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The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline of Piper's Book)

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #1)

1.       Introduction: Glorifying God by knowing Him.

a.       Knowledge of God the Father and Jesus Christ is the most important thing in life (Phil. 1:20-21, 23; 3:8).

b.       Knowing God doesn’t happen accidentally and without effort, not even for Christians; we must pursue the knowledge of God by striving with all our might to pursue wisdom and understanding (Prov. 2:3-5).

c.       “Therefore, the main reason God has given us minds is that we might seek out and find all the reasons that exist for treasuring him in all things and above all things.”

                                                               i.      Thinking (especially by reading, p. 19) is an indispensable means of knowing God, loving God, and serving others.

                                                             ii.      Loving God with all your mind (Matt. 22:37) means that “our thinking is wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express the heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things.” (p.19). Our minds should constantly be laboring to see and understand God’s sovereign glory in all things, in order to love that glory, praise Him for it, and live in light of it.

2.       Chapter 1: Piper’s Pilgrimage  

a.       Piper was a student and/or taught in Christian academia from the ages of 6 to 34. He then moved to the pastorate, thinking it a better use of his gifts and the needs of God’s people, though he affirms there is a great need for Christian educators as well.

                                                               i.      The more he saw of God in his studies, the more he savored Him.

                                                             ii.      Thinking about God and studying the depths of His Word may cause confusion and consternation, until you come through to the other side of your labor with the fulfilling fruit of understanding (Eccles. 1:18).

                                                           iii.      Rigorous study, formal or informal, rips you into shape mentally, and should lead you to worship God for all that you now see Him as from your study.

b.       Piper had been explaining God to others in school, but after studying God’s sovereignty in Romans 9, he now wanted to proclaim God to others from the pulpit (p. 27).

                                                               i.      Note the progression, it is thinking that leads to praising God, and wanting to proclaim Him to others. Piper’s careful study and teaching led him to preaching.

                                                             ii.      Piper urges us to think for the purpose of praising God for His excellencies, and to think in reliance upon God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, not ourselves (27).

c.       There is a tension in Christians as we wrestle between how much we should be thinking, how much we should be loving/feeling, and how much we should be doing.

                                                               i.       Mark Noll states, “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.”

                                                             ii.      There is a strong streak of anti-intellectualism in Christian and evangelical circles, despite the fact that evangelicals have done godly things (29).

                                                           iii.      Despite warnings about certain kinds of empty knowledge (1 Tim. 6:20; 1 Cor. 3:19; Col. 2:8; Rom. 1:28; Lk. 10:21; Eph. 4:18) the Bible makes clear that knowing the truth is essential, and righteous thinking is essential to knowing the truth.

d.       “Thinking is essential on the path to understanding. But understanding is a gift of God” (Prov. 2:1-6; 2 Tim. 2:7).

                                                               i.      The above quote is the main theme of the book; it is only when we seek understanding that God grants understanding.

                                                             ii.      The spirit of the church today is often that praying for ten minutes will yield more understanding than studying books for ten hours. Warfield says the proper response is to study for ten hours in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind and bless the labors of your study (31).

                                                           iii.      Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) helped Piper understand the connection between thinking, loving, and doing more than anyone else, and Edwards rooted the connection in the Trinitarian nature of God, to which we will turn in chapter 2.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1.       How does thinking relate to understanding God? Do you strive to think about God in order to understand Him?

2.       What is the connection between thinking about God, loving/praising God, and obeying God?   

3.       How does your understanding of God impact you in your everyday activities (as a student, at work, as a child, sibling, spouse, parent, etc.)?

4.       What are some healthy habits you can develop in order to cultivate more thoughts about God?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #2)

3.       Chapter 2: Deep Help From a Dead Friend.

a.       John Piper says no one has helped him more in connecting thinking and feeling than Jonathan Edwards, the 18th century Puritan.

b.      Edwards had a very God centered worldview and is regarded as the brightest American Christian thinker ever. But no one after him in the United States continued his God-centered thinking at the level that he did, and that was bad for the Christian faith.

c.       Man, being made in the image of God, thinks like God, and God thinks in accordance with His triune nature, which Edwards understood in terms of God as: pure being, as thinking, and as doing/loving.

