John Knox (1514-1572)
Scottish
Reformer, who pursued a vigorous and prolonged career of preaching and writing
on behalf of Protestantism. After a short term of preaching at St. Andrews Castle
and nineteen months of captivity as a galley slave of the French, Knox became
pastor of an English congregation (1549-54). He then fled to the continent
where, in Geneva from 1555 to 1559, he came under the effective influence of
Swiss Reformed leaders. Knox returned to Scotland in 1559, preaching at St.
Giles Church in Edinburgh and working tirelessly for the establishment of a
Reformed Church. At times he was in direct conflict with Mary, Queen of Scots.
After Mary's abdication in 1567 Knox preached at the coronation of her son,
James VI.
Knox
saw his calling as primarily a preacher, not an academic theologian. His
favorite characterization of his work was "to blaw his maisteris
trumpet." Nevertheless, his literary output was prodigious, filling six
volumes.
Knox's theology was Protestant. The principle which dictated the content of his thinking is that of sola Scriptura, that the Bible is the only authoritative basis upon which doctrine can be founded. Having been influenced by Luther's writing and by George Wishart, Knox early affirmed sola fide, justification by faith only. His theology was profoundly Calvinistic at its core. At the behest of Calvin in 1559, Knox wrote his only academic theological work, the Treatise on Predestination, of some 170,000 words. In it he follows closely the formulations of Calvin and Theodore Beza, teaching God's sovereign election of some to salvation, his choice of others to damnation, and affirming that man's salvation is by grace alone. In 1560 Knox coauthored the Scots Confession, a document which served as the confessional basis of the Scottish Church until the drafting of its heir, the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). The Scots Confession is notable for the centrality of the work of Christ in each of its various topics, as well as for a richness of spirituality and warmth of expression.
The
Book of Discipline also provided directions for worship. Knox's commitment to
sola Scriptura is found clearly in his theology of worship. Exposition of
Scripture and preaching are the center of true worship, according to the
Reformer. Under the influence of Ulrich Zwingli and John Hooper, Knox taught
that no practice is legitimate in public worship unless it is specifically
commanded in Scripture (the so-called regulative principle). While in England
in 1551 Knox brought this principle to bear on the Book of Common Prayer, by
convincing Thomas Cranmer to state explicitly that kneeling during the
reception of the Lord's Supper did not imply adoration of the bread and wine
(the so-called black rubric). Knox's view of the Lord's Supper was similar to
that of Calvin and Bucer: the presence of Christ is spiritual and received only
by faith. Under the First Book of Discipline government of the church was not
strictly presbyterian, but the presbyterian idea was present in seed form.
Another View Of John Knox
Born
in Scotland, John Knox was ordained as a Catholic priest sometime between 1530
and 1540. He was converted to Christ after he met a Bible-believing Christian,
George Wishart who was later burned at the stake in 1546. Shortly afterward
Knox was arrested by the "authorities" and made a galley slave for
nineteen months. He went to England in 1549 and preached the Bible until the
reign of Bloody Mary, during which time he lived in Frankfurt, Germany. There
he came under the influence of John Calvin.
He returned to Scotland after several years in Geneva and began
preaching against the papal church. He
was arrested under Queen Mary Stuart in 1560 and tried for treason but
acquitted.
One
of the greatest contributions Knox made to the Reformation in Scotland was the
Book of Discipline, which he and his associates prepared at the request of
Parliament. The book was the brainchild of Knox. In it he set forth principles
for the guidance of the Church. He gave strong emphasis to the nature of
education of all children. Stalker wrote that nothing bears more distinctly the
impress of Knox's genius as does the Book of Discipline. "It comes away in
a single gush, and it causes a dazzling image of national prosperity to rise
before the mind."
In
the Book of Discipline Knox called for a system of education that was
breathtaking for that age.
Every
town should have a schoolmaster, and in every rural parish the minister or
reader should teach the children and come to them. Men should be compelled by the Kirk and the magistrates to send
their children - bairns - to school. Poor men's children should be helped, and
no one should be denied basic education. Knox spent his remaining years
preaching and lecturing in Edinburgh and St. Andrews. Above all others he was the maker of Protestant Scotland. he
preached "hell-fire and damnation" to Queen Mary of Scotland and also
to Bloody Mary, Queen of England. Of
him it was said, "Here is one who never feared the face of man."
It is as if the Lord had said, “You must become highly educated, to enter the Kingdom of God.” Let us not forget His actual words,
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.