God's Grand Design E-Book

Sean Michael Lucas

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 389

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Jonathan Edwards was a preacher, pastor, revivalist, and theologian. This volume unpacks his magnificent theological vision, which starts with God's glory and ends with all creation returning to that glory.  Sean Michael Lucas has converted his years of teaching on Edwards into this valuable work, which places Edwards's vision in an accessible, two-part framework. Part one focuses on Edwards's understanding of redemption history—God's cosmic, grand work from eternity past to eternity future, where all things are united in Christ. Part two examines Edwards's perspective on "redemption applied"—how that gracious, divine work unfolds in space and time to personally transform individuals, stirring their affections, illuminating their minds, and moving their wills to form new habits and practices. This overview of Edwards's theology will prove to be a thought-provoking, encouraging guide to contemporary believers at every stage of their spiritual journey. 

Leseprobe

“Jonathan Edwards indisputably is America’s greatest theologian. He is also one of the church’s wisest shepherds of the Christian soul. In this smart, accessible book, pastor-theologian Sean Lucas shows how Edwards can help us read the story of our salvation as part of the bigger story of God’s redemption—what the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have done to rescue us from sin and draw us into the everlasting fellowship of their love.”

Philip Graham Ryken, President, Wheaton College; author, King Solomon: The Temptations of Money, Sex, and Power

“Those of us trundling through the complete works of Jonathan Edwards in the recent Yale edition are grateful for experts like Sean Lucas who, with a single lucid paragraph, are able to unravel the most complex of Edwardsian thought. The study of Edwards has become something of a ‘rite of passage’ in recent days, and some of us have some catching up to do. Dr. Lucas, a well-respected Edwards scholar in his own right, has given us a comprehensive summary of Edwards’s understanding of the Christian life that does for Edwards what Sinclair Ferguson did for John Owen. An essential and most welcome companion to any serious study of Edwards.”

Derek W. H. Thomas, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Minister of Preaching and Teaching, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina; Editorial Director, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

“This is an edifying book on a most edifying person, one who became the most important pastor in all of American history. By focusing our attention on what mattered most to Edwards—authentic Christian living that derives from God’s grace and reflects God’s glory—Sean Lucas has written a book that can draw you nearer to God, even make you a better person. Good theology, well presented, leads to passionate, godly piety. Edwards and Lucas know this well. I pray that you will know it too.”

Douglas A. Sweeney, Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Director, Jonathan Edwards Center

“Sean Michael Lucas analyzes the ways that Jonathan Edwards understood the Christian life as both inconceivably vast and intensely personal and practical, demonstrating that there is still much to be learned from America’s greatest philosopher-theologian. From his introduction, to the two invaluable appendices, Lucas offers an eminently useful volume that reminds one of much of Edwards’s own writing—technical yet accessible, scholarly yet pastoral.”

Richard A. Bailey, Assistant Professor of History, Canisius College; author, Race and Redemption in Puritan New England

“It is good for the church—and the heart—to see Sean Lucas, a modern pastor-theologian, working with such depth and clarity in the corpus of Jonathan Edwards, America’s preeminent pastor-theologian. Lucas shows a mastery of the vast secondary and primary sources on and by Edwards, yet writes to be understood and to bless the church. If there is a better way to honor the New Light minister, I am not aware of it.”

Owen Strachan, coauthor, The Essential Edwards Collection; Instructor of Christian Theology and Church History, Boyce College

God’s Grand Design: The Theological Vision of Jonathan EdwardsCopyright © 2011 by Sean Michael Lucas Published by Crossway                     1300 Crescent Street                     Wheaton, Illinois 60187

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First printing 2011 Printed in the United States of America

The author’s Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Trade paperback ISBN:      978-1-4335-1445-6 ePub ISBN:                        978-1-4335-2445-5 PDF ISBN:                         978-1-4335-1446-3 Mobipocket ISBN:             978-1-4335-1447-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataLucas, Sean Michael, 1970–God’s grand design : the theological vision of Jonathan Edwards / Sean Michael Lucas.                p. cm.        Includes bibliographical references and index.        ISBN 978-1-4335-1445-6 (tp)        1. Edwards, Jonathan, 1703–1758. I. Title.      BX7260.E3L83  2011      230'.58—dc23

2011020711

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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Contents

Introduction

11

Part 1: Redemption History

1

God’s Grand Design: The Glory of God

21

2

God’s End in Creating the World: Creation, Nature, Fall

35

3

The Great Errand of Christ: Redemption

47

4

The

Summum

and

Ultimum

: Consummation

61

Part 2: Redemption Applied

5

A Divine and Supernatural Light

77

6

The Nature of True Religion: Holy Affections

89

7

The Dark Side of Religious Affections: Self-Deception

103

8

A Love Life: How the Affections Produce Genuine Virtue

117

9

Means of Grace: The Ministry of the Word

133

10

Means of Grace: The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

147

11

Means of Grace: Prayer, Personal and Global

161

12

The Christian Life as a Journey to Heaven

173

Appendix 1: “Where Do I Begin?”:

An Annotated Bibliography

191

Appendix 2: “A Man Just Like Us”:

Jonathan Edwards and Spiritual Formation

for

Ministerial

Candidates

207

Introduction

During his lifetime, Jonathan Edwards was many things: pastor, preacher, revivalist, husband, father, author, controversialist. But if he was anything, he was a theologian of the Christian life.

