None Greater: Chapter 8 - Timeless Eternity

The first thing that grabbed me in this chapter was the first verse on the first page with the last phrase, "The children of your servants shall dwell secure." (139). Truly only the eternal God can secure this for us!

The question, "What was God doing before he made heaven and earth?" was a question that troubled me in elementary school. I attended a school that taught catechisms, and one of the catechisms caused me to think about this. It used to depress me to think of God existing before everything and everyone. At that point, I thought of God being alone without anybody else. It was only into my adult years before I applied the doctrine of the trinity to this.

Reading this chapter brought to mind the reasoning style of Jonathan Edwards. I recently have read his Religious Affections and Freedom of the Will. I suppose the other chapters of None Greater are similar, but this one especially recalled Edwards' style to mind.

I appreciated Barrett bring up the context of John 3:16. (153) I have been bothered by the total lack of reference to that context.

And, as I happen to be reading a history of Jonathan Edwards right now, I also appreciate Matthew Barrett bringing up the difference between the listeners of Edwards' day and the people of today (153). (I was thinking of Edwards reasoning style before I came across this actual reference of him). I actually wish I would have understood this much sooner. I believe Edwards and the awakening surrounding his ministry has been significantly overused without a proper explanation of the context.

I am curious the impact of the chapter over time. Initially, it is primarily a chapter that made me stop and think some.