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The True God vs. the False Gods | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed thinking, yeah?
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Glad to be here. So imagine standing alone under
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a sky of a billion stars on a freezing clear night.
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Oh wow. You look up and you feel
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entirely insignificant, you know, but somehow at the same
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time you feel connected to a massive, intelligent presence.
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Right. It feels incredibly real.
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It does feel spiritual, really, but according to a massive 16th
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century theological text, that feeling isn't just inadequate,
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it is actually dangerous if you stop right there and miss a
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crucial piece of the puzzle. So today we are taking a deep
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dive into how the Maker of the universe reveals his character
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to you and me. Yes, we are.
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We are going to unpack why looking at nature is entirely
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insufficient on its own, what specific knowledge the Creator
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actually requires of us, and well, why human beings possess a
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terrifying tendency to invent custom made deities.
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It is a staggering section of text to analyze.
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We are pulling all of this from some brilliant excerpts from
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John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion.
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And before we get in the mechanics of how that revelation
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happens, we really need to set some clear parameters for our
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discussion today. That is a good idea.
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Because Calvin is incredibly structured, he is very
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methodical, and he gives his readers A strict boundary for
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this specific portion of his work.
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Right, he doesn't just throw everything at the wall at once.
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No, not at all. So we are not looking at the
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special covenant made with Abraham today.
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You're not moving ahead to the New Testament promises either.
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We're not even looking at Christ the mediator yet.
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All of that comes much later in his theological framework.
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Got it. So where are we planting our
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feet? For our purposes right now, we
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are keeping our focus strictly on God, the Creator and the
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Governor of the Universe. We are analyzing the knowledge
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that stops at the creation of the world and the initial
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revelation of the maker's character.
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I am really glad we are establishing those boundaries
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right out of the gate. Yeah, it helps keep things
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focused. It is always tempting to, you
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know, rush ahead to the end of the story to jump straight to
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the New Testament. Resolution.
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But staying in this specific lane, looking solely at the
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Creator and governor is going to yield some pretty intense
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insights. I am intensely curious about how
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a theological text written centuries ago applies to a
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modern listeners daily understanding of the divine.
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It applies more than people think.
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I mean that is for sure. So let's start with the first
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major concept Calvin presents. To understand the Creator, we
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must first establish where to look for information about Him.
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Right, the source material. Calvin argues that the knowledge
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of the Maker is quite clearly set forth in the system of the
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universe and in all creatures. However, he then says this
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knowledge is more intimately and vividly revealed in his word.
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That distinction right there is the hinge upon which this entire
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discussion turns. Calvin recognizes two distinct
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avenues of revelation. OK.
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Let's break this down. The first is what theologians
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call general revelation. This is, well, the the universe
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itself. Like the night sky I mentioned
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earlier. Spot on.
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The stars you mentioned in the intro, the changing of the
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seasons, the biological brilliance of a single leaf, the
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laws of physics. All the stuff we can observe,
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right? Calvin acknowledges that the
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system of the universe clearly displays the reality of a
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Creator. It is an undeniable baseline.
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But there is a catch, right? Yeah, he immediately pivots to
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the limitations of that general revelation.
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It is broad, it is visible to everyone, but it lacks intimacy.
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Intimacy. The written word, on the other
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hand, is where the revelation becomes vivid.
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Is it where the specific characteristics, the specific
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will and the specific commands of the maker are articulated in
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clear, unambiguous language? You know, I was thinking about
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an analogy for this to help us really grasp the mechanics of
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general versus special revelation.
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I love a good analogy, lay it on me.
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Imagine a brilliantly designed, incredibly sophisticated piece
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of software. OK, maybe it is an operating
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system that runs Florida State. When you use that software, you
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know the coder who built it is an absolute genius.
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You can see their logic in the code structure, or their
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understanding of user interface, their sheer intelligence.