                                                              i.      God the Father was the direct, most base, most primal subsistence in the Godhead. He is “being”.

                                                             ii.      The Son is God subsisting in the idea (thought) of Himself (hence He is “The Word/Logos”; Heb. 1:3 Christ is exact imprint of the divine nature).

                                                           iii.      The Holy Spirit is God subsisting in act[ion], the divine essence that is expressed in God’s infinite love and delight in Himself (hence the Spirit is sent by Father and Son, Jn. 15:26 and Gal. 4:6) expressed between the Father and Son.

                                                           iv.      The three persons of the Trinity are co-eternal and equally divine (35).

d.      Since God glorifies Himself through the perfect ideal of Himself (the Son, Heb. 1:3) and through the perfect expression of love flowing to Himself (the Holy Spirit, flowing mutually between the Father and the Son, (Lk. 3:22 Jn. 17; Lk. 24:49), he likewise communicates Himself to man and receives glory from man through reason/thinking/understanding leading to man loving and rejoicing from the heart in the goodness and glory of God and taking action to serve God and others.

                                                              i.      In God, being, thinking, and feeling go together, and these three are One.

                                                             ii.      So they must be held together and in perfect harmony in man, God’s image bearer, as well.   

                                                           iii.      So then, as Christians, our thinking is in service to our seeing Christ for all that He is, so that we can savor Christ for all that He is, and lead others to see and savor our marvelous God as well.   

4.       Chapter 3: Reading as Thinking

a.       Focus is on thinking in pursuit of knowing and loving God by means of reading and understanding what is written/being read, particularly the reading of the Bible.

                                                               i.      If we know the Bible, if we think through it as we study it, we can interpret all of life in light of it, and conform all our life to God’s Word.

                                                             ii.      Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book says it is more important to read carefully and think over with great effort what you are reading than to read many books without putting much thought into it. Read Scripture carefully, not quickly.

b.       Piper wants us to work hard with our minds to discern the meaning of a book (45).

                                                               i.      Simple and familiar sentences like “I went to the store to buy some milk” take little effort to understand the meaning.

                                                             ii.      But to understand, “The three-in-oneness of the Trinity is a perfect expression of beauty when defined as harmonized complexity” is a much more difficult statement to decipher. It requires thinking through the meaning of each and every word, seeing how they relate to and interpret one another, and analyzing the larger context (perhaps of the entire chapter or even book).

                                                           iii.      Do unto “authors” as you would have them do unto you. Try to understand the meaning of the author’s words, and when it comes to the Bible, remember that the author is ultimately God – how important it is for us to think carefully in order to understand His Word!

c.       Learning to read well, or to put it another way, to understand what you are reading, takes effort. You must train your brain to gain understanding.

                                                               i.      This is only going to be done by reading often and thinking carefully about what you are reading. It is like learning to drive a car, play the piano, or throw a ball.

                                                             ii.      It is difficult at first, often frustrating and unpleasant, but once you begin to get the hang of things, it is very rewarding. How much more rewarding, and crucial is it, to understand what God has said to us!

                                                           iii.      We must be intentional about thinking when reading the Bible and theological books. There are difficult, yet richly rewarding concepts in them. We must do mental pushups to understand them, and when we do our minds – and souls – will be all the better for it.

d.       Asking questions while reading helps the mind engage the text and come to understanding. (48-50).

                                                               i.      When it comes to Scripture, the questions we ask should be those of submission to, and not defiance or doubting, of God’s Word and His goodness.

                                                             ii.      There should be a humble questioning in pursuit of truth, like Christ (Lk. 2:46).

