God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself

We were created with the main idea to glorify God. This, says John Piper, is the gospel that, in American Christianity, seems to become almost a foreign concept. He writes this in the introduction: "When I say that God is the Gospel I mean that the highest, best, final, decisive good of the gospel, without which no other gifts would be good, is the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting enjoyment." The three parts to this, he says, are 1) the gift was purchased by the blood of Jesus; 2) it was free and not earned; and 3) "the gift must be God himself, above all his other gifts." This gift is Jesus Himself. I like the way Piper used the Word to bring home his point, the point that is the "old old story" of God and His love for us. Oh, pity on us if we forget that this--not self-actualization, prosperity, and other 21st century hang-ups that have made their way into the church--is the true Good News of God! Read this book slowly with a highligher to get full benefit out of the book's wisdom; your soul will be glad you did.

Piper mines the depths of the glory of God. He has been doing it for decades, and it is a testimony to the riches of God's glory that John continues, year after year, to bring up ever more precious treasure for us to behold and prize. This precious treasure of God's glory shines brightly in God Is the Gospel. The subtitle is "meditations on God's love as the gift of Himself," which is an apt description of the book. Building on many of his previous works, Piper leads us through a multitude of facets showing that all of creation and redemption, all of the good news of the gospel, all of God's gifts and graces, are focused on one shining goal: for us to delight in and display God's glory for all eternity. Along the way, he covers the importance of proclaiming God's glory, the illumination of His glory within our soul, its purpose in sanctification, the proper view of God's gifts to us, and God's glory as our ultimate and final hope and desire in heaven. He shows how easy it is to focus on the gifts and not the Giver, but how vitally important it is for our focus to be always on God. This short quote shows the heart and soul of the book: All the gifts and rewards and miracles have come for one great reason: that you might behold forever the glory of God in Christ, and by beholding become the kind of person who delights in God above all things, and by delighting display his supreme beauty and worth with ever-increasing brightness and bliss forever. God Is the Gospel is a passionate trumpet call for us to see that all the Gospel in all its beauty is meant to bring us to worship the One who died to bring it to pass.

Why is the gospel good news? Is it because Jesus died for the sins of the world, because Jesus was raised from the dead, because of the promise of salvation and sanctification, or is it because the saved will enjoy a heaven free of pain and suffering? John Piper contends that though these are all aspects of the gospel, the gospel is not good news without God. Until you "embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God. You have embraced some of his gifts... but you have yet been awakened to why the gifts, the rewards, and the miracles have come. They have come for one reason: that you might behold forever the glory of God." (38) God is the Gospel is John Piper's rich explanation of what the gospel is truly about: "The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God." (47) Piper begins by defining the meaning of the gospel, including all the aspects that are part of the good news. He then moves on to describe what it means for God to be the supreme good of the gospel in terms of each person of the trinity. He explains how this applies to evangelism, missions, and sanctification: "There is no gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not shown. And there is no salvation through the gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not seen." (97) Not all of the gifts of the gospel are pleasant, so Piper spends a couple of chapters explaining that "all the gifts of God are given for the sake of revealing more of God's glory, so that the proper use of them is to rest our affections not on them but through them on God alone." (117) The point of each gift, of course, is the glory of God, and so Piper describes how that works with both the good and the bad. He also explains that we shall eventually see the glory of God and ourselves be glorious, since we must first be like Christ to experience the glory of God. Piper ends the book with a series of hymns describing the transforming power of the gospel that is the glory of God. All of John Piper's work flows from the same passion for the glory of God, and God is the Gospel is no exception. At some points the book is redundant, especially where it explicitly crosses paths his other books. However, it contains many of its own great nuggets. For example, in the introduction, Piper asks if we would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there. Reflecting on such a question is a good exercise for getting the point of gospel right, and so is the entire book. God is the Gospel is an important reminder of what's so great about the gospel and why we should proclaim it.

When I sat down to read God Is The Gospel, I have to admit that I was feeling a bit world-weary. I was even dreading to read this book. I didn't want to read anything. I just wanted to wallow in my self-pity. It is sad, but true. But, I sat down to force myself to read this book. After two pages, I wasn't forcing myself anymore. I felt myself being sucked into a profound theological philosophy. I was reading words that didn't just tell me what I should be doing as a Christian--these words told me why I am a Christian and how wonderful the gift of God is to me. The words I was reading were seeping into my heart and reminding me that I am to savor the glory of Christ. We are privileged to worship and enjoy God. While we do not deserve the attention and love God gives us, He has done everything to get our attention. He wants to bring us to Him so that we can enjoy Him. He wants us to know Him! He wants us to realize that the gospel is about Him! God is the gospel! John Piper really hits home with this book and reminds us that it is really all about God. If you are looking for something more filling, something to quench your thirst for truth, then this book is for you. You will walk away with a greater understanding of the gifts God has given us--especially the gift of Himself.

Much of what you read these days coming out of the Christian world if full of glory to men but few books are written anymore that truly honour God first and foremost. You would think even from the number of "study" Bibles that have come out these days that even the Bible was written primarily for men. How mistaken we are. The gospel, writes John Piper, is all about God and only secondary is it about men. Jesus died as our propitiation (1 John 2:2) but He died to satisfy the wrath of a holy and just God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus did not die to defeat Satan or to ransom mankind from the grasp of the enemy but rather He died in our place of judgment (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). He took our sins (John 1:29) and He bore our punishment (1 Peter 2:21-25). Only His blood satisfies the wrath of God (Romans 5:1-11; 1 Peter 1:17-25) and sanctifies the believer (Hebrews 10:10-14). And this is just what Piper does in this book. He helps us to see that the gospel is all about God. Evangelism, worship, prayer, Bible reading and study, etc. all are to be done to the glory of God. Our lives are to be to the glory of God (Romans 12:1-2). The gospel is not about making us feel better or to help us have a new outlook on life or to help us find purpose but its about a holy God sending His only begotten Son in the person of Jesus Christ and the perfect Son taking our place on the cross (Galatians 3:10-29) and then God the Spirit drawing men to Christ (John 6:44; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:3-14) and regenerating us by His sovereign grace (Acts 2:38; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14; 3:5-7). The gospel is about God! And this book will help you see that wonderful truth.