[This is a summary of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon in Boston July 8, 1731 – his first published work. See the entire sermon – almost five times as long – here. I encourage you to meditate on your dependence on God as the year concludes, and to resolve to live more and more fully in light of that dependence in 2013 – Coty]

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:28-31)

Paul wrote this letter to Greeks, who held human wisdom in high regard. God destroys human wisdom through the Gospel. Even the greatest human wisdom cannot lead to a full knowledge of God; but it pleases God to reveal Himself graciously, so that “no human being might boast.” By this we see:

1)      God’s aim in His plan of redemption: that man should glory not in himself, but in God alone.

2)      How that end is attained: By man’s absolute dependence on God in the work of redemption.

Doctrine

I) There is an absolute and universal dependence of the redeemed on God

The redeemed have all of their good of God, through God, and in God: Of Him, in that He is the cause and origin of all good things; through Him, in that He is the means by which we obtain every good thing; and in Him, in that He Himself is the greatest good. Therefore, the redeemed are entirely dependent upon God for their all.

Consider these in turn:

1)      The redeemed have all good OF God.

1. God gives us our Redeemer, as Christ is His only Son.
2. God gives us faith so that we might be in Christ (Ephesians 2:8).
3. The benefits that come to us in Christ are from God: He is the one who pardons and justifies and cleanses and transforms and sanctifies.
4. God Himself is the source of the means of grace He uses in our sanctification.
5. God gives us His Word.
6. God gives us His ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
7. God gives us His human ministers, and their success depends entirely and absolutely on Him.

All these are given purely by grace – indeed, by infinitely great grace. For we were completely unworthy of His gift, instead meriting His wrath. And God gave this gift most freely. He could have rejected fallen man, as He did the fallen angels. There was nothing in us to attract Him, and nothing in the saved to distinguish them from the unsaved. We are completely dependent upon Him for holiness, for His favor, for happiness – we would have none of these apart from His free grace.

Furthermore, all of these come from the power of God (Ephesians 1:19). We are dependent on God’s power through every step of our redemption: To convert us, to give us faith in Jesus, and to give us a new nature. For God must create us anew (2 Corinthians 5:17); indeed, He must raise us from the dead (Colossians 2:12-13). Yet this is a more glorious work of power than the first creation or even raising a man from the dead, because the new spiritual life is more glorious – especially in contrast with the depth of corruption to which we fell. God magnifies His power then further in preserving us in His grace (1 Peter 1:5). The redeemed are dependent on God’s power for every exercise of grace, for continually redirecting our hearts, for subduing sin, for producing good works, for becoming Christlike – and ultimately for our new bodies in the new heavens and new earth.

2)       The redeemed have all good THROUGH God.

All the benefits the redeemed receive come through the Mediator, Jesus, who is God Himself. God is both the purchaser and the price of our redemption, for Christ purchased these blessing for us by offering up Himself.

3)      The redeemed have all good IN God. And this holds both for the good that gives them joy, and for the pleasure itself in their souls.

1. a.      The good that gives the redeemed their highest joy is God Himself. God is the inheritance of the saints, their wealth, treasure, food, life, dwelling-place, crown, honor, and glory. They have none in heaven but God. The beauty of God will forever give joy to the saints, and His love will be their everlasting feast. While the redeemed will enjoy the angels, one another, and the redeemed creation, whatever yields delight in these will be what is seen of God in them.
2. b.      The joy itself of the redeemed comes from a kind of participation in God. God puts His own beauty upon their souls. They are made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). This occurs through the Holy Spirit dwelling in the redeemed. He, acting in, upon, and with the soul, becomes a fountain of true holiness and joy (John 4:14, 7:38-39). By partaking of the Holy Spirit, the redeemed have communion with Christ in His fullness. Indeed, the Spirit of God is the great promise of the Father (Luke 24:49).

All the benefits the redeemed receive come through the Mediator, Jesus, who is God Himself. God is both the purchaser and the price of our redemption, for Christ purchased these blessing for us by offering up Himself.

II) God is glorified in the work of redemption through this great, universal dependence on Him

1)      Through this dependence, man has greater occasion and obligation to acknowledge God’s character. It is easy for us to neglect and ignore those things on which we do not depend, but we of necessity think of and concern ourselves with those things on which we depend.

2)      This dependence demonstrates the greatness of God’s glory compared to the creature’s. The greater that men exalt themselves, so much the less they exalt God. But God’s work of redemption shows that the creature is nothing, and God is all. He is seen to be infinitely above us in strength, wisdom, and holiness. It is this acknowledgment of the difference between us and God that yields God the glory He deserves.

3)      God therefore has our whole souls, and should be the object of our undivided respect. If we had our dependence partly on God and partly on something else, we would divide our respect among God and the other. But now this cannot happen once we understand the nature of redemption: Whatever attracts our respect is seen to be the gift of God, and so our respect unites in Him as the center.

Application

1)      Marvel at God’s wisdom in the work of redemption! God has made man’s ruined state through the Fall an occasion for the advancement of His glory. He does this through our being even more dependent on Him today than Adam and Eve were before the Fall. God lifts us up and exalts us in such a way that we deserve no glory, but He deserves it all. Furthermore, God accomplishes this in such a way that each person of the Trinity is equally glorified in the work, as the redeemed are absolutely dependent on every Person for all.

2)      Any teaching that takes away our absolute dependence upon God attempts to diminish the glory God deserves, and thus to thwart the design of our redemption.

3)      This explains why salvation is by faith. For faith is an acknowledgment of absolute dependence on God for salvation. This is how God glorifies Himself in redemption. Faith declares that man can do nothing, and God does everything, so that He receives all the glory for redemption. To be saved, man must humble himself as a child; he must acknowledge that he is “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). It is the delight of the believing soul to humble itself and to exalt God alone (Psalm 115:1).

4)      Therefore, let us exalt God alone, and ascribe to him all the glory of redemption. Let us have a greater and greater understanding of our great dependence upon God; let us put to death a self-dependent and self-righteous disposition. Man is prone to exalt himself, and to depend on his own power or goodness, thinking happiness will come through his efforts. He is prone to think that happiness will come from objects God withholds or denies. But this doctrine should teach us to exalt God alone – by trust, by reliance, and by praise. So let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.

1. Do any of you think that you are saved, that your sins are forgiven, that you have God’s favor, that you are God’s child – indeed, that you are an heir of eternal life? Then give God all the glory! He alone makes you different from the worst of men.
2. Do any of you have much comfort and strong hope of eternal life? Do not let this hope exalt you, but rather reflect on your own unworthiness of such a favor, and so exalt God alone.
3. Are any of you abundant in good works and holiness? Take no glory of that abundance to yourself, but ascribe it to him who “created [us] in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).