Latest / Reformed Thinking / True Saints, When Absent from the Body, Are Present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) by Jonathan Edwards

Transcript

True Saints, When Absent from the Body, Are Present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) by Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to Reformed Thinking. I'm I'm really glad you could
0:02
join us today. Yeah, it's it is great to be
0:05
back in the studio. We are here to act as your
0:07
guides through the landscape of historical theology.
0:11
And if you are a regular listener, you know where we
0:14
stand. We hold to the Protestant
0:16
Reformed tradition. We keep the Westminster
0:18
Confession right within arm's reach, and while we want to know
0:22
how the giants of the faith answered the questions that keep
0:25
us up at night. That's right, because we aren't
0:27
looking at history just for the sake of trivia.
0:30
We want to know what these doctrines mean for our souls.
0:32
You know, for how we live and and really how we face the end.
0:36
Yeah, And Speaking of the end, we are tackling a subject today
0:40
that, well, everyone thinks about it, but very few people
0:43
actually discuss it with any real theological precision.
0:46
We are doing a deep dive into a sermon by Jonathan Edwards.
0:51
The theologian of the American colonies.
0:53
Spot on. The very same The sermon is
0:55
titled True Saints, when absent from the body, are present with
0:58
the Lord. But before we get into the heavy
1:01
lifting, we really have to set the scene here because this
1:03
isn't some dry lecture Edwards gave to a classroom of students.
1:07
The context is, well, it's heartbreakingly personal.
1:10
It really is. This was not written in an ivory
1:13
tower. This sermon was preached in
1:15
October of 1747 and it was a funeral sermon for David
1:20
Brainard. Right.
1:21
And for those of you who might not know the name, Brainard was
1:23
a missionary to the Native Americans.
1:25
He was a young man of incredible zeal.
1:27
But he was much more than just a colleague to Edwards, wasn't he?
1:31
He was like a son to him. Brainard had contracted
1:34
tuberculosis, what they called consumption, back in those days.
1:37
It's a terrible wasting disease. He actually came to Edwards home
1:40
in Northampton to be nursed in his final months and the tragedy
1:44
is just it's layered because he was actually engaged to Edwards
1:47
daughter Jerusha. So you have this young man, 29
1:50
years old, dying in the Edwards family home.
1:53
Jerusha, who was only 17 at the time, is the one nursing him and
1:57
and she actually contracts the disease from him and dies four
1:59
months later. So when Edward stands up to
2:02
preach this, he is looking at the coffin of a man he loved, a
2:05
man who was supposed to be his son-in-law.
2:07
Yes, and he knows his daughter is likely dying of the exact
2:11
same thing. So when Edwards talks about the
2:13
soul being present with the Lord, this is not an academic
2:16
exercise. He is comforting his own family,
2:18
his daughter, and his congregation regarding where
2:22
David Brainerd actually is at that very moment.
2:24
He's reaching for a solid rock to stand on while the waves are
2:27
just crashing over his house. The text he chooses is second. 9
2:31
Corinthians 5.8 We are confident, I say, and willing
2:34
rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
2:36
Lord. And the mission of this deep
2:38
dive is twofold. First, we need to understand
2:41
Edward's rigorous theological argument for immediate entrance
2:44
into glory. He is countering the idea of
2:47
soul sleep or some intermediate waiting room like purgatory.
2:50
He wants to nail down what happens the second the heart
2:52
stops. Right.
2:54
And secondly. Secondly, we want to see how
2:56
this high theology applied to the life of a specific man.
2:59
David Brainerd Edwards doesn't leave the doctrine up in the
3:03
clouds. He connects it to Brainerd's
3:05
character and his ministry. He shows us what a man looks
3:09
like when he actually believes this stuff.
3:11
OK, let's unpack this. Part 1 is the exegesis.
3:15
Edwards starts with the Apostle Paul, and he notes something
3:17
really interesting about Paul psychology.
3:20
Paul was bold. He was.
3:23
He was facing death, beatings, shipwrecks, and yet he was
3:27
completely steady. Edwards points out the Paul's
3:29
enemies actually thought he was mad.
3:31
They said he was beside himself because they couldn't understand
3:34
why anyone would willingly walk into that kind of suffering.
