What happens when I arrive 12 minutes late for a meeting? Today one colleague claimed control of my office whiteboard:
For the record, I prefer Dutch people over caffeine. If I was forced to choose between Bavinck and Starbucks I’d give up Starbucks. But Dutch people against Mr. T? Hmm. I’d say that’s too close to call. Although Mr. T wins easily over spelunking (cave exploration).
What comes to mind when I mention God’s “glory”?
The reference to God’s “glory” may cause some of us to run to a dictionary. It’s not the easiest term to comprehend. For others we may think of “glory” along the lines of something more trivial like the phrase “glory, hallelujah,” a filler phrase, a cliché dried of all meaning and spiritual value.
However we speak of glory, Scripture prohibits us from speaking of God’s glory in impersonal terms. It is not that.
To fully understand glory will require that we see it with our own eyes. This was the request of Moses on that quaking mountain of fire and smoke. Moses asked of the Lord, “Please show me your glory.” And the Lord complied. But notice the response: “I will make all my goodness pass before you” (Ex. 33:18-19).
How often do we think of God’s glory as a synonym for God’s goodness?
Jonathan Edwards wrote: “The glory of the Lord in Scripture seems to signify the excellent brightness and fullness of God, and especially as spread abroad, diffused and as it were enlarged, or, in one word, the excellency of God flowing forth.” (Misc. 1082)
The glory of God, in other words, is the fountain or sun in which all our eternal enjoyments originate. Edwards would go on to say that glory is the source for all eternal blessing, a synonym for the waters of life and pleasures forever. And central to all of Edwards’s theology is an understanding that the shining forth of God’s glory is a fundamental purpose behind the act of creation.
We could go on in many directions. But the simple point is that Exodus 33 convicts me of my low view of God’s glory. God’s glory is His means to communicate to us His goodness. Banish the unaffected and impersonal thoughts of God’s glory. His glory is my goodness.
What?! Free hymns? Yep, and if that headline doesn’t clasp your collar and shake a little excitement into your browsing experience, I don’t know what will. The album is by Page CXVI who somehow mixed classic hymns and indie rock and this album was the result. No, the album is not for everyone. But for a limited time the entire album is free. Good stuff. [Hats off to our friend JT]
Page CXVI / “Hymns” album
1. Come Thou Fount
2. In Christ Alone
3. Joy
4. My Jesus I Love Thee
5. Nothing But The Blood
6. Solid Rock
7. When I Survey The Wonderful Cross
I’m not alone in saying that Jonathan Edwards was likely the greatest theological mind in American history. Yet for a man who carefully dissected his terms, and frequently lamented the limitations of the English language in allowing him to express his thoughts (!), Edwards can be frustratingly complex and often too deep for many readers. So what is the best entry point into Edwards’s theology?
One book I return to frequently is A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards by Gary Crampton (Reformation Heritage Books). Crampton assembled the book in a Q&A format, posing theological questions and then writing answers, which are citations of direct quotes from the works of Edwards. Crampton book, which is just over 200 pages, provides a comprehensive overview of Edwards’s theology in way that I find very engaging. Chapters include Edwards thoughts on man, knowledge, Scripture, God, angels, man, soteriology, the Church, the family, eschatology, and heaven and hell.
I use A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards as an index and field guide to the complete works of Edwards now available online from Yale University. Using Crampton as my map, I can more easily and efficiently find my way around Edwards’s works and locate specific writings in a snap.
Partly because it was produced by a small publisher (RHB), I don’t think this book has received the publicity it deserves. But if you are looking for a jumpstart into the theology of Edwards, or if you would like a map to help you sift through the online works of Edwards, this may be the best single volume overview available. I highly recommend it.
————–
Title: A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards
Author: Gary Crampton
Boards: paper
Pages: 202
Topical index: no (it’s arranged topically)
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Year: 2006
Price USD: $16.00 / $12.00 from publisher
ISBNs: 1892777762
I appreciate your patience with the blog slowdown. There are periods of time when work and family prohibit much of a time investment here. But you’re okay with that, you recently said. So thanks!
But I do have two updates:
This morning in the studio I recorded an interview with Margaret Elizabeth Kostenberger, the author of the new book Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say That He Is?, published by Crossway. The audio should be posted in the near future on CJ’s blog. I’ve titled the recording “Jesus, Feminism, and the Local Church.” Mrs. Kostenberger is an interesting woman (to say the least) and offered several helpful insights in the interview.
Also, I have kicked around the idea of a new series of blog posts. I’ll announce the new series here (hopefully very soon).
Happy Friday!
Tony
For the month of March, Crossway is granting free access to the ESV Study Bible online. Kick the tires here (free login required).
My favorite feature is the concluding “article” in the back of the Bible, so buried that is has probably been discovered only by me and a handful of people who got lost while trying to find the maps. I’m talking about the History of Salvation in the Old Testament. No student of the Old Testament should be without this list!
Tony Reinke 