                                                           iii.      Understanding what the word “therefore” is there for in the Bible is essential to understanding the logical connections and implications of Scripture.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS (Questions 1-3 on chapter 2; the rest on chapter 3):

5.       Is Edwards’ understanding of the Trinity biblical? If so, what Scripture demonstrates it to be so? If not, what Scripture would indicate that it is not biblical? (See WCF Chapter 2 for help)

6.       Assuming Edwards Trinitarian views are correct in the main, what is the significance of the Christian receiving the Holy Spirit? (Answer: That we are brought into/caught up into God’s own love for Himself, and that it is the Spirit of love Himself who bonds man together with the bond that God has in Himself; it is also clear that we are now enabled by the Holy Spirit to express the love of God to others, for the Spirit Himself is the expression of the mutual love within the Godhead).

7.       Does a husband really love his wife if he doesn’t take the time to know her in a deep and intimate way? How does this relate to thinking’s role in the act of loving God (and man)?

8.       List the questions Piper says we can ask of almost any text (found on pp. 48-49).

9.       Consider the “Therefore” section on page 52. Explain the usage of the word “so” or “therefore” (depending on Bible version being used) as Piper understands it in Matthew 7.

10.   Describe the relationship between logic and loving as Piper discusses it on p. 54.

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #3)

5.       Chapter 4: Mental Adultery is No Escape

a.      Hebraic vs. Hellenistic thinking

                                                              i.      Hellenistic thinking follows Aristotelian logic; Hebraic thinking is more relational/experiential, and the latter is the culture and context of Scripture.

                                                             ii.      Does this mean that Christians should not be logical? No, see Matt. 16:1-4. Jesus sanctions thinking in a linear, logical fashion with premises and a conclusion (61).

                                                           iii.      So a David Hume or others who might deny the law of causality, and others who may reject the law of non-contradiction, are simply denying the very possibility of thinking and drawing conclusions. If this were the case, we could not understand and trust in the truth and promises of the Bible.

b.      The Spiritually Adulterous Pharisees.

                                                              i.      They asked Christ for a sign in Matt. 16, but Christ responds that asking for such is adultery, when it should be plain to them that Christ indeed is very God Himself, the groom coming for His spiritual bride; yet the Pharisees rejected Him for the praise of men (Matt. 6:5), money (Lk. 16:14), and self (Lk. 18:9).

                                                             ii.      The Pharisees are asking for a sign from Christ out of unbelief, and they have been given plenty of evidence already that Christ is the promised Messiah (62).

                                                           iii.      The Pharisees’ (and all men apart from being born again) “evil hearts disorder their rational powers and make them morally incapable of reasoning rightly about Jesus” (63). See Eph. 4:18.

c.       The Role of the Mind in Conversion

                                                              i.      Paul frequently “reasoned” with the people in the pursuit of seeing them converted to Christ (See Acts chapters 17-20, 24).

                                                             ii.      Paul also made clear in Eph. 3:4 that thinking about what you are reading (particularly when reading the Bible) opens up the path to understanding who God is what He has done for you, and what He requires of you (64).

                                                           iii.      Paul makes clear that we need both man’s effort (thinking) and God’s effort (illuminating) when it comes to gaining an understanding of Scripture (2 Tim. 2:7).

                                                           iv.      In essence, you must grasp with your mind who God is, who you are as a sinner, and what Christ has done for you to save you from your sin, in order to be saved. And in order to come to such an understanding, and to grow in our understanding of our salvation as Christians, we must make effort to think!   

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS (Questions ):

11.   On page 63, Piper states that “at the bottom of human irrationality…and at the bottom of spiritual ignorance…is” what?

 

12.   In light of this chapter and the teaching of Romans 1-2, would you say that all men know that God exists? Defend your answer with Scripture and sound reasoning. 

 

13.   Piper, drawing from 2 Tim. 2:7, points out on P. 65 that “The willingness of God to give us understanding is the ground of our thinking, not the substitute for it.” Why is this true?

 

14.   Piper on p. 66 refers to the parable of the four soils in Matt. 13 and says that “The difference between the soil that is lifeless and the soil that bears fruit is understanding.” What are some of the implications of this truth, especially in regards to the importance of thinking and knowing?


 

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #4)

6.       Chapter 5: Rational Gospel, Spiritual Light

a.       We need to know what the nature of saving faith is.

