The Excellency of Christ

by Jonathan Edwards

Edwards (1703-1758) is by far the best known American theologian. After graduating from and teaching at Yale University, he began a very fruitful ministry at Northampton, MA. The church was the scene of the explosive revival of 1734, 35, and burned fiercely for God under Edwards for several years. Edwards then went to pastor the lowly Indians. But at last he was called to be the first president of Princeton University, where he served only 5 weeks, dying of smallpox.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Christianity

Nook

First published April 1, 1800

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards was the most eminent American philosopher-theologian of his time, and a key figure in what has come to be called the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s.

The only son in a family of eleven children, he entered Yale in September, 1716 when he was not yet thirteen and graduated four years later (1720) as valedictorian. He received his Masters three years later. As a youth, Edwards was unable to accept the Calvinist sovereignty of God. However, in 1721 he came to what he called a "delightful conviction" though meditation on 1 Timothy 1:17. From that point on, Edwards delighted in the sovereignty of God. Edwards later recognized this as his conversion to Christ.

In 1727 he was ordained minister at Northampton and assistant to his maternal grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. He was a student minister, not a visiting pastor, his rule being thirteen hours of study a day. In the same year, he married Sarah Pierpont, then age seventeen, daughter of Yale founder James Pierpont (1659–1714). In total, Jonathan and Sarah had eleven children.

Stoddard died on February 11th, 1729, leaving to his grandson the difficult task of the sole ministerial charge of one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the colony. Throughout his time in Northampton his preaching brought remarkable religious revivals.

Yet, tensions flamed as Edwards would not continue his grandfather's practice of open communion. Stoddard believed that communion was a "converting ordinance." Surrounding congregations had been convinced of this, and as Edwards became more convinced that this was harmful, his public disagreement with the idea caused his dismissal in 1750.

Edwards then moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, then a frontier settlement, where he ministered to a small congregation and served as missionary to the Housatonic Indians. There, having more time for study and writing, he completed his celebrated work, The Freedom of the Will (1754).

Edwards was elected president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in early 1758. He was a popular choice, for he had been a friend of the College since its inception. He died of fever at the age of fifty-four following experimental inoculation for smallpox and was buried in the President's Lot in the Princeton cemetery beside his son-in-law, Aaron Burr.

Reviews

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful. Evocative. God willing, will definitely deepen your appreciation for Christ's love and righteousness.

[Heather Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found a part of this sermon quoted in a Tim Keller book- made me want to read the whole thing. The sermon expands on Revelation 5:5 and the description of Jesus as both Lion and Lamb. SO RICH.

“I come to the limits of language when I try to describe my life in Jesus Christ.”

“And yet he will at the same time appear as a Lamb to his saints; he will receive them as friends and brethren, treating them with infinite mildness and love. There shall be nothing in him terrible to them, but towards them he will clothe himself wholly with sweetness and endearment. The church shall be then admitted to him as his bride; that shall be her wedding-day. The saints shall all be sweetly invited to come with him to inherit the kingdom, and reign in it with him to all eternity.”

“You need not be afraid to go to Christ, for fear that he is either unable or unwilling to help you. Here is a strong foundation, and an inexhaustible treasure, to answer the necessities of your poor soul, and here is infinite grace and gentleness to invite and embolden a poor, unworthy, fearful soul to come to it. If Christ accepts of you, you need not fear but that you will be safe, for he is a strong Lion for your defense. And if you come, you need not fear but that you shall be accepted; for he is like a Lamb to all that come to him, and receives then with infinite grace and tenderness. It is true he has awful majesty, he is the great God, and infinitely high above you. but there is this to encourage and embolden the poor sinner, that Christ is man as well as God; he is a creature, as well as the Creator, and he is the most humble and lowly in heart of any creature in heaven or earth.”

[Alex Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stirring meditation on the paradox at the heart of Jesus —His strength as a lion and gentleness as a lamb. Edwards shows how these contrasting traits don’t weaken Christ but make Him uniquely glorious and perfectly suited to save.

It reminded me of On the Incarnation by Athanasius in how it draws the reader into worship, not just through doctrine but through wonder. The language can be dense, but the insight is deep and rewarding. It’s beautiful call to behold Christ as He truly is.

[Justin Effler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short book on the excellencies of Christ. His beauty, majesty, holiness and greatness surpasses all understanding. As Athanasius put for in his "On The Incarnation", the vastness of who Christ is and what he has done is still being discovered by the saints who have been adopted in his Kingdom. For what can surpass the mystery, awe and grandeur of what majesty of Christ, our eternal God, who became man to serve and demonstrate his love, in Glory.

Jonathan Edwards had a great way of communicating this.

[Denise Mccue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to read the original version perhaps....

[Abigail Branch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sermon!!
Good word!!
Every word of it completely, totally 100% true.

[Jonathan Prudhomme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t find the modern updated English version I just finished, but this book was absolutely incredible! It is such a breath of fresh air (and especially encouraging from a pre-modern preacher). Edwards masterfully addresses our tendency to pit certain attributes of God against others by showing how all of his attributes and excellencies are perfectly manifested in the Person and work of Christ, even the seemingly most disparate ones. I think this is especially helpful today in our polarized culture that tends to want to emphasize Christ’s lion-like qualities over his lamb-like qualities (or vice versa). It was refreshing to be reminded that Christ is both the Lion and the Lamb and that he was perfectly so on the cross.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This must've been one long sermon to be a full book like this, but nevertheless, this is just pure gold. My main issues with most other books or works on the glory of Christ is they tend to just kind of repeat that He is glorious over and over and not do much more beyond telling you to realize that. Here though, Edwards delves deeply into how glorious Christ is and how His humiliation only makes Him more glorious and he shows how.
Jonathan Edwards has been one of my favorites for a long time and this is a prime example of why. No word is wasted in this whole book. Just excellent.

[Astar Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Edityfy

This book has been on my Tbr for a while so I decided to speed read it and it was really good and I felt like I was able to get a lot of theological knowledge about Christ and so I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants more knowledge about Christ. Very edifying, plus I truly love old christian books cuz I love the reverence of the Bible and Gid. Recommend to all Christians

[Celia Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me admire and delight in my Savior

I had been thinking about Jesus: how He unites such opposite extreme excellence. So when I found this book I was delighted. It helped me go deeper and wider. Jesus Christ, the Lion and the Lamb. Thank you, Mr. Dollar, for putting Jonathan Edwards into modern English. I shall read it over and over.

[Daniel Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book, but one of Edwards’s published sermons. Its a difficult read if you’re not familiar with 17th century English, but Edwards should be required reading for anyone professing faith in Christ.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah Maze Ing! I always love Edwards but this was simply great. A clear explanation about how Christ takes two seemingly contrary things like Lion and Lamb and makes them clear and shows how they meet in the Divine. This leads us to trust Christ as Savior and Friend. So good

[Mattie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What is there wanting, or what would you add if you could, to make Christ more fit to be your Savior?”

“For His yielding Himself unto death was transcendently the greatest act of obedience that ever was paid to God by any one since the foundation of the world.”

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a pleasure to read this as a balance to Edwards' other sermons on perdition. Even as a "mature" Christian I found plenty of things to meditate on and enrich my affections toward Christ.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sermon... Anyone who has ever preached a sermon and gave this less than 5 stars should reread his/her own work and reconsider.

[Paul Pompa · Rating 4 out of 5]

His Excellency

His theology is solid, his exposition sound. I greatly appreciate the Christocentrism. His preaching, and similar preaching, is sorely lacking in the West. Only real complaint was the Kindle version has formatting issues which affects the flow.

[Laura Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, this is the greatest sermon ever written. Truly blessed my heart, mind and soul.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctrine

A quick read about the doctrine of excellency of Christ which manifested on His acts. A classic from one of the father of churches.

[Boaz Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible sermon of Edwards that has so much theological depth and assurance!

[Mark Einselen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this three times and got something more out of it every time. Not necessarily a page-turner, more of a slow burn. Eternal truths are always timely.

[Lucienne Ouellette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written!

As I was reading this book I received some revelations from the Lord. It is a gem of a book.

[Susan Kendrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful contemplation of Christ.

[Jacob Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had been a long time since I had read anything from Jonathan Edwards, one of the most influential American theologians ever. He tends to be very dense in his writing, so I was ready for a battle with the text. I was very surprised to see how readable this book was. It was very short and spoke of the "excellencies" of Christ. I think a better term for today would be paradoxes of Christ. An example of this would be how Christ was the one who most upheld divine justice while also being the one who suffered the most under divine justice. Edwards has a very high view of of Christ, the Scriptures, and his personal relationship with Christ. They all bleed off of almost every page. I would hight recommend this small but deep book.

[Dominic Duran · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read in a while!! Edwards focuses primarily on the “admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Jesus Christ” and you’re left in awe of the person of Jesus!!

- Infinite Highness/Infinite Condescension
- Infinite Justice/Infinite Grace
- Infinite Majesty/Transcendent Meekness
- Deepest Reverence Toward God/Equality with God
- Infinite Worthiness of Good/Greatest Patience of Evil
- Exceeding Spirit of Obedience/Supreme Dominion
- Absolute Sovereignty/Perfect Resignation
- Self Sufficiency/Entire Trust and Reliance on God
- Judge of Sinful World/Savior of the World

Favorite Quote:
“Whatsoever there is or can be desirable in a friend, is in Christ, and that to the highest degree that can be desired.”

[Aaron Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edwards gives a thought provoking, soul encouraging study of a diverse quality of excellencies that are found in the person and work of Christ; to the extent to which, and due to the diversity of, could never be found in any human being.
The application of these truths about Christ result in greater understanding and cherishing Christ as our Savior and as our Friend, and so we see and savor Jesus more!

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall a great read. It is concisely written and well written. Might re-read in the future.

[Michael Kidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some refreshing meditations on Christ's excellence found here.

[Valerie Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book. need to reread.perfect for prepping for Hebrews bible study.