3:37
From a worldly perspective, Paul's life looks like an
3:40
absolute disaster. It does seem completely
3:42
irrational if you only look at the material facts.
3:45
Totally. But Edward says Paul's defense
3:46
was a calculation. He wasn't crazy, he just had
3:49
better information. He knew that the future state
3:51
was so much better than the present state that the suffering
3:54
was light by comparison. It was a simple cost benefit
3:57
analysis, and that hinges on this phrase present with the
4:01
Lord. Edwards breaks down the Greek
4:04
definition here. What does it actually mean to be
4:06
present? Because we use that word
4:08
casually today. It's a domestic term in the
4:10
Greek. It signifies to dwell with or to
4:13
make a home with. It's like living in the same
4:16
city or the same country. Edwards is very specific here,
4:19
he says. It's not just a spiritual sense
4:21
of connection. It's a relocation.
4:24
You are moving house. And the timing is crucial.
4:27
I think this is where a lot of people get confused.
4:28
Right. There's a view that perhaps the
4:30
soul sleeps until the resurrection in the body at the
4:32
end of time, that you close your eyes in death and you stay
4:36
unconscious for thousands of years until the trumpet sounds,
4:40
or that there's a long process of purification.
4:43
Edwards shuts that down fast. He does.
4:46
He looks at the text absent from the body and says the transition
4:49
is immediate. It doesn't happen after the
4:51
resurrection. It happens upon the departure
4:53
from the body. As soon as you are absent here,
4:56
you are present there. There's no gap in consciousness.
4:59
He actually says Paul preferred this.
5:01
Yes, that's the value proposition.
5:04
Paul says it is more pleasing to him to die.
5:07
Now think about that. We naturally love life.
5:09
We love our bodies, even when they creak and groan.
5:13
For Paul to say he's willing rather to be absent implies that
5:17
what he gains is vastly superior to what he loses.
5:20
It's interesting because Edwards connects this belief directly to
5:23
fortitude. He says this belief gave Paul
5:26
constant light. It's a beautiful phrase,
5:28
constant light when your outward man is perishing, which Brainerd
5:32
certainly was. Coughing up blood.
5:34
Weak, frail. The inward man is renewed
5:37
because you know the destination is secure.
5:39
It starts being a tragedy and starts being a departure for
5:42
home. So let's talk about that
5:43
destination. Where exactly do souls go?
5:45
Because sometimes we talk about heaven as if it's just a state
5:47
of mind or being with God and some abstract everywhere at once
5:51
kind of sense. Edwards will have none of that.
5:54
He's very insistent on the locality of heaven, and his
5:57
argument is rooted in the incarnation.
5:59
How so? Walk us through his logic.
6:01
Well, Christ has a body, a literal, physical, glorified
6:05
human body. It rose from the dead.
6:08
It ascended. Now a body by definition, has to
6:11
be in a place. It cannot be everywhere at once
6:13
in the way the divine nature is. If Jesus has a hand, that hand
6:17
must be located somewhere specific in the cosmos.
6:20
So if Christ's body is in a specific location.
6:24
Then the souls of the Saints must go to that specific
6:26
location to be with him. Edwards calls this the 3rd
6:29
heaven. OK, explain the hierarchy of
6:31
heavens. He mentions this is an older way
6:33
of speaking about the universe. It's a classic scriptural way of
6:36
viewing the cosmos. The 1st heaven is the aerial
6:39
heaven, the sky, the atmosphere where the birds fly in the
6:42
clouds form. OK, got it.
6:44
The second heaven is the starry heaven, what we would call outer
6:46
space, the solar system, the constellations.
6:49
And the 3rd heaven. The heaven of heavens, the
6:51
highest place. This is beyond the visible
6:53
creation. This is where the throne of God
6:55
is localized. This is where the angels dwell.
6:57
And Edwards argues this is exactly where the souls of the
7:00
Saints go. He spent some time refuting what
7:02
he calls the Hades of the Happy. What is that?
7:05
This is an idea that has popped up throughout church history.
7:08
It's the notion that Saints don't go straight to the highest
7:11
heaven, but to a distinct place, a sort of pleasant waiting area
7:15
often called Hades or paradise. It's distinct from the actual
7:19
presence of God's throne. And they wait there for
7:22
Judgement Day, So. It's like a very nice lobby.
