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The True Excellency of a Gospel Minister (John 5:35) | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to reformed thinking. It is, it is really good to be
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  here with you today. We have a topic today that I
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  think strikes a nerve for, well, anyone living in our current
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  cultural moment. Oh.
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  Absolutely. We often feel torn between two
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  poles, right On one side we have this massive pressure to be
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  rigorous, analytical, objective, the head.
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  Yeah, the head. And then on the other side,
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  there is this demand to be passionate, authentic and
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  emotionally engaged. The heart.
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  And we tend to think we have to pick one.
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  Right, you are either the smart, cold intellectual.
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  I want the fiery emotional activist.
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  It is a false dichotomy. It is, and it has plagued the
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  church and society for a very long time.
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  It is that classic split between the head and the heart.
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  So we're going to challenge that split.
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  Today we are taking a deep dive into the year 1744.
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  To a small town in colonial New England called Pelham.
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  Right, and we are looking at a sermon delivered by Jonathan
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  Edwards. The sermon is titled The True X
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  of a Gospel Minister. Now I know what you might be
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  thinking listening to this. You are thinking, well I am not
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  a minister right? You are a software developer, or
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  a nurse, or a stay at home parent, or maybe a student.
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  You might wonder why an ordination sermon from the 18th
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  century matters to you at all. That is a completely fair
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  initial reaction. However, Edwards is doing a lot
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  more here than writing a job description for the clergy.
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  Yeah, he really is. He is laying out a comprehensive
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  vision for Christian maturity. He is describing what it looks
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  like when a human being operates with both full intellectual
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  clarity and maximum spiritual affection.
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  It is a cure for both the the frozen chosen and the mindless
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  fanatic. Precisely, it is about the union
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  of light and heat. Edwards preached this on August
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  30th, 1744 for the ordination of a man named Robert Abercrombie.
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  This was a very serious event. An ordination in the Reformed
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  tradition is a solemn setting apart.
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  The community is recognizing a man's call to care for their
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  souls. Edwards takes this opportunity
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  to deliver a message that is inspiring but also incredibly
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  heavy. Yeah, the stakes he lays out are
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  terrifying on. Us they are.
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  As we will see, Edwards believes the ministry leads to either the
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  highest glory or the deepest judgement.
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  Let's get into the text itself. Our goal for this session is to
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  unpack Edwards exposition of John 5.35.
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  We want to understand the metaphor he uses.
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  The burning and shining light, yes.
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  And we want to see how it applies to us today.
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  Where does Edwards actually begin his argument?
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  He begins with the context of John chapter 5.
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  We have to understand the scene because it is not a peaceful
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  one. Jesus is in trouble.
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  He is in a lot of trouble. Jesus had just been at the pool
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  of Bethesda. He healed a man who had been
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  paralyzed for 38 years. Which should have been a moment
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  of incredible celebration. It should have been, but Jesus
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  performed this miracle on the Sabbath.
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  To the Jewish leaders, this was a clear violation of the law.
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  They were murmuring against him. They were actively persecuting
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  him. They wanted to kill him.
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  They did, and Jesus does not apologize or back down.
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  Not at all. He vindicates himself, He
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  asserts his fellowship with God the Father.
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  He says My Father worketh hitherto and I work.
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  That is a massive theological claim.
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  It is huge. Edwards points out that while
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  God rested on the 7th day from the work of creation, he has
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  never rested from the work of Providence in redemption.
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  God is working every single day to sustain the universe.
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  So Jesus is saying that he is doing the very same work.
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  He is claiming total equality with God.
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  And the religious leaders understood that claim clearly.
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  They knew exactly, well, they knew precisely what he meant.
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  They did. That is why they were so
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  furious, since they would not accept Jesus's own testimony
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  about himself. Jesus calls a witness.
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  He points them to someone they all knew and respected, at least
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  for a time. He points to John the Baptist.