Perhapsthiswasbecause, ashistorianGeorgeM. Marsdennotes, “hewasnotasaintbynature. . . . Hisspirituallifewasoftenanimmensestruggle. Despitehismassiveintellectandheroicdisciplines, hewas, likeeveryoneelse, apersonwithfrailtiesandcontradictions.” Andyet, throughhisstrugglesandwrestlingwithGod, EdwardsproducedacomprehensivetheologicalvisioninwhichhesetforthanapproachtotheChristianlifethatstartedwithGod’sgloryandendedwithallcreationreturningthatglory. Itwasavisionthatremainsquitesimplymagnificent.1

Andyet, itisatheologicalvisionthathasneverbeenadequatelyexplored. Historiansandtheologianshavelongarguedoverwhethertherewasa “center” toEdwards’stheology, whethertherewasanintegrationpointintowhichallofEdwards’sthoughtfits. Some, likethebrilliantEdwardsscholarPerryMiller, soughttofindamodernEdwards, onethatprescientlyspoketotheneedsofacomingageandwasmartyredinhisown. Others, suchastheologianJohnGerstner, foundarationalistEdwards, onethatprovidedtheologicalrigorandrationalistballastinhisapproachtohisdayandourown. Stillothers, suchashistorianMichaelMcClymondandbiographerPhillipGura, appealedtoEdwardsasthepurveyorofreligiousexperience, theultimateapologeticforyesterdayandtoday. OneofthebestbooksonEdwards’stheology, stillinprint, heldthathecenteredhistheologyinthedoctrineoffaith. YetanothersuggestedthatGod’sglorywasthebeginningpoint.2

AlloftheseattemptstoexploreEdwards’stheologyhavelegitimacy, especiallyinadaywhenhisthoughtoftenseemstobelikea “greatmirror” inwhichscholarsandreadersseetheirownconcernsinhis. AndyetitisstrikingthatEdwardsspentthegreatestamountofhistimethinkingabouttheChristianlife, bothforhimselfandthenforhisparishionersinhispastoralministry.3

The Christian life certainly was a major preoccupation in his sermons, the regular work in which he engaged from 1726 until his death in 1758. Even a quick perusal of the six published volumes of sermons in The Works of Jonathan Edwards edition produced by Yale University Press provides this sense of Edwards’s focus. From his earliest sermon, “Christian Happiness,” in which he argued that godly people are happy no matter their outward circumstances, Edwards worked the themes of holiness and happiness, seeing and savoring, majesty and meekness, light and darkness—all as representative descriptors of the Christian life. He spoke of the “pleasantness of religion,” as well as the way to be “profitable hearers of God’s Word,” pictured “the true Christian’s life [as] a journey towards heaven,” delighted in the “excellency of Christ,” and urged his people to “renew our Covenant with God.” In a variety of ways and in a number of contexts, he sought to inculcate a deep and rich piety among his people.4

Edwardsdidsobecauseitwasthemajorpreoccupationofhisownlife. Hewouldlaterrelatetohisson-in-law, AaronBurr, “IfeltinmeaburningdesiretobeineverythingacompleteChristian; andconformedtotheblessedimageofChrist: andthatImightinallthings, accordingtothepure, sweet, andblessedrulesofthegospel.” Hewentontoobserve, “Itwasmycontinualstrifedayandnight, andconstantinquiry, howIshouldbemoreholy, andlivemoreholily, andmorebecomingachildofGod, anddiscipleofChrist.” Hedesiredtoraisehis “religiousaffections” toaholyardorthroughScripturereadingandprayer, attendanceuponthemeansofgrace, andencounteringthespiritualrelationsofothers.5

But Edwards’s view of piety was far more than heightened emotions. Rather, he developed a full theology and history of the Christian life, beginning in eternity past with the mutual delight that God had in himself and extending it into the future in which heaven would be a “world of love.” By rooting his understanding of God’s purposes in his own Trinitarian being, and especially God’s passion to glorify himself by communicating his glory in creation and redemption and receiving back his glory in love and praise, Edwards set forth a vision of the Christian life that was deeply theological.

Asaresult, thisbookonEdwards’sviewoftheChristianlifemustbetheologicalaswell. Thequestionbecomesoneofframework: IftheChristianlifewascentraltoEdwards’stheologicalandpastoralreflection, howdidheframethosereflections? I’dsuggestthatEdwards’sframeworkranintwodirections, or, perhapsbetter, attwolevels. Ononelevel, histheologicalvisionfortheChristianlifewascosmic: thegrandnarrativeofthehistoryoftheworkofredemption. Edwardshadintended, werehetolivelonger, towriteatheologyoftheChristianlifethatwouldbe “divinityinanentirenewmethod.” Redemptionwouldbeatthecenterofhumanhistory, butthatgrandworkofGodwouldreachbacktoeternitypastandfinditsfulfillmentineternityfuture.

