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Why Love Is Greater Than Spiritual Gifts | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to reformed thinking. I want you to just imagine
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  standing in the middle of a hospital's terminal ward for a
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  second. OK, that is a heavy way to
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  start. Right, but just picture it.
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  You are surrounded by individuals who have been told
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  they have only days left to live.
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  Now imagine that you possess the capability to walk down that
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  hallway. Speak a single syllable and
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  instantly watch every single tumor vanish.
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  Just completely gone. Yeah, every failing organ
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  regenerates and every dying patient sits up completely
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  cured. That would be unbelievable.
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  Or think about standing before a raging, uncontrollable ocean.
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  You raise your hand and watch millions of gallons of water
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  violently split down the middle. Creating a dry highway right
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  through the seabed. Right.
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  Yes, absolutely. If you held those staggering
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  capabilities, you would likely assume you're the most
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  significant human being. Oh.
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  For sure. You would naturally conclude
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  that whoever handed you that level of authority must view you
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  with the highest possible favor. I mean, how could you not?
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  But then you open up the letters of the Apostle Paul,
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  specifically his correspondence with the early church.
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  And things get complicated. Verily complicated.
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  Yeah, you are met with a theological reality that
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  completely shatters that assumption.
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  It really reverses all our human intuitions about what makes a
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  person valuable in the eyes of the Creator.
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  As we were looking at a framework where you could
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  theoretically possess all of those spectacular capabilities.
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  You could heal the sick, decode the mysteries of the universe,
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  and command the elements. Yeah, and yet in the eyes of
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  God, you would be categorized as a complete and total 0.
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  You would be nothing. That is such a startling
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  tension. Really is, and that is the
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  tension we are analyzing today. The mission of this particular
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  deep dive is to thoroughly investigate the arguments laid
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  out by Jonathan Edwards. Specifically in his monumental
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  work Charity and Its Fruits. Right, focusing on his
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  exposition of First Corinthians chapter 13, verses 1 and 2, we
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  are setting out to understand a very specific, almost
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  counterintuitive proposition. We want to know why ordinary
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  Christian love, which Edwards calls charity, is vastly
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  superior to the miraculous, extraordinary gifts of the Holy
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  Spirit. Yes, Why quiet, everyday
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  holiness massively outweighs the ability to perform spectacular
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  signs and wonders. The historical background here
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  is absolutely essential for grasping the sheer weight of
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  what Paul is communicating to his audience.
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  And subsequently what Edwards is analyzing in his text, right?
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  Too bought on. When Paul sits down to draft
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  this letter to the church at Corinth, he is addressing a
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  community in a very unique era. It was an era characterized by
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  abundant, verifiable miracles, wasn't it?
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  Yes, it was. This was not a period where
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  supernatural events were isolated to a few desert Mystics
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  living in caves. We have to look back at the
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  prophecy of Joel for this, don't we?
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  We do Joel for told a specific arrow when the Spirit of God
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  would be poured out on all flesh she.
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  Prophesied a time where sons and daughters would prophecy.
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  Right. Young men would see visions and
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  old men would dream dreams. In the early days of the
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  Christian Church, especially in a bustling cosmopolitan city
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  like Corinth, this was happening.
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  It was actively playing out in real time.
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  Miraculous gifts were distributed across all
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  demographics of the congregation.
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  You had entirely ordinary individuals, I mean people who
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  worked as tent makers, merchants and laborers.
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  And they were suddenly standing up in the assembly speaking in
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  unlearned foreign languages. Yeah, interpreting divine
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  mysteries on the spot and performing verifiable physical
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  healings. Cynthian Church was just utterly
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  saturated with these supernatural abilities.
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  However, instead of producing A unified, humble congregation
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  overflowing with gratitude, it caused huge problems.
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  Oh, massive problems. This abundance of supernatural
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  phenomena created a culture of intense spiritual competition.
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  It led to arrogance and total chaos.
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  People were ranking their social standing based on who possessed
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  the most spectacular visible capability.
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  The assembly basically became a noisy contest of egos.
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  Right, so Paul writes to them, acknowledging the reality and
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  the benefit of these supernatural gifts.
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  But then he introduces a massive pivot in his logic.
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  He tells them to desire the best gifts.
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  But then he says he will show them a more excellent way.
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  That specific phrase is the pivot point for all of Edwards
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  arguments. A more excellent way Edwards
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  looks at Paul's assertion that speaking with the tons of men
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  and angels without charity is like a clanging symbol.
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  It's just useless, irritating noise, and Edwards
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  systematically proves that the internal, quiet reality of
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  divine love is a vastly greater blessing.
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  Greater than the most staggering external miracle.
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  But to grasp this, we have to establish clear definitions of
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  the theological terms Edwards employs.
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  Because without precise categories, his entire argument
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  becomes muddy and confusing. OK, let's unpack this
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  categorization, because Edwards makes two major distinctions
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  right out of the gate. And getting these definitions
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  right is absolutely crucial for our entire analysis today.
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  First, he devised the operations of the Spirit into common gifts
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  and saving gifts. And the way he defines common
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  gifts is fascinating. It includes internal experiences
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  we might naturally assume are definitive marks of true
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  spirituality. Really like what?
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  Well, common gifts are experiences or operations that
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  both the godly and the completely ungodly can possess
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  simultaneously. Wait, simultaneously the ungodly
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  can have them too. Yes, Edwards points out that a
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  person can experience a genuine mental conviction of sin.
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  Or a general vague sense of gratitude toward God for a
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  beautiful sunset. Or a successful harvest.
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  Or even temporary emotional spikes in religious affection.
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  All without actually having a regenerated heart.
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  Exactly that. I mean, yes, absolutely.
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  These operations are common to humanity under the general
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  influence of the Spirit. But saving gifts, on the other
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  hand, are strictly restricted to the true Saints.