                                                               i.      Faith alone justifies, that is, it is through trusting in the person and work of Christ that one receives Christ’s righteousness as his own, making such a person acceptable before God the Father.

                                                             ii.      Faith is a gift of God received when one is born again (Eph. 2:1-10), and it shows our total dependency upon God for salvation. Salvation is something God does, and we do not help Him.

                                                           iii.      Faith is a receiving grace, it receives Christ and turns to Him for righteousness, and does not look to oneself for righteousness and virtue.

                                                           iv.      Faith receives Christ for all that He is, as Lord, Savior, Creator, Supreme Treasure. He is the Supreme Treasure because He is infinitely glorious.  

                                                             v.      The surpassing worth of knowing Christ should be our driving passion and reorient our entire lives, as it did for Paul (Phil. 3:8). (See page 72)

b.       We need to understand what role our minds play in our conversion.

                                                               i.      The devil believes in the resurrection, and other raw facts about Christ (James 2:19), but he obviously does not have saving faith/saving knowledge of Christ.

                                                             ii.      “Hearing and understanding the facts of the gospel story are not identical with seeing Christ’s divine glory in the gospel.” (73-4). We must get the facts of the gospel right, but we must also grasp the glory of God in and through the gospel, in order to truly be converted. In other words, we must see the incredible goodness and significance of the gospel, marvel in it, and live by it (2 Cor. 4:4-6).

c.       Six observations from 2 Cor. 4:4-6

                                                               i.      We must see the glory of Christ in the gospel

                                                             ii.      The glory of Christ is really in the gospel, to be understood and loved.

                                                           iii.      The facts of the gospel contain the glory of Christ. Knowing His sinless life, sin-bearing death, subsequent resurrection, ascension, and session, all to the glory of the Father (see Jn. 17) are the glorious facts to be believed and to be studied, because studying them is like studying the most beautiful painting or diamond.

                                                           iv.      Decisive to our seeing the glory of Christ and possessing saving faith in the facts of the gospel is God’s shining light in our spiritually darkened hearts (4:6). Just the same, the facts of the gospel must be proclaimed in order for God to shine light on them and on our hearts to receive them. Now our thinking and affections are regenerate, bent on serving Christ rather than sin.

                                                             v.      Saving faith is reasonable. Christ gave signs to back up His claims of being the Messiah. The God-Man is the most rational thing, because it is the only way one can be saved, for only God could redeem man.

                                                           vi.      This is the only path to spiritual certainty. 1 Jn. 5:13 makes clear that through the gospel’s truth and unsurpassed glory we are compelled to believe and acquire spiritual certainty of our salvation in Christ. It is the greatest story ever told, and as C.S. Lewis put it, the “true myth.”

7.       Chapter 6: Love for God – Treasuring God with All Your Mind

a.       Loving God with all your mind is part of the greatest commandment (Mt. 22:36-39)

                                                              i.      Loving God with all our mind means “our thinking should be wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express the heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things.” (p. 84)

                                                             ii.      Thinking awakens loving, but it is not to be equated with loving. The devil can think about God and knows Him quite well, but surely does not love God.

                                                           iii.      However, thinking with the heart attitude of “I love God so much that I want to think about Him more and study His Word so that I can know Him better” certainly is an expression of love.

1.       So then, thinking can be loving, but it might not be, depending on the motive of the heart. Loving God with our hearts and minds go together.

2.       You cannot truly love God with the heart unless you are loving Him with your mind, and you cannot love Him with your mind unless you are thinking as an act of devotion to God from the heart.

                                                           iv.      The soul includes the heart and mind (85) because the body can perish but the soul lives on. The mind has to do with our thinking capacity, the heart the seat of our emotions and our will/volition to make decisions. 

                                                             v.      Loving God is not the same as loving others; rather, loving others is an overflow of our affection for God. Mark 7:6-7 indicates we can offer false praise to God.

b.      God is the fountain of all our love and joy

                                                              i.      Consider Ps. 43:4 on p. 89 where God is regarded as the “gladness of my rejoicing.” If you think of food without salt, pepper, and nice spices to make it taste good, that is all of life without God. Enjoying anything without it pointing to and finding its source in delighting in God is like eating a steak without seasoning, or pizza without toppings.