Therefore, part1ofthisbookfocuseson “redemptionhistory.” WewillfollowEdwardsbacktoeternitypast, intotheverydelightthepersonsoftheTrinityhadforeachother; journeyintotimebymeansofGod’scovenantofredemptionwithhimselftocreateandpurchaseapeopleforhisownglory; payattentiontohistoryasGod’sgraciousworksofcreationandredemptionunfoldinspaceandtime; watchtheunfoldingofthatworkofredemptionintimethroughthesuccessiverevivalsandreformsofthechurch; andthrillatthegatheringupofallthingsonearthinheaven.6

There was a second level on which Edwards’s theological vision operated: the personal. How does this cosmic work of redemption, the “uniting of all things in Christ,” get applied to the individual’s life so that he or she becomes part of it? Part 2 focuses on “redemption applied”: God’s grace coming to individuals as a divine and supernatural light, immediately illuminating the mind, stirring the affections, and moving the will; the new sense of the heart and holy affections that lead to new Christian practices; the response of obedient faith that clings to God; the ethics of universal and disinterested benevolence to God and all his creatures. What makes Edwards’s theology of the Christian life so pastorally and spiritually valuable is not simply the positive theological statement he makes; as a “man like us,” he recognized like no one else, save John Calvin, the reality of self-deception and the necessity of continued renewal. His patient description of what the Christian life is and is not continues to serve as an important guide for contemporary believers as they seek to live for God’s glory. He emphasized the means of grace—the ministry of the Word, sacraments, and prayer—as sustaining food in the wilderness and as means of continued communion with Christ. And his clear-sighted determination to speak to his people in every stage of their Christian journey was part of his desire that everyone reach heaven safely.

To chart these themes well means that at times this book may be rough sledding for some. Having taught on Jonathan Edwards to seminarians, I’ve walked with them through his knotty passages and complex thoughts; but these require careful thought, precise statement, and sometimes rereading. For others, there will be the temptation to reify Edwards’s vision as the standard by which all other approaches must be judged. However, the value of this capacious view of God is not merely in the details, but also in the outlines of a large view of God’s grand design. Importantly, Edwards himself recognized this. As he wrote to the College of New Jersey trustees, to unpack his theology of the Christian life in special relationship to the work of redemption was simply to pay attention to “the grand design of all God’s designs, and the summum and ultimum of all the divine operations and degrees.” To join Edwards in this big vision of God’s glorious work is to strengthen our understanding of what God has called us to be and to do in this world. By God’s mercy, such effort is worth it.7

Iftherewaseverabookthathadalonggestationperiod, itisthisone. I’vebeenthinkingandwritingaboutJonathanEdwardssincemyearlydaysingraduateschool. Asaresult, IhaveanumberofpeopletowhomIamindebtedandtowhomImustexpressmygratitude. Firstandforemost, Sara, Sam, Liz, Drew, andBenLucasdeservemythanks. SarahasknownJonathanEdwardsaslongasIhave, sinceourdaysascollegestudents. Whilewehaveamostuncommonunion, likeEdwardsandhisSarah, IcannotimaginemylifewithoutmySaraorourchildren. Thanksaswelltomyparents, SteveandSusanLucas, andmyparents-in-law, RonandPhyllisYoung; gratefulforyourloveandsupport.

I’mthankfultoSteveNicholsandCrossway’sJustinTaylor, whoencouragedmetocontributethiswork. I’malsogratefultotheentireteamatCrossway, fromAlFisheron, whohavemadethissuchapleasure. ThanksespeciallytoThomNotaro, whosecarefuleditingmadethisamuchbetterbook. Thankstomyteachers, mentors, andfriendsinEdwardsstudies: DavidBeale, GeorgeClaghorn, SamLogan, PeterLillback, D. G. Hart, RichardBailey, GregWills, AmyPauw, GeraldMcDermott, MarkValeri, MichaelMcClymond, andDougSweeney. I’mgratefulaswellfortheJonathanEdwardsCenteratYaleUniversity; withouttheirfineonlinesearchengine, indexes, andtranscriptions (athttp://edwards.yale.edu), thisprojectwouldhavebeenimpossibletocomplete.

This project began while I was a faculty member at Covenant Theological Seminary. I express my gratitude to seminary president Bryan Chapell and the board of trustees for granting me a sabbatical in the spring of 2009 to work on this book. The administration and faculty were hugely supportive of my writing; for that I’m forever grateful. While I taught at Covenant, I worked my way through this material with two sets of students in spring 2005 and fall 2008; thank you, students, for your input, encouragement, and engagement. I also acknowledge the seminary’s permission to use “‘A Man Just Like Us’: Jonathan Edwards and Spiritual Formation for Ministerial Candidates,” Presbyterion 30, no. 1 (2004): 1–10, and “‘Divine Light, Holy Heat’: Jonathan Edwards, the Ministry of the Word, and Spiritual Formation,” Presbyterion 34 (2008): 1–12. Both appear in this book: the former as an appendix, the latter as the bulk of chapter 9.

AlargeportionofthisbookwascompletedaftermytransitiontoserveasseniorministerattheFirstPresbyterianChurch, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I’mgratefultomyfellowpastors, ministrystaff, andelders, whoencouragedmetofulfillmytwincallingaspastorandwriter, andwhoprovidedmeextratimetocompletethisbookontime. Itisagreatjoytoservewithyouastogetherweseethegraceofthegospeltransformus, aswellasourcity, forhisglory. Overthelastseveralweeksofwriting, mycongregationprayedforme, updatedbymytweetsandFacebookposts; thankyouall. I’msureyourecognizesomeofthethingsinthisbook!

Nearlytwentyyearsago, whenIwalkedontothecampusofWestminsterTheologicalSeminary, Imetaguy, myage, whowasworkinginthebookstore. Aswewenttoseminarstogetherandworkedinthebackroomofthestoretogether, wedreamedofbookswewouldwriteandmadeuptitlesforthem. InGod’sprovidence, we’vegottentodosomeofthatandevenhaveworkedtogetherononebook. We’vehadEdwardsincommontheentiretime, butevenmore, asolidfriendship. Thisbookanditsdedicationmarkthatfriendshipandthe “sweetunionandcommunion” we’veenjoyedinChrist.

