Whetting the Appetite (1) - Surveying John Gill’s “A Body of Divinity"

Dr. John Gill, a particular Baptist theologian
highly respected by his Calvinistic contemporaries
of different denominations.  

June 08, 2022.
Wednesday midweek meeting notes

Whetting the Appetite (1)

Surveying John Gill’s “A Body of Divinity– Doctrinal & Practical”

a. A briefest glimpse of his life
John Gill was born November 23, 1697, in Kettering, Northamptonshire. In his youth, he attended Kettering Grammar School, mastering the Latin classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow Gill throughout his life.

At the age of about twelve, Gill heard a sermon from his pastor, William Wallis, on the text, "And the Lord called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost nineteen years of age.

His pastoral ministry:
His first pastoral work was as an intern assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty-one. He was subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel, Horsleydown, Southwark in 1719. In 1757, his congregation needed larger premises and moved to Carter Lane, St. Olave’s Street, Southwark. His pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church would later become the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon. During Gill's ministry, the church strongly supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.

His written works:
In 1748, Gill was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar and a prolific author. His most important works are:

• The Doctrine of the Trinity Stated and Vindicated (London, 1731)

• The Cause of God and Truth (4 parts, 1735–8), a retort to Daniel Whitby's Five Points of Arminianism.

• An Exposition of the New Testament (3 vols., 1746–8), which with his Exposition of the Old Testament (6 vols., 1748–63) forms his magnum opus

• A Dissertation on the Antiquity of the Hebrew Languages (1767)

• A Body of Doctrinal Divinity (1767)

• A Body of Practical Divinity (1770).

He died on October 14, 1771, at the age of 74.

The “Body of Doctrinal Divinity” has 7 Books.

Let’s survey the amazing and awesome contents of Book 1.

Book I. Of God, His Word, Names, Nature, Perfections, and Person.

Chapter 1. Of the Being of God

Chapter 2. Of the Holy Scriptures

Chapter 3. Of the Names of God

Chapter 4. Of the Nature of God

Chapter 5. Of The Attributes of God In General, and of his Immutability In Particular

Chapter 6. Of The Infinity Of God, His Omnipresence And Eternity

Chapter 7. Of The Life Of God

Chapter 8. Of The Omnipotence Of God

Chapter 9. Of The Omniscience Of God

Chapter 10. Of The Wisdom Of God

Chapter 11. Of The Will Of God, And The. Sovereignty Of It

Chapter 12. Of The Love Of God

Chapter 13. Of The Grace Of God

Chapter 14. Of The Mercy Of God

Chapter 15. Of The Longsuffering Of God

Chapter 16. Of The Goodness Of God

Chapter 17. Of The Anger And Wrath Of God

Chapter 18. Of The Hatred Of God

Chapter 19. Of The Joy Of God

Chapter 20. Of The Holiness Of God

Chapter 21. Of The Justice Or Righteousness Of God

Chapter 22. Of The Veracity Of God

Chapter 23. Of The Faithfulness Of God

Chapter 24. Of The Sufficiency And Perfection Of God

Chapter 25. Of The Blessedness Of God

Chapter 26. Of The Unity Of God

Chapter 27. Of A Plurality In The Godhead; Or, A Trinity Of Persons In The Unity Of The Divine Essence

Chapter 28. Of The Personal Relations; Or, Relative Properties Which Distinguish The Three Divine Persons In The Deity

Chapter 29. Of The Distinct Personality, And Deity Of The Father

Chapter 30. Of The Distinct Personality, And Deity Of The Son

Chapter 31. Of The Distinct Personality, And Deity Of The Holy Spirit.

The LORD Stirred Up the Spirit of King Cyrus

Isaiah 44:28 KJV 

"That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, 

 and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, 

Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."

Isaiah 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

#MedoPersiankingCyrus #456bc

Ezra 1  KJV
1 ¶Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem....
7 ¶Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods.

