The Essential Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to the Life and Teaching of America's Greatest Theologian

"The Essential Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to the Life and Teaching of America's Greatest Theologian" by Owen Strachan and Douglas Allen Sweeney, is a fantastic read!This masterful presentation creates the compelling desire to study many more Bible verses, such as the ones below that speak to God's meticulous sovereignty, which was a very strong focus of Edwards:1. John 6:44...No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.2. Proverbs 16:4...The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.3. Proverbs 16:9...A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.4. Proverbs 19:21...There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.5. Proverbs 20:24...Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?6. Proverbs 21:1...The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.7. Job 42:2...I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.8. Isaiah 14:24...The Lord of host hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:9. Isaiah 14:27...For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?10. Isaiah 46:9-10...Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:11. Isaiah 48:3...I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.12. Jeremiah 1:5...Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.13. Psalms 139:16...Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.14. John 3:3...Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.15. John 3:5...Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.16. John 3:27...John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.17. John 6:39...And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.18. John 6:45...It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.19. John 6:64-65...But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.20. John 8:47...He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.21. John 10:14...I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.22. John 10:16...And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.23. John 10:26-29...But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.24. John 13:18...I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.25. John 14:6...Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.26. John 15:16...Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.27. John 15:19...If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.28. John 17:2-3...As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.And this is eternal life, that they might know thee only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.29. John 17:6...I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.30. John 17:9-12...I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name; those that thou hast given me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.31. John 17:16...They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.32. Acts 13:48...And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.33. Romans 8:28-30...And we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.34. 1 Corinthians 12:3...Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.35. Galatians 1:15-16...But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:36. Ephesians 1:4-5...According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,37. Ephesians 1:11...In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:38. Ephesians 2:8-9...For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast.39. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14...But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.40. 2 Timothy 1:9....Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,41. 1 Peter 1:20-21...Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.42. 1 Peter 2:2...Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.43. 1 Peter 2:1-5...Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.44. Revelation 17:8...The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.45. Job 37:16...Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?46. Psalm 147:5...Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.47. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7...I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.48. Proverbs 16:33...The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.Mark Smith, B.A., M.S.M., author of God of our flat Earth

Jonathan Edwards was more than just his powerful sermon, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God." His life reflected his deep relationship with God, and he tried to convey the joy and reverence of that to his congregations and his readers.

You get to know Jonathan Edwards, and Jesus Christ in a closer way all at the same time. A very well written book.

Owen Strachan serves as an associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the director for the Center on Public Theology at MBTS. Douglas A. Sweeney serves as the chair of church history and history of Christian thought department and director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Recently, they published an important introduction to North America’s most famous theologian, Jonathan Edwards.The Essential Jonathan Edwards originated out of a burden to introduce a new generation of thinkers to Jonathan Edwards. New Calvinism and the Young, Restless, and Reformed movements were born from a contemporary revival in Calvinism and the doctrines of grace. One of the main leaders of this new movement was John Piper, former pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church and founder of desiringGod.org. John Piper captured the minds of a new generation through his teaching on Christian Hedonism and the idea of being satisfied in God. While many Christians were struck by this seemingly novel approach to communion with God, John Piper self-confessedly was drawing from the thoughts and ideas of Jonathan Edwards. As second-generation thinkers in this revival of Jonathan Edwards, Strachan and Sweeney seek to guide young thinkers through the lofty peaks of the works of Jonathan Edwards.Like preparing for a great expedition, one must approach the works of Edwards with a guide and resources to achieve a fruitful result. These two theologians help readers access Edwards’s works through categorizing his life and thoughts into five main sections. These entry-level introductions will give the reader a working knowledge of the landscape of Edwards’s works for personal study. After spending part 1 revisiting the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards, the authors divide his works into four themes: Beauty, the Good Life, True Christianity, and Heaven and Hell. Within these sub-divisions, the authors work meticulously to provide on-ramps into the works of Edwards. Many times, they introduce an important theme within Edwards’s theology, link the theme to a quotation from his works, and provide many relevant opportunities to explore these ideas and concepts within the primary sources. When studied with a set of Edwards’s full works, the reader can comfortably survey and enter into the depths of Edwards’s theology at many points. Others will enjoy reading this survey of Edwards to appreciate this titanic figure in Evangelicalism and Western Christianity.It is important to know that this work is a compilation of a previous set of works “The Essential Edwards Collection.” This new form houses the five previous works from this collection along with new edits and insights. Owners of the previous works will be disappointed if they are unaware of the relationship between this volume and the previous collection.This book provides readers with an accessible introduction to the works of Jonathan Edwards. Every pastor, theologian, and theologically-minded Christian should consider purchasing a copy of this work to learn about America’s most famous theologian.

Some have called Jonathan Edwards the greatest American theologian, and I think it would be very hard to dispute that. Not only was he a brilliant thinker, but Edwards was also a prolific speaker and writer. So Owen Strachan and Douglas Sweeney have taken on a monumental challenge in attempting to give us an accurate glimpse of this important man in their book “The Essential Jonathan Edwards.”The first part of the book is a short biography of Edwards’ life. The biography is told alternating between the biography of Strachan and Sweeney and the words Edwards recounted in his sermons and memoirs.The remainder of the book attempts to give the reader a sense of Edwards’ thoughts on topics such as the beauty of God’s creation, the joy of experiencing God’s pleasure, the essential nature of the Christian life, and the after-life. These topics are covered in the same way as the biographical portion—alternating between the actual words of Jonathan Edwards and the summation of Strachan and Sweeney.I found this book a bit frustrating. I would have preferred a more traditional biography of this great man or a collection of Edwards’ sermons verbatim. But the alternation between Edwards’ words and Strachan and Sweeney’s thoughts didn’t flow very well for me.My recommendation would be to either read George Marsden’s full or shortened biographies of Edwards, or simply read a collection of Edwards’ sermons.

THIS BOOK WAS JUST OVER £4 ON 18/0419 TODAY 29/0419 IT HAS TREBLED IN PRICE TO £12 THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING FOR CHRISTIAN MATERIAL WHICH SHOULD NOT BE ALL ABOUT MONEY GOOD BOOK OUT OF REACH BY WAY OF PRICE