7:24
Exactly. A lobby where you are
7:27
comfortable but you aren't in the penthouse suite yet.
7:30
And Edwards rejects this completely.
7:32
Entirely, he argues that the 3rd heaven is the Father's house.
7:37
It is the city to which the Saints belong.
7:39
He cites Philippians 3.20 that our citizenship is in heaven.
7:43
If the king is in the 3rd heaven and we are the King's children,
7:46
why would we be kept in a waiting room?
7:48
Why would the Father keep his children away from his immediate
7:51
presence? He brings some serious biblical
7:53
evidence to the table here. I loved the examples he used to
7:56
block this up the. Evidence is robust.
7:58
He starts with Enoch and Elijah. The two men in the Old Testament
8:01
who didn't die, but were taken up.
8:03
Right. They were taken up bodily.
8:06
Elijah went up in a whirlwind into heaven.
8:08
If they are there bodily, they are in a place.
8:11
Then he connects this to the Transfiguration.
8:13
Remember who appeared with Jesus on the mount?
8:15
Moses and Elijah. Yes, Elijah who was taken up
8:18
bodily, and Moses who died and was buried, but they appeared
8:22
together in glory, speaking with Christ.
8:25
Edward sees this as proof that the soul of Moses and the body
8:28
of Elijah are in the same glorious state, in the same
8:31
place. Moses isn't in a lower holding
8:33
tank while Elijah is upstairs. That is a great connection.
8:36
He also mentioned Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
8:39
Acts Chapter 7. As Stephen is being stoned, he
8:42
looks up and sees the heavens opened.
8:44
He sees the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
8:46
And what does he pray? Lord Jesus receive my spirit.
8:50
He isn't asking Jesus to receive his spirit into a holding tank.
8:53
He is asking to be received there into that vision he is
8:57
seeing. And you can't forget the thief
8:58
on the cross. Today you will be with me in
9:01
paradise. And Edwards connects that to 2nd
9:03
Corinthians 12 where Paul talks about being caught up to the 3rd
9:07
heaven and then and the next breath calls it paradise.
9:10
So paradise isn't a separate waiting room.
9:12
Paradise is the 3rd heaven. It is the immediate presence of
9:15
Christ. He also uses a family argument
9:18
which I found very touching, especially given the funeral
9:20
context. Yes, from Ephesians 3, the whole
9:23
family in heaven and earth. If part of the family is on
9:26
earth and the other part is in heaven, it implies they are
9:28
together in the family home, the Jerusalem which is above.
9:32
So we have established the where it's the 3rd heaven, a real
9:35
place where Christ is physically located.
9:38
Now let's talk about the what? What is the nature of being with
9:41
Christ? Edwards talks about sight and
9:43
conformity. This is the beatific vision, the
9:46
transition from faith to sight. Edwards uses a beautiful analogy
9:50
here involving light. He compares our current state to
9:53
the dawning of the morning. Yes, on Earth we see a
9:56
reflection. We see through a glass darkly.
9:59
It's like the sun is just starting to come up.
10:01
There's light, but it's mixed with shadows and darkness.
10:04
We see outlines, but not details.
10:07
But in heaven, Edward says, it is Meridian light.
10:10
High Noon. High noon.
10:12
The sun is fully risen. No clouds, no shadows, total
10:16
clarity. And what are they seeing?
10:18
I mean, is it just a bright light that blinds them?
10:20
No, it is the specific content of the glory.
10:23
They see the divine nature, God's wisdom, holiness, grace,
10:27
but they also see the glorified human nature of Christ.
10:30
And Edwards adds something very reformed here.
10:32
They see the work of redemption. What do?
10:34
You mean by that? They see the mechanics of grace.
10:37
They see the breadth, length, depth and height of God's love
10:40
on earth. We struggle to understand why
10:42
God does what He does. We struggle to grasp the extent
10:45
of the atonement there. They see the whole plan of
10:48
salvation laid out clearly. They understand the genius of
10:50
the cross in a way we can't yet. And this site does something to
10:54
the soul. It's not just watching a movie
10:55
screen. No.
10:56
The visual leads to transformation.
