Originally preached in Northampton in the fall of 1730, and later preached at Boston for the Harvard convocation week Thursday lecture on 8 July 1731, God Glorified in Man’s Dependence was Jonathan Edwards’ first published writing. In it, Edwards issued a clarion call for a biblical and Calvinistic understanding of redemption. Specifically Edwards shows the Trinitarian basis of salvation. Man depends upon God the Father for the initiation of redemption, on the Son for the accomplishment of redemption, and on the Holy Spirit as the one who works faith in him, thereby uniting him to Christ. In other words, believers have all their salvific good from God, through God, and in God.
Participants: Craig Biehl, David Filson, Jeff Waddington, Nick Batzig
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Reminds me of what Vos says in his “Biblical Theology” where he says that the fall was the occasion by which God displayed both his mercy and his justice. Without the fall, the fulness of God’s attributes would not be displayed. In other words, God’s greater glory is found in the fall and the subsequent redemption. Or, redemption is greater than creation, meaning that eschatology precedes soteriology!
Hey Jim, does this make you a supralapsarian? (I probably spelled that wrong.)
Hi Bob,
The short answer to your good question is no, not necessarily (and for the record, I regard myself as infra).
Strictly speaking, the supra position regards the order of the decree of God. Does God consider man as fallen in predestination (infra), or is there a bare decree in which God predestinates first, and then orders the fall (the supra position, as I understand it). One may most certainly see eschatology as the goal of God’s plan without saying that he has a bare decree of predestination. In fact, the way I see it, the fall is absolutely in view already as God considers his greater glory in the salvation of sinners. In fact, it seems that the infra position is necessary for JE and Vos’ position. But, I am no expert no the infra/supra debate. Maybe Jeff can offer other thoughts.
Brothers – I want to let you know that I was in the car listening to this episode while on my way to meet with an unbelieving friend who wanted to get lunch to talk about his questions regarding the Bible.
Into lunch he put the question to me as to why “bad things happen”, and how God could foreordain such things. What a great occasion it was to talk about the infinite mercy of our infinite God in the face of the most tragic, infinitely awful occurance in the course of human history – the fall of Adam. I am grateful the Lord gave me immediate occasion to share the knowledge I gained from this episode in the evangelizing of my friend.