Reflections on the knowledge of God, the significance of scripture and the transcendence of God - Book I -- The knowledge of God and the knowledge of humanity are inseparably intertwined -- Scripture is necessary for the knowledge of God -- The knowledge of God turns on the recognition of the accommodating transcendence of God -- Reflections on the sinfulness of humanity, Christ the mediator, the three uses of the law, and the threefold office of Christ - Book II -- We have lost a freedom only the Spirit can restore -- Faith in Christ is decisive for our redeeming knowledge of God -- The law must be understood in the light of Christ; hence the principal use of the law is that of instruction and exhortation -- The gospel/law relationship evokes a clear and profound Christology -- Reflections on life in the presence of the Spirit - Book III -- Faith must be defined in terms of Christ, the Spirit, and the believer's radical commitment -- Accordingly, the result of faith must be treated before the doctrine of justification by faith, if the latter is to be properly understood -- The Christian life has to do with believers' faithful response to the redeeming act of God -- All this turns on justification by faith, and hence the understanding of Christian freedom -- Election (predestination) must be understood in the context of the experience of the Christian life -- Reflections on the church and civil government - Book IV -- The church is the providential instrument of God and is to be understood as God's accommodation to us -- By analogy, civil government is also to be understood as the instrument of God for the good of humanity -- Epilogue.