December 8, 2017

Religious Affections in Vol I of the Works - Edwards - VII - Part 3 continued

Required reading
Religious affections in Volume I of the Works by Jonathan Edwards (Available from Amazon or free here)Continue Part 3 by reading Section 4.

My summary.
Edwards now teaches us that 'Holy affections are not heat without light; but evermore arise from some information of the understanding, some spiritual instruction that the mind receives, some light or actual knowledge.'

Edwards explains that the knowledge that  affections arise from is a spiritual understanding consisting in 'a cordial sense of the supreme beauty and sweetness of the holiness or moral perfection of divine things, together with all that discerning and knowledge of things of religion, that depends upon and flows from such a sense.'

He also tells us what this spiritual understanding is not.

What grabbed me
I loved the description of the value of spiritual sight: 'Besides, there arises from this sense of spiritual beauty, all true experimental knowledge of religion, which is of itself as it were a new world of knowledge. He that sees not the beauty of holiness, knows not what one of the graces of God's Spirit is, he is destitute of any conception of gracious exercises of soul, holy comforts and delights, and effects of the saving influences of the Spirit of God on the heart. He is ignorant of the greatest works of God, the most important and glorious effects of his power upon the creature; he is wholly ignorant of the saints as saints, and knows not what they are; and in effect is wholly ignorant of the spiritual world. Thus, it plainly appears, that God implanting a spiritual, supernatural sense, makes a great change in a man. And were it not for the very imperfect degree in which this sense is commonly given at first, or the small degree of this glorious light that first dawns upon the soul; the change made by this spiritual opening of the eyes in conversion, would be much greater, and more remarkable every way, than if a man born blind should have the sense of seeing imparted to him at once, in the midst of the clear light of the sun, discovering a world of visible objects. For though sight be more noble than any of the other external senses, yet this spiritual sense is infinitely more noble, and the object infinitely more important.—This is that knowledge of divine things from whence all truly gracious affections proceed; by which therefore all affections are to be tried. Those affections that arise wholly from any other kind of knowledge, or do result from any other kind of apprehensions, are vain.'

Lord, open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Next week's reading
Continue Part 3 by reading Section 5.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.


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