10:59
This is the principle of conformity.
11:01
You become like what you behold. Edwards argues that just as
11:05
darkness cannot exist in the full blaze of the sun, sin
11:08
cannot remain in the soul when it sees Christ fully.
11:11
So the vision itself is the purifying agent.
11:14
Precisely, it is impossible for spiritual deformity to remain in
11:18
that light. The soul becomes, as Edwards
11:20
puts it, a little sun. It receives the light and shines
11:23
it back without a single spot. That leads to his point about
11:26
the vital union he says on earth, our union with Christ is
11:29
real, like a vine in a branch, but there are clogs.
11:33
Clogs, hindrances, alienation. We have indwelling sin.
11:37
We have carnal objects distracting us, we have moods
11:39
and fatigue. The channel of life is open, but
11:42
the flow is restricted. I think every believer feels
11:44
that that sense of I want to be close to God, but I'm just tired
11:47
or I'm distracted or I'm fighting my own.
11:49
Absolutely. And Edward says in heaven, the
11:52
separating wall is broken down, the clogs are removed.
11:56
The soul lives entirely by Christ's life.
11:58
It is filled with his Spirit. There's no remainder of
12:01
spiritual death. It is a perfect, unimpeded flow
12:05
of life from the head to the member.
12:07
That is a relief just to think about.
12:10
It really is. Now Edwards moves to Part 4,
12:12
which is about intimacy and converse, and he addresses a
12:16
fear that some people might have.
12:18
He calls it awful distance. It's a valid concern if we are
12:22
talking about the infinite majesty of the King of Kings.
12:25
The Creator of the Universe 1 might think that seeing Him
12:27
would be terrifying, that we would want to hide, or that we
12:30
would be kept at a distance because of His greatness.
12:33
Like the Israelites at Mount Sinai trembling and saying don't
12:36
let God speak to us or we will die.
12:37
Right. But Edwards argues the opposite.
12:40
He says the glory of Christ includes His infinite grace and
12:43
gentleness. He appears not just as the line
12:46
of the tribe of Judah, but as the Lamb in the midst of the
12:48
throne. The lamb implies
12:50
approachability. It implies sacrifice, meekness
12:52
and love, Edwards says. The sight of His Majesty will
12:55
not terrorize the Saints. It will heighten their pleasure.
12:58
It's the combination of infinite Highness and infinite
13:01
condescension. There is a specific exegetical
13:05
point Edwards makes here that I found absolutely fascinating.
13:07
It's about Mary Magdalene in the garden after the resurrection.
13:11
Oh this is brilliant. John 20.17 Mary sees Jesus, she
13:16
realizes it's him, and she goes to embrace him.
13:19
And Jesus says, touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my
13:22
Father. I have heard so many
13:24
interpretations of that verse. Some say he was in a fragile
13:26
state or it was about ceremonial cleanness.
13:29
Edwards takes a different approach.
13:31
He suggests that Jesus forbade the embrace then because earth
13:34
was not the place for such perfect freedom and enjoyment.
13:37
He says essentially, Mary, this isn't the time or the place I am
13:41
going to the Father, and when you are there with me in the
13:43
Father's house, then there will be no restraint.
13:46
So he's saying that heaven is the appointed place for the
13:49
embrace. Yes, heaven is where mutual love
13:52
is fully expressed without restraint.
13:54
Edwards uses very romantic language here, the language of
13:58
the Song of Solomon. He talks about the Saints being
14:00
swallowed up in the rays of divine love.
14:02
He calls it an ocean of love. To swim in the ocean of love,
14:06
it's an immersive experience. They receive this light and
14:08
love, and they reflect it back eternally.
14:11
It is an active dynamic exchange of affection between the
14:14
Redeemer and the redeemed. Moving on to Part 5, Edwards
14:18
calls this fellowship and blessedness, and he uses the
14:21
concept of the public person. This is a very Westminster
14:25
concept, isn't it? It is federal theology.
14:27
Christ is the head, the representative.
14:29
When he died, he died as a public person.
14:31
When he rose, he rose as the head of the body.
14:34
So when he ascended to heaven, he didn't just go as a private
14:37
individual, he took possession of heaven on behalf of his
14:40
people. The analogy Edwards uses is a
14:42
wife and a Prince. Right.
