Durham E-Theses The Theology of Christian Joy in the Works of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) JONES, KARL,RUPERT,BARKER How to cite: JONES, KARL,RUPERT,BARKER (2012) The Theology of Christian Joy in the Works of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680), Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3399/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The Theology of Christian Joy in the Works of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) Karl R B Jones Submitted for MA University of Durham Department of Theology and Religion 2011 Abstract The Theology of Christian Joy in the Works of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) Karl R B Jones This study examines Goodwin’s theology of joy in the experience of the Christian. The structure roughly follows the divisions set out in Of the Creatures (probably written in the mid-1650’s), considering first the joy of the uncreated order, that is, the joy of God both in his essential unity, and within the relationships of the Trinity, and then the joy of the created order, in the lives of angels and human beings. The study argues that Goodwin sees God’s joy as eternal, being based on both his ‘intrinsecal’ and ‘extrinsecal’ life. That is, God rejoices in who he is and in what he does. The study will demonstrate that Goodwin considered all true joy as being fundamentally derived from God’s joy, and that true Christian joy is known only to the degree in which God, in Christ, is revealed to the saint. The study will argue that Goodwin understands the saint to be on a journey of progression from nature, to grace, and on to glory which is characterised by increasingly clear visions of God; initially seeing God by faith in Christ, then seeing God in the actual presence of Christ, and ultimately in sharing the view of God that Christ himself has. The study shows that Goodwin has some distinct views when expositing Ephesians 1:13, leading to an understanding of the sealing of the Spirit that throws some light on the immediate experience of joy in the Holy Spirit. The study will conclude that while Goodwin is notable in the clarity of his description of the increasing joy of the saint, he is entirely consistent with the Augustinian-Calvinist view of joy which, in Goodwins’ words, is simply that ‘God, known and enjoyed; is the supreme happiness of Man in all Conditions...’ 2 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 10 An Introductory Biography ............................................................................................................ 16 Literary and Theological Influences .............................................................................................. 26 Joy, and its Absence, in Goodwin’s Contemporaries ...................................................... 30 Joy of Assurance in Unity with Christ in Goodwin’s Contemporaries ........................... 36 Joy and Assurance of Sealing in Goodwin’s Predecessors ............................................. 40 The Changing Nature of Goodwin’s Pastoral Context .................................................... 50 Joy of God ...................................................................................................................................... 54 The ‘Intrinsecal’ Joy of God in the Trinity ...................................................................... 54 The ‘Extrinsecal’ Joy of God in the Trinity ..................................................................... 58 Joy of Christ .................................................................................................................... 61 Joy of Creatures ............................................................................................................................. 66 Joy of Elect Angels .......................................................................................................... 66 Joy of the Elect ................................................................................................................ 71 Joy of the Elect in the State of Nature .............................................................. 71 Joy of the Elect in the State of Grace ................................................................ 76 Joy of the Elect in Salvation ............................................................... 79 Joy of the Elect in Knowing God in Christ ......................................... 82 Joy of the Elect in Suffering ............................................................... 89 Joy of the Elect in Spiritual Darkness ................................................. 100 The Joy of the Reprobate .................................................................... 106 Joy of the Elect in the State of Glory ................................................................ 111 In the Intermediate State .................................................................... 113 In the Resurrection and Millennial Kingdom .................................... 119 In the Eternal Kingdom when God is all in all .................................. 122 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 125 The Influence of Goodwin on Later Authors .................................................................. 125 Appendix One ................................................................................................................................ 130 Goodwin’s Works ............................................................................................................ 130 Individual works written by Thomas Goodwin ................................................ 130 Collections of works written by Thomas Goodwin .......................................... 136 Works written by Thomas Goodwin et al., presented to Parliament ................. 138 Works by others including extracts by Thomas Goodwin ................................ 139 Unpublished works by Thomas Goodwin ......................................................... 140 Works of others co-edited/published by Thomas Goodwin .............................. 141 3 Appendix Two ................................................................................................................................ 142 Reasons for doubting attribution of two works to Goodwin ........................................... 142 Appendix Three ............................................................................................................................. 144 Chronology of the Life of Thomas Goodwin .................................................................. 144 Appendix Four ............................................................................................................................... 145 Chronology of the Works of Thomas Goodwin .............................................................. 145 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 153 Primary Sources ............................................................................................................... 153 Secondary Sources ........................................................................................................... 157 4 Goodwin’s biblical expositions are quite unique, even among the Puritans, in the degree to which they combine theological breadth with experimental depth. John Owen saw into the mind of Paul as clearly as Goodwin - sometimes, on points of detail, more clearly - but not even Owen saw so deep into Paul’s heart.1 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 1Packer, J. I., A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994) 5 Introduction Introduction Modern evangelicalism, following the influence of the Wesleys, has tended to steer more toward Arminianism than to Calvinism. However, a growing trend, particularly in North America, has seen an increased awareness of Reformed theology, and with it a renewed interest in the theology and writing of the Puritans.2 Like Packer and Lloyd-Jones in the middle of the twentieth century, contemporary Reformed pastor-theologians seek to recover the heart of the Puritan message and free both them, and evangelicalism, from the image of strait-laced bigotry, and revive a sense of God-honouring, life-enriching, joy in the goodness and sovereignty of God. This goes beyond the evangelicalism