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  Right saving gifts include true justifying faith and genuine
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  divine love or charity. The second nature distinction
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  Edwards makes is between ordinary and extraordinary
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  gifts. The extraordinary gifts include
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  those spectacular visible abilities we I mentioned
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  earlier. Like performing physical
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  miracles, foretelling the future with total accuracy and speaking
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  in unlearned tongues. Edwards notes that these were
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  given on very special occasions for a highly specific utility.
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  They were granted to the prophets and apostles
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  specifically to reveal the mind of God before the written
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  scriptures were complete. And to establish the credibility
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  of the early church in a highly hostile, skeptical world.
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  But once those specific structural goals were met, those
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  extraordinary gifts ceased. Conversely, the ordinary gifts
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  of the Spirit continue in all ages.
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  These are things like the initial spiritual conviction of
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  the soul, the ongoing process of conversion, and the continuous
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  production of charity. They are the everyday operations
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  that build up the Saints in holiness.
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  So I want to make sure I am conceptualizing this correctly.
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  Is this distinction similar to a massive corporation hiring an
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  external contractor to build a new, highly secure headquarters?
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  Well, that is an interesting way to look at it.
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  Let's hear it. Well, the company might give
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  that external contractor a temporary high level security
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  clearance. Which would be the extraordinary
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  common gift? Right, so they can access
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  restricted areas, lay the concrete foundation and erect
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  the steel beams. But the contractor is not part
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  of the CEO's actual family. Exactly.
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  I mean yes, spot on. Once the building is finished,
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  the temporary clearance is completely revoked and they are
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  escorted off the property. Meanwhile, the CEO's actual
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  child might not have the engineering skills to build a
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  skyscraper. But they have the ordinary
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  saving gift of permanent adoption into the family.
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  Which grants them an eternal inheritance and permanent
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  residence in the home. Does that analogy capture what
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  Edwards is trying to articulate? That analogy aligns beautifully
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  with Edwards theological framework.
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  The temporary security clearance represents A functional
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  capability granted for a very specific structural utility.
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  Which perfectly mirrors how extraordinary gifts operated in
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  the early church. Right, the contractor has access
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  to the site, but they have no permanent relational bond with
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  the owner. While the child has the
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  permanent relational bond regardless of their lack of
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  utilitarian output. This brings us to a shocking
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  overlap that Edwards highlights, which is central to
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  understanding the inferiority of miracles.
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  If we look at his categories, we realize that extraordinary gifts
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  actually fall under the umbrella of common gifts.
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  This. Is a staggering realization for
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  many people it means that the ability to perform a miracle is
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  not inherently a saving grace to.
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  Prove this. Edwards points directly to the
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  chilling words of Christ in Matthew Chapter 7, verses 22 and
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  23 in that. Terrifying passage Christ
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  describes the final day of judgement where.
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  Many individuals will approach him and present their spiritual
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  resume, say. Lord, Lord, have we not
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  prophesied in my name, and in my name cast out devils?
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  And in thy name done many wonderful works.
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  Notice what they are doing. They are.
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  Claiming possession of the extraordinary gifts, they are
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  pointing to their high level security clearance and.
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  Christ's response is not to deny that they performed these
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  wonders. He does not accuse them of using
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  parlor tricks or illusions. He.
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  Implicitly acknowledges they did what they claimed instead, he
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  says. I never knew you depart from me
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  you that work iniquity this. Proves conclusively that
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  completely ungodly people were granted the temporary security
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  clearance of extraordinary miracles people.
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  Whose hearts remained totally unchanged and actively hostile
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  to God, They. Possessed the supernatural
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  capability, but they lacked the saving reality of charity.
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  It is. A sobering thought, isn't it?
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  I have to. Admit that is a terrifying
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  passage and it sets up such a massive tension in my mind.
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  How? So I am.
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  Going to push back on this a little bit, or at least play
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  devil's advocate because from a human perspective this feels
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  incredibly disorienting. It does.
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  Yeah, to. Really appreciate the
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  superiority of charity, and to understand just how bold Edwards
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  is being by ranking quiet love above spectacular miracles, we
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  have to acknowledge how massive those miraculous gifts actually
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  work. That is.
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  Fair Edwards does not downplay the glory of the extraordinary.
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  He fully admits these were immense privileges.
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  Just think. About the historical
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  heavyweights of the biblical narrative who wielded these
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  capabilities like. Moses, for instance.
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  Yeah, Moses. He was chosen as the singular
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  instrument to reveal the divine law.
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  He walked. Up to the Red Sea stretched out
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  a piece of wood and literally split an ocean in half to
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  deliver an entire nation from slavery.
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  And then? You have David who has granted
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  the prophetic inspiration to write the Psalms.
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  Creating poetry that has sustained the emotional and
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  spiritual life of the Church for millennia.
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  You have figures like Elijah and Elijah calling down fire from
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  the sky to consume altars raising.
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  Dead children back to life and multiplying food out of thin air
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  during a severe famine. These.
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  Were not minor, easily explainable occurrences.
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  These were earth shattering, physics defying displays of
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  divine authority. The.
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  Individuals who possessed these gifts were elevated to heights
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  of honor that most of us can barely comprehend.
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  They altered. The course of human history
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  through the sheer magnitude of the signs they performed when
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  you. Look at that list of abilities.
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  It becomes incredibly difficult to swallow Edwards's premise
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  right the. Idea that a quiet, unseen
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  disposition of love in the heart of an obscure, unknown believer
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  living in a suburb today is somehow a greater privilege.
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  Greater. Than holding the staff of Moses
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  or wearing the mantle of Elijah. What's?
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  Fascinating. Here is how Edwards illustrates
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  the sheer social and political dominance these extraordinary
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  gifts commanded. Oh, he.
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  Focuses extensively on the life of Daniel and Babylon.
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  For this right he. Does Edwards uses Daniel as a
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  prime example of how highly valued these miraculous
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  capabilities were, even by arrogant Pagan empires?