14:43
If a Prince is crowned king, his wife becomes queen.
14:46
She partakes in his honor. She didn't fight the battles or
14:49
win the wars, but because she is one with him, his status becomes
14:53
her status. Edwards breaks his participation
14:56
down into three areas. The 1st is participation in the
14:59
Father's Love. This is deep waters.
15:02
Christ as the eternal Son enjoys the Father's love infinitely.
15:07
There is a flow of love between the Father and the Son that has
15:09
existed from eternity past. Edward says that because we are
15:13
in Christ, we get to step into that specific relationship.
15:16
We aren't just loved as creatures, we are loved as sons
15:19
and daughters and the son. That's it.
15:21
We enter into the joy of our Lord.
15:23
Edwards talks about a river of pleasures.
15:25
He says the love flowing from the Father to the Son is the
15:28
stream the Saints drink from. We are eavesdropping on and
15:32
participating in the intra Trinitarian love.
15:34
That is mind bending. It should be.
15:36
The second area of participation is dominion.
15:39
We participate in the Kingdom. This is where we get the
15:41
language of Saints being kings and priests.
15:44
We sit on his throne. Edwards takes this literally.
15:46
We share in his authority. And he brings the angels into
15:49
this. This part always surprises me
15:52
it. Flips the cosmic hierarchy.
15:55
Angels are powerful, majestic beings, but Edwards points out
15:59
that they are ministering spirits sent to minister to the
16:02
heirs of salvation. So in a sense, the Saints
16:05
possess the angels. The angels are ours.
16:08
They are the servants of our King and therefore they serve
16:11
the joint heirs. That leads to a really
16:13
significant question that Edwards answers.
16:16
Do the Saints in heaven care about what is happening on
16:19
earth? This is a common question people
16:21
ask. If my grandmother is in heaven,
16:24
does she know I am struggling? Does she see the wars and the
16:26
pain? Wouldn't that make her sad?
16:28
What is Edwards take? He says yes, they absolutely
16:31
care. They are reigning with Christ.
16:33
Christ is reigning over the Church on earth.
16:35
If the head is deeply interested in the prosperity of the Church
16:38
below, the body in heaven must be too.
16:40
They are not detached spectators.
16:42
But how do they handle the sadness, the confusion of
16:46
earthly events? This is where Edwards uses the
16:48
Mountain View analogy and this is a key take away for you
16:51
listening. That up for us?
16:52
He says imagine you were down in a deep valley or a thick forest.
16:56
You can only see a few feet in front of you.
16:58
You see a battle, you see chaos, you see things that look like
17:01
defeat. That is us on Earth.
17:04
OK, we are in the valley. Now imagine a person standing on
17:07
a high pinnacle of a mountain in the center of the light.
17:10
They look down at that same forest.
17:12
They see the chaos, yes, but they see the patterns.
17:15
They see the beautiful order. They see how the confusing
17:17
events are actually strategic movements.
17:19
They see the general commanding the troops.
17:21
They see how Satan is being baffled and overthrown, even
17:24
when it looks to us like he is winning.
17:27
So they don't despair, they rejoice because they see the
17:31
victory that is invisible to us in the valley.
17:34
That changes the perspective entirely.
17:36
They aren't grieving over our struggles.
17:37
They are cheering on the ultimate of victory they can
17:40
clearly see playing out. Exactly.
17:42
They are the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12.
17:45
They are not passive, they are engaged.
17:47
This connects to the third area of participation, eschatological
17:50
rain. That just refers to the latter
17:52
days or the end times. Edwards has a very optimistic
17:56
view of history. He believes there will be a time
17:59
when the gospel triumphs on earth.
18:02
And he connects the Saints in heaven to that specific time.
18:05
He does. He quotes the beatitude.
18:07
The meek shall inherit the earth.
18:09
He argues that the Saints in heaven reign with Christ during
18:12
the prosperity of the Church on earth.
18:14
When the Church winds down here, the Saints went up there.
18:17
He talks about the rod of iron. Yes, from Revelation, the Saints
18:21
share in the triumph over the nations and Antichrist.
18:25
The imagery in Revelation 19 is the hosts of heaven riding on
18:28
white horses with Christ, Edward says.
