“Next to the study of the Scriptures which I earnestly inculcate, I exhort my pupils to peruse Calvin’s Commentaries, which I extol in loftier terms than Helmich himself [a Dutch divine, 1551–1608]; for I affirm that he excels beyond comparison (incomparabilem esse) in the interpretation of Scripture, and that his commentaries ought to be more highly valued than all that is handed down to us by the library of the fathers; so that I acknowledge him to have possessed above most others, or rather above all other men, what may be called an eminent spirit of prophecy (spiritum aliquem prophetiae eximium). His Institutes ought to be studied after the [Heidelberg] Catechism, as containing a fuller explanation, but with discrimination (cum delectu), like the writings of all men.” (Jacobus Arminius, Founder of Arminianism. 1560 - 1609)
a. Besides being a master of Latin and French, he had excellent knowledge on Hebrew and Greek.
b. He had familiarity with patristic commentators like Augustine, Chrysostom, Jerome, etc.
c. He had great knowledge on classical writers like Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, Virgil, etc.
d. He had written one of the first exhaustive books on theology in Christendom – the Institutes of Christian Religion. It has undergone 5 rewritings and expansions from 1536 to 1559 but the substance never changes.
e. Except Revelation, he had unique, clear and thorough Commentaries on all the books of the Bible (not to mention his series of expository sermons). Read all the details HERE
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