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The software tells you the coder exists and possesses massive
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skill. Yes, the evidence is built right
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in. But using the software will
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never tell you the coder's name. It will never tell you if the
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coder is kind or what the coder thinks of the people using the
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program. That is a great point.
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To know those things you would need to read the coders personal
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diary or sit down and read direct messages they wrote to
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you. Right?
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Using the software is general revelation.
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Reading the direct messages is special revelation, the written
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word. That is a highly accurate way to
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frame the distinction. The software gives you
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undeniable proof of existence and skill, but the written
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messages give you the personal relationship and the specific
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intentions. And Calvin expands on that,
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doesn't he? He does.
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He expands on this by describing the dual nature of God's
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governance over this universe He created.
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OK, when we read those direct messages, the Scriptures, we
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find out how the Maker governs. On one hand, the text repeatedly
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extols his fatherly goodness and his beneficently inclined will.
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So kindness and care. Yes, we see a Creator who cares
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for the creation, who sustains it and who operates with immense
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kindness. But the text does not stop
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there. It never does.
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It also gives us examples of his severity.
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It shows him to be the righteous avenger of evil deeds.
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Calvin specifically notes that this severity is shown,
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especially where his forbearance toward the obstinate is of no
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effect. That phrase, righteous avenger
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of evil deeds, is striking. It really is.
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It creates a sharp contrast with the fatherly goodness.
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Let's pause here and think about a massive cultural phenomenon we
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see today. What do you mean?
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Well, if you ask people in our modern culture where they feel
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most connected to the divine, you hear the same response
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constantly. People say they find God in
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nature. Spot on, they say.
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I take a walk in the woods or I look up at the night sky and
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that is all the spirituality I need.
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Oh yeah, you hear that everywhere.
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People love the the idea of finding the divine in a forest,
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but they often recoil at the specific written directives
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found in scripture. That is a very common modern
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sentiment. Let's breakdown why that
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happens. When someone takes a walk in the
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woods, what does a tree tell them about their own personal
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morality? Absolutely nothing.
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A tree just exists, right? It photosynthesizes.
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It doesn't care if I lied to my boss earlier that day.
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Right. And when you look up at the
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night sky, what does that massive expanse of stars demand
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of you? Just to look at it really might
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make me feel small, but it doesn't ask me to change my
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behavior or apologize to anyone. It doesn't demand anything.
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So what happens when you introduce a written text, A text
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that says here are the moral boundaries for your life, and
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here are the consequences for violating them?
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That is a direct confrontation. Yes, it is.
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The written text demands a response.
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People prefer the woods because the woods are silent on human
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morality. The woods don't talk back.
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Precisely. Nature provides a generic sense
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of awe without demanding any personal accountability.
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The stars do not reveal the righteous Avenger.
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They just look pretty. I mean spot on.
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They only reveal the immense scale of the universe, but the
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written text confronts human obstinance directly.
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It brings it right to your front door.
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It does. When you open the word, you are
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no longer dealing with a generic silent force.
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You are dealing with a specific creator who have a highly
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specific moral will and who responds to rebellion.
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Yeah, that is why the written word is more intimate, but it is
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also vastly more confronting. It is the difference between a
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feeling of wonder and a call to obedience.
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Yes, the software is brilliant, but the messages tell you that
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the coder has rules for how the software is to be used.
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That is a great way to put it. So if we accept Calvin's premise
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that we need those written messages to understand the
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Creator intimately, what specific characteristics do
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those messages reveal? And Calvin turns his attention
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to a very famous passage in the book of Exodus, chapter 34,
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verses 6:00 and 7:00. Oh, that is a huge passage, It
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is. This is where Moses describes
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the image of God, and the list of attributes here is
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staggering. What does the list include?
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It is one of the most concentrated declaration of
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divine character in the entire scriptural Canon.