18:31
Look, they aren't spectators sitting in the bleachers.
18:33
They are the cavalry. They are active participants in
18:35
the victory. That is a much more dynamic view
18:37
of heaven than the typical floating on a cloud playing a
18:40
harp image. It is a warrior's heaven.
18:43
It's a ruler's heaven. Which brings us to Part 6,
18:46
Fellowship and employment. We have touched on reigning, but
18:49
Edwards gets specific about glorifying God.
18:51
He quotes Revelation 22.3. His servants shell serve him.
18:55
Heaven is not passive contemplation only, it is active
18:59
service. He compares the Saints to angels
19:02
who were described as a flame of fire.
19:04
Fire is active, It moves, it consumes.
19:07
He talks about liturgical leadership.
19:09
This is a beautiful image of Christ.
19:11
We often think of Christ as the object of worship, and he is.
19:14
But Edwards points out that in Hebrews 2 and Psalm 22, Christ
19:18
is the leader of the worship in the midst of the congregation.
19:21
Will I praise thee? So Jesus is the worship leader.
19:24
He is the great high priest leading the assembly.
19:26
Edwards compares him to Moses leading the song of the Red Sea
19:30
after the victory over Pharaoh, or David, the sweet psalmist
19:33
leading Israel in praise. And the Saints of the
19:35
congregation following his lead. And the response is thunderous,
19:38
the voice of many wires saying Alleluia.
19:40
It is a call and response between the King and his people.
19:43
We have covered the theology. It is vast.
19:45
It is glorious, It is active. But Edwards doesn't stop there.
19:49
He pivots to Part 7, the application.
19:52
And this is where the funeral context comes back into sharp
19:54
focus. He turns to the people sitting
19:57
there in Northampton and says effectively.
20:01
If this is true, if this is the high privilege awaiting us,
20:04
surely we should seek it earnestly.
20:06
He does a comparison of privileges to drive this home.
20:08
He says look at the 12 disciples, they got to walk with
20:12
Jesus. That was a great privilege.
20:13
He mentions the three disciples of the Transfiguration.
20:16
They saw a glimpse of the glory that was amazing.
20:18
He mentions Moses seeing the back parts of God.
20:21
Incredible. But Edward says the St. in
20:25
Heaven has a privilege infinitely greater than all of
20:27
these. Walking with Jesus on earth was
20:30
walking with him in his humiliation.
20:33
Being in heaven is walking with him in his exultation.
20:35
Then he turns his eyes to the coffin, to David Brainerd.
20:38
And here we see Edwards the pastor, the observer of men.
20:41
He calls Brainerd an eminent servant and he wants to show
20:45
that Brainerd is right now enjoying everything he just
20:49
preached about. He starts with Brainerd's
20:50
conversion and he is very careful here.
20:54
Wow. Remember, this is the era of the
20:55
Great Awakening. There was a lot of enthusiasm,
20:58
people fainting, screaming, having wild emotional
21:00
experiences. Edwards was a supporter of the
21:03
Awakening, but he's very critical of false emotionalism.
21:07
So he wants to clarify that Brainerd wasn't just an
21:09
emotional wreck. Right.
21:10
He describes Brainerd's conversion as having deep,
21:13
thorough convictions of sin. But, and this is key, he says,
21:17
it was not characterized by unaccountable hurries, frights
21:21
or strange perturbations. It was rational.
21:23
It was sound, solid and illuminated by truth.
21:27
It wasn't a sudden flight of imagination.
21:29
It was an intellectual view of supreme glory.
21:32
Edwards wants us to know that Brainerd's faith was built on
21:35
truth, not fleeting feelings. He also praises Brainerd's
21:38
natural capacity. He wasn't just a simple man, he
21:41
had a large capacity. Edwards clearly admired him
21:43
intellectually. He says Brainerd had a ready
21:45
invention, a strong memory and a social genius.
21:48
He excelled at conversation and had a penetrating genius for
21:52
understanding human nature. I like the phrase he uses a
21:55
scent for truth. Yes, a quick distinguishing
21:58
judgement. Brainerd could smell a
22:01
theological rat. He could distinguish between
22:03
true spiritual gold and fool's gold.