                                                             ii.      Thinking feeds the fire of love, and that fire leads to more thinking about God. Fire cannot exist without kindling, and so love needs the firewood of right thinking/understanding of God to produce flames of true affection for God.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

15.    Why is it that saving faith is a gift of God and not a work of man?

16.    If faith is a gift, how do we get it? Apart from or through exercising our mind?

17.    When we receive Christ, what are we receiving Him as? What value does Christ have for the true Christian, and why does He have that value?

18.    On page 85, list the summary definitions of heart, soul, mind, and strength.

19.     Suppose someone says they love the God of the Bible, and they show great enthusiasm that indicates they do in fact love what they believe to be the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ. However, it turns out they think God is an invisible Santa Clause that loves everyone, would never punish sinners, and sent His Son Jesus as merely an example, not to pay for sin on the cross. Is this emotion from the heart a genuine love for the Christian God? Why or why not?

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #5)

8.       Chapter 7: Jesus Meets the Relativists

a.       Relativists claim that there is no objective truth outside of ourselves. Truth is relative to each person’s own preferences. There is no eternal God, no eternal law.

b.       What we perceive and what we think is just our opinion. They cannot be extrapolated to universal truths that bind the conscience and will of all men for all time.

c.       If God is eternal and unchangeable truth, then relativism cannot be true. Therefore, relativism is an atheistic evil that must be rejected by all men, or sin will increase.

d.       Truth for relativists is nothing more than “what conforms to your subjective standards.”

e.       On pp. 100-101 we see the chief priests and elders (Mt. 21:23-27) using their minds with great skill & precision, not to promote the truth but to deny it to save their own necks! Jesus does not have time for such dishonesty and refuses to converse with them further.

9.       Chapter 8: The Immorality of Relativism

a.       Piper notes that relativists do not pursue truth/God with their thinking. They pursue their own desires because they have denied any higher authority than themselves.

b.       Relativism commits treason by speaking atheistically, saying there is no god.

c.       Looking at Relativism, we think of Romans 1 and the suppression of truth by sinners. This suppression is done in a devious and often self-deceptive manner.

d.       Without universal, absolute standards, Relativists could not even articulate their denial of these universal, absolute standards (107, 3rd full paragraph). You need absolute truth to assert anything!

e.       On p. 109 Piper shows how, when cultures embrace relativism, language is no longer a vehicle to carry truth, but a means to selfishly obscure, deny, and manipulate truth.

f.        The above has happened in our own Presbyterian denominations. The WCF has been “affirmed” by ministers, but as a nice, useful symbol rather than truth. Paul in 2 Cor. 4:2 refuses to partake in such shenanigans but to plainly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

g.        Rampant relativism in a society leads to chaos; in desperation a dictator may step in.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

20.   Explain why the statement, “There is no absolute truth,” must be a false statement.

21.   If the above statement is false, what positive statement have we proven?

22.   Are there relative truths? Give an example of one (see pp. 96-97).

23.   List the four things one says if he is a relativist (pp.97-98).

24.   Given the underlined definition in the outline, who is the real god/standard for the relativist?

25.   (FOR CH. 8): List the 7 harmful and immoral things about relativism. Be able to explain them. 

26.   Explain the law of non-contradiction and law of cause and effect (p. 107).

27.   Explain how being irrational is immoral (see top of p. 108).

28.   On p. 111 flattery is considered a precursor to greed. Should churches and Christian organizations be careful to not flatter wealthy members or donors for the sake of money?

