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which penetrated in a measure even into the Gentile world, accounts for the true, the good,
and the beautiful that is in the world. Calvin did not agree with the position of Luther, nor with
that of Zwingli. He firmly maintained that the natural man can of himself do no good work
whatsoever and strongly insisted on the particular nature of saving grace. He developed
alongside of the doctrine of particular grace the doctrine of common grace. This is a grace
which is communal, does not pardon nor purify human nature, and does not effect the
salvation of sinners. It curbs the destructive power of sin, maintains in a measure the moral
order of the universe, thus making an orderly life possible, distributes in varying degrees gifts
and talents among men, promotes the development of science and art, and showers untold
blessings upon the children of men. Since the days of Calvin the doctrine of common grace was
generally recognized in Reformed theology, though it also met with occasional opposition. For a
long time, however, little was done to develop the doctrine. This was in all probability due to
the fact that the rise and prevalence of Rationalism made it necessary to place all emphasis on
special grace. Up to the present Kuyper and Bavinck did more than any one else for the
development of the doctrine of common grace.
B. NAME AND CONCEPT OF COMMON GRACE.
1. NAME.
The name “common grace” as a designation of the grace now under discussion
cannot be said to owe its origin to Calvin. Dr. H. Kuiper in his work on Calvin on Common Grace
says that he found only four passages in Calvin’s works in which the adjective “common” is used
with the noun “grace,” and in two of these the Reformer is speaking of saving grace.[Cf. p.
178.] In later Reformed theology, however, the name gratia communis came into general use to
express the idea that this grace extends to all men, in contrast with the gratia particularis which
is limited to a part of mankind, namely, to the elect. In course of time it became evident that
the term “communis” admitted of various interpretations. In Dutch theology it is often
regarded as equivalent to “general,” and as a result it became customary to speak of “general
grace” (algemeene genade) in the Netherlands. Strictly speaking, however, the term communis,
as applied to grace, while implying that it is general in some sense of the word, stresses the fact
that this grace is communal, that is, possessed in common by all creatures, or by all men, or by
those who live under the administration of the gospel. Thus Dr. H. Kuiper classifies the common
grace of which Calvin speaks under three heads, namely: (1) Universal Common Grace, a grace
that extends to all creatures; (2) General Common Grace, that is a grace which applies to
mankind in general and to every member of the human race; and (3) Covenant Common Grace,
a grace that is common to all those who live in the sphere of the covenant, whether they
belong to the elect or not. It is quite evident that Reformed theologians also subsumed under
the term “common grace” a grace that is not general, namely, the external privileges of those
who are living under the administration of the gospel, including the external universal calling.