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  This is where our key verse comes in John 5.35 Jesus says of
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  John he was a burning in a shining light.
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  And, he adds, and you were willing for a season to rejoice
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  in his light. Edwards identifies John the
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  Baptist as the forerunner. Here he uses the image of the
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  Morning Star. That is a beautiful and very
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  accurate image. The morning star appears right
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  before the sun rises. It is the brightest object in
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  the pre dawn sky. Edwards notes that Israel had
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  been in a long, dark season. There had been no profits for
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  centuries. Right.
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  It was spiritual night. Then John appears.
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  He appears as the Morning Star to introduce the Sun of
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  Righteousness, who is Christ. Edwards draws a direct parallel
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  here. Just as the Morning Star
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  reflects the sun, the minister reflects Christ.
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  That brings us to the second section of our discussion today,
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  the design of the ministry. Edwards builds a full theology
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  of light here. He starts with the state of the
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  world. This is standard Reformed
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  anthropology which we see laid out so clearly in the
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  Westminster Confession. You cannot understand the need
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  for light if you do not accept the reality of the darkness.
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  Total depravity. Yes, Edwards takes us back to
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  the fall. When a man sinned, he
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  extinguished the divine light in his soul.
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  He actually quotes Jeremiah 4.22 and 23 for this.
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  I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void, and
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  the heavens and they had no light.
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  That is the state of the fallen world.
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  It is a spiritual chaos. Satan's Kingdom is a Kingdom of
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  literal darkness. So into this void God
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  establishes a system of light. I really appreciate the analogy
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  Edwards draws between the natural world and the spiritual
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  world here. It is brilliant.
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  God set the sun in the solar system to be the source of
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  natural light. In the spiritual system.
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  God set Christ as the Sun of Righteousness.
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  But God also appoints subordinate lights.
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  The stars and the lamps. Right.
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  Edwards cites Revelation 1.20, where ministers are called
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  stars, and Zechariah 4.2, which mentions the lampstand.
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  There is a physics lesson in the lamp analogy that is vital for
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  us to grasp. The lamp has no light of its
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  own. None.
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  It is not a source. It must be fed by oil.
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  In biblical typology, oil represents the Holy Spirit.
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  The lamb must also be in, kindled or lit by an outside
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  source. So the minister, or really any
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  Christian, is just a Wick. We are a Wick if we are not fed
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  by the Spirit and lit by Christ. We are just a dry string sitting
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  in the dark. We have no inherent ability to
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  illuminate anything. Once the lamp is lit, what is
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  its function? Edwards lists 3 uses of light.
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  These three uses really define the scope of Christian
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  influence. The first use is to discover we
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  might use the word manifest. It means making things visible.
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  Darkness hides reality. You cannot distinguish objects
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  in a dark room, Edwards says. The minister's job is to impart
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  divine truth. They bring the glorious objects
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  of the gospel to the viewer's eye.
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  This is the intellectual function.
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  It is all about knowledge. It is about the knowledge of God
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  in Jesus Christ. You cannot have faith without
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  knowledge. You have to clearly see the
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  object of your faith. And then the second use is to
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  refresh. Edwards says darkness is dismal,
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  light is sweet. That connects on such a primal
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  level. Think about being lost in the
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  woods at night. It is terrifying, it is
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  depressing. But when the sun comes up, your
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  entire emotional state changes, Edwards says.
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  The gospel is meant to delight. It binds up the broken hearted.
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  It comforts those who mourn. He quotes Psalm 97.11.
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  Light is sewn for the righteous. The message is not just a list
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  of cold facts, it is good tidings.
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  It brings genuine joy. The third use is to direct.
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  Darkness causes stumbling. You fall into pits, you wander
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  off the road entirely. Light shows the path, Edwards
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  says. Ministers are to guide feet into
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  the way of peace. They convey wisdom.
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  So we have discovering, refreshing, and directing truth,
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  joy, and wisdom. That is what the light does.