29.   Explain how relativism feigns humility in its claims. How are they actually prideful (pp. 112-13)?

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #6)

10.   Chapter 9: Unhelpful Anti-Intellectual Impulses In Our History

a.       When the church refuses to pursue an intellectual and rigorous pursuit of truth, it loses its ability to defend the truth, even its own truth claims.

b.       Subjectivism says that thinking is useful as a means of justifying subjective desires, whereas pragmatism says that thinking is useful as a means of making things work. Neither pursue truth for the sake of God’s glory and goodness (120).

c.       Charles Finney, Billy Sunday, and D.L. Moody were representatives of anti-intellectual thought in the late 19th and early 20th century, and yet Finney started out as a Presbyterian and both Sunday and Moody were embraced by our own Princeton Theological Seminary on their campus in the early 20th century!

d.       It is through reading the Bible (and other books) that we know God (123).

e.       Logic alone cannot convict one of sin and convert the sinner, but it is indispensable to conviction of sin and conversion to Christ. Without it, the gospel is meaningless.

f.        The Holy Spirit is the “electricity” that runs through the wire of “logic” not only to convert the sinner but also to illuminate Scripture and make him wise in all things.

g.       While formal education is good, the right use of the mind is what is most important. All Christians should be thinking, thoughtful Christians, regardless of whether they hold any academic degrees (128).

11.   Chapter 10: You Have Hidden These Things from the Wise and Understanding

a.       Piper examines Lk. 10:21 here and 1 Cor. 1:20 in chapter 11 to show that these passages do not teach an anti-intellectualism.

b.       Lk. 10:21 teaches us that Christ was rejoicing that something was hidden from the wise and revealed to little children.

                                                               i.      What was being hidden from some & revealed to others was the gospel of the kingdom preached by Christ & the 70 disciples with him (p. 133; see Lk. 10:9, 11)

                                                             ii.      The prophets and kings of the OT longed to see the coming of the kingdom in the person of Christ (Lk. 10:23-24) and yet they did not see it while the disciples and others who heard Christ’s message did.

                                                           iii.      More specifically, it is the elect who are the little children who see the kingdom of God by truly knowing the Father & Son as Lord and Savior. These become part of God’s kingdom as they are converted and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

                                                           iv.      Even those cities that rejected Christ’s message and His apostles had the kingdom of God come near to them, which increases their condemnation (Lk. 10:11-12).

c.       (p. 135) “The recognition of Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God is the work of God the Father in the minds and hearts of the ‘little children’” (Mt. 16:15-17).

                                                               i.      Jn. 6:44 shows that the Father must open the eyes of sinners to draw them to the Son so that they will see Christ rightly, and as they do see Christ rightly, they see that the Son is revealing the Father to them, for He is the exact imprint of the nature of the Father (Heb. 1:3; see also 2 Cor. 4:6).

                                                             ii.      (Bottom of 137) “It is profoundly important to see that recognizing Jesus for who he really is (the image of God the Father) involves a simultaneous recognition of who the Father really is (the one revealed in Jesus Christ).”

                                                           iii.      In our ongoing fellowship with Christ, we understand the Father better. Christ says if you have seen Him you have seen the Father, so the moment your eyes are opened to who Christ really is, you are seeing the glory of the Father in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).

                                                           iv.      We “see” Christ through reading of Him in Scripture. Hence the need to think.

d.       Matt. 23:34 mentions “wise men” who are Christians who proclaim the gospel and yet will be among those who are killed by those who reject the gospel of Christ.

                                                               i.      So Jesus is not condemning wisdom and advocating for empty-headedness.

                                                             ii.      In Eph. 4:14 pastors and teachers equip the saints so that they will not be “children” any longer in their thinking, tossed about by every false doctrine.

                                                           iii.      Matt. 18:4 shows that childlike humility, seen by a child’s total dependence upon his parents to take care of him, is the key to seeing the kingdom of heaven and being great in it. We must not lean unto our own understanding, but seek God’s wisdom (Prov. 3:1-8 and similar passages).

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

30.   While thinking can lead to stifled emotions and study can lead to pride (1 Cor. 8:1), does this mean that we should not pursue right thinking by means of careful study? Explain.

31.   What does Piper say the solution is to “barren intellectualism” near the bottom of p. 123?

32.   On page 126-27 why does Piper liken a logical gospel presentation to a wire which electricity runs through? What do you think the electricity most likely refers to?