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  Daniel. Possessed the extraordinary
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  ability to interpret complex dreams, solve impossible doubts,
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  and foresee the rise and fall of future global empires.
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  When? King Nebuchadnezzar witnessed
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  Daniel's extraordinary gifts. The reaction was absolute
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  submission. He was.
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  Arguably the most mighty and haughty monarch of the ancient
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  world yet. Nebuchadnezzar actually fell on
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  his face before Daniel, a Hebrew captive and.
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  Commanded that oblations and sweet odors be offered to him.
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  This. Emperor who ruthlessly conquered
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  nations, burned cities to the ground, and demanded absolute
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  worship for his own massive golden statues.
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  He was. Brought to his knees by the
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  display of extraordinary prophetic insight later.
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  Under a completely different regime, the queen of Babylon
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  described Daniel to King Belshazzar, she said.
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  That the spirit of the holy gods was in him, citing his
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  unparalleled knowledge and ability to dissolve doubts and.
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  It did not stop there. When the Medo Persian Empire
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  took over the Babylonian territories, King Darius
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  reorganized the entire global realm.
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  He. Appointed 120 Princess and he
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  promoted Daniel above all of them solely.
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  Because of this excellent spirit, this extraordinary
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  prophetic gift, Daniel. 'S miraculous abilities elevated
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  him to the absolute apex of the most powerful empires on earth.
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  These. Gifts commanded universal awe,
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  forcing kings and Princess to recognize a supernatural force
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  at work and that. Intense awe carries right over
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  into the New Testament, establishing the structural
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  foundation of the Christian Church itself.
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  We are talking. About the Apostolic privilege
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  now, yes, we. Are Christ endowed his 12
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  apostles with the explicit capability to heal diseases,
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  cast out demons and speak in unlearned languages he made.
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  Them the very structural foundation of the church to the.
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  Point where the Book of Revelation describes the New
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  Jerusalem as having 12 foundation stones, each bearing
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  the name of one of the apostles. Think about the Apostle John,
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  exiled on the penal colony of Patmos, receiving the massive
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  mind bending visions of Revelation he was.
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  Granted, the ability to look down the corridor of time and
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  see the final culmination of human history, the.
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  Massive judgement of nations and the descent of the heavenly
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  city. These are privileges of
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  astronomical proportions, but this?
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  Naturally leads to my pushback. OK.
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  Let's hear it if these. Extraordinary miracles were so
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  incredibly effective if they convinced arrogant Babylonian
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  kings to fall on their faces in the dirt.
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  If they. Successfully established the
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  global church against massive Roman persecution and.
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  If they provided the very scriptures we read today, why
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  does Edwards rank them lower than basic, quiet Christian
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  love? I am.
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  Struggling to reconcile this too if.
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  Splitting seas and interpreting dreams is so effective at
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  demonstrating divine authority. Why wouldn't God just keep
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  dispensing these extraordinary gifts today to.
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  Convince A skeptical modern world you mean?
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  Yes. Why would God retire the most
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  spectacular tools in his arsenal and tell us that a quiet
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  disposition of charity is actually the superior possession
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  that. Is the precise tension Edwards
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  resolves by introducing his nine logical arguments for the
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  superiority of ordinary grace over extraordinary gifts to.
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  Answer your question of why they are ranked lower and why they
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  ceased. We have to move past the
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  external spectacle we have. To analyze the internal reality
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  of what these gifts actually do to the human soul or.
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  More accurately, what they fail to do.
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  This brings us to Edwards's first major argument, the vast.
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  Difference between an Inherent Quality and an Adventitious
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  edition. Edwards.
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  Points out that possessing the ability to perform a physical
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  miracle does not actually change the underlying moral nature of
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  the person performing it The. Capability is an accessory.
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  It is something added to the person from the outside.
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  An adventitious thing, rather. Than an alteration of their core
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  being he uses a brilliant comparison contrasting a
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  beautiful garment with a precious jewel a.
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  Miraculous gift is like draping A magnificent diamond encrusted
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  cloak over someone's shoulders. The.
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  Cloak is objectively glorious. It catches the light, it draws
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  the eye of everyone in the room, and it accomplishes a specific
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  visual purpose. But.
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  It does not alter the actual flesh, bone and heart of the
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  person wearing if the. Person underneath the cloak is
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  morally corrupt, vicious and cruel.
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  They remain corrupt, vicious and cruel.
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  They are simply hidden beneath A spectacular garment.
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  True saving grace, however, is not a garment worn on the
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  outside. It is the.
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  Process by which the soul itself is fundamentally altered and
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  turned into a precious jewel. OK, I really like that visual
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  and I want to expand on it to make sure the mechanics of this
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  theology are totally clear. Go for it.
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  It is like putting a custom $1000 designer suit on a wooden
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  mannequin in a high end storefront window.
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  Oh, that. Is a great image the suit.
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  Looks absolutely incredible. It catches the attention of
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  everyone walking by on the busy St.
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  It. Completely fulfills its purpose
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  of displaying the Taylor skill and drawing potential customers
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  into the store. But at the end of the day, when
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  the store closes and the lights go off, beneath the expensive
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  silk and the perfect stitching, the mannequin is still just a
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  piece of Deadwood it has. No life, no warmth, no pulse,
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  and no consciousness. The.
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  Extraordinary gifts, the miracles, the prophecies, the
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  speaking in tongues are the designer suit they are.
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  Spectacular. They draw massive attention to
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  God's authority, and they successfully establish the truth
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  of the gospel message in the eyes of the public.
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  But. Saving Grace Ordinary Christian
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  charity operates through a completely different mechanism,
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  saving. Grace does not just put a nice
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  suit on the Deadwood, it actually turns the Deadwood into
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  living, breathing gold it imports.
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  A spiritual pulse. It changes the fundamental
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  molecular structure of the soul from something dead into
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  something alive, which. Leads right into Edward's second
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  argument that deals with how the Holy Spirit communicates his own
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  nature to the creature. Right, you have.
