John Piper is the senior
pastor of Bethlehem Baptist
Church in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Here he expertly
and passionately brings
together belief and
practice. The Supremacy of
God in Preaching is divided
into two major sections. The
first section is
entitled "Why God Should be
Supreme in Preaching."
Within this section, Piper
has written four chapters.
These chapters present what
he considers to be, "The
Goal of Preaching," "The
Ground of Preaching," "The
Gift of Preaching," and
the "Gravity and Gladness of
Preaching."
Within this first section,
Piper shows God-centered
preaching in a Trinitarian
way. The first three
chapters focus on the role
of God, Jesus, and the Holy
Spirit in preaching. The
first chapter exhorts the
preacher to exhort the
Scriptures for the glory of
God alone. Through the
submission of the expositor
to the faithful handling of
the Word, Piper exhorts that
all should be done to bring
glory to God. Piper is quick
to point out in the next
chapter, however, that
the "most fundamental
problem of preaching is how
a preacher can proclaim hope
to sinners in view of God's
unimpeachable
righteousness." The solution
to this problem is Jesus
Christ. The Cross is God's
solution to the sin of man
and problem of revealing His
glory to him. Piper goes on
to demonstrate that the
empowerment of the Holy
Spirit is the only way in
which the preacher can
accomplish his goals. The
fourth chapter presents the
bittersweet aspect of
presenting God's Word from
the pulpit. In the chapter
called the "Gravity and
Gladness of Preaching,"
Piper acknowledges that the
preacher should take great
joy in his pulpit ministry.
However, if he preaches
without earnestness for his
people, he has failed. Piper
looks to great expositors of
the past and concludes that
their success was not
dependent on their style of
delivery, but rather on
their "blood-earnestness."
The second major section of
the book focuses on
observing a practical
outworking of the principles
that Piper set forth in the
first section of the book.
In "How to Make God Supreme
in Preaching: Guidance from
the Ministry of Jonathan
Edwards," Piper examines the
pulpit ministry of the
famous American Theologian
Jonathan Edwards. From
Edward's messages, Piper
develops three
principles: "Keep God
Central," "Submit to Sweet
Sovereignty," and "Make God
Supreme." Here, Piper
examines in brief detail
three areas of Jonathan
Edwards: his life, his
theology, and his preaching.
In all of these things,
Piper shows where he drew
the basis for this book. For
it was Edwards himself who
was the model for the advice
and exhortation that Piper
provides here. This section
allows the reader to see the
first four chapters in the
life of a real person. It
allows the reader to go
deeper than the theoretical
and see the impact of
implementing the principles
in "real life."
One can present nothing but
high praise for the work he
has seen. In his pursuit to
demonstrate the Supremacy of
God in Preaching, Piper has
not only displayed a
Biblical precedent for such
a concept, but also
illustrates it through the
examination of the ministry
of a man that God used
mightily. By examining
passages out of Romans,
Isaiah, and Matthew, Piper
clearly builds his case that
preaching should seek to
give glory to the Father by
focusing on the Son and
being empowered by the
Spirit.
One of the most helpful
sections in demonstrating
his points through the
ministry of Jonathan Edwards
comes in the final chapter.
Piper does not make the
mistake of just exhorting
one to adhere to a
theological concept.
Instead, he gives the reader
ten specific ways in which
to make God supreme in
preaching. Such advice
as "saturating" sermons with
Scripture, being broken and
tenderhearted, and being
intense allow the reader to
make particular changes to
their approach to preaching
that will enable one to make
God supreme in their
preaching.
Piper's writing style is
also worth mentioning.
Unlike other some books and
articles by various well-
educated men who have
difficulty relating their
knowledge in writing, Piper
does not suffer from this
problem. His writing style
is very fluid and almost
conversational in nature.
Yet, he still leaves the
reader feeling as if he has
read something that has some
theological depth to it.
Piper is able to communicate
the message of his book and
at the same time convey his
passion for the subject. One
of the best examples of this
comes in the retelling of
his call to ministry in the
first chapter.
The most obvious choice for
the readership of this book
would be pastors. The writer
of this paper would
recommend that anyone who
preaches read this book. It
will help to focus the
speaker's priorities in
preparation and presentation
of God's Word. As noted
above, Piper also gives
examples of how this is
worked out in the everyday
life and weekly preaching of
the pastor through Jonathan
Edwards. In presenting the
material this way, Piper
allows the pastor to see the
impact of carrying out this
mindset in one's ministry.
I believe Piper has
succeeded in his goal of
showing God to be supreme in
preaching. He has done so
both in prescription from
the Scriptures and in
description from the
ministry of Jonathan
Edwards. Through the
Biblical soundness and
passion of his writing,
Piper presents an
irrefutable case for the
supremacy of God in
preaching.
-
John Botkin
Katherine Parr
