Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit

by Mike McKinley, Crossway (publisher)

Based on John Owen's Classic Text

Communion with God , This Helpful Resource Answers the Question, "What Does It Mean to Be Friends with Jesus?"

In John 15, Jesus says, "I have called you friends."

But what does it mean to be friends with Jesus? In the early 1650s, theologian John Owen attempted to answer this question through a series of sermons, eventually compiled as

Communion with God. The book is full of truths about having fellowship with God, but Owen's work is often a struggle for modern readers/listeners to understand.

In

Friendship with God, pastor Mike McKinley takes a key idea or insight from

Communion with God and clarifies it for listeners in each chapter, giving them practical guidance for how to develop fellowship with God—such as obeying the Father's commands, acknowledgment of sin, and prayer. Perfect for new Christians or for those without a church background, this accessible resource offers an introduction to the God who "wants you to know him and be known by him."

Written for a broad contemporary audience, perfect for new Christians or for those without a church background Based on John Owen's Classic Text Communion with God : Takes Owen's work and explains the key themes to a modern audience Examines Some Key Attributes of Including his Trinitarian nature, love, and grace

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Faith, Christianity, Discipleship

Audible Audio

First published April 11, 2023

About the author

Mike McKinley is the author of Passion, Did the devil make me do it? and Church Planting is for Wimps. Since 2005 he has been pastor of Guilford Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia. Before that, he served on the pastoral staff of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC, having received his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. Mike is married to Karen, and they have five children.

Reviews

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent book. Rich in devotional theology of the best kind. A meatier Gentle and Lowly (how could it not be, since it distills a work of one of the deepest theologians, John Owen?). I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I plan to discuss this book with my church and cannot wait to see the effect of meditating on these truths together. I know they did my soul good.

Note: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher but was not required to provide a positive review.

[Amber Thiessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given that the Puritans often present a challenge to read, with the older style language, this book was a treat. The author takes a tour through John Owen's collection of sermons, titled Communion with God, and presents the concepts in short chapters, helping the reader dive deeper in what it means to have friendship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit.

He invites us to a belief that God delights in and treasures us - I think this was what impacted me the most. Whatever we believe about who we are, it's both startling and humbling to recall the great love of God for us as sinners and what He has all provided and offered us through the work and person of Christ. His relationship with us isn't determined by us, it's determined by Him and it is a perfect love.

I haven't read Owen's work but I appreciated the short chapters of this book which gave opportunity to read a bit and reflect more consistently. I'd recommend this for those looking to understand God's love and friendship with the Trinity in mind.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Pat Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this book as a way to prepare my heart before going in to my daily quiet times. The chapters are short and rich, making it a great mini call to worship for my private devotions with the Lord.

This book was surprisingly phenomenal. As I’ve said in previous reviews, my friends and I like to consider what books we want to give out to people. And I must say I’m tempted to order 25 of these and give them out to people.

Mike McKinley does a great job of abridging John Owens massive work Communion with God into a digestible and concise read for all to benefit from.

This book is about one thing… communing with the Trinity. It is about being in an effectual relationship with the trinitarian God. Any book that gets me meditating intimately deeper on the Trinity is a book that is always worth a read.

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

The seventeenth-century theologian, John Owen wrote with biblical precision and melted the hearts of his readers. Owen’s deep understanding of God’s Word challenged and encouraged each person who was willing to take up the glorious task of reading his work. Almost four hundred years later, Owen’s work is unmatched but is left unread by many contemporary Christians. Admittedly, Owen can be wordy and his arguments are difficult for people to comprehend. Pastor Mike McKinley understands the importance of John Owen’s contribution. But he also acknowledges the difficult challenge that Owen presents.

It is in this spirit that Pastor McKinley presents Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and the Spirit. This work seeks to unpack and explain John Owen’s seminal book, Communion with God in a way that is understandable without sacrificing any theological precision.

The book is comprised of four parts that focus on communion with the Triune God, communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each part drills down into the depths of Owen’s theology. The author masterfully explains Owen’s heart and encourages readers to draw near in friendship to the sovereign God of the universe.

McKinley’s exposition of John Owen’s Communion with God is a thoughtful and careful exposition. It reminds readers about the depth of God’s love for his people and helps them dig deeper into the theological treasures that are so easily passed over in our day.

