed.” he does not mean that he was rejected or condemned by God, but he declares that he is to be abhorred by us. I expound it in a simple way as follows: “Let them perish and be cut off, as being the pests of the Church.” And truly, there is nothing that is more pernicious, than that class of persons, who prostitute a profession of piety to their own depraved affections. Now he points out the origin of this evil, when he says, that they do not love Christ, for a sincere and earnest love to Christ will not suffer us to give occasion of offense to brethren. “Car si nous aimons Christ purement, et a bon escient, ce nous sera vne bride qui nons retiendra de donner scandale a nos fieres;” — “For if we love Christ sincerely and in good earnest, this will be a bridle to restrain us from giving offense to our brethren.”

What he immediately adds — Maranatha, is somewhat more difficult. Almost all of the ancients are agreed, that they are Syriac terms. “Que ce sont mots empruntez de la langue Syrienne;” — “That they are words borrowed from the Syriac language.” Jerome, however, explains it: The Lord cometh; while others render it, At the coming of the Lord, or, Until the Lord comes. Every one, however, I think, must see how silly and puerile is the idea, that the Apostle spoke to Greeks in the Syriac tongue, when meaning to say — The Lord has come. Those who translate it, at the coming of the Lord, do so on mere conjecture; and besides, there is not much plausibility in that interpretation. How much more likely it is, that this was a customary form of expression among the Hebrews, when they wished to excommunicate any one. For the Apostles never speak in foreign tongues, except when they repeat anything in the person of another, as for example, Eli, Eli, lammah sabathani, (Matthew 27:46,) Talitha cumi, (Mark 5:41,) and Ephphata, (Mark 7:34,) or when they make use of a word that has come into common use, as Amen — Hosanna. Let us see, then, whether Maranatha suits with excommunication. Now Bullinger, Beza, in his poems, has recorded the following tribute to the memory of this distinguished man —

“Henrici Bullingeri, Ecclesiastae Tigurini, spectatisa, doctrine, pictaris, et eximii candoris viri, memoriae;” — (To the memory of HENRY Bullinger, ecclesiastick of Tigurum, a man most distinguished for learning and piety, and extraordinary candour.)

“Doctrina si interire, si Pietas mori, Occidere si Candor potest: Doctrina, Pietas, Candor, hoc tumulo iacent, Henrice, tecum condita. Mori sed absit ilia posse dixerim; Quae viuere jubent mortnos, Immo interire forsan ilia si queant Subireque tumuli specum, Tu tu, illa doctis, tu piis, tu candidis, Et non mori certissimis, Edaci ab ipsa morte chartis asseras, Ipso approbante Numine. Foedus beatum! mortuum ilia to excitant, Et tu mori ilia non sinis: At hunc, amici, cur fleamus mortuum, Qui viuat aliis et sibi?”

“If Learning could expire, if Piety could die, If Candour could sink down, Learning, Piety, Candour, are laid in this mound, O Henry, buried along with thee! But forbid that I should say that those things could die, Which command the dead to live. Nay, if they could possibly expire, And be entombed, Thou, by thy writings learned, pious, candid, And perfectly secured against death, Wouldst shield them from devouring death, The Deity himself approving. Blessed agreement! They raise thee up from death, And thou dost not su