Formed for the Glory of God: Learning from the Spiritual Practices of Jonathan Edwards

by Kyle Strobel

Spiritual formation is the Spirit’s work of transforming us into the image of Christ. Some people get caught up with this and other similar terms, such as spirituality, piety, transformation and so on. Instead of trying to figure out if we should use these terms, or trying to discern how they are currently being used, let’s do something different. Getting into debates about the most appropriate word is a pointless endeavor (2 Tim 2:14). Instead, we will turn to Jonathan Edwards as a source for wisdom about Christian living. In our pursuit, we will seek a distinctively evangelical understanding of spiritual formation. What does our grasp of the gospel tell us about the Christian life and faith? Furthermore, if we are evangelicals, then we must recognize that the terms spirituality, spiritual formation, religion and the Christian life all must mean the same thing for us. We need not grow faint-hearted by how the world and others misconstrue these terms. Rather, we should allow the Spirit to breathe fresh life into them. The key question then is, what do they mean? Christian spirituality is ultimately about the work of the Spirit to bind us to the Son in love. This is not the “spirituality” of the world. The “Spirit” in spirituality denotes the Holy Spirit of God. Spirituality is not about some innate sense of transcendence or something inherent in people. Spirituality is about the very thing we need and do not have—God’s own Spirit. Christian spirituality is a partaking in G...