John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God [Paperback]

John Piper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2008

John Piper fires readers' passion for the centrality andsupremacy of God by unfolding Calvin's exemplary zeal for the gloryof God.

God rests all too lightly on the church's mind in our time.Consequently, the self-saturation of his people has made God andhis glory auxiliary, and his majesty has all but disappeared fromthe modern evangelical world.

John Calvin saw a similar thing in his day, and it was at theroot of his quarrel with Rome. Nothing mattered more to Calvin thanthe centrality, supremacy, and majesty of the glory of God. Hisaim, he wrote, was to "set before [man], as the prime motive of hisexistence, zeal to illustrate the glory of God"-a fittingbanner over all of the great Reformer's life and work."The essential meaning of Calvin's life and preaching," writes JohnPiper, "is that he recovered and embodied a passion for theabsolute reality and majesty of God. Such is the aim and burden ofthis book as well."

As Piper concisely unfolds this predominant theme in Calvin'slife, he seeks to fire every Christian's passion for the centralityand supremacy of God, so that God's self-identification in Exodus 3as "I am who I am" becomes the sun in our solar system too.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Piper is pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. His many books include Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce and The Swans Are Not Silent series: Contending for Our All, The Hidden Smile of God, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, and The Roots of Endurance.

From AudioFile

John Calvin holds an amazing place in history--he was born at the perfect time to move the Reformation forward. Indeed, it is his theology that is at the core of Protestant thinking, more so even than Martin Luther's. In this short book, renowned theologian John Piper unfolds the underlying thought behind Calvin's magnum opus, THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Michael Koontz narrates with a much more youthful voice than Piper's, thus shifting the project from what might have been a more emphatic reading. Koontz's delivery style works to good effect as this is a much more clinical treatise than Piper's usual offerings. Koontz carries off Piper's intended tone expertly, creating a satisfying experience. S.M.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (December 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433501821
• ISBN-13: 978-1433501821
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God's call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.) and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books, including Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, What Jesus Demands from the World, and Don't Waste Your Life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God, March 15, 2009

By 

Nathan W. Bingham (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God (Paperback)

-Introduction-

John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God is the latest book written by John Piper in his line of more biographical works. Piper is best known for being the Senior Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, the head of Desiring God, and books such as Don't Waste Your Life. The Forward to John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God has been written by Gerald L. Bray. Furthermore, it is fitting that this book has been released in 2009; the year marking 500 years since John Calvin's birth.

-Summary-

In a book of only sixty-four pages, Chapter One does not begin with John Calvin; instead it begins with God. Piper writes:

"John Calvin would approve that we begin with God rather than him. Nothing mattered more to Calvin than the supremacy of God over all things." (p. 11)

Despite its brevity, the reader is left with an edifying insight into a man the Lord used mightily during the Reformation, and is stirred reading accounts ranging from his conversion (p.20), the reason he wrote The Institutes (p. 30), his physical guarding of the Lord's Table from the libertines (p. 43), to a portion of a letter he penned after the death of his first born son (p. 36). Flowing from Piper's easy to read style, the reader is left confident of his contention; John Calvin was a man with a passion for the majesty of God.

-Critique-

The brevity of this book is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing in that it quickly gives you an overview of the man John Calvin, giving most of the attention to his passion for the majesty of God, and his faithful exposition of the Scriptures, for it is within them God has revealed the truth of His majesty. This may serve then as an excellent introduction to reading biographies, studying church history, or as a quick encouragement to the Pastor and layman alike. However, it may serve as a curse, leaving the reader wanting more, or even disappointed simply due to its brevity. Personally, appreciating that this book was originally written as a chapter in The Legacy of Sovereign Joy and therefore by nature brief, I was able to receive this book as a blessing.

It is no secret that outside of the Reformed tradition, there are many who do not look highly upon John Calvin. Much of this can be put down to ignorance of the man (which this books suitable helps correct), although notably John Calvin's involvement with Michael Servetus has tarnished his name. Providing a brief appendix, John Piper examines the case of Servetus in light of the barbaric world in which Calvin lived. The treatment is fair, and to Piper's credit aids to the honesty and appeal of the book.

-Conclusion-

John Piper's biographical book, John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God is a book I highly recommend to all Christians. It provides an overview of a man used mightily by the Lord during the Reformation, and whose literature is still so influencial today. The heart of John Calvin is presented as a man with a passion for the majesty of God, and a dedication to expositing God's Word faithfully and consistently. This alone is an ever present need of encouragement to the sacrificing Pastor, and an example which should stir the layman with a new found appreaciation for the work of Calvin and preachers who follow in his footsteps.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but this is an excerpt from another book..., February 12, 2009

By 

K. Bankston - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God (Paperback)

As one who reads virtually everything Piper writes I was eager to read a new work on Calvin. After reading a few pages I thought, "Hmmm, this seems familiar..." and sure enough, it is simply the Calvin chapter from Piper's book "The Legacy of Sovereign Joy." It is acknowledged as such in this little booklet, but I didn't know that before I bought it.

Its good stuff and worth a read, but if you own "Legacy of Sovereign Joy" I would just read the Calvin chapter again.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serves Its Purpose Well, December 19, 2008

By 

PastoralMusings "mslapastor" (Dixie) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God (Paperback)

First of all it should be said that, at sixty-four pages in length, this book is not an exhaustive biography of John Calvin. It was not intended to be such.

Piper is a man with one passion: the glory of God. Such should be the case with each of us. Piper's goal in this book is to demonstrate from Calvin's biographies, commentaries, sermons, etc. that the thing that made Calvin "tick" was a passion for the exaltation of God.

Piper starts by reminding us that God is glorious and majestic. From there he moves to showing us how this truth sheped Calvin's life and ministry. Whether it was Calvin's defense of justification by faith, or his facing danger for the sake of the gospel, bringing glory to God was his motivation.

One may wonder about the value of a book this small. It seems somewhat myopic to write a booklet about the single passion of one man's life. The fact is that this one man presented to us a philosophy of ministry, and a body of doctrinal and practical divinity that shape ministries, churches, and lives today. These things are the product of this man's passion for the glory of God. With this in mind, Piper presents Calvin's passion to us that we might be motivated to seek God's glory in our own lives.

I give this book 4 ½ stars. It serves its purpose well. I only give it 4 ½ stars because it could have been a little longer.