Captive to Glory: Celebrating the Vision and Influence of Jonathan Edwards

by John Piper, Justin Taylor (Editor)

Thanks to the generous partnership of three publishers—Multnomah, Baker, and Crossway—we’ve corralled into one volume the best Edwards excerpts from Piper’s main writings.

Thanks to Justin Taylor, we’ve added two helpful appendices. The first appendix features a chronology compiled by Taylor of Edwards’s influence on Piper, beginning in seminary in 1968. The second appendix is an impressive bibliography of all things Edwards and Piper.

Since each chapter of this book is a selection from a different book, there’s no necessary order the reader must follow, though the hope is that he can trace the movement from the most fundamental theology to its practical implications in the life of the church. In fact, a miniature version of the entire book is captured in the first chapter.

But keep in mind, the aim of this book is not that you can merely observe the influence of Edwards in Piper, or that you are inspired to read more primary sources, or even that you just see God’s glory. The aim is that you delight in God’s glory — that you are overcome by God’s grace in Christ to remove every obstacle that stands in the way of you enjoying him forever. May he truly do this work in our hearts.

Genres: Biography, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Church History, Christianity

249 pages, ebook

First published December 18, 2013

About the author

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.

John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Maarten De vries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het was John Piper die mij met het gedachtegoed van Jonathan Edwards bekend maakte jaren geleden. Overal in Pipers werk kom je sporen van Edwards tegen. Een aantal van deze sporen is nu in dit boek - als een soort verzamelbundel - bij elkaar geplaatst. Ook is er een mini biografie toegevoegd (appendix 1) waarin Pipers 'ontdekkingstocht'door het gedachtegoed van Edwards wordt toegelicht. Dit boek helpt daarom 1) bij het beter begrijpen van Edwards gedachtegoed en zijn relevantie voor vandaag en 2) bij het beter begrijpen van de veel toegankelijkere John Piper.

Ik heb genoten van het lezen van dit boek. Het is duidelijk en verduidelijkend, puntig en grotendeels bijbels theologisch van aard. Er valt oneindig veel te lezen over het christelijk geloof, de kerk, ethiek, etc. maar af en toe is het goed om terug te keren bij de basis. Voor Edwards is dat: Gods glorie en de manifestatie daarvan in de hele schepping én het genot wat gelovigen daarin genieten. Dit komt op diverse plekken in diverse citaten uit Edwards werk terug in het Captive to Glory:

Kort en bondig een van de belangrijkste statements in Edwards gedachtegoed:

"God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in."

Dit statement gekoppeld aan het evangelie van Jezus klinkt als:

"The ultimate good made possible by the death and resurrection of Christ, and offered in the gospel, is: “Behold your God!"

Hiermee is ook een antwoord gegeven op waarom de wereld bestaat volgens Edwards (uit zijn 'the end for which God created the world')

"God made the world that He might communicate, and the creature receive, his glory; and that it might [be] received both by the mind and heart. He that testifies his idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it."

En wat mij misschien wel het meeste raakte in dit boek en wat in het vorige citaat ook al zichtbaar is: het belang van echte kennis van God als grond onder en brandstof voor het ervaren van God:

"The reason is that “the more you have of a rational knowledge of divine things, the more opportunity will there be, when the Spirit shall be breathed into your heart, to see the excellency of these things, and to taste the sweetness of them.”"

Niet dat dit enkel een puriteins heiligheidsboekje is. Edwards was een van de beste filosofen die de Verenigde Staten ooit hebben gekend. Ook deze kant van Edwards komt van tijd tot tijd terug in wat langere citaten waar je gerust een aantal keer doorheen kan lezen om het werkelijk te begrijpen.
Maar dat dit geen reden kan zijn voor hoogmoed, juist voor gepaste nederigheid:

"Those who have climbed highest see more clearly than those in the cloudy regions below how much higher the reaches of the mountains of God really are. Below we talk about mystery because we cannot see above the clouds. Above the clouds Edwards talks of mystery because the peaks of divinity stretch out into space."

[Jong Hyuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious

[Jason Drumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful read for anyone who loves Piper. I feel I have crawled inside his head and understand him so much better now. Also instructed me in understanding theological categories previously confused about or ignorant of.

Chapter 1 on 15 implications is a great overview of a practical perspective of Edwards through the (more clearly understood) modern day eyes of Piper.

Chapters 5 and 6 were phenomenal, maybe the best part of the book, clarifying much I had previously been meditating on and wondering about in 2 Cor 3 and 4. I.e, Light, beholding, glory, what it means to "see."

Chapter 9 on ten characteristics of edwards preaching is a great measuring stick for my own preaching and will likely be the chapter i come back to most frequently for my own growth as a preacher as well as to run off a copy for others, which I have already done once.

Appendix 1: Piper Encounters Edwards: A Chronology
As a man who has benefitted much from Piper and greatly looked up to him, I found this chronology of Piper fascinating, and it made me long for a more full biography of Piper.

[Marguerite Harrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read. It took a while for me to get the hold of this book until I kept reading on and later were able to understand it better. I do wish that I have this book in book form so that I can mark it up and underlined it and highlighted it.

[Gary Paulson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encourages me to read some Edwards myself

[Leonardo Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to Jonathan Edwards's theology and thinking.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning of the many ways that Jonathan Edwards influenced John Piper, especially interesting was the biographical section about Piper.