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Jonathan Edwards Knowing Christ
Jonathan Edwards is widely recognized today as perhaps the greatest of all North American thinkers and philosophers. Such was the depth and power of his intellect that annually new books and articles on his work come into print. But Edwards was supremely a Christian thinker. His great goal in life was to know and glorify God through Jesus Christ and to encourage others to do the same. Consequently it is in his sermons that we find the real heart of the man. Here he is thinker, herald, pastor and theologian all in one. This selection of ten of Edwards' sermons provides a fine sample of the God-centredness of his ministry. In them he shows the seriousness of man's sinful condition, the riches of Christ's grace, and the marvels of the Christian life. To read Edwards is, almost invariably, to be led into the presence of God. That was the great aim of his preaching, and echoes of it will be heard in reading these pages.
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First published January 1, 1839
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About the author
Jonathan Edwards
1,608 books528 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 16, 2011
This is a fine collection of sermons from one of the best early American orators. Worth reading for "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" alone. I wouldn't call the sermons persuasive (you might disagree if you are a Calvinist), but they are fiery (often in a very literal way), vivid, and well-constructed. These are important as a part of history, too, as they give us a glimpse into the very beginnings of the first true American philosophy, as Edward's thinking is both a descendant of Puritanism and the standard against which the Transcendentalists eventually rebelled. You can't understand eighteenth century America without reading these sermons.
August 9, 2020
Out of all of the writings I have read of Edwards, this so far may be my favorite. This is actually a collection of sermons that Edwards preached throughout his life. Chapter five/sermon five has some heavy heavy thinking, theology and philosophy involved. It is absolutely brilliant! Enjoy!
February 20, 2016
Jonathan Edwards simplistic language involving how Christians can know Christ helped me
as a reader understand how to abide in Christ in a much deeper way.
I really appreciate the practical application.
as a reader understand how to abide in Christ in a much deeper way.
I really appreciate the practical application.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews