Book Review – Providence by John Piper - Cave To The Cross Apologetics

Providence, Providence, God’s Providence

Synopsis:

From Genesis to Revelation, the providence of God directs the entire course of redemptive history. Providence is “God’s purposeful sovereignty.” Its extent reaches down to the flight of electrons, up to the movements of galaxies, and into the heart of man. Its nature is wise and just and good. And its goal is the Christ-exalting glorification of God through the gladness of a redeemed people in a new world.

Drawing on a lifetime of theological reflection, biblical study, and practical ministry, pastor and author John Piper leads us on a stunning tour of the sightings of God’s providence–from Genesis to Revelation–to discover the all-encompassing reality of God’s purposeful sovereignty over all of creation and all of history. Piper invites us to experience the profound effects of knowing the God of all-pervasive providence: the intensifying of true worship, the solidifying of wavering conviction, the strengthening of embattled faith, the toughening of joyful courage, and the advance of God’s mission in this world. (Taken from GoodReads page)

Review

The first thing I have to talk about is the length of Providence by John Piper. While some may be intimidated by an almost 800-page book, the structure of it is perfectly laid out. Broken up into 3 parts, 9 sections, and a good number of headings within the pages (and also a good-sized font), this is a surprisingly quicker read than one would suspect. I would suggest the Kindle version of Providence for notes, transport, and safety reasons.

Right from the get-go, Piper makes the entire book worth it just for his discussion on the definition and clarification on what “divine providence” is. He takes a more positive approach in his definitions that might bristle some but that’s been a consistent style of his in the writings I’ve read of his. Where something like The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy had (and one could argue, needed) both a positive and negative approach, I didn’t find this as big of a detriment as I thought it would be.

Piper does run the gamut of God’s revelation which is both impressive and lets him not stray into the philosophical, just the Scriptural. In fact he kind of buries this fact in the second part of the book where he acknowledges the need to use certain types of philosophical word choices but not the detriment on your average reader nor to the loss of understanding.

This is an impressive book and probably could also be broken up into three parts for those whose eyes bug out at the size. This isn’t going to be a beach read but the reader will see God’s hand and nature in creation, before creation, in the major events of the OT, the events of the NT, and the end times. Piper uses the events in Scripture to highlight key aspects of God’s sovereignty not just in those specific events but in general application. It might be surprising that there are still some areas that Piper didn’t cover but that just shows why Piper wrote a book on this subject because much more can be said about the God who creates, rules, and reigns supreme.

Final Grade

A-