1George M. Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 45.

2Perry Miller, Jonathan Edwards (1949; repr., Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1981); John Gerstner, The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, 3 vols. (Orlando, FL: Ligonier, 1991); Michael McClymond, Encounters with God (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998); Phillip Gura, Jonathan Edwards: America’s Evangelical (New York: Hill and Wang, 2007); Conrad Cherry, The Theology of Jonathan Edwards: A Reappraisal (1966; repr., Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990); Stephen Holmes, God of Grace and God of Glory: An Account of the Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000). For a comprehensive bibliographic overview of books, articles, essays, and dissertations by and about Jonathan Edwards, see M. X. Lesser, Reading Jonathan Edwards: An Annotated Bibliography in Three Parts, 1729–2005 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008).

3Peter J. Thuesen, “Jonathan Edwards as Great Mirror,” Scottish Journal of Theology 50 (1997): 39–60.

4Jonathan Edwards, “Christian Happiness,” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards (hereafter WJE), vol. 10, Sermons and Discourses, 1720–1723,ed. Wilson H. Kimnach (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992), 296–307; Edwards, “The Pleasantness of Religion” and “Profitable Hearers of the Word,” in WJE, vol. 14, Sermons and Discourses, 1723–1729, ed. Kenneth P. Minkema (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997), 97–115, 243–77; Edwards, “The True Christian’s Life a Journey Towards Heaven,” in WJE, vol. 17, Sermons and Discourses, 1730–1733, ed. Mark Valeri (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999), 427–46; Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” in WJE, vol. 19, Sermons and Discourses, 1734–1738, ed. M. X. Lesser (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001), 560–94; Edwards, “Renewing Our Covenant with God,” in WJE, vol. 22, Sermons and Discourses, 1739–1742, eds. Harry S. Stout and Nathan O. Hatch, with Kyle Farley (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 509–18.

5Jonathan Edwards, “Personal Narrative,” in WJE, vol. 16, Letters and Personal Writings, ed. George S. Claghorn (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998), 795.

6Jonathan Edwards to the trustees of the College of New Jersey, October 19, 1757, in WJE, 16:727; Harry S. Stout, “Jonathan Edwards’ Tri-World Vision,” in The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards: American Religion and the Evangelical Tradition, ed. D. G. Hart, Sean Michael Lucas, and Stephen J. Nichols (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 27–46.

7Jonathan Edwards to the trustees of the College of New Jersey, October 19, 1757, WJE, 16:728.

CHAPTER 1

God’s Grand Design

The Glory of God

It had been four years since the glow of revival began to fade in Northampton, Massachusetts. The “surprising work of God” had once again become the hum of the regular works of men and women in their day-to-day lives. As the pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton and the one responsible for the spiritual condition of these folks, Jonathan Edwards wrestled with how to lead his people to experience once again the spiritual renewal that came through heightened, holy affections.

During this period, Edwards tried to remind his people of their spiritual experiences by publishing accounts of the awakenings for the Anglo-American world. By 1737, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God had become a key piece of the religious propaganda of the period, serving as both a report of the religious revival and a model of how such renewal might happen in other locations. The following year he also published key sermons from the 1734–1735 awakening, expanding his sermon “Justification by Faith Alone,” as well as adding other successful revival sermons.1

Inaddition, Edwardsbegantoexperimentwiththesermonmodel. Theperiodfrom1734to1742sawhisgreatestcreativityasapreacher. Hepreachedseverallongseriesonsingletexts, leadinghiscongregationtoconsider2Corinthians13:5, 1Corinthians13, Matthew25:1–12, and1Peter1:8inmulti-unitsermonseries. Thegreatestofthesesermonicexperimentswashisthirty-unitsermononIsaiah51:8, preachedoversixmonthsin1739, whichhascometousas “AHistoryoftheWorkofRedemption.” HistorianJohnWilsonheldthatthesesermonsrepresented “anewanddifferentkindofproject” inwhichEdwards “transformed” thestructureofthesermoninordertoaccomplishhislargerpurpose.2

Edwards’slargerpurposewastoraisehiscongregation’svisionfromitsapparentlymundaneandpettydailyconcernstofindtheiraffectionsengagedbythecosmicpurposethatGodhasinhisworkofredemption. AndGod’sgranddesignintheworkofredemptionwasnothinglessthanhisownglory.

InallthisGoddesignedtoaccomplishthegloryoftheblessedTrinityinanexceedingdegree. Godhadadesignofglorifyinghimselffrometernity, toglorifyeachpersonintheGodhead. Theendmustbeconsideredasfirstintheorderofnatureandthenthemeans, andthereforewemustconceivethatGodhavingproposedthisendhadthen, asitwere, themeanstochoose.

Farfromfocusingonamerelyindividualsalvation, EdwardsrootedhisunderstandingoftheChristianlifeinthecosmicpurposeofGodhimself—namely, forGodtoglorifyhimselfandenjoyhimselfforever.3

FarfromwantinganabstracttheologicalconstructionwithlittlebearingonactualChristianliving, EdwardsrecognizedthatonlyasChristianshavetheirvisionfilledwithGod’sgrandpurposetoglorifyhimselfthroughhisworkofredemptionaretheiraffectionstransformed, theirwillsmoved, andtheirbeingsengagedinbenevolencetowardallcreation. Yetinorderforbelieverstrulytograspsuchavision, theyneedtoseethatGod’spurposetoglorifyhimselfthroughcreationandredemptionisanoutflowofhisowneternalbeing.

