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Monday, August 10, 2009

Chapter One: God's Ultimate Purpose

(Our Salvation is a product of God's glory)

As Biehl has already signalled in his introduction he begins by showing how the glory of God flows out from the Trinity. (“The glory of God is the excellence of His perfection's shining forth.” 52) Edwards sees a relational Trinity sharing and delighting in this wonderful goodness flowing between them. Christians are included in this mutual divine delight because of their union with Christ and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God the Father says Edwards seeks a “spouse” for his Son in order to glorify and receive glory from Christ. Biehl summarises Edwards' argument by saying; “The glory of God, as manifest and communicated in the person and work of Christ, the perfect image of the Father, and the grand medium in whom God accomplishes His ultimate purpose in displaying and communicating His glory to undeserving creatures." (52) Additionally in this chapter Biehl wants to point out that the glory of God should be understood to include both a display and a communication. (33) An iceberg-proof-text used by Edwards' would be Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. (WEB)