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Moses describes a God who is merciful, gracious, patient, of
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much compassion, and true. OK, so a lot of fatherly
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goodness there. Yes, he keeps mercy for
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thousands, taking away iniquity and transgression, but again we
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see the dual nature of governance we discussed earlier
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because Moses also states that he will not leave the guilty
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unpunished. Visiting the Iniquity of the
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Fathers upon the children. Right.
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And what Calvin points out here regarding the language is
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brilliant. He knows that the name Jehovah
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is repeated twice at the beginning of this declaration.
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Why is that repetition so significant?
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That repetition is a massive theological martyr.
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It signals eternity and self existence.
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It tells us that the being making these declarations relies
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on nothing outside of himself for his existence.
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Yeah, he is uncreated. And Calvin makes a crucial
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distinction right after pointing out that eternal self existence.
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He does. He says that the text enumerates
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attributes by which the Creator is shown to us, not as he is in
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himself, but as he is toward us. Yes.
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And that is a massive philosophical point.
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The text uses titles like Elohim, which contains All Might
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and strength, but we are given a description of how that might
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interacts with humanity. We comprehend it through his
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actions. You know His kindness, goodness,
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justice and truth. This is the concept of divine
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accommodation. It is the idea that the Maker of
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the universe, who is infinite and incomprehensible in his pure
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essence, steps down to communicate with finite
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creatures in a way we can actually grasp.
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Like lowering the vocabulary so we can understand?
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Yes. We cannot comprehend infinite
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uncreated essence. If the Creator tried to explain
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his eternal hidden nature to us in raw terms, it would be like
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trying to pour the ocean into a thimble.
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Oh wow, yeah, that makes sense. It would shatter our minds.
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So instead of describing his hidden essence, he describes his
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character as it relates to us. He shows us his posture toward
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humanity. I see.
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That is why the list in Exodus is entirely relational.
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Mercy, grace, patience, these are all attributes that require
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an object. They are actions directed toward
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creatures. OK, let me stop you there and
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push back on this because I know someone listening is thinking
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the same thing. Go forth.
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If we only know how the Creator acts toward us, and we do not
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know Him as He is in himself, do we even know the real hymn?
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There's a very fair question. Or are we just getting a
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filtered, watered down version of the divine?
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Is this just APR campaign designed to make us feel better
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while the real hidden essence remains a mystery?
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That is a very sharp objection, and it gets to the heart of what
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Calvin means by living experience.
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It is not a deception and is not APR campaign.
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Think of it as a translation. The attributes revealed toward
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us are completely true and accurate, even if they are not
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exhaustive. True, but not complete.
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Right. The fact that we cannot know
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everything about the infinite Creator does not mean the things
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we do know are false. When the text says He is
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merciful toward us, that mercy is a genuine reflection of his
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character. We are getting true knowledge,
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but it is a relational knowledge designed for our benefit, not a
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comprehensive manual of infinite mechanics.
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I think I have an analogy to clarify how this works in
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practice. Let's hear it.
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Think about how a young child, maybe a three-year old toddler,
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knows their parent. The toddler has 0 comprehension
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of the parents career stress, their complex adult friendships,
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their mortgage rates or their political views.
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Not. At all.
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The child does not know the parent as a corporate employee
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or as a taxpayer. The toddler knows the parent as
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the provider of food, the disciplinarian who stops them
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from touching a hot stove, and the comforter who holds them
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when they scrape their knee. Oh I like this.
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Now, is the toddler's knowledge of the parent fake?
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Not at all. It is entirely true.
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The parent really is a provider and a comfort.
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It is just not exhaustive knowledge.
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The child knows the parent perfectly in relation to
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themselves. That analogy captures the
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dynamic Kelvin is describing perfectly.
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The toddler has a living experience of the parent.
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They rely on the parent's goodness and they respect the
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parent's discipline. They interact daily based on
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that relational knowledge. Calvin contrast this living
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experience with what he calls vain and high flown speculation.
