Piper, John. The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2004. 109 pp. $12.99.
Introduction
John Piper is the pastor of preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church. His expository preaching style is known for it’s powerful focus on the glory of God. The Supremacy of God in Preaching could just as easily have been a prescriptive book about his preaching style as it is a descriptive book about preaching in general. The book draws heavily from Piper’s understanding of Scripture and the glory of God as well as from the preaching and ministry style of Jonathan Edwards.
Summary
This book is divided into two major categories. The first explores why God must be supreme in preaching. This section finds its foundation in the Word of God as Piper cites many Scripture references to prove his point. The second section focusing on “Why God should be supreme in preaching,” is practical advice from the life of Jonathan Edwards. The two sections work together to prove that true preaching finds its content and its end in the person and glory of God. Piper does a great job defending his Thesis with every section and chapter of this book.
The Goal of preaching is first and foremost the glory of God. On page 25, Piper quotes Cotton Mather who said, “The great design and intention of the office of a Christian preacher [is] to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men.” Bringing the lost to Christ is not the objective of preaching, neither is edification of the believer. These are means to an end, each of these activities have purpose within the sermon only as they are seen as ways of glorifying God.
The ground of preaching is the Cross of Christ. The preacher stands firm only when his feet are planted at the foot of the cross. Only the cross gives the preacher a reason to stand before the people and open his mouth, because only the cross provides hope to a lost and dying world, “without the cross, the righteousness of God would demonstrate itself only in the condemnation of sinners. For Piper, the cross is more than the ground of preaching, it is evidence of God’s glory: “The biblical perspective is that the cross is a witness to the infinite worth of God’s glory” (35). His outline is tightly tied together by showing that the ground for preaching, the cross, gives way to the glory of God.