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  But the sermon title centers on the phrase burning and shining.
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  Edwards actually separates these two qualities.
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  He does. He treats them as distinct but
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  completely inseparable necessities.
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  Let's look at burning first. What does Edwards mean by a
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  burning light? He is referring to the internal
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  state of the minister's heart. He uses words like holy ardor
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  and the power of godliness. He argues that true grace is
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  never dull or inactive. That is a sharp critique of a
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  certain kind of academic religion.
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  Edwards insists that grace is a powerful, active principle of
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  life. If the Holy Spirit is inside
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  you, there will be heat. What is the source of this heat?
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  It is the Holy Spirit. He references Matthew 3.11 where
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  John the Baptist says Christ will baptize with the Holy Ghost
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  and with fire. The specific nature of this fire
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  is love. Love is the flame.
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  It is a holy flame and kindled in the soul, and it burns in two
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  distinct directions. First, it burns with love for
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  Christ. It rejoices in His glory.
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  Second, it burns with love for the souls of men.
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  That second part is really challenging.
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  It is. You cannot be a burning light if
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  you do not care about the people you are ministering to.
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  You might be a shining light of brilliant intellect, but without
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  love you are freezing cold. Edward says this burning is
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  internal, but it must manifest, it cannot stay hidden away.
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  He calls the external manifestation of this heat zeal.
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  He gives 3 specific areas where this zeal appears.
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  The 1st is in prayer. It is not just reciting words
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  from a page. No, it is fervency.
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  It is wrestling with God for the sake of the people.
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  The second area is preaching. This is where we see that
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  classic Edwards intensity come out.
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  He speaks of earnestness in declaring misery to sinners.
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  He says the burning minister warns them to flee from the
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  wrath to come. It is the absolute urgency of a
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  man seeing a deadly disaster and shouting a warning to save
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  lives. The third area is discipline.
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  This requires incredible courage, Edwards says.
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  The minister must be steadfast in maintaining order in God's
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  house. He must do this even against
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  fierce opposition. He compares John the Baptist to
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  Elijah here, which is fascinating.
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  It is a very strong comparison. John came in the spirit and
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  might of Elijah. Elijah stood up to Ahab and
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  Jezebel. He was a man of fire.
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  John stood up to Herod and the Pharisees.
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  He called them a generation of Vipers.
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  That is certainly heat. It is.
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  It is a total refusal to compromise the holiness of God
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  for the sake of polite society. Now let's look at the other side
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  of the coin, Section 4, what it means to be a shining light.
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  If burning is internal heat, shining is external projection.
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  It is the light of clear truth and a holy example.
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  Edwards breaks this down into three parts as well.
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  The first is purity and clarity of doctrine.
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  The minister must be sound in the faith.
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  He cannot have a reprobate mind. Edwards places a very high value
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  on basic competence here. He says a minister cannot be raw
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  or ignorant. He cannot be a novice.
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  He must be mighty in the Scriptures.
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  He must be able to convince the game Sayers, the skeptic and the
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  opponents. But Edwards adds a very reformed
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  qualification here. He talks about experiential
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  knowledge. This is vital, this is the core
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  of so much Puritan and Reformed thought, he says.
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  The minister cannot be a blind leader.
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  He must understand the inward operations of the Spirit.
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  He has to know what he's talking about from the inside.
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  Imagine a man lecturing on the sweetness of honey who has only
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  read the chemical formula but has never actually tasted it
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  right. That is a man with theoretical
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  knowledge but zero experiential knowledge, Edwards says.
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  The minister must know the subtle ways of Satan and the
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  gracious work of God because he has lived them personally.
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  He also mentions fullness and plainness.
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  The minister must declare the whole counsel of God.
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  He keeps absolutely nothing back, but he must also use
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  plainness. He accommodates his language to
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  the capacity of his hearers. He makes the truth accessible to
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  everyone. The second part of Shining is
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  discretion. Zeal needs to be regulated by
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  wisdom. Edwards calls the minister a
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  wise steward and a wise builder. Why is his serpents harmless as
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  doves? You have to know how to conduct
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  yourself in the House of God. Zeal without discretion is just
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  destructive. It breaks things.
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  The third part of shining is brightness of conversation.
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  In the 18th century, the word conversation meant your whole
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  way of life, your daily conduct. Edward says doctrine is
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  completely ineffectual if the life contradicts it.
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  He cites Matthew 5.1's team. Let your light so shine before
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  men that they may see your good works.
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  He uses a physics analogy here that is quite striking.
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  He says that when natural bodies are heated to a high degree,
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  they begin to shine. Like iron in a forge.
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  Yes, if the iron gets hot enough it glows bright orange.
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  True internal grace. The heat naturally results in a
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  shining life, which is holiness. The minister is to be an in
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  sample to the flock. This brings us to Section 5,
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  which is really the heart of the argument, the Excellency of the
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  Union, the combination of heat and light.
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  Edwards highlights the glory of the union by showing us the
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  extreme ugliness of the separation.
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  He describes what happens when you have one without the other.
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  Let's start with light without heat.
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  This is the intellectual who has massive knowledge but no
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  spiritual warmth. Edwards compares this to an
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  Ignis fatuous. Swamp Gaff.
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  The will of the Wisp. It is a pale light seen over
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  marshes, caused by decaying matter.
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  It looks like a Lantern, but it is entirely cold and deceptive.
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  He also uses the image of putrefying carcasses that shine
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  in the dark. That is a visceral, almost
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  shocking image. Bioluminescence on rotting wood
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  or dead flesh. It shines, but it smells of
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  death, Edwards says. A minister with light but no
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  genuine love is exactly like that.
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  He promotes itching ears and empty notions, but he saves
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  absolutely no souls. Then there's the other extreme
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  heat without light. This is the fanatic.
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  This is fierce intemperate zeal. Edwards compares this to the
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  heat of the bottomless pit. Because hell is fire without
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  light. It is darkness visible.
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  Edwards calls this person an Angel of darkness.
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  What is the practical effect of this kind of ministry on a
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  church? It fires up corrupt passions in
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  the people. It makes them angry, hostile, or
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  purely emotional, but it drives them away from heaven.
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  It generates immense heat, but it is a thoroughly destructive
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  heat. So we desperately need the union
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  of both. When both are present, the
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  minister resembles the angels. Edwards points out that angels
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  are called morning stars and flaming fires.
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  The word seraphim literally means burning ones.
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  The angels have perfect clear knowledge and burning love, but
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  ultimately, while in the end the minister resembles Christ
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  himself, Christ is the perfect union of infinite brightness and
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  infinite love. Edwards uses a great
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  agricultural analogy to explain why this union is necessary for
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  the Church to thrive. He asks us to look up at the
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  sun. Sunlight is light accompanied by
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  intense heat. What happens if you have light
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  without heat? You have the dead of winter.
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  The sun shines brightly on the snow.
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  It is blindingly bright, but everything is frozen solid.
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  Nothing grows. That is a church with perfect,
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  precise doctrine and absolutely no love.
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  It illuminates misery, but it provides no life.
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  What if you have heat without light?
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  That is like being in a pitch black room that is intensely
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  hot. You are like the Egyptians
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  during the biblical plague of darkness.
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  You are active, but you are stumbling around blind.
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  You cannot work, you cannot plant or harvest because you
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  cannot see your own hands. But sunlight with heat brings
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  the spring. It causes the corn and the vine
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  and the Lily to grow. This balance makes the ministry
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  amiable or lovely and profitable, meaning effective
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  for salvation. Let's move to the application.
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  Section 6 addresses the Minister directly.
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  Edward speaks straight to Mr. Abercrombie.
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  This is the solemn call he tells in the office Is highly
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  honorable. He calls it the vehicle of God's
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  greatest goodness, but the stakes are incredibly high.
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  He references Daniel 12.3. And they that be wise shall
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  shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn
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  many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
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  That is the incredible promise of success.
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  But the warning for failure is severe.
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  Edwards says a faithless minister is more abominable than
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  others. He suggests that the absolute
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  deepest misery in Hell is reserved for fallen angels of
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  the churches. That is a terrifying thought, to
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  be so close to the holy things and yet be completely lost.
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  It is the tragedy of Judas Iscariot.
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  What specific duties does Edwards list for the minister to
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  maintain this burning and shining light?
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  First, he calls for extreme diligence and study.
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  The minister must give himself holy to it.
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  He must avoid worldly entanglements.
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  Second, he must search the scriptures.
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  The Bible is the beam of the Sun of Righteousness.
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  You must stay in the beam to reflect the light.
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  Third, he must seek spiritual views of Christ.
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  This is about deep prayer and meditation.
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  Edwards uses the example of Moses.
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  When Moses came down from the mountain, his face shown.
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  Why? Because he had been looking
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  directly at God. You reflect what you behold. 4th
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  is humility. We are earthen vessels.
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  Edwards alludes to Gideon's pictures.
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  The light was inside the cheap clay jars and the jars actually
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  had to be broken for the light to shine out.
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  The minister must remember the light is not from him, it is
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  from God. Finally, prayer.
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  He must walk closely with God. He must sit as a humble child at
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  Christ's feet. Section 7 applies this to the
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  people, to the listeners. Even if you are not a minister,
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  you have a major role in this dynamic.
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  Edwards calls it the duty of the Pew.
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  If the minister is to be a light, the people must pray for
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  him. They must pray that He is filled
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  with the Holy Ghost. He also talks about financial
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  support. He warns against penuriousness.
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  That is an old word for stinginess, he says.
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  The people should not force the minister into worldly care
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  through poverty. If the minister is worried about
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  feeding his family or working a second job just to survive, he
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  cannot focus on the word. Absolutely.
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  Poverty obscures the light by consuming the minister's time
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  and energy with mere survival, the congregation has a duty to
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  provide. Then there is the reception of
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  reproof. This is the really hard part.
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  When the pastor burns with holy zeal against sin, how do the
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  people in the pews react? Edwards warns them not to raise
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  a counter fire. That is a brilliant image.
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  The pastor brings holy fire from the pulpit, and the people fight
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  back with unhallowed fire from the pews.
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  We see this all the time today. People get defensive, They get
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  angry. Edwards warns them not to be
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  like the Jews who rejoiced in John the Baptist for a season
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  but turned on him the moment he spoke hard truths.
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  He exhorts them to walk as children of the Light.
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  The path of the just shines more and more into the perfect day.
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  We have covered a lot of ground today.
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  We have the context of John 5, the theology of light, the
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  burning heart, the shining mind, and the glory of the union it.
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  Is a totally comprehensive picture of the Christian life.
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  To summarize, the twofold Excellency is the absolute
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  necessity of both head and heart.
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  We cannot choose one over the other.
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  Truth and love must be married. Light and heat must go together.
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  I want to leave you, our listener, with a provocative
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  thought. Edwards suggests that false
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  zeal, so heat without light, is actually worse than cold
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  intellectualism because it perfectly mimics the heat of the
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  pit. In our modern age we see a lot
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  of outrage online and in person. We see intense emotional
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  reactions. We really need to ask ourselves
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  if that is the genuine fire of the spirit or just the
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  destructive fire of human passion.
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  Are we mistaking our own fleshly anger for divine righteousness?
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  And on the other side, are we using intellectual nuance as a
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  convenient excuse to be cold and indifferent to the lost?
• 19:13
  We need to constantly check our temperature and our brightness.
• 19:16
  Until next time, keep thinking.