I am always blessed in Reading the works of dead
theologians. While brother Sanders only passed on to glory in 1992, yes his words
remain helpful today.
This book is divided into three parts. Part one is entitled, “The Overruling
Providence of God”, and deals with the character of the first person of the
Trinity: God the Father. Part 2 is
entitled, “The Supreme Vision of Christ”, and handles the second person of the
Trinity: Jesus Christ. Finally, part 3 is entitled, “The Spirit - the Breath of
God”, and obviously discusses the third person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.
Each part contains 7 stand-alone chapters, meaning one
does not necessarily need to read chapter one in order to understand chapter 2
in order to understand chapter 3, etc. That point was clearly stated in the editor’s
Forward, so I decided to read successive chapters from each of the three parts
in numerical order. For example, after reading chapter one on the Father, I
read chapter 8 on the Son, then chapter 15 on the Holy Spirit. Then I proceeded
reading chapters 2, 9, and 16, until I finished the entire book in such a sequence.
I was truly blessed and challenged by numerous thoughts
Sanders penned throughout the book, but the chapter that most profoundly
influenced me and captured my mind was Chapter 3, “The Undiscouraged Perseverance
of God”. In that chapter, brother Sanders detailed several nuances from Genesis
32 as it pertained to the God of Jacob.
Pay attention to these words of his, "The god of
Jacob. No two characters seem more ill-matched. No single sentence more
strikingly illustrates the undiscoverable perseverance of God." As we know, Jacob was a schemer and a deceiver
(not much unlike us, I might add), and yet brother Sanders does a marvelous job
encouraging the reader in the gospel as we struggle with our own sinful flesh.
He wrote, “The perseverance of the saints is possible only because of the
perseverance of God."
As I struggle in my own sin, I was encouraged my brother
Sanders’ words, “[God] does not despair of us even when we despair of ourselves.
His patience is never at an end. His resources are never exhausted.” Praise God!
Brother Sanders continues, “The devil preaches a message of despair...God
is preaching the gospel of recovery. The God of Jacob is pre-eminently the god
of the second chance to Christians who have failed and failed persistently.”
O brothers and sisters in Christ, what a truly glorious
encouragement in the gospel this chapter and the entire book was! The Gospel of
Jesus Christ is proclaimed from front to back, something that is so necessary
in our regular reading. Pick a copy of Spiritual
Maturity up for yourself, and you will not be disappointed.
RATING: 5 stars.
DISCLAIMER: I received this book free of charge from
Moody Publishers in exchange for my unbiased review of it. All opinions are
mine, and I was not required to provide a positive review.
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