Of the Lord's Prayer, Calvin wrote:
For he [Christ] prescribed a form for us in which he set forth as in a table all that he allows us to seek of him, all that is of benefit to us, all that we need ask. From this kindness of his we receive great fruit of consolation.
Far from wearing the trite label of an intellectual divorced from his heart, Calvin's exposition of this prayer reveals the strong pastoral compassion of the reformer. Seeking the glory of a sovereign, caring father is the primary theme Calvin spotlights in this prayer, again and again. While he points out the benefits to Christians in the prayer modeled by our Lord, Calvin would rather we blind ourselves to our gain, than to detract from God's glory in our very prayers.
We claim the honor of sonship in relation to the Father, only because we have been "adopted as children of grace in Christ" (p. 899). Calvin is quick to remind us that it is not by nature that are we to consider ourselves sons and daughters, for the Eternal Son is such by nature, and our place at the Lord's Table is through a gracious adoption. He notes that God assures us of a loving, protective relationship with him, as he calls us "children of God" (1 John 3:1), and he wants us to communicate with him as "Our Father."
Such a relationship is unavoidably exclusive. As Jesus confronted the self-righteous of his day with their father the devil, Calvin warns us of how we sin against the very nature of our Heavenly Father in trying to cling to a pluralistic religion of options. "But a son cannot give himself over to the safe keeping of stranger…without at the same time complaining either of his father's cruelty or want. Thus, if we are his sons, we cannot seek help anywhere else…" (p. 899).
Calvin expounds the mercy and comfort of God as "Our Father" in the "Parable of the Prodigal Son." Regardless of our unworthiness of such a compassionate father, we must take refuge with him and with no other. We must rest in the trust of his loving kindness toward us who believe, particularly in prayer, "the chief exercise of faith," as Calvin puts it. Christ is the guarantee of our adoption by the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the witness to this same reality.
By emphasizing the fatherhood of God to believers, Calvin eagerly encourages us to consider how the Father sets us in fellowship with the brethren. We experience the love of other Christians, so each Christian is related to the Father primarily as a member of this family of believers, and not as an independent individual. Our good and loving heavenly Father gives good gifts to his children, and we share those gifts with others in love, and all children of God then thank their Father for his loving goodness to them. This is Calvin's attempt to focus on the family of believers, signified by addressing God as "Our Father." Calvin suggests that as we embrace the father of a family with good will, so too we include the family he represents with that same love.