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  Hit the nail on the head. This is Edward's second
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  argument, and his observation about the mechanics of the Holy
• 17:54
  Spirit's interaction with creation is highly clarifying.
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  What's? Fascinating here is Edwards
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  notes that the Holy Spirit can produce massive, spectacular
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  effects in the physical world or.
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  Even through the vocal cords of a human being without.
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  Ever actually communicating his own holy nature to that object
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  or person he gives? The example from the very
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  beginning of the Book of Genesis for where the.
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  Spirit of God hovered over the face of the chaotic waters
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  during the week of creation. The.
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  Spirit produced a massive physical effect, bringing order
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  out of absolute chaos, but the. Water did not become the Holy
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  Spirit. The water remained water.
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  It was simply acted upon from the outside in the.
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  Exact same way the spirit can act upon a human mind.
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  Granting it a sudden flashing revelation of the future or.
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  The spirit can operate through a person's hands to heal a disease
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  without imparting a single drop of His Holiness to that person's
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  soul. The.
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  Person remains functionally unregenerate and dead in sin,
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  just like the water remained ordinary water.
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  However, when the Spirit operates through saving grace,
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  when he produces ordinary quiet charity in the heart, he does.
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  Something infinitely more significant than moving physical
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  matter. He actually.
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  Becomes an indwelling vital principle within the soul.
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  He. Communicates his own holy nature
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  to the individual, making them a partaker of the divine nature,
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  the. Person becomes spiritually alive
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  because the Spirit has imparted his own defining characteristic,
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  which is holy love. And that leads directly into his
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  third argument, which touches on what it actually means to bear
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  the true image of God, if we. Think about Jesus Christ during
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  his earthly ministry. He obviously performed countless
• 19:34
  extraordinary miracles. He.
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  Walked on the turbulent waters of the Sea of Galilee, He.
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  Multiplied a few loaves and fishes to feed thousands of
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  starving people and he. Stood before the tomb of Lazarus
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  and commanded A rotting corpse to come back to life.
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  But when? The New Testament speaks about
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  the moral image of Christ and what it means for a Christian
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  believer to be conformed to his likeness.
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  It never points to his ability to walk on water, no.
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  It doesn't. The true spiritual image of God
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  does not consist in having the capacity to suspend the laws of
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  physics or command the weather instead.
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  The moral image of Christ consists in his meekness, His
• 20:09
  lowliness of heart, His total submission to the will of the
• 20:12
  Father and His. Boundless sacrificial charity
• 20:15
  having the. Same mind that was in Christ
• 20:16
  means walking as he walked in selfless love toward others.
• 20:20
  Therefore, possessing a heart overflowing with ordinary
• 20:24
  Christian charity actually makes a person more like God more.
• 20:28
  Like God than if they possess the ability to literally pick up
• 20:32
  a massive mountain and throw it into the middle of the sea
• 20:35
  moving. A mountain is a display of sheer
• 20:37
  force, but displaying quiet, patient, selfless love toward an
• 20:42
  enemy is a manifestation of God's actual moral character.
• 20:46
  This. Brings us to a darker, much more
• 20:49
  sobering phase of Edwards analysis.
• 20:51
  Yeah. If we accept the premise that
• 20:53
  miracles are adventitious. They're just the designer suit
• 20:56
  that does not change the Deadwood underneath.
• 20:58
  Then we. Must confront the terrifying
• 21:00
  historical reality of who has actually worn that suit the.
• 21:03
  Discussion shifts to the undeniable fact that God's
• 21:06
  outright enemies have frequently wielded his supernatural
• 21:09
  authority. This is.
• 21:10
  Edwards's fourth argument, saving grace, is peculiar to
• 21:13
  God's favorites, while extraordinary gifts are common
• 21:16
  to his bitter enemies. Edwards.
• 21:18
  Points to the historical record for this, starting in the Old
• 21:21
  Testament with a man named Balaam Balaam.
• 21:23
  Was a wicked in individual fundamentally driven by greed
• 21:27
  and a desire to curse the nation of Israel for immense financial
• 21:31
  gain. The new.
• 21:32
  Testament writers repeatedly stigmatize him as a false
• 21:35
  prophet who loved the wages of unrighteousness.
• 21:38
  Yet. God granted Balaam the
• 21:40
  extraordinary gift of true prophecy for a brief period,
• 21:44
  forcing. Him to stand on a mountain and
• 21:45
  speak beautiful, accurate truths about Israel's future, Then you.
• 21:49
  Have King Saul, a man who descended into paranoid madness,
• 21:53
  he openly. Rebelled against God's explicit
• 21:55
  instructions and spent years hunting David through the
• 21:58
  wilderness like an animal. Yet.
• 22:00
  The Scriptures record that the Spirit of God came upon Saul,
• 22:03
  and he prophesied among the prophets even.
• 22:06
  While harboring murderous jealousy in his heart.
• 22:08
  I want. To stop here and expand heavily
• 22:10
  on the most chilling example of this, the one that truly drives
• 22:12
  Edwards Point home and the. One that causes me the most
• 22:15
  mental friction and that is Judas Iscariot When?
• 22:19
  We read Matthew chapter 10. The details are absolutely
• 22:22
  staggering and honestly hard to digest.
• 22:25
  Jesus. Calls his 12 disciples together,
• 22:27
  and the text specifically names Judas Iscariot among them.
• 22:31
  Jesus does not pull 11 of them aside, give them supernatural
• 22:34
  abilities, and tell Judas to wait in the other room.
• 22:37
  He gives. All 12 of them the exact same
• 22:40
  authority. He looks right.
• 22:41
  At Judas and commands him to heal the sick, cleanse the
• 22:44
  lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.
• 22:48
  I want you. To just pause and visualize the
• 22:50
  psychological reality of that situation, Judas.
