Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (Revised Edition)

After reading this book I fell in love with Jesus all over again! I was going through a rather discouraging time of my life when I read it, and was letting satan's lies get the best of me, but God used the truths in this book to encourage and strengthen me. The book is not very long, and contains 13 short little chapters, each one focusing on a different aspect of the character of Christ. Jesus is so awesome! He's the Lion and the Lamb, the express radiance of the glory of God, and in fact God himself. Yet despite His position He gave it all up and suffered through shame and reproach and inexpressible anguish on this earth because of our sin. Jesus knows when to be tough and when to be compassionate, and He always has our best interest in mind. He is the source of invincible life and there's nothing that can keep in in the grave! And some day He's going to come back in all of His glory, and faith will be swallowed up by sight. John Piper states all of these truths and many more in such a clear, concise way. This book contains so much scripture, it could almost come straight from the Bible. Each chapter ends with a powerful prayer that really makes you think. This is one book I can wholeheartedly recommend for ANYONE, saved or unsaved, and it ends with a clear gospel presentation. "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" is definitely my favorite Piper book because it gets beyond all the theological talk and the reasoning and the mumbo jumbo, and you're only left with Jesus, and He is the only thing that matters anyways. His lifechanging power is displayed on every single page of this book. Order two copies, one for yourself and one to give away. And reread it often as a short devotional, it always reminds me of how much Jesus has done for me and how awesome he is, and I go about my day rejoicing!

Part exposition, part devotional, SEEING AND SAVORING JESUS CHRIST offers such a thorough, biblically based examination of the person of Jesus Christ that I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a comparable book; think of it as a meditative Bible study minus the superficial fill-in-the-blanks. Piper manages to pack loads of scripture and insight into a slim volume of fewer than 150 pages, and he does so by adhering to his usual standard of excellence. Arranged topically, the book's 13 chapters cover Jesus' purpose, deity, excellence, joy, power, wisdom, and so forth. (In typical Piper style, he titles a chapter on the desecration of Jesus "The Glorious Poverty of a Bad Reputation." I love it.) Each chapter begins with scriptures or quotations, or both, and ends with a thoughtful prayer that is longer than usual for a devotional type of book. But this book strays from both the usual Bible study format and the usual devotional format, creating a rich hybrid that ministers to the mind and the heart. All that is to say that this is a book to be read and, well, savored. Despite its brevity, it's not the kind of book you can breeze through if you expect to get much out of it. As an example, the chapter on Jesus' sacrifice, "The Glory of Rescuing Sinners, Not Removing Satan," handles the problem of evil in a convincing and beautiful way. Piper writes: "Christ must have had a very high stake in the ongoing existence of Satan, because, even though he has the right and power to annihilate him now, he defeats him in stages at the cost of his own life." What's the stake? "God wills for his glory to shine forth not only through acts of physical power, but also through acts of moral and spiritual power that display the beauty of his grace with lavish colors," he writes. "To take sinners out of Satan's hands by virtue of Christ's sin-bearing sacrifice and his law-fulfilling obedience to the Father was a more glorious victory than mere annihilation of the enemy." The main value in Piper's work is the way it will enrich an individual believer's walk with God. But there are two other areas in which the book becomes a valuable resource: as a counterpoint both to the liberals who embrace a view of Jesus akin to the conclusions of the Jesus Seminar and to that segment of evangelicalism that has reduced Jesus to a casual buddy. Neither view does justice to the glory of God, and neither provides a full understanding of the character, mission and glory of Jesus Christ. Piper probably won't change a whole lot of liberal minds, drawing as he does on scripture as his sole source of information on Jesus. But evangelicals would be wise to use this book as their text for introducing others to Jesus --- and for reacquainting themselves with the one on whom they base their faith.

I read this book during a pretty dry and seemingly unfruitful time in my life (part of which I am still going through). If nothing else, God has used Piper to remind me that all of life is about the glory and supremacy of Christ. It is very easy for us to forget Christ as the focal point of all of history, and to look to ourselves or other means for satisfaction. John Piper, a man who is in a singular pursuit of God's glory by the means of revealed truth (the Bible), uses the same scripture to paint a portrait of Jesus Christ that we might leave both seeing and savoring Him more than we ever had before.This book is nowhere near as difficult a read as many of Piper's other books are, but it exudes the sweetness of Christ in a most extraordinary way. None of the chapters are over ten pages in length, and as one reviewer already noted, each one ends with a prayer. For me, this book has been a great supplement to my pursuit of God in the Word. As always, Piper doesn't skimp on the scriptural meat and brings out verse after verse reflecting on the character and person of Christ. This is a great read for anyone who wants to know more about whom Christ is or even for those who want to be reminded of the sweetness of their Savior.Including the indices, the book is only 146 pages long. Each paragraph is fairly short, and there is a ton of room at the end of each chapter to journal any thoughts or questions that you might have. Piper offers us two different kinds of indexes at the end of his book, the first is a scriptural index (6 pages long) with the second being a subject index (3 pages long). I've been reading it along with the Pleasures of God [Piper] and The Body of Divinity [Thomas Watson], which has worked out well to (again) emphasize that God is ultimately about His glory and praise from the farthest reaches of the world.

This book is, more or less, a collection of essays from Piper pertaining to the work, glory, person and power of Christ. The preface is used as a type of 'apologetic' for the person of Christ. Following the preface are chapters which cover certain attributes of Christ, namely his glory, deity, excellence, power, wisdom, but also Christ's desecration, anguish, and saving sacrifice.The book is a very powerful Christ-centered work demonstrating to its reader just who Christ is and why that is so important. At the end of each chapter is a prayer, and at the beginning of each chapter is either a Scripture verse or quote from someone (e.g. Isaac Watts).Piper details the person of Christ, His work, His being, His actions and takes these and applies them to our lives in a very powerful way. Christ's death and resurrection are detailed and the significance these acts have upon our lives, the purpose of these acts and how these things speak out to us and tell us that what occurred is true, who Jesus is and what He has done is indeed truth.If you are wanting a theologically solid exposition of Christ then this is the best book you could own. What is more, the book is a wonderful devotional work which will help to strengthen your prayer life as well as your time with God. Moreover, this is a very powerful work to give to those who are nonbelievers, since Piper seems to have written in such a way that the nonbeliever can benefit from the truths of these pages. I highly recommend this book!

John Piper has written an excellent book here with the design of letting the glory of Christ shine through these meditations on Scripture. This book will serve as an encouragement to the Christian, inspiring worship and adoration. But it will also be evangelistic to the unbeliever, inspiring (with the Holy Spirit's help) awe and trust. Piper focuses on many aspects of Christ's person and work including His zeal for God's glory; the excellence of His person; His wisdom, mercy, power, and severity; His anguish and sufferings; and His resurrection and Second-Coming. I found this a very beneficial book drawing me closer to my Lord. I read it on a plane between Dallas and Cincinatti (it is short!) before preaching a series of special meetings. It was wonderful preparation for my heart. I would highly recommend it for both your own soul and as a gift to others.