22:06
And this played out in his ministry style.
22:09
Edwards describes his prayer and his preaching.
22:12
He says Brainerd's prayer was inimitable.
22:14
He spoke with exact propriety and weighty, pungent
22:17
expressions. Pungent, meaning sharp,
22:19
piercing. Yes, penetrating the heart and
22:22
in preaching Brainerd nauseated affected noisiness.
22:27
Nauseated. That is a strong word to use at
22:29
a funeral. He hated it.
22:31
He hated when preachers would just yell and be boisterous in
22:34
the pulpit to work up a crowd. But he also disliked cold
22:37
delivery. He struck a perfect balance of
22:39
earnestness and solemnity. Edwards calls him a master of
22:42
experimental religion. That's an older term.
22:44
It doesn't mean experimenting like in a science lab.
22:46
It means experiential, the religion of the heart, the
22:49
actual experience of the Holy Spirit.
22:52
Edwards ranks Brainerd as having no equal of his age in
22:54
understanding how the spirit actually works in a human soul.
22:58
He could distinguish true religion from false appearances
23:00
better than anyone. And he attributes the skill to
23:02
three things, right? First, his strong genius.
23:06
Second, his observation of diverse people.
23:09
He ministered to learn to theologians and to Native
23:12
Americans in the wilderness. He saw how the Spirit worked
23:15
across entirely different cultures.
23:17
And 3rd, his own great personal experience.
23:20
Finally, he highlights Brainerd's perseverance.
23:24
This is a heavy rebuke to a lazy Christian.
23:27
Brainerd did not live on the memory of his first conversion.
23:30
He abhorred the idea of settling into a cold frame after a
23:34
conversion experience. He kept a daily journal of his
23:37
inward exercises until his physical strength literally
23:40
failed him and he couldn't hold a pen.
23:41
And therefore, Edwards concludes, we can be confident
23:44
that he is now absent from the body and present with the Lord.
23:47
And that he is currently seeing that beautiful order we talked
23:49
about. So what does this all mean for
23:51
you Listening today we have walked through the exegesis, the
23:54
geography of the 3rd heaven, the beatific vision, the active
23:58
reign of the Saints, and the specific example of David
24:00
Brainerd. It means that death is not a
24:03
descent into sleep or shadow for the believer.
24:07
It is an ascent into clarity. It is a short kit to being well
24:10
informed. The Saints in heaven are the
24:12
most well informed beings in existence.
24:15
They see the king, they see the plan, and they see the victory.
24:19
And I think the big realization for me is that connection
24:22
between the Saints and the church on earth.
24:24
It makes the communion of Saints feel very real.
24:28
We are running the race down here in the valley and they are
24:31
the veterans who have crossed the finish line and are now on
24:34
the mountain cheering us on, knowing exactly how the race
24:37
ends. It gives us constant light in
24:39
our own darkness. If we really believe this like
24:42
Paul did, like Brainerd did, we would be much braver.
24:45
We would be willing rather to take risks for the gospel
24:48
because the worst thing that can happen to us is actually the
24:50
best thing that can happen to us.
24:52
Here is a final thought to chew on before we go.
24:54
Edward suggests that Brainerd's ability to distinguish true
24:57
religion came from observing both civilized society and
25:00
indigenous communities. Alongside his own heart, he had
25:03
a wide data set. If heaven allows for that
25:06
mountaintop view of history, think about the Saints who've
25:09
been watching human history unfold for the last 300 years.
25:13
Since Edwards preached this, they have seen revolutions,
25:17
world wars, the rise of technology, the spread of the
25:20
gospel to the Global South. They have seen it all.
25:23
If they are interpreting these confusing events we see today,
25:26
the political polarization, the cultural shifts, the anxiety
25:30
from that pinnacle of light, are they seeing order where we only
25:34
see chaos? Are they seeing the beautiful
25:36
order of God's plan moving through the 21st century just as
25:40
clearly as they saw it in the first of the 18th?
25:42
That is a comforting and humbling thought.
25:45
They aren't wringing their hands over the news.
25:47
They are shouting Alleluia. Something to think about as you
25:50
go about your week. Thank you for joining us for
25:52
this deep dive into reformed thinking.
25:54
Keep looking up. We will see you next time.