• 22:53
  Iscariot, a man who is actively stealing from the group's
• 22:56
  treasury. A man.
• 22:57
  Who is already harboring the dark seeds of ultimate betrayal?
• 23:01
  A. Man who would soon sell the Son
• 23:03
  of God to a mob for 30 pieces of silver.
• 23:06
  This. Man walked up to individuals
• 23:08
  possessed by actual demons, commanded those demons to flee
• 23:11
  in the name of Christ, and the demons obeyed him.
• 23:14
  Judas. Laid his hands on sick people
• 23:16
  and their diseases vanished he possessed.
• 23:19
  The highest level of extraordinary gifts imaginable,
• 23:22
  operating right alongside Peter and John, doing the exact same
• 23:25
  miraculous work yet his. Heart was completely destitute
• 23:28
  of ordinary charity he had. The $1000 designer suit, but
• 23:32
  beneath it the wood was completely rotting it.
• 23:35
  Forces us to ask what is the logical utility in handing A
• 23:39
  superpower to someone whose heart is rotting This.
• 23:42
  Highlights Edwards 5th argument perfectly, which focuses on the
• 23:46
  eternal consequence of these two radically different realities
• 23:49
  indeed. The 5th argument centers
• 23:51
  entirely on the connection to eternal life, and it answers
• 23:55
  that question of utility, the. Utility.
• 23:57
  The miracle was for the benefit of the people receiving the
• 24:00
  healing, not for the salvation of Judas Edwards.
• 24:03
  Observes that eternal salvation is consistently and exclusively
• 24:07
  promised to those who possess the saving grace of charity but
• 24:11
  it. Is never once promised to those
• 24:12
  who merely, I mean, who just possess extraordinary gifts,
• 24:16
  this is. A severe, uncompromising
• 24:18
  contrast. You can possess the ability to
• 24:21
  prophecy, heal the sick and cast out demons as Judas did and.
• 24:25
  Still end up in eternal conscious torment.
• 24:27
  The capability. Offers zero protection against
• 24:29
  the justice of God. Christ made this priority
• 24:32
  explicitly clear to his disciples in Luke chapter 10
• 24:35
  the. Disciples had just returned from
• 24:37
  a mission where they successfully utilized their
• 24:39
  extraordinary gifts. They were.
• 24:41
  Thrilled, adrenaline pumping, and they enthusiastically told
• 24:44
  Jesus that even the demons were subject to them in his name.
• 24:48
  But Christ immediately realigned their perspective and crushed
• 24:52
  their misplaced joy, he told. Them not to rejoice in the fact
• 24:55
  that spirits submitted to them, but rather to rejoice that their
• 24:58
  names were written in heaven. He was.
• 25:00
  Telling them that the ordinary, unseen saving grace that
• 25:04
  guarantees eternal life is an infinitely more valuable
• 25:07
  blessing. More.
• 25:07
  Valuable than the temporary, highly visible privilege of
• 25:10
  commanding spirits an. Eternal blessing that results in
• 25:14
  everlasting communion with God simply cannot be compared to a
• 25:17
  temporary capability ability that still leaves a person
• 25:21
  vulnerable to eternal condemnation which flows.
• 25:23
  Very logically into the 6th argument, the core of true human
• 25:27
  happiness. Edwards.
• 25:28
  Looks at the psychology of the human soul and argues that true,
• 25:31
  lasting happiness for any human being fundamentally consists in
• 25:35
  knowing, loving, and obeying the Creator.
• 25:38
  Because we are designed by God, our highest possible joy is
• 25:41
  found in having our souls properly aligned with His
• 25:44
  nature. When a.
• 25:45
  Person possesses that holy temper of soul.
• 25:48
  When they have genuine charity, they are guaranteed a baseline
• 25:51
  of unshakable joy regardless. Of their external physical
• 25:54
  circumstances, a person. Filled with ordinary saving
• 25:57
  grace, Can be locked in a dark, damp Roman dungeon.
• 26:02
  Script of. All earthly comforts abandoned
• 26:04
  by their friends and facing execution yet.
• 26:07
  Still experience massive spiritual happiness because
• 26:10
  their soul is united to the fountain of all good.
• 26:13
  On the slip side, miraculous abilities cannot manufacture
• 26:17
  genuine internal joy. You could.
• 26:19
  Have the ability to call down fire from heaven or interpret
• 26:21
  every mystery in the universe. But if?
• 26:23
  Your heart is full of pride, envy, bitterness, and enmity
• 26:26
  toward God. You will be utterly miserable.
• 26:30
  The. Capability cannot fix the
• 26:31
  internal void. The ability to split AC does not
• 26:34
  cure a depressed arrogant soul. True.
• 26:36
  Happiness is an exclusive product of charity, not
• 26:39
  capability having. Established these massive
• 26:41
  internal realities, the discussion now moves to the
• 26:43
  theological mechanics of why these extraordinary gifts
• 26:46
  existed in the 1st place and the.
• 26:47
  Extreme danger of possessing them without love this.
• 26:50
  Brings us to Edward's 7th argument, the universally.
• 26:53
  Accepted maxim that the end is always greater than the means
• 26:57
  so. What does this all mean?
• 26:59
  If we ask why God poured out these spectacular miracles in
• 27:03
  the 1st century, the apostle Paul provides the absolute
• 27:06
  answer in Ephesians chapter 4. Paul.
• 27:09
  Lists the various roles and gifts given to the Church.
• 27:12
  Apostles, prophets, evangelists, miracle workers, Any.
• 27:17
  States that they were given for a very specific utilitarian
• 27:20
  purpose for the. Perfecting of the Saints and the
• 27:23
  edifying of the body of Christ. But what?
• 27:25
  Kind of edification Paul specifies just a few verses
• 27:28
  later that the body must make increase and edify itself in
• 27:31
  love the entire. Purpose of the miraculous gifts
• 27:34
  was to establish a stable community characterized by
• 27:36
  charity, the. Miracles were the vehicle, love
• 27:39
  was the destination, so to. Ground this in a modern analogy,
• 27:43
  we could look at the miracles like the heavy scaffolding
• 27:45
  surrounding a massive cathedral under construction.