Trinity

Edwards’stheologyoftheChristianlifeisprofoundlyTrinitarian. AshesaidinhissermonsonGod’sworkofredemption, GodpurposedtoglorifyeachpersonoftheTrinityinhisgranddesign. Andyet, God’sdesignwasmuchmoreexpansivethanthis. EdwardssuggeststhatGod’spurposewastodrawhumanbeingsintoGod’sowngloriouslifethattheymightshareinandreflectbackdivineloveandglory.4

The Psychological Analogy

God’sownbeingasTrinityservedasakeybuildingblockinEdwards’stheologicaldevelopment, andEdwardsstakedouthispositionearlyinhisministry. Inanentryinhis “Miscellanies,” writtenwhenhewastwentyyearsold, EdwardsofferedadefenseoftheTrinitybasedonthedictatesof “nakedreason.” DrawingfromaversionofthepsychologicalanalogypioneeredbyAugustineinthefourthcentury, EdwardsassumedthatGodexistsandthatGodpositscertainideasabouthimself. Theseideasofhimselfareunmediatedandperfect; God’sself-perceptionservesasatypeofperfectmirrororimage. SuchanimagehasofnecessityalwaysexistedsinceGodhimselfhasalwaysexisted; justasGodhadnobeginning, thisself-reflectionhadnobeginningeither. Itis “eternallybegotten,” asitwere.5

Further, asGodcontemplatesthisperfectideaofhimself, Godnaturallydelightsinthisself-reflection. Asheseeshisperfections, hedelightsinthem; asthishasoccurredeternally, soGodhashadeternalandinfinitedelightinhimself. Butitismore; sincethisideaofhimselfisaperfectreflectionofGod, thisideareturnsGod’sowndelight. AcycleofdelightpassesbetweenGodandhisimage; indeed, infiniteloveand “aninfinitelysweetenergywecalldelight,” whichisapureact, movebetweenGodandhisidea. Andthus, Edwardshas “proved” theTrinity: “God, theideaofGod, anddelightinGod.”

In this analogy, God the Father contemplates the expressed, eternally begotten, image of himself, God the Son; the delight that eternally processes between them is God the Holy Spirit. Edwards would extend this analogy, but never abandon it. While there are undoubtedly problems with this understanding, it is foundational for his understanding of the being of God within God’s self (ad intra).6

Edwardswouldreplicatethisunderstandingandexpanditinamanuscriptthatheworkedonperiodicallythroughoutthe1730s. Therehewouldonceagainarguethat

whenwespeakofGod’shappiness, theaccountthatwearewonttogiveofitisthatGodisinfinitelyhappyintheenjoymentofhimself, inperfectlybeholdingandinfinitelyloving, andrejoicingin, hisownessenceandperfections. AndaccordinglyitmustbesupposedthatGodperpetuallyandeternallyhasamostperfectideaofhimself, asitwereanexactimageandrepresentationofhimself. . . . AndfromhencearisesamostpureandperfectenergyintheGodhead, whichisthedivinelove, complacenceandjoy.

Inotherwords, God’sownhappinessisattheverycenterofwhoGodis.7

The Social Analogy

ButEdwardswouldalsoutilizeanotheranalogyforunderstandingtheTrinity, thesocialanalogy. Atwelfth-centurytheologiannamedRichardSt. VictorapparentlypioneeredthisunderstandingintheWesternchurch, althoughithadarichhistoryintheEasternOrthodoxChurchgoingbacktotheCappadocianfathers. EdwardsdescribedtheTrinityasa “societyorfamilyofthethree.” AllthreeofthepersonsintheGodheadhaveunderstandingandwill, buteachexerciseshisunderstandingandwillinaspecificwayaspartofthedivineeconomy. Allthreesharehonor, buteachreceivesa “peculiarhonorinthesocietyorfamily.” Allthreeagreeintheworkofredemption, buteachhasaspecificroleinthatworkandreceiveshonorforthatparticularrole.8

Andso, fromalleternity, God’sowninnerbeingwasoneofutterdelightandloveamongthethree. AsGodenjoyedeternalhappinessinhimself, receivinggloryandhonorfromhimselfandreturninggloryandhonortohimself, hewasutterlysatisfiedinhimself. AsEdwardsnoted, “Itisevident, bybothScriptureandreason, thatGodisinfinitely, eternally, unchangeably, andindependentlygloriousandhappy: thathestandsinnoneedof, cannotbeprofitedby, orreceiveanythingfromthecreature.”9

AlthoughGodwasutterlysatisfiedwithinhisowninnerTrinitarianlife, thewonderisthathedecidedtocreatetheearthandpopulateitwithhumanbeings. AccordingtoEdwards, God’sultimatepurposeincreatingtheworldwas

to communicate of his own infinite fullness of God; or rather it was his last end, that there might be a glorious and abundant emanation of his infinite fullness of good ad extra, or without himself, and the disposition to communicate himself or diffuse his own fullness, which we must conceive of as being originally in God as a perfection of his nature, was what moved him to create the world.