33.   (From Cha. 10) Explain the already/not yet nature of the kingdom of God (see pp.133-134). Given this chapter is about seeing the Father and Son, relate your answer to 1 Cor. 13:9-13 and how we currently see “through a glass darkly” but later will see “face to face”.

34.   John 1:1-3, 14 speaks of Christ as the Word made flesh. Why is Christ called the “Word” of God?

 


 

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #7)

12.   Chapter 11: In The Wisdom of God, the World Did Not Know God through Wisdom

a.       1 Cor. 1:20-24 shows us that man’s own musings would not produce the wisdom of God.

                                                               i.      God’s wisdom had to be revealed to man – and it was through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Christ is the revelation of the very “wisdom of God”.

                                                             ii.      Not many wise were chosen for salvation, showing that salvation is not a matter of one’s IQ but rather of childlike/humbling faith and repentance.

b.       The revelation of Christ through the cross is rooted in eternity, not only for God’s glory but also for our glory if we are in Christ and have the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:7-12).

                                                               i.      And our glory is that we have all the treasures of true wisdom and knowledge, which are hidden in Christ (Col. 2:1-3). Our glory is knowing God so that we can be like Him (Jn. 17).

                                                             ii.      The cross represents the ungodliness and helplessness of man, the undeserved grace of God, and the unimpeachable justice of God (bottom of page 146).

                                                           iii.      The cross shows that God is all sufficient, all sovereign, & all-powerful in salvation. You cannot receive such power and wisdom without utter humility.

                                                           iv.      Our glory is that we are children of God, and our boast is in Him (1 Cor. 1:30-31).

c.       Returning to the question of the “little children” from the previous chapter, we see that they are the ones who know and feel themselves helpless and unworthy of any good from God (bottom of 149).

                                                               i.      The wisdom of man/the world is in lockstep with the Relativists discussed earlier, for it makes man the measure of all things and jettisons God.

                                                             ii.      This worldly wisdom puffs man up and makes him proud of himself, giving himself glory rather than realizing his nakedness and need for Christ.

                                                           iii.      God rejoices in revealing and granting salvation to those humble “little children” because it magnifies His own glory, rather than denying it and giving it to men who are wise in their own eyes.      

d.       In sum, Jesus is not praising the uneducated and condemning the educated.

                                                               i.      There can be humble Ph.D’s and arrogant people who have no formal education.

                                                             ii.      Rather, Jesus is praising those who receive Him as their only hope and comfort in life and death, and He condemns those who reject Him by trusting in their own wisdom and goodness.

13.   Chapter 12: The Knowledge that Loves

a.       Looking at 1 Cor. 8, we see that having knowledge should not be flaunted and make us big-headed, but rather big-hearted.

                                                               i.      Our knowledge of God and the freedoms that we have in Him should not be lorded over others with lesser knowledge and sensitive consciences. It could destroy them (8:11).

                                                             ii.      Rather, humbled believers who know God’s truth will want to build up others.

b.       True knowledge of God produces a love for God and genuine love for others. It produces humility and care, not pride and selfishness.

                                                               i.      So to truly know God and Christ, one must be humbled and transformed by that knowledge, else he does not truly know Christ and His message.

                                                             ii.      The God-given heart-love that flows from knowing Christ, rather than a prideful, loveless, and empty “knowledge” of doctrine is what we should pursue, and the fact that one cannot obtain it but must be given it should humble us (1 Cor. 4:7).  

                                                           iii.      Christ practiced what He preached; His “practice” was truth just like His words. Thus He calls us to abide in His words, to live out what he teaches (Jn. 8:31-36), for this is really to grasp Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6).

c.       A righteous pursuit of righteousness is not trusting in our own righteousness, but to humbly receive the righteousness of Christ as our own, and then out of gratitude and zeal for good works we pursue personal righteousness and holiness by the Spirit of God.    

 

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

35.   Note the positive and negative conceptions of wisdom for Paul on page 145.

36.    The cross is the wisdom of God, but the world finds it to be utter foolishness. Why is this, and what do they think is foolish about the cross?