I heartily recommend Friendship with God and trust that many will be encouraged in their own walks with God. I trust that many will also be prompted to read John Owen for themselves!

[Glen Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Perfect for a devotional reading. The conclusion spells out the real gift of this book, it counters two typical foibles, reducing faith to mere memorization of doctrine or reducing it to mere sentimentality and excitement. This summary of Owen’s Communion with God, reminds us that friendship with our triune God is both rich in depth and warm-blooded in experience.

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know more deeply the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the comfort of the Spirit, read this book. McKinley's distillation of Owen's Communion with God wonderfully opens up the deep riches of how Scripture talks about the beauty of the Christian life with God. Read this with a friend/disciple, distribute it widely in your church, and pray that God's friendship with us would be sweet to all.

[Adam Kohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that reminds me of Gently and Lowly (for the consistent quotes from a Puritan) and Spurgeon’s Sorrows (for the writing style and shorter chapters). I loved how this book is broken up into basically three sections that touch on each part of the trinity and follows the pattern of awareness of their work and what it looks like to rest in that. Definitely keeps it simple in terms of application so that anyone can start and not be overwhelmed by a to-do list.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Accessible, poignant, helpful. Highly recommend.

[Cierra Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to any Christian seeking to understand how each member of the trinity shows their love to us and how we can worship and love them in response.

This book left me assured of my salvation and comforted in the love and forgiveness of sins I have truly received from God

[Constance Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a balm for a weary soul— I highly recommend it to all believers!

[Connor Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is bends more towards grounding my friendship with God in the realm of doctrine and head knowledge, this book was a huge challenge and encouragement for me. It is often easy to glaze over the reality that God deeply loves you and me. Yet this is a foundational truth, central to the gospel. The medium of our relationship with God is His love for His creation. Fantastic book. It would be great for discipleship material as well.

[Mason Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich. Devotional. Accessible. A taste of John Owen's work that left me wanting more.

[Brent Osterberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making John Owen accessible on experiential theology. A job well done, Pastor McKinley. We need more books like this one.

[Jacob Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. This book provided great simple, biblical truth on how the grace displayed in the crucifixion and the gift of the Holy Spirit greatly proclaim the depths of God’s love. There was also great instruction on how to personally interact and commune with the trinity. Made me realize how each person of God plays such a big role in our faith and deepening our fellowship with God.

Kinda random but I decided to stop halfway and go back and take notes on this one. It was easy for me to skim over paragraphs bc it’s a pretty easy read. But I think it adequately balanced equipping me with a deeper level of understanding the gospel without going too much over the edge with theology.

I haven’t read many Christian books but this is prob the first book I’d recommend to other believers

[Tara Bayles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just so good. I listened to this on audiobook and really took my time getting through it because every chapter was so helpful and thought provoking. Highly recommend!

[Payne Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little companion to Communion With God by John Owen. I enjoyed reading them together

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit by Mike McKinley

I absolutely loved this book! The author takes the ideas from “Communion with God” by John Owen and explains them in easy-to-understand modern English.

I loved that though this book was very easy to understand, it was also very deep. My spirit felt roused to worship and rejoice in the Lord and deepen my communion with Him! It is a wonderful, although short, teaching on each member of the Trinity, their main acts, and how we as believers are to commune with our Triune God.

This would be a wonderful book for older teens as well as adults to gain a very Biblical understanding of the Trinity. I hope that many will pick up this quick read and ponder the truths it shares. I also plan to read Owen’s original work after reading the beautiful quotes in this one.

I am so thankful to @netgalley and @crosswaybooks for the ARC copy of this book! It was a treasure!!

[Zak Mellgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good distillation of Owen's Communion with God (which I own and have read about half of but have never finished). The best part of this book is that it gave me the freedom to pray to each Person of the Trinity. I've admittedly been influenced by voices who have insisted our prayers should be directed almost exclusively to God the Father, and rarely if ever directed to the Son or the Spirit. McKinley shows, both from Owen and the Bible, that this does not fully honor the Triune God. We are meant to experience unique friendship and relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and that such friendship will always bring us back to the glory of the One.

I did find myself about halfway through just wanting to read Owen directly as the summarizing format began to wear on me. But that's probably not a fair complaint from someone who's never finished Owen's book! Grateful for McKinley's work here in making Owen's work accessible to modern readers.