Edwardsissayingsomethingincrediblyprofound: God’spurposeincreatingwastocommunicatethefullnessofTrinitariandelightoutsidehimself.10

However, thatisnotall. Godnotonlydesirestocommunicate (oremanate) theoverflowofhisgoodnessandglory, butalsodesiresforthatgoodnessandglorytoreturn (ortoberemanated) tohimself. ThisgoodnessandglorywillreturntoGodinthehappinessanddelightofhiscreation. Inanearly “Miscellanies” entry, Edwardsobservedthatthehappinessofthesaintswouldbe “astranscendentasthegloryofGod, seeingitisthesame.” AsthesaintsknowthehappinessthatcomesinresponsetothemanifestationofGod’sgloryandexcellency, theyreflectbacktoGodhisownglory. God’sfullnessiscommunicatedandreturnedinanever-endingcycleoflove.11

ThiswaspartofthegrandbenefitthatChristsecuredforhispeoplethroughhisredemption: thattheywouldbeincludedinthisTrinitarianworldofhappinessanddelight. “Christhasbroughtittopass,” Edwardsnoted, “thatthosethattheFatherhasgivenhimshouldbebroughtintothehouseholdofGod, thatheandhisFatherandtheyshouldbeasitwereonesociety, onefamily; thathispeopleshouldbeinasortadmittedintothatsocietyofthethreepersonsintheGodhead.” Here, then, istheconnectingpointbacktoEdwards’ssermonsontheworkofredemption: Christ’sredemptionaccomplishesGod’sgranddesignofdrawingGod’sredeemedcreationintotheTrinitarianlifethattheymightparticipateandcommunicateintheeternalhappinessofGod.12

Covenant

ThisgranddesignofthetriuneGod—thatofdrawingredeemedcreationintotheverylifeofheaven—isaccomplishedbymeansofcovenant. Edwardsnotedthistruthintheveryfirstsermoninhisseries “AHistoryoftheWorkofRedemption.” “ThereweremanythingsdoneinordertotheWorkofRedemptionbefore [thefall]. Somethingsweredonebeforetheworldwascreated, yeafromalleternity,” hepreached. “ThepersonsoftheTrinitywereasitwereconfederatedinadesignandacovenantofredemption, inwhichtheFatherappointedtheSonandtheSonhadundertakentheirwork, andallthingstobeaccomplishedintheirworkwerestipulatedandagreed.” Inordertoaccomplishhispurposeofglorifyinghimself, Godestablishedacovenant.13

InEdwards’sunderstanding, thecovenantalstructureofGod’sdealingwithhumanbeingsinvolvesthecovenantsofredemption, works, andgrace.

The Covenant of Redemption

Asthelanguagefrom “AHistoryoftheWorkofRedemption” demonstrates, Edwards’sunderstandingofthecovenantofredemptionhadtwoelements: itwaspretemporalanditwasintra-Trinitarian. EdwardsheldthatChristcovenantedwiththeothertwomembersoftheGodheadbeforethefoundationoftheworldtopurchasethesalvationoftheelect,andinsodoingtoglorifyGodhimself.

The Covenant of Works

Edwardsalsodevelopedathoroughunderstandingofaprelapsarian (i.e., prefall) covenantofworks. GodmadeacovenantwithAdam, whostoodasarepresentativeofhisposterity. Edwardswrote,

Itmustappeartoeveryimpartialperson, thatMoses’ accountdoes, withsufficientevidence, leadallmankind, towhomthisaccountiscommunicated, tounderstandthatGod, inconstitution [covenant] withAdam, dealtwithhimasapublicperson, andastheheadofthehumanspecies, andhadrespecttohisposterityasincludedinhim.

Adamstoodasaforefatherandrepresentativeforallhumanity.14

Inestablishingthiscovenant, GodrequiredperfectobediencefromAdam. IfAdamhadsatisfiedthedivinedemand, hewouldhavereceivedreward: “IfAdamhadstoodandperseveredinobedience, hewouldhavebeenmadehappybymerebountyandgoodness; forGodwasnotobligedtorewardAdamforhisperfectobedienceanyotherwisethanbycovenant, forAdambystandingwouldnothavemeritedhappiness.” Adamwouldnothavereceivedrewardsolelyformerit; rather, Godwouldgrant “reward” becausehechosetomakecovenantwithAdamandtorequirecertainconditions. Inotherwords, thegroundofrewardwasGod’sownfreepromise; theconditionwasobedience.15

Evenmore, ifAdamhadobeyed, hisposteritywouldhavereceivedtheblessingofeternallife. “IfAdamhadstoodandgotthevictory, allhisposteritywouldhavehadarighttotherewardwithoutanothertrial,” Edwardsheld. “ThefirstAdamwastohaveperformedtheconditionoflife; hisposteritywerenotproperlytoperformanycondition.” AllthatAdam’sposteritywouldhaveneededtodotoenjoyrewardwastobeborn. Adamwouldhavebeeninvitedtoeatfromthetreeoflife “asasealofhisreward.” Deathwouldhavebeen “putoutofallpossibility” forAdamandhisposterity. “Henowenjoyedlife, butifhehadstoodhewouldhavebeencalledtothetreeoflifetoeatofthat, andhislifeshouldnotonlyhavebeenascertainedtohimforever, buthewouldhaveadvancedtoahigherdegreeoflife” anda “muchgreaterhappiness.”16

AlthoughAdamdidnotobey, thecovenantofworkswasnotabrogated. Instead, itremainsasaneternalandimmutablecovenantwithitsdemandsagainsthumankindinfullforce. Edwardssuggestedthat “ifwespeakofthecovenantGodhasmadewithmanstatingtheconditionofeternallife, Godnevermadebutonewithman, towit, thecovenantofworks; whichneveryetwasabrogatedbutisacovenant [that] standsinfullforcetoalleternitywithoutthefailingofonetittle.”17InEdwards’sestimation, theonecovenantthatGodhasmadewithhumankindisnotoneofgrace, butoneofworks. God’srequirementforhumankindthroughouthistoryisthesameasforAdaminthegarden, namely, perfectobedience.