37.   Why is the cross not foolishness but is in fact true wisdom? How is it good and not evil?

38.   List the 3 things Piper says the cross stands for on the bottom of page 146.

39.   Explain Piper’s defense of God’s self-glorification to those who would accuse God of being a megalomaniac (see page 153).

40.   What light does chapter 12 shed upon the meaning of “abiding” in Christ’s “word” and that knowing the truth shall set you “free” in John 8:31-36?

41.   How should we engage with Christians who have weaker theology than we/our church has?

42.   What do the following verses tell us about the glory of God in nature (Ps. 19:1; 104:31-32; Rom. 1:19-21; Col. 1:16-17)?

 


 

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Outline #8)

14.   Chapter 13: All Scholarship is for the Love of God and Man

a.       Christ created all things, hence all things reveal Him, and Christ reveals the Father.

                                                               i.      If we are in Christ, we are a new creation, and all that we do in and with this created world can and should be done to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31) & for the sake of Christ.

                                                             ii.      We cannot pursue chemistry, or Grammar, or singing, or sports, or anything for God’s glory if we do not see how all these things are rooted in the creative power of God; we only see the relationship of all things to God’s glory by serious thinking and studying, not only the special revelation of Scripture, but the general revelation of nature as well.

b.       There is a fundamental antithesis between the believer and unbeliever.

                                                               i.      So, Christians in academia should not long for or ordinarily expect appreciation from their secular/unbelieving peers, nor from secular universities. The cross is foolishness to them, and the idea that God has made all creation for Himself is repugnant to them.

                                                             ii.      “God has revealed Himself in His Word and in His world… because He means to be loved fully” and glorified fully (175). Therefore, “all thinking, all learning, all education, and all research is for the sake of knowing God, loving God, and showing God” (p. 175; see Rom. 11:36).

15.   Conclusion: A Final Plea

a.       Piper’s plea to those who don’t love to think.

                                                               i.      Don’t change your nature, but value thinking and those who do think carefully. It’s only because of much thoughtful labor that we have Bibles in our own language, translated from the Hebrew and Greek.

                                                             ii.      Respect those who labor in intellectual pursuits for your sake, especially our pastors and teachers (1 Thess. 5:12-13).

                                                           iii.      Pray for Christian pastors, scholars, and teachers, that they would remain faithful to God’s Word, and for the conversion of others in academia.

                                                           iv.      Don’t let your lack of careful thinking lead you to embrace poor, lazy, unbiblical thoughts. Rather, embrace the truth with your mind to the best of your ability.

                                                             v.      Read the Bible with care and joy, and rely on your pastors and deep thinkers to guide you.

b.       Piper’s plea to those who love to think.

                                                               i.      Your love and God-given ability for thinking carefully and critically is much needed in the church and in the world today. Serve with your thinking.

                                                             ii.      Use your thinking for proclaiming and magnifying the glory of Christ. Make it central to all your thoughts, projects, and endeavors.

                                                           iii.      Be humble in your thinking and acquired knowledge. Confess that what you have is only that which you undeservedly received from God Himself. Magnify Christ and His work, not your wittiness.

                                                           iv.      Enjoy the Word of God above all else, for in it all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden because God’s Word contains the God-Man Jesus Christ. Do not pursue the knowledge of God like an emotionless robot, but with a beating heart that is ready to burst for joy at the sight of beholding Him.

                                                             v.      Use your thinking to love God and love others, not to stroke your own ego or to gain a sinful advantage over others. Serve God, and others, with your mind.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

43.   According to Mark Noll on p. 173, in what places did the Protestant Reformation have its greatest impact? In light of all that we have read, why do you think this was so?

44.   Christians sometimes think that doing the “Lord’s work” or “full time Christian ministry” is only fulfilled by pastors and missionaries. In light of chapter 13, is this true? Defend your answer.

45.   Thinking is a gift of God, and using the gift of thinking is necessary to coming to a point of understanding God, or anything. Review 2 Tim. 2:7 and Prov. 2:3-6. In light of these verses and this whole book, how important is thinking to the life of the Christian?

 


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