• 27:47
  I like. This when you.
• 27:49
  Walk past a cathedral being built.
• 27:50
  The scaffolding is loud. It is made of heavy steel.
• 27:52
  It is highly visible from miles away and.
• 27:55
  It is absolutely necessary for the workers to reach the heights
• 27:58
  and lay the stones the. Scaffolding immediately draws
• 28:01
  the eye, but nobody builds scaffolding just for the sake of
• 28:04
  having scaffolding it. Has no inherent value.
• 28:07
  It only exists to facilitate the construction of the actual
• 28:09
  building once the. Cathedral is finished.
• 28:11
  Once the stained glass is in place and the roof is sealed.
• 28:15
  The builders completely tear the scaffolding down.
• 28:18
  They load. It onto trucks and haul it away.
• 28:21
  Why? Because the building is superior
• 28:23
  to the scaffolding. You don't live in the steel
• 28:24
  pipes, you worship inside the cathedral, Edwards.
• 28:27
  Is arguing that the extraordinary gifts, the
• 28:29
  tongues, the prophecies, the physical healings were the loud,
• 28:34
  heavy scaffolding required to build the early church.
• 28:37
  But the cathedral they were building was a community of
• 28:39
  ordinary Christian charity, the. End product is inherently more
• 28:43
  glorious than the temporary tools used to construct it that.
• 28:47
  Analogy perfectly illustrates Edward's point and it.
• 28:49
  Sets up his eighth argument, which is perhaps the most
• 28:52
  sobering and psychologically intense point in his entire
• 28:55
  discourse. He.
• 28:56
  Argues that possessing these miraculous tools without
• 28:59
  possessing the love they were meant to build does not just
• 29:03
  leave you empty it. Actually massively aggravates
• 29:06
  your final condemnation to explain.
• 29:08
  This mechanism he looks at the terrifying warning in Hebrews
• 29:10
  chapter 6, verses 4 through 6 the.
• 29:13
  Writer of Hebrews speaks of individuals in the early church
• 29:17
  who were once enlightened. Who?
• 29:19
  Tasted of the heavenly gift and who were made partakers of the
• 29:22
  Holy Ghost in the. Context of the 1st century
• 29:25
  church being made a partaker of the Holy Ghost frequently
• 29:29
  referred to receiving the extraordinary miraculous gifts
• 29:32
  these. Were people who operated within
• 29:34
  the visible church experienced the common illuminations of the
• 29:37
  spirit and. Likely performed or directly
• 29:40
  participated in miraculous signs, yet the.
• 29:42
  Text says that if they fall away, it is impossible to renew
• 29:45
  them again to repentance seeing. They crucified to themselves the
• 29:49
  Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
• 29:52
  Edwards. Applies this directly to the
• 29:54
  apostates of that era. Consider.
• 29:56
  The psychological gymnastics an apostate must perform when.
• 29:59
  These miracle working individuals abandoned the faith
• 30:01
  and join the mob and calling Christ an impostor.
• 30:04
  They were put in a horrific theological position they had.
• 30:07
  To explain away the miracles they themselves had performed
• 30:10
  to. Justify their apostasy to
• 30:12
  themselves and to the world. They had to attribute the very
• 30:15
  miracles they wrought by the Holy Spirit to the devil acting.
• 30:19
  Entirely like the Pharisees who claimed Jesus cast out demons by
• 30:23
  Beelzebub that. Is a staggering thought it
• 30:25
  completely changes the calculus of desiring supernatural
• 30:29
  abilities we. Often think if I just had a
• 30:31
  miracle, if I could just see an Angel or heal a sick person, my
• 30:35
  faith would be invincible. I would.
• 30:37
  Never doubt again. But Edwards is pointing out how
• 30:39
  intensely a miracle actually worsens the judgement of an
• 30:42
  unregenerate heart. Let's.
• 30:44
  Unpack the logic of that condemnation to wield.
• 30:47
  Divine capability to literally feel the force of the Holy
• 30:50
  Spirit operating through your vocal cords to speak a flawless
• 30:54
  prophecy or through. Your hands to heal a terminal
• 30:57
  sickness. And then to still hate God, turn
• 30:59
  away from him and call him a fraud makes the sin virtually
• 31:03
  unpardonable. You are.
• 31:04
  Not sinning in ignorance, you are sinning against the
• 31:07
  brightest possible light you have.
• 31:08
  Held the undeniable physical evidence of the supernatural in
• 31:12
  your own two hands you have. Wielded it and you have still
• 31:15
  rejected the God who gave it to you, The.
• 31:18
  Extraordinary gift devoid of charity essentially becomes a
• 31:22
  massive anvil tied around the apostates neck sinking.
• 31:26
  Them deeper into condemnation than a Pagan who never
• 31:29
  experienced such wonders and this.
• 31:31
  Highlights the necessity of Edward's 9th and final logical
• 31:34
  argument, which is a brief but definitive point drawn straight
• 31:38
  from the text Charity. Never fails, Paul.
• 31:41
  Explicitly states that prophecy shall fail, tongues shall cease,
• 31:45
  and knowledge shall vanish away they have.
• 31:47
  A built in expiration date because they are tied
• 31:49
  exclusively to this present earthly age.
• 31:52
  But. Love is permanent.
• 31:54
  Divine Love will remain and continually expand throughout
• 31:57
  all eternity in Heaven having. Comprehensively proved the
• 32:01
  theological superiority of ordinary grace through these 9
• 32:04
  dense arguments. Edwards does not leave the
• 32:07
  concepts floating in the abstract realm of academia.
• 32:10
  He turns. To radical practical
• 32:11
  applications, applying these heavy doctrines directly to the
• 32:14
  listeners perspective and his. First application is genuinely
• 32:18
  startling as it involves the Virgin Mary we.
