Knowing God Precisely and Loving Him Profoundly

As much as anyone else in church history, Jonathan Edwards understood the incomparable shock and awe of disregard for God. Since the living fountain is infinitely superior our drinking from a cistern is infinitely wicked. It was Edwards’ grasp of God’s outrage over this sin that gave rise to preaching like the following from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”:

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; His wrath towards you burns like fire; He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in His sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in His eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.

In his life Edwards fought to satisfy his own soul-thirst from the fountain by knowing God clearly and loving Him intimately. In his ministry he sought to point others to joy in God and to warn them of the danger of turning to broken, empty cisterns.

This is why Edwards is so important for us today. He fought on two fronts that pose a threat in our day as well. He battled against those who had doctrine but no affections and against those who had emotion but no truth.

Some of us know the right place to get the water. We can describe the fountain of living water with great detail and accuracy. Maybe we even understand a little bit about how the fountain works. But we don’t drink! We’ve got a view, but we haven’t tasted. We’ve got truth, but we don’t have experience. We’ve got the head knowledge but no heart love. This is not enough, because as Edwards pointed out, God is not glorified by being known as much as He is glorified by being known and loved!

On the other hand, some of us know that we’re supposed to drink, we feel the need to drink, but we assume that drinking from any water near the fountain is good enough. We enjoy drinking, but any water will do. This is the group that has experience, but it is experience minus theology. Zeal without knowledge is not enough. Imagining that just because there is ‘love’ everything is okay is a false hope. If it isn’t the right love, it is worthless emotion. In fact, we may love our good feelings more than we love God.

Either way, knowledge without affection or affection without knowledge is shocking and appalling. Knowing the right fountain but not drinking is shocking. Drinking but not from the right fountain is appalling.

It is our obligation then, to pursue knowledge of and love for God. When we realize what is at stake, we cannot do this halfheartedly. I hope that Edwards will help us to know more precisely and to love more profoundly. For all Edwards’ brain power, he was the furthest thing from a dispassionate or disinterested lecturer. He was a passionate preacher who knew the heart of the issue was not just religious affirmations about God, but religious affection for God.