Proverbs 21:1 KJV
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

"In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we find four royal commands issued by Median and Persian kings that could possibly qualify as the “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” The first command was by Cyrus in Ezra 1:1-11. The second was by Darius in Ezra 4:24 and 6:1-12. The third was by Artaxerxes in his 7th year in Ezra 7:7-26. The fourth was also by Artaxerxes in his 20th year in Nehemiah 2:1-8."
~~ https://letgodbetrue.com/bible-topics/index/prophecy/cyrus-decree-to-rebuild/

Notes:

The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, the mighty king of the Medo-Persian empire, as prophesied by Prophet Isaiah. The proof is as follows:
- Cyrus made a proclamation throughout his vast empire, and in writing too - yes, in writing; the account is not just a fable.
- Cyrus honoured the LORD God of heaven as the source of his vast empire.
- Cyrus acknowledged that he was under the command of the LORD God of heaven, to do His bidding, i.e. to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- Cyrus was conscious that the LORD God of heaven had His special people from Judah.
- Cyrus confessed that the LORD God of heaven was also the LORD God of Israel and that He is THE God.
- Cyrus urged his people to be generous to the people of the LORD God of Israel in addition to giving freewill offerings towards the house of God in Jerusalem.
- Cyrus repatriated all the vessels of the house of the LORD plundered by Nebuchadnezzar.

Cyrus was not a typical sly politician like so many are; he walked his talk. It was not just smooth political sloganeering to hook and wink the gullible.

Proverbs 21:1 KJV
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Psalm 146:3 KJV
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

But trust in the Sovereign One who rules even the heart of the greatest monarch on earth!

Take comfort in thy sovereign LORD God in heaven.

"I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing..." Rev 3:17

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/pfbid02GoSRXNF1qYBwgSxhXitrqS5bYTQubPP4qPVzPKn2FYyxw3ojreyqSwtzBKDmK7eyl

What churches (Christians as well) would claim,

"I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing..."  Rev 3:17

Likely, the Reformed ones!  Why so?

1. The Reformed churches glory in the immense riches of the reformation heritage, as though the 16th-century Reformation is the inauguration of Christianity.

2. The Reformed churches boast in the superabundance of reformed theologians; they love parroting their revered theologians as the source and authority of the things they believe.

3. The Reformed churches have absolute confidence in their reformed faith, and have need of nothing; they see themselves as having arrived at the final truth; "we have the truth."

But what did Christ - the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God - say to the church that glories in her wealthy heritage, boasts in her multitudes of theologians, and pride in her self-sufficiency and Independence?

Christ - the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God - diagnosed the church as "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."  What a stark contrast from what she thinks of herself.

The Lord Christ Jesus gives this prescription for their deplorable condition, "I counsel thee to buy of me..."

- gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
- white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
- anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev 3:18

Consider the three items they are to buy from Christ:
- "gold tried in the fire": this will make them rich indeed;
- "white raiment": this will clothe them and cover their shame;
- "eyesalve": that they may see the truth.

Jehovah's Witnesses are doing their rounds

January 5, 2019

Six neatly dressed Jehovah's Witnesses are doing their rounds in my neighbourhood. They do this a few times a year with different people.

I asked them, addressing the oldest-looking among them, "Uncle, do you have children?" "O yes, I even have grandchildren." Then I continued "Hey, uncle, are your children as human as you or are they not?" They looked somewhat confused. "I think you would surely say that I am perversely stupid if I deny that your children are as human as their parents, wouldn't you?" They nodded in agreement.

Then I reasoned, "What do you think of those who deny that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is as divine as His Father? Aren't they as perversely stupid too?"

"Uncle, please don't be offended. "Stupid" simply means lacking common sense. How can the Son of God be any less divine than God Himself? How can your children be any less human than you?" He looked flabbergasted and shooed the group away.

O Lord, give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
2Ti 2:25 "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth."

John 1
1 ¶In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... 14 ¶And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The eternally divine Word who was made flesh, took upon Himself our humanity and did not cease to be fully divine.

Wooliness or the Exact Truth

 

Luke 1 - KJT
1 ¶ Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Theophilus has been instructed in various things concerning the Christian faith. However, Dr Luke obviously thought that that was not enough; he is in need of a more orderly and thorough grounding in the truth, the facts concerning Christ and His work of salvation, and the truth concerning His church.

For Theophilus to know the certainty of those things was all-important to Luke; 'the certainty', when translated literally, is 'the exact truth'.  That is the chief and grand purpose of Dr Luke writing to Theophilus so that Theophilus may have the exact truth of those things concerning Christ.  Luke regards the knowledge of this orderly account as necessary.

We have a great need to know the exact truth of those things in which we have been instructed; there is no virtue in being woolly. There are two main reasons for this necessity: that we may be firmly grounded in the truth, and that we may obtain full assurance of salvation, both to the glory of God.

Great necessity laid upon us... we must heed Luke's exhortation... 'that you may know the exact truth...'

========

I often use this  illustration:
The Doctor said, "The dosage is: 2 tablets each time and 4 times a day for 7 days." The woolly patient took 7 tablets each time, 4 times a day; he killed himself.