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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