ThisrequirementforhumankindwasrestatedintheTenCommandments. EdwardsequivocatedabitonwhethertheTenCommandmentsservedasarestatementofthecovenantofworksorasaruleoflifeforbelievers. Ontheonehand, “thecovenantofworkswashere [intheTenCommandments] exhibitedtobeasaschoolmastertoleadtoChrist, notonlyfortheuseofthatnationintheagesoftheOldTestament, butfortheuseofGod’schurchthroughoutallagestotheendoftheworld.” God’sdemandforperfectobedienceisrestatedinthemorallaw; thethreateningoffuturejudgmentforthefailureofobedienceisbroughttobear; andthelongingforaRedeemerwhocouldsatisfyGod’swrathandfulfillthelaw’sdemandiscreated.18

Ontheotherhand, “ifweregardthislawnowgivenatMountSinainotasacovenantofworksbutasaruleoflife, soitismadeuse [of] bytheRedeemerfromthattimetotheendoftheworldasadirectorytohispeople, toshowthemthewayinwhichtheymustwalk, astheywouldgotoheaven.” TheTenCommandmentsthenserveasaruleoflifetoguidetheregenerateinthelifethatpleasesGod. ThelawdrivesmenandwomentoJesus; andJesusdrivesmenandwomenbacktothelaw.19

The Covenant of Grace

HowevertheTenCommandmentsareunderstood, thefactisthatthecontinuingdemandofthecovenantofworksremainsamajorproblemforhumankind. BecauseofAdam’sfall, hisposteritywasplungedintoaconditionofsinandmisery. Originalrighteousnesswaslost; corruptioncametocharacterizeeverythought, word, anddeed. Perfectandperpetualobediencebecameimpossible. Andso, GodinhismercysentJesusasthenewmediatorofthecovenant, thecovenantofgrace. ButforEdwards, thecovenantofgraceisnotdifferentfromthecovenantofworks; rather, heholdsthetwotogether: “Thecovenantofgraceisnotanothercovenantmadewithmanupontheabrogationof [thecovenantofworks], butacovenantmadewithChristtofulfill [thecovenantofworks]. AndforthisendcameChristintotheworld, tofulfillthelaw, orcovenantofworks, forallthatreceivehim.” Therearenotreallytwocovenants, butone, andthecovenantofworksbecomesthecovenantofgraceforthosewhotrustinJesus.20

Jesuscameasthegreatmediator, thetrueAdam, tofulfillallthatthefirstAdamfailedtodoandtosatisfyallthatthecovenantofworksdemanded. AsEdwardspreachedin “AHistoryoftheWorkofRedemption” sermons:

EverycommandthatChristobeyedmaybereducedtothatgreatandeverlastinglawofGodthatiscontainedinthecovenantofworks, thateternalruleofrighteousnessthatGodhadestablishedbetweenhimselfandmankind. Christcameintotheworldtofulfillandanswerthecovenantofworks, thatisthecovenantthatistostandforeverasaruleofjudgment, andthatisthecovenantthatwehadbroken, andthatwasthecovenantthatmustbefulfilled.

Inthecovenantofgrace, Jesusfulfillsthecovenantofworksandsetsbelieversfreefromitsdemandsandcondemnation.21

SothecovenantofgraceisanabsolutepromisetothosewhobelieveinJesus.22By “absolutepromise,” Edwardsmeantthataperson’sabilitytomeetthecovenantconditionsisgivenbyGod; asaresult, Godistheoneultimatelywhomadeandsatisfiesthecovenant. GodmadethecovenantwithJesusandalltheelectinhimfromthefoundationoftheworld; hesentJesustosatisfythedemandsofthecovenantofworksthroughhisownobedienceanddeath; andhesuppliesfaithandevangelicalobediencetoalltheelectthattheymighttrustinhim. Frombeginningtotheend, thecovenantofgracereliesonGod’sgrace.

ThereisnothingwantingbutourwillingandheartyreceptionofChrist, yetweshalleternallyperishyet, ifGodisnotgracioustous, anddon’tmakeapplicationofChrist’sbenefitstooursouls. Wearedependentonfreegrace, evenforabilitytolayholdonChristalreadyofferedsoentirelyisthegospeldispensationofmeregrace. Thatis, weshallbesavedfreelyandfornothingifwewillbutacceptofChrist, butwearenotabletodothatofourselves, butitisthefreegiftofGod.

Asaresult, God’scovenantofgraceisabsolute; Godwillfullyaccomplishthesalvationoftheelect.23

Thecovenantofgraceisalsobinding, bothforGodandforhispeople. EdwardssuggestedthatGod “condescendedtobecomeboundtousbycovenant.” Infact, Godrelinquishes “hisabsolutefreedomandshouldceasetobemerelysovereigninhisdispensationstowardbelieverswhenoncetheyhavebelievedinChrist, andshould, fortheirmoreabundantconsolation, becomebound.” Asaresult, humanbeingscan “challengesalvationofthisSovereign; theycandemanditofChristasadebt.” AndGodwillsupplyhisgracebecausehe “boundhimselfbyhisoath” todoso.24

Humanbeingsareboundtofulfillthetermsofthecovenant: faithandevangelicalobedience. EdwardsbelievedthathumanscomplywiththebindingtermsofthecovenantofgracewhentheybelieveinJesus. Heclaimedthat

thereisanactofchoiceorelectionintrueandsavingfaith, wherebythesoulchoosesChristforitsSavior, andacceptsandembraceshimassuch. . . . Faithisaduty, whichGodrequiresofit. WearecommandedtobelieveandunbeliefisasinforbiddenofGod. Faithisadutyrequiredinthefirsttableofthelawandinthefirstcommandmentofit.