[Amber Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard about this book, I thought about how I didn’t really view my relationship with God as a friendship, maybe that’s how you think too? Then I would highly encourage you to pick up this book.

McKinley does an exceptional job of simplifying John Owen’s work “Communion with God.” McKinley dives deep into the different ways that we can have communion/friendship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. There are so many things I learned from this book, but the top three things were the mediums in which God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit communion with their people. God, through his unconditional love for us, Jesus through his grace toward us, and the Holy Spirit through his comfort toward us.

I am putting this book back on my bookshelf with a desire to commune more deeply with God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May this book encourage you, too.

[Parker James Lipetska · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The world hateth me," may such a soul as has the Spirit say; "but my Father loves me. Men despise me as a hypocrite; but my Father loves me as a child. I am poor in this world; but I have a rich inheritance in the love of my Father. I am straitened in all things; but there is bread enough in my Father’s house. I mourn in secret under the power of my lusts and sin, where no eyes see me; but the Father sees me, and is full of compassion. With a sense of his kindness, which is better than life, I rejoice in tribulation, glory in affliction, triumph as a conqueror. Though I am killed all the day long, all my sorrows have a bottom that may be fathomed, — my trials, bounds that may be compassed; but the breadth, and depth, and height of the love of the Father, who can express?"pg.144

[Alison Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

McKinley beautifully and concretely explains what it means to enjoy “friendship with God,” a concept that is promised in scripture but often left vague in our teaching and writing and therefore open to individual interpretation. He approaches friendship with God through the lens of the Trinity: the unique sweetnesses of friendship with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. I haven’t read John Owen’s “Communion with God,” the book that inspired this one, but McKinley seems to have done an excellent job representing Owen’s message in modern-day language, making this an attainable read for a broad range of reading levels. I’m sure I will be reading this one again and again as I continue to ponder on what deeper friendship with God looks like.

[Blake Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Studied through this with several men of my church!This is probably my favorite modern book on the Trinity and how each person is involved in our salvation, encouragement, and strengthening.

One of my favorite quotes at the end:
“In Owen’s understanding, you don’t fully understand any point of Christian doctrine until it leads you into a closer and happier relationship with your God.”

So well put. Knowing God involves believing and understanding the gospel. But it’s not just theological data being imputed. The Father, Son, and Spirit work to bring us personal and real peace, joy, and contentment in Him.

The chapters are short, easy to follow, and well written. Making an outline of each chapter was pretty seamless based on how he wrote the book.

[Bobby James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful condensing of Communion with God! McKinley stays faithful to Owen and follows his outline to a T. Extremely helpful for distilling the raw, 17th century Puritanism of Owen. If you’re planning on reading Communion with God anytime soon I’d recommend reading this alongside it. It wouldn’t be that much more of a burden since it’s so short.

[Garrett Wishall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike McKinley gives modern readers access to the Puritan author and theologian John Owen in this practical and pastoral work. McKinley's aim is to summarize and shorten Owen's Communion with God without losing its essence. This book will help anyone looking to grow in their relationship with God, with particular focus on relating to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

[Adam Kareus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking John Owen's work Communion with God, summarizing it and explaining, Mckinley seeks to help the believer to see how one can be a friend of God. Through this work McKinley seeks to encourage devotion, joy, comfort all through friendship with God.

[Paul Abdallah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so incredibly helpful! Anytime I sat down to read it I was challenged and encouraged to press deeper into communion with the Triune God. Especially as I write this helped by his section on the Spirit.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Read with a group of friends at church. McKinley has done a great job condensing and modernizing Owen.

[Hollie Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great devotional work that uses the content of Owen’s “Communion With God” to provide small reminders of the intimate relationship that we are now granted through Christ with the triune God.

[Kirk Metzger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of Owen’s Communion with God, with a helpful emphasis on church membership.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After struggling with Owen's version, I was excited to pick up this modernized version. It is concise, clear, and stays very close to Owen's intent in helping us enjoy friendship with our Triune God. McKinley, and Owen, help us avoid settling for cold doctrinal truths on the one hand and mere emotionalism in the other hand. The emphasis on pursuing a real experience of friendship with God has deepened my understanding of the nature of this friendship and how I can grow and invest in this friendship and ultimately enjoy it for the rest of eternity.