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The Philosophers. The problem with philosophers,
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according to Calvin, is that they want to bypass the living
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experience. They want to ignore the specific
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relational commands and instead sit around debating the hidden
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essence of the divine. I want the complete manual.
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Right. They want to figure out the
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exact mechanics of eternity rather than dealing with the
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fact that the Creator commands them to repent and trust Him.
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So bringing this directly to the listener right now, we often
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fall into the exact same trap as those philosophers.
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We really do. We love to engage in
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hypothetical debate. We try to solve philosophical
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puzzles about the inner workings of the universe.
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We ask if the maker is like this, then how does this
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abstract concept work regarding free will or predestination?
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Yes, constantly. But the text demands something
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entirely different. The text demands that we focus
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on how He interacts with us. Daily speculation is useless if
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it replaces practical experiential reliance on His
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goodness. Absolutely.
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The text is not trying to satisfy our intellectual
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curiosity. It is trying to to secure our
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relational submission. That is the core issue, and it
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bridges perfectly into the next major phase of Calvin's
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argument. Moses provided a very long,
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detailed list of attributes in Exodus.
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Right, the mercy, grace, patience list.
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But the prophets who came later often distilled this living
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experience down into even more concise formulas.
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They wanted to give the people a specific focal point for their
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understanding of the divine character.
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Something easier to remember maybe?
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Something they can hold onto an exile or during times of
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national crisis. Calvin points us to the prophet
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Jeremiah, specifically Jeremiah Chapter 9, verse 24.
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Oh yes, this is a brilliant distillation of the concept.
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The prophet says that if anyone is going to glory or boast, they
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should not boast in their wisdom, their wealth, or their
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strength. They should glory in knowing
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that the Lord exercises three specific things on the earth,
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mercy, judgment, and justice. Yes, that is the essential trio
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mercy, judgment and justice. Calvin breaks down these three
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elements with incredible precision, and understanding his
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definitions here is vital. First, he addresses mercy.
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OK, let's look at that. He states that mercy is the sole
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resting place for human salvation.
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Notice the exclusivity there. Human salvation does not rest on
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human effort, moral perfection, or philosophical understanding.
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It is entirely on the creator. Yes, it rests solely on the
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mercy of the Creator. It is an unearned kindness
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directed toward creatures who deserve the opposite.
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Right. And then Calvin moves to the
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second element, judgement. He defines judgement as being
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exercised daily against wrongdoers, and he notes that it
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ends in their ruin. This brings us back to the
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righteous avenger concept we discussed earlier.
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Judgement is the active present reality of the Creator opposing
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wickedness. It is not just a future event at
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the end of time. It is a daily exercise in the
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present world. And the third element is
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justice. Now, in modern conversations, we
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often conflate judgment and justice, using them
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interchangeably. We really do.
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We talk about the criminal justice system bringing judgment
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on a criminal, but Calvin makes a distinction based on the
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scriptural text. What is the distinction?
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Well, judgment is directed against wrongdoers.
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Justice is the mechanism by which believers are preserved
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and tenderly nourished. Justice is the right ordering of
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things, the faithful keeping of promises, and the protection of
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those who are under the Creator's care.
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Oh, so justice is actually protective for the believer?
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Yes, it is the vindication of the innocent.
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So we have mercy for salvation, judgement for the wicked, and
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justice for the preservation of the faithful.
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OK, here's my question on this trio.
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Sure. If the toddler relies entirely
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on the parent's goodness, how do we reconcile that with the
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parent's discipline? That friction is what I see
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here. How do mercy and judgement
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coexist without contradicting one another?
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That is the big. Because on the surface they seem
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to be pulling in opposite directions.
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Mercy is withholding A deserved punishment while Judgement is
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executing A deserved punishment. How does a single creator
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exercise both simultaneously without compromising his
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character? Sounds like a paradox.
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It looks like a paradox until you examine the foundation.
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Calvin anticipates this friction beautifully.
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He explains that these three attributes, mercy, judgement and
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justice, do not float in a vacuum.
