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

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I am not an old man, and I have only been pastoring for a little over a decade, but I am already weary with the evangelical church's thirst for relevance. There is a clear biblical mandate to make disciples, preach the Gospel to every nation, and to become all things to all people, but far too often, the form that takes is one that gives up too much theologically. We are too prone to neglect the core realities of the Gospel of Christ in our pursuit to make it palatable to the rest of the world.

John Piper's God Is the Gospel is a candle in the doctrinal darkness that we seem to be in far too often. Piper's call in this small but thoughtful book is to reestablish God as the center of his good news-God gave us himself because he is the best thing we could be given. Right from the very beginning, the Reformation theology Piper is so famous for is right on the surface and clearly guiding his work. I do not consider myself particularly reformed, but I appreciated deeply the God-centered focus of the book and Piper's willingness to be theologically straightforward.

On the opening page, Piper's focus is clear, "The acid test of biblical God-centeredness-and faithfulness to the gospel-is this: Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because, as the cost of his Son, he enables you to enjoy making much of him forever?" (11). This sentiment sets the tone for the rest of the book. Piper does not deny that we take great joy in our salvation and that God does make much of us, but the purpose and progression of sanctification should lead us to the reality that the greatest joy we can have is making much of him. Not long after this thesis statement, Piper explains what he means with the phrase "God Is the Gospel," "When I say, 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." (13)

Through much of the rest of the book, Piper focuses on this theme of the glory of God revealed in Christ. Though the biblical notion of the "glory of God" can be wide-ranging and difficult to pin-down in an easy to grasp fashion at times, Piper does a wonderful job of explicating the notion and encouraging the reader to take pleasure in God and his glory.

Though it is not an academic work, it is well cited and researched. His ability to be conversant with the Puritans was clear, and I appreciate the way he quoted and handled Edwards. It is good for us pastors and contemporary Christians to be reminded that we have a rich and "relevant" theological history that goes back beyond a couple of decades. The theologian Thomas Oden has written that he has become hesitant to, "trust anyone under `three hundred'," and that he believes "[w]e should be passionately dedicated to unoriginality." I believe Piper would add a hearty "amen!"

If there are any drawbacks to God Is the Gospel, they would be in its chapter and section format. Though I believe that chapters broken into smaller sections can aid a reader, especially a busy reader, there were too many sections within chapters that were too small. At times, there were as many as four sections on a set of opposing pages, and from time to time their proliferation became a hindrance to the flow of the argument.

But ultimately, that is a small matter. I would heartily recommend God Is the Gospel as a wonderful and rich reminder of the core of our lives and the life of the Church: the glory of Christ in his gospel.

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.

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.

John Piper has joked about the fact that he really only wrote one book, "Desiring God", and all his others are elaborations on that.

It isn't a joke.

This little book will make you feel like you're stuck in the movie "Groundhog Day." Every chapter is essentially saying the same thing.

I also get the feeling that Piper is always looking for some new way of saying something that we've all heard before. Even the title, "God is the gospel", makes you stop and scratch your head. What? What does that mean? Well, it means God's goal is to have us realize the pursuit of Him is the ultimate joy in life. There, I just gave you the theme of this book.

By the way, I'm reformed and think John Piper's work on Romans is probably the best I've ever heard. So, this isn't coming from a critic of the man or his ministry.

This book is really repetitive and not something I would recommend.

In this volume John Piper points the believer beyond loving God for His gifts, for salvation, or for any benefit that accrues because of loving Him. Instead Piper wishes to propel the Christian to develop a deeper understanding of God as a Person and like all person-to-person relationships, to value God for who He is.

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.

The best of Piper's books is Finally Alive, but ALL his books have the same theme--enjoying God. Finally Alive has the most meat as far as doctrine.

I should start by saying that I find John Piper best live or on video. There's something about seeing him, animated and moving, that makes him both (1) easier to understand, and (2) more enjoyable. In fact, full disclosure, I find that he can be a bit repetitive for my tastes in print. Then again, he's unpacking these massive, earth-shattering, mind-altering truths that bear repeating, so it's hard to blame his style or repetition.

All that out of the way, "God is the Gospel" is a fantastic book. I'd say it might best be suited as an early read or even an introduction to Piper. He lays out much of his basic theology, and you can then move to "Desiring God" or "The Pleasures of God" easily, two of Piper's real masterworks. "God is the Gospel" is shorter (about 175) pages and about half of the chapters are easy to get through.

The other half of the chapters, though, are meaty and worth serious meditation and contemplation. Piper's basic thesis is that the gospel is not in fact just the means by which we are saved from hell, saved to heaven, gain eternal life, gain the Holy Spirit, etc. Rather, the gospel is the good news by which we may spend eternity getting God--spending time with Him, enjoying Him, worshiping Him, engaging with Him, being like Him, etc. This might seem pedestrian, until you think on it carefully. Even Protestant, conservative Evangelicalism rarely teaches this, and certainly not so plainly.

The church today is largely about the benefits of the gospel: all the things you get with a so-called profession of faith. How do we talk to children about God? Avoid hell; get to heaven. But this is not the gospel, Piper argues from Scripture; rather, the gospel is getting to God. God is the gospel.

You'll have to think to digest this, and if you can read this entire book without ever being challenged, then I'd daresay you've not read it well. Wonderful, well-documented with Scripture and quotations from giants like Edwards, Owen, and Warfield, and passionate; you won't regret this read.

Savor God and enjoy Him: this is Piper's message.

I think the title just about sums it all up! Another phenomenal work by John Piper. Warning: if you read it, you'll be intensely dissatisfied with human-centered gospel presentations! And that's not bad at all.

What's so good about forgiveness of sins?---seeing and savoring God himself!
What's the benefit of eternal life?---seeing and savoring God himself!
What makes heaven spectacular?---seeing and savoring God himself!
What is the end goal of salvation and all God's gracious blood-bought gifts?---seeing and savoring God himself!!!

If God is God (and He is), then how could He create something more wonderful than Himself? "For from Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen"--Romans 11:36