Read 'em and Reap!: God is the Gospel

God is the Gospel – John Piper
Very often, when presenting the Gospel, we tend to focus on the benefits of the Gospel. We tend to think in terms of Salvation from the penalty and power of sin, eternal life, relationship with Christ, etc. These are good things to focus on and they are true benefits of the Gospel.

John Piper’s newest book challenges our understanding of the gospel and maintains that we fall short of giving the complete gospel when we focus on these things. He argues that the highest and greatest gift of the Gospel is God Himself. Piper writes, “The gospel of Christ proclaims the news that he has purchased by his death ten thousand blessings for his bride. But none of these gifts will lead to final joy if they have not first led to God. And not one gospel blessing will be enjoyed by anyone for whom the gospel’s greatest gift was not the Lord himself”. (p.11)

Throughout the book, Piper drives the premise that none of the good things in the Gospel is good without the final supreme Good: God. Each chapter is a look at the Gospel from different facets of seeing God as the final supreme Good of that Gospel. A few of the chapter titles include “The Glory of Christ, the Image of God” and “Confirmed by its Glory, the Internal Testimony of the Holy Spiritt”, and “The Gift of God Himself over and in All His Saving and Painful Gifts.”

As is typical of Piper, he draws significantly from the works of Jonathan Edwards to help him develop his thesis and formulate his arguments. This isn’t to say it’s not biblical, for indeed is profoundly biblical. It’s just to say that the reader will become acquainted with Jonathan Edwards and other Puritan writers as he reads this book. Also, as is typical of Piper, his underlying thesis for this book (and many of this other ones, if not all) is the motto “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

As sinners, we are prone to get sidetracked from the truth of Scripture from time to time. This may be one of those areas that Piper can help in bringing us back to reorganization of our thinking. There is no question that God himself is the greatest gift that one will ever receive. But it is the peripheral benefits of the Gospel that are most elevated in our thinking. The Apostle Paul reminds us that God, “who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not with Him graciously give us all things?”(Romans 8:32). Clearly the gift of God Himself is the Gospel. Read ‘em & Reap! This book is part of the book review program of The Discerning Reader.

Buy God Is the Gospel here.

Comments

Brad, I saw your comment over at TulipGirl's. Email me and lets catch up.

Posted by: Jonathan Moorhead at September 19, 2005 11:42 PM

Brad,
This looks like a really good book as in a classic to be. I like John Piper's writing. As a fellow blogger, I can identify with this need...God's presence in our lives, guiding us in thought, word, and deed is something the Church, and blogging Christians dare not do without! It is hard to grasp the importance because the next guy always has another critical need of the Christian doctrine! One's head can spin! But this is right on!

Posted by: cwv warrior at September 21, 2005 05:57 PM