[Calvin's] was a ministry of unrelenting exposition of the Word of God. . . .

Calvin had seen the majesty of God in the Scriptures. This persuaded him that the Scriptures were the very word of God. . . . His own experience had taught him that "the highest proof of Scripture derives in general from the fact that God in person speaks in it" (Institutes 1.7.4). These truths led to an inevitable conclusion for Calvin. Since the Scriptures are the very voice of God and since they are therefore self-authenticating in revealing the majesty of God, and since the majesty and glory of God are the reason for all existence, it follows that Calvin's life would be marked by invincible constancy in the exposition of Scripture. . . .

He wrote tracts, he wrote the great Institutes, he wrote commentaries, . . . he gave Biblical lectures . . . and he preached ten sermons every two weeks. But all of it was exposition of Scripture. Dillenberger said, "[Calvin] assumed that his whole theological labor was the exposition of Scripture". In his last will and testament he said, "I have endeavored, both in my sermons and also in my writings and commentaries, to preach the word purely and chastely, and faithfully to interpret His sacred Scriptures".

Everything was exposition of Scripture. This was the ministry unleashed by seeing the majesty of God in Scripture. The Scriptures were absolutely central because they were absolutely the Word of God and had as their self-authenticating theme the majesty and glory of God. But out of all these labors of exposition, preaching was supreme. . . .

Calvin's preaching was of one kind from beginning to end: he preached steadily through book after book of the Bible. He never wavered from this approach to preaching for almost twenty-five years of ministry in St. Peter's church of Geneva.