• 32:21
  Universally recognize across Christian traditions that Mary
• 32:25
  was granted one of the most massive historical honors ever
• 32:28
  bestowed upon a human being to be.
• 32:30
  Selected to physically carry the Creator of the universe in her
• 32:34
  womb, to give birth to the Incarnate Son of God and to
• 32:37
  nurse Him at her breast is an extraordinary privilege it
• 32:41
  defies. All human comprehension.
• 32:43
  It is a biological and historical honor that belongs to
• 32:46
  her alone yet. Edwards points to an incident in
• 32:49
  Luke Chapter 11 where a. Woman in the crowd raises her
• 32:52
  voice and yells to Jesus, Blessed is the womb that bare of
• 32:55
  thee, and the paps which thou has sucked.
• 32:57
  It is a. Completely natural human
• 32:59
  reaction to honor Mary's massive physical privilege, but Jesus.
• 33:03
  Immediately corrects the woman's theology.
• 33:05
  He responds. Yay, rather blessed are they
• 33:08
  that hear the word of God and keep it that.
• 33:10
  Response from Christ is absolutely revolutionary when
• 33:13
  you really think about the implications Jesus.
• 33:15
  Is unequivocally stating that the internal spiritual reality
• 33:20
  of possessing saving grace, of hearing the Word and keeping it
• 33:24
  through obedient daily charity, is actually a greater blessing
• 33:28
  than the biological privilege of being His earthly mother having.
• 33:33
  Christ born in your soul via ordinary grace is superior to
• 33:36
  holding the physical infant Christ in your arms.
• 33:39
  It. Completely levels the playing
• 33:41
  field for every single human being you do.
• 33:43
  Not need to be a 1st century virgin living in Nazareth to
• 33:46
  receive the highest possible blessing from God, you.
• 33:49
  Simply need the ordinary sanctifying work of the Spirit
• 33:52
  in your heart? Here's where.
• 33:53
  It gets really interesting, especially for those of us
• 33:55
  living in the modern era. Edwards.
• 33:57
  Takes this principle and applies it directly to the extreme
• 33:59
  danger of seeking magical revelations.
• 34:01
  Today he. Specifically warns against the
• 34:04
  common delusion of assuming you have received a special
• 34:06
  extraordinary communication from God just.
• 34:09
  Because a random Bible verse suddenly pops into your head out
• 34:12
  of nowhere, this is. A highly critical pastoral
• 34:15
  warning from Edwards, and he meticulously analyzes the
• 34:18
  psychological and spiritual mechanics behind this widespread
• 34:21
  phenomenon. Many individuals, when facing a
• 34:24
  severe crisis, making a major life decision, or seeking
• 34:28
  assurance of their salvation, will suddenly have a specific
• 34:32
  scripture verse jump into their conscious mind because.
• 34:35
  The suddenness of the thought feels entirely external and
• 34:38
  involuntary. They immediately assume it is an
• 34:40
  extraordinary operation of the Holy Spirit Akin.
• 34:43
  To a prophetic revelation speaking directly to their
• 34:46
  specific personal situation, they.
• 34:48
  Treat the sudden arrival of the text as a magical Talisman
• 34:52
  proving God's immediate favor or giving them a secret
• 34:55
  instruction. Edwards.
• 34:56
  Dismantles this entirely. He argues that a text of
• 34:59
  Scripture means absolutely what it means in its proper
• 35:02
  grammatical and historical context regardless.
• 35:05
  Of how it entered your mind, let.
• 35:06
  Me throw an analogy in here to make sure we are nailing this
• 35:09
  concept down. Sure, go ahead.
• 35:10
  It is the difference between reading a fortune cookie and
• 35:13
  reading a legally binding contract.
• 35:14
  Oh. Wow, yeah, that makes sense.
• 35:16
  When? People get a random verse
• 35:18
  popping into their head. They treat it like a fortune
• 35:20
  cookie. They.
• 35:21
  Strip it of all its context, apply it directly to whatever
• 35:24
  problem they are facing that day, and assume God just handed
• 35:27
  them a personalized mystical sign.
• 35:29
  But. Edwards is saying the bital is a
• 35:30
  contract. It has fixed objective meaning
• 35:34
  based on the grammar and the historical context of the
• 35:36
  author. The.
• 35:37
  Sudden, unbidden appearance of a verse in your consciousness does
• 35:41
  not granted a new personalized meaning that deviates from its
• 35:45
  original intent. Furthermore, the mere mental
• 35:48
  occurrence of a verse is not an evidence of saving grace.
• 35:51
  A. Person's mind can recall a verse
• 35:54
  through natural neurological memory or even.
• 35:56
  Through the dark suggestion of a spiritual adversary attempting
• 35:59
  to cause confusion without any sanctifying trying work taking
• 36:03
  place, the. True, verifiable evidence of a
• 36:05
  good estate before God is not the occurrence of mental
• 36:08
  phenomena, sudden emotional impressions, or involuntary
• 36:11
  thoughts the. Absolute only reliable evidence
• 36:14
  is the active, consistent, grueling exercise of Christian
• 36:17
  charity in the daily life of the believer that.
• 36:20
  Is a vital safeguard against spiritual delusion.
• 36:23
  We. Naturally gravitate toward the
• 36:25
  spectacular, even in the private theater of our own minds.
• 36:29
  But Edwards anchors us firmly back to the sturdy, objective
• 36:32
  reality of everyday obedience. And he?
• 36:34
  Extends this anchor to how we view the future of the church
• 36:37
  itself. On a macro level, there's a.
• 36:40
  Common assumption heavily prevalent both in Edwards Day
• 36:43
  and in ours that in. Order for the Church to
• 36:45
  experience its most victorious, globally dominant future before
• 36:49
  Christ returns. We must see a massive return of
• 36:52
  1st century signs and wonders people.