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What do you mean? They are not arbitrary moods the
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Creator switches between. They rely entirely on something
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deeper. They rest upon the Creator's
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unbending truth and holiness. Let's break that down.
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You cannot have salvation bringing mercy without inherent
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goodness. Mercy is not a chaotic loophole.
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It is an expression of supreme goodness.
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Furthermore, you cannot have a universe ruled injustice and
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judgement without supreme might and strength.
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If the Creator lacked the might to enforce his decrees, his
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judgment would be an empty threat.
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So the truth and holiness of the maker act as the bedrock spot
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on. The mercy, judgment, and justice
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are the visible actions, the relational posture we see, but
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they are anchored in the unchanging reality of His holy
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character. If you are not perfectly holy,
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His judgement would be tyrannical and abusive.
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Yes, exactly. I'm absolutely.
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And if you were not perfectly true, His mercy would be
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unreliable, and we can never trust His promises.
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That is it. The attributes harmonize
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perfectly because they are all expressions of a single,
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unified, perfectly holy character.
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Calvin points out that if all his paths are mercy, judgement
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and justice, then in these very actions His Holiness becomes
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visible to us. We see the holiness through the
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actions. Yes.
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We do not see the holiness directly as an abstract concept.
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We see the holiness through the execution of mercy and the
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execution of judgement. We experience His Holiness
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relationally. And Calvin is very explicit
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about the goal of all this knowledge, he says This
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knowledge is destined for a very specific outcome.
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It's not just head knowledge. No, not at all.
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It is not designed to fill a theology textbook or to help us
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win a philosophical debate. The primary goal of knowing this
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essential trio is to invite us first to fear the Maker and then
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to trust Him. I want to linger on that word
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fear for a moment because modern culture hates it.
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No, they despise it. But in this context, that fear
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is not a cowering terrified panic like hiding from an
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abusive dictator. It is a profound reverence.
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Wait, I mean a heavy reverence and awe filled recognition of
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his massive judgment and justice, right?
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And that reverence leads directly into trust, resting
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entirely on His mercy. The progression is highly
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deliberate. In Calvin's thought, fear leads
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to trust. You recognize the gravity of the
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Creator's justice. You realize your own perilous
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position as someone who falls short of that standard, and then
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you cast yourself upon His mercy.
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You just fall on it completely. Yes, you abandoned your own
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merit. And what is the result of that
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trust? Cowan says.
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It leads us to worship Him with perfect innocence of life and
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with unfeigned obedience. It changes everything.
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It changes the way you live on a Tuesday afternoon.
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It's not just mental ascent. If you truly grasp the mercy,
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judgement, and justice of the Creator, your daily actions will
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align with His written word. So I want to ask you, the
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listener, to evaluate your own understanding of the divine
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right now. Does the way you think about the
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Creator actually produce these specific results?
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That is the test. Does your theology lead you to a
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heavy, serious reverence? Does it cause you to cast off
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your own merits and trust completely in His mercy?
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And does that trust result in unfeigned obedience in your
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daily life? It is a tough mirror to look
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into. It really is.
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If your view of the divine does not produce reverence and
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obedience, then according to Calvin's analysis of this text,
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you might be dealing with a speculative invention rather
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than the living God revealed in Scripture.
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That self evaluation brings us right to the precipice of
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Calvin's final major argument. In these excerpts, we are forced
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to look at the human condition. Which is pretty bleak.
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It is if these attributes mercy, judgement and justice are so
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clearly displayed in the Word, and if the reality of a Creator
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is even echoed in the general revelation of the universe, we
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have to ask a very dark question.
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OK, what is it? Why does humanity constantly
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invent other objects of worship? Why is the history of the world
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filled with idolatry, false religions and custom made
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deities? Yeah, Calvin views this as the
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inexcusable tragedy of human vanity.
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The text points out that Scripture distinctly excludes
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and rejects all the gods of the heathen.