InordertogainanybenefitfromGod’scovenant, “thereisacertaincondition [that] mustbeperformedbyus. WemustbelieveintheLordJesusChrist, andacceptofhimasofferedinthegospelforaSavior.” Andyet, Edwardsalsorecognizedthatpeopleinthemselvescannotbelieve; Christpurchasedthisgiftforalltheelect: “Hehaspurchased, thattheyshallhavefaithgiventhem; wherebytheyshallbe [actively] unitedtoChrist, andsohavea [pleadable] titletohisbenefits.”25

EdwardsfavoredmaritalimagerywhentalkingabouthowGodandhumansaremutuallyboundtoeachotherinthecovenantofgrace. Bothhusbandandwifepledgetofulfillcertainresponsibilitiesinmarriage. Inthesameway, Godandhumansbothfulfillcertainresponsibilitiesinordertobeincovenantwithoneanother. “Lovedesiresthattherightbemutual,” Edwardsobserved.

Theloverdesires, notonlytohavearighttothebeloved, butthatthebelovedshouldalsohavearighttohim. Provisionisalsomadeforthis, inthiswisemethodofsalvation, thatGodshouldhaveaspecialproprietyintheredeemed, thattheyshouldbeinadistinguishingmannerhis, thattheyshouldbehispeculiarpeople.

Hence, inthecovenant, thebelieverhastherighttoclaimtheblessingsofGod, assummedupinthedivinepromise, “IwillbeyourGod.” Notonlydowehavea “claim” uponGod; healsohasaclaimuponhispeoplethattheyshouldbehis “peculiarpeople.” Godderivesenjoymentfromhispeopleashebasksinthelightoftheirdelight, love, andpraise.26

TrinitarianPurpose

WhatwecannotandmustnotmissisthatthewholefocusofGod’scovenantpromisetogainapeopleforhimselfthroughJesusChristishisownglory. WhenallhumanhistoryiscompletedandallofGod’scovenantalpurposesareaccomplishedinthisworkofredemption, thetriuneGodwillbeperfectlyglorified: “AndnowshallChristthegreatRedeemerbemostperfectlyglorified, andGodtheFathershallbeglorifiedinhim, andtheHolyGhostshall [be] mostfullyglorifiedintheperfectionofhisworkintheheartsofallthechurch.” ThegranddesignofGodwillbecompletedattheendoftheagewhenallofhisdecreesareaccomplished, hiscovenantisfulfilled, andhisglory, wisdom, andpowerareonfulldisplayinthesaintsofGod.27

Farfrom developing adrytheologicalschema, EdwardsbelievedthatpointinghispeopletotheTrinity’scovenantalpurposewouldinflametheirheartsanddrawouttheirpraise. Afterall, intracingthehistoryofGod’sredemptivework, “weseewhereitissues: asitbeganinGod, soitendsinGod. Godistheinfiniteoceanintowhichitemptiesitself.” AndbecausetheentiretyofhumanhistorystartsandendswiththetriuneGod, thepeopleofGodshouldorienttheirentirebeingstothiseschatologicalanddoxologicalpurpose.28

1Jonathan Edwards, “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God,” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards (hereafter WJE), vol. 4, The Great Awakening, ed. C. C. Goen (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1972); Frank Lambert, Inventing the “Great Awakening” (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001); Jonathan Edwards, “Justification by Faith Alone,” in WJE, vol. 19, Sermons and Discourses, 1734–1738, ed. M. X. Lesser (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001).

2Jonathan Edwards, “Charity and Its Fruits,” in WJE, vol. 8, Ethical Writings, ed. Paul Ramsey (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989); Ava Chamberlain, “Brides of Christ and Signs of Grace: Edwards’s Sermon Series on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins,” in Jonathan Edwards’s Writings: Text, Context, Interpretation, ed. Stephen J. Stein (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996), 3–18; John F. Wilson, “Editor’s Introduction,” in WJE, vol. 9, A History of the Work of Redemption, ed. John F. Wilson (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989), 2, 10.

3Jonathan Edwards, “A History of the Work of Redemption,” in WJE, 9:125; John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2002), 6.

4The key book on Edwards’s Trinitarian theology is Amy Plantinga Pauw, The Supreme Harmony of All: The Trinitarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002); see also, much more densely, William J. Danaher Jr., The Trinitarian Ethics of Jonathan Edwards (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004).

5Jonathan Edwards, “The ‘Miscellanies,’ no. 94,” in WJE, vol. 13, The “Miscellanies,” a–500, ed. Thomas A. Schafer (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1994), 256–63. The following two paragraphs offer a summary of Edwards’s argument.

6To name just two problems: (1) This divine contemplation occurs within the mind of God; how do you establish real existence of the Son (idea) and Spirit (delight) outside God’s contemplation of them? (2) While the Son (idea) seems to reflect the personality of God, how does the Spirit (delight) have the two key aspects of personality—­understanding and will—in this model? Importantly, Edwards himself recognized these problems and sought to address them in “Discourse on the Trinity,” in WJE, vol. 21, Writings on the Trinity, Grace, and Faith