• 36:54
  Assume we need a new age of extraordinary miracles to
• 36:57
  convince a highly secular, skeptical world and usher in a
• 37:01
  golden era of faith. Edwards.
• 37:03
  Argues the complete opposite. He states that the greatest
• 37:05
  glory the Church will ever experience on this earth will
• 37:07
  not be a resurgence of tongues or a.
• 37:09
  Stadium full of physical healings, but.
• 37:11
  Rather, a massive, unprecedented global outpouring of ordinary
• 37:16
  sanctifying grace. The.
• 37:17
  Glory of the Future Church consists in a society completely
• 37:21
  saturated with quiet, sturdy Christian charity, that is.
• 37:24
  A far more glorious state than a church full of workers who lack
• 37:28
  love. Furthermore, Edwards sets a
• 37:30
  strict, impenetrable boundary regarding biblical revelation,
• 37:34
  he notes. That the scriptures intimate.
• 37:36
  No new dispensations are coming. The Canon is definitively
• 37:39
  closed. No new additions or expansions
• 37:42
  to the Bible will be made before the return of Christ.
• 37:44
  We. Possess all the revelation we
• 37:46
  will ever need. What we require is the ordinary
• 37:49
  grace to actually love and obey the immense revelation we
• 37:53
  already hold in our hands. As we wrap up this massive
• 37:56
  theological analysis, Edwards shifts his tone from systematic
• 38:00
  logical argumentation to earnest pastoral exhortation.
• 38:04
  He. Speaks directly to the emotional
• 38:06
  and spiritual weight of the realities we have discussed
• 38:08
  first. He addresses those who actually
• 38:10
  possess this ordinary saving grace.
• 38:13
  He calls them to a state of overwhelming daily gratitude.
• 38:16
  Think about what we have. Covered if you are a recipient
• 38:18
  of this divine charity. If your heart has been
• 38:21
  fundamentally altered from Deadwood to living gold, if.
• 38:24
  You have been given the capacity to actually love God and your
• 38:27
  neighbor. You must recognize that you
• 38:29
  possess a treasure infinitely greater than the crown of any
• 38:32
  Roman emperor you possess. Something far superior to the
• 38:35
  incredible abilities of Moses splitting the sea, or the
• 38:38
  prophetic insight of Daniel commanding the Babylonian court
• 38:42
  in. Light of this astonishing in
• 38:43
  reality, Edwards urges you to constantly ask yourself, What
• 38:47
  shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?
• 38:50
  How can you? Possibly justify living a
• 38:52
  lukewarm, self-centered, apathetic life when you have
• 38:55
  been granted A privilege that completely outshines the most
• 38:58
  spectacular miracles of history, your life.
• 39:01
  Should be a continuous outpouring of gratitude
• 39:03
  manifested in rigorous obedience, sincere humility, and
• 39:08
  tireless sacrificial service to your neighbor and for.
• 39:11
  Those listening who might honestly recognize that they do
• 39:13
  not possess this internal reality.
• 39:15
  Those who might realize their religion has been entirely
• 39:18
  external chasing. Emotional experiences,
• 39:20
  theological debates, or intellectual knowledge while
• 39:23
  remaining totally destitute of actual sacrificial love.
• 39:27
  Edwards. Offers a serious plea, He warns
• 39:29
  the unrenewed against the miserable condition of
• 39:31
  continuing in quiet enmity toward God while distracted by
• 39:34
  the superficial vanities of the world.
• 39:36
  But he. Also offers immense hope.
• 39:38
  The exact same Holy Spirit who hovered over the dark waters of
• 39:41
  creation bringing order out of chaos, is entirely able and
• 39:45
  willing to bestow this ordinary saving grace upon you, Christ.
• 39:50
  Has purchased this blessing and it is freely available.
• 39:53
  Do not. Settle for the temporary,
• 39:55
  superficial shadows of spiritual excitement or intellectual
• 39:58
  pride. When the eternal solid substance
• 40:01
  of divine charity is offered to you, seek.
• 40:03
  This most excellent blessing above all else, if we.
• 40:06
  Connect this to the bigger picture and look closely at the
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  trajectory of the early church as Paul describes it.
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  We uncover A fascinating dynamic that challenges our modern
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  sensibilities in the. Very chapter Edwards is
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  analyzing Paul hints that the extraordinary gifts were
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  essentially the temporary childhood phase of the church.
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  They were. The loud, visible toys necessary
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  for a community in its infancy, needing spectacular proof to
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  establish its initial footing. But Paul.
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  Explicitly says that when completeness comes, what is in
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  part disappears, and he equates true spiritual maturity with the
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  permanent nature of love that. Raises a highly piercing
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  question for our current spiritual culture to end on if.
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  Spectacular miracles, in some minds, were the childhood phase
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  designed specifically to eventually give way to the
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  mature, permanent reality of charity.
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  Does our modern obsession with seeking spectacular supernatural
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  phenomena actually reveal a secret desire to regress?
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  Are we? Constantly chasing the loud
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  visible scaffolding of the 1st century.
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  Because we are simply unwilling to do the quiet, unglamorous,
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  sturdy work of actually maturing into everyday sacrificial.
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  Love it. Forces us to examine whether we
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  are longing for the designer suit of supernatural
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  capabilities simply to cover up a heart that still resembles
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  Deadwood. True.
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  Maturity, as Edwards has so masterfully demonstrated today,
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  is not found in the ability to move a mountain.
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  It is found in the quiet, unrelenting disposition to love
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  God and love our neighbor. Thank you.
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  For joining us on this deep dive into the massive insights of
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  Jonathan Edwards, we hope. This analysis has shifted how
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  you view the work of the Spirit in your own life.
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  Until next time, remember that while the desire depart AC or
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  predict the future is a natural human fantasy, the quiet, unseen
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  reality of a heart altered by ordinary grace is the only
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  capability that carries eternal weight.