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The written word makes a massive exclusive claim.
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It does not say here is 1 valid path among many.
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It claims an absolute monopoly on the truth of the divine
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character. It leaves no room for anything
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else. Yet despite this clear
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revelation, and despite the evidence in creation, people
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continually manufacture alternatives.
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What is truly fascinating here is how Calvin supports this
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point by pointing out a historic and psychological reality.
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The concept of a single maker was actually known to the
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heathen cultures. Really.
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Even the pagans. Yes, he references early
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Christian apologists like Justin Martyr and Tertilian.
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These men lived in the first few centuries after Christ, in a
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world entirely saturated with Greco Roman mythology.
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So temples everywhere, statues everywhere.
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Exactly. They lived in a society with a
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God for every river, mountain and concept, but they observed
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something remarkable about human psychology.
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They noticed that the unity of the Divine was actually engraved
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on all human hearts, even the pagans.
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How did they prove that? Because on the surface, a
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culture worshipping 50 different gods seems to contradict the
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idea of an innate knowledge of a single creator.
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It seems like a contradiction, sure.
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If I am bowing to statues of Jupiter, Mars and Venus, it
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seems like my default setting is polytheism.
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That is where the psychological observation comes in.
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Justin Martyr composed a work focusing on the sole government
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of God, and Tertonian looked at the common phrases people used
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in daily life, especially during moments of crisis.
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Moments of crisis, yes. Tertulli noted that when Pagan
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people were speaking from a real feeling of nature, meaning when
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they were suddenly frightened, when they were in sudden danger,
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or when they were deeply moved by grief, they would drop the
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pluralities. That is fascinating.
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They would not call out to the swarm of gods.
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They would not say the gods see my pain.
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They would simply use the singular term God.
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Their innate instinct, when the cultural conditioning was
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stripped away by a crisis, defaulted to a single supreme
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Creator. That is an amazing sociological
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observation. When the ship is sinking, nobody
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is praying to the God of the river and the God of the wind
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separately. Right, they cry out to a single
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maker. It is an innate natural
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instinct. The default setting of the human
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heart recognizes the monotheistic reality.
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Yet when the crisis passes, people slip back into false
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inventions. You do.
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They just go right back to it. They feel the truth in their
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bones during a moment of terror, but they drag themselves into
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vanity anyway. It is a deliberate suppression
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of what they know to be true deep down.
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That deliberate suppression is precisely what makes human
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vanity completely inexcusable, according to Calvin.
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The text details how people take that natural perception and
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twist it will it vanish into uselessness.
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And Calvin makes a very sharp point here about intellectual
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pride. We often assume that idolatry is
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just an issue for the uneducated masses.
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We think of the ignorant multitude bowing down to wooden
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statues of Jupiter, Mercury, Venus or Minerva.
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We look back at ancient history and think it is absurd.
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We do. We assume that education and
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philosophy cure idolatry. If you just learn enough logic,
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if you attend a prestigious Academy, you will stop inventing
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false guides. You will outgrow the need for
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statues. But Calvin shatters that
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assumption completely. He shatters it into pieces.
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He points out that even the wisest philosophers, the ones
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who avoided the absurdities of the common myths, still fails
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spectacularly. The philosophers might have
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rejected the literal statues of Venus or Mars, but they imagined
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a divine being of many natures. Yes, they contrived highly
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skillful evasions. They built complex philosophical
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systems to explain the universe without submitting to the
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specific written character of the true creator.
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And Calvin states bluntly that these sophisticated evasions do
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not refute the charge of defection.
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In other words, a highly sophisticated, abstract
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philosophical system that ignores the written word is just
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as idolatrous as bowing to a wooden statue.
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It is the exact same thing. It is the same rebellion, just
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dressed up in academic language. So by imagining a God of their
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own design, even an abstract intellectual, 1, the
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philosophers fell prey to Satan's deceptions.
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Precisely. Calvin argues that the truth of
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God was corrupted by them all. The philosophers took the
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natural instinct of a single Creator and built a custom deity
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that suited their intellectual preferences.
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By doing this, they effectively insulated themselves from the
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righteous avenger described in the written word.
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They built a God who agreed with their philosophy and made no
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moral demands on their behavior. This brings to mind the verse
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Calvin references at the end of this section from Habakkuk
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chapter 2, verse 20. The prophet commands the earth
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to be silent and bids men to seek the Lord in his temple.
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That location is highly significant.
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Seeking the Lord in His temple acts as a massive safeguard
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against our own imaginations. Yes, the Temple represents the
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place of authorized revelation. It is the place where the
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Creator chose to manifest His presence and lay down His
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specific the rules for worship. By telling people to seat the
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Lord in His temple, the prophet is commanding them to accept the
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Creator on His own terms. You cannot seek Him in the
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silent forest, or in your own imagination, or in a
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philosophical Academy. You must seek Him where He has
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revealed Himself according to the strict boundaries He is set.
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It is a safeguard against admitting a version of the
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divine that he did not reveal, because the human tendency is
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always to shave off the rough edges.
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Always. We want the mercy, but we do not
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want the judgment. We want the fatherly goodness,
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but we are offended by the righteous avenger.
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So we build a custom deity out of our own preferences.
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I really do. We construct a God who agrees
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with our modern politics, who endorses our lifestyle, and who
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never demands repentance. But Calvin argues that any
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philosophical evasion corrupts the truth.
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That is the core danger Calvin is warning his readers against.
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If you step outside the written word, you are no longer dealing
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with the Creator, you are dealing with a mirror.
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A mirror. You are worshipping a reflection
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of your own desires dressed up in theological language, and
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that false invention, no matter how comforting it feels in the
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moment, possesses 0 capability to exercise true mercy,
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judgement or justice. It is empty.
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It is an idol and it will fail you completely when you actually
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need salvation. Let's pull all of these threads
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together and synthesize what we have unpacked today.
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We started by looking at the absolute necessity of reading
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the maker's own word. We established that looking at
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the universe is like using a brilliant piece of software, but
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reading scripture is like reading the coders personal
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messages to you. We need the vivid, intimate
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details of the text to truly know the creator.
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And from there, we moved into the nature of those details.
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We saw that the Creator accommodates us, revealing His
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attributes as they act toward us, rather than giving us a
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textbook on His hidden essence. This demands that we engage in a
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living experience of His goodness and severity just as a
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child experience as a parent, rather than wasting our time on
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vain speculation about things we cannot comprehend.
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Then we distilled that character into the essential trio found in
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Jeremiah, Mercy, Judgement, and justice.
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We saw how these actions rest on the unbending foundation of
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truth and holiness, and we recognize that the singular goal
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of knowing these things is to produce reverence, trust, and
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unfeigned obedience in our daily lives.
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Finally, we confronted the tragedy of human vanity.
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We saw that despite the internal instinct pointing to a single
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maker, an instinct revealed even in moments of Pagan panic,
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humanity constantly invents alternatives.
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Whether is an ancient multitude worshipping statues of Jupiter
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or the sophisticated modern philosophers building abstract
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conceptual deities, any departure from the written word
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is a descent into deception. We must seek the Lord as He has
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revealed Himself, without adding our own alterations.
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It is a staggering a progression of thought, and it leaves us
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with a massive challenge. Calvin argues that even the
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wisest ancient philosophers, relying on their own intellect
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and the feeling of nature, ended up entirely deceived.
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Completely deceived. They invented comfortable,
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distorted versions of the divine because they refused the
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specifics of the written word. So as you go about your week,
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consider this. How much of your own modern view
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of the Creator is shaped by your personal preferences and
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cultural vanity, rather than the strict, unbending truth he
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specifically revealed about himself in His Word?
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the text.
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We will see you next time on Reform Thinking.