GLEANINGS IN THE GODHEAD, by Arthur Pink

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

by Steve West

 

About the Author

Arthur W. Pink was the author of numerous books on biblical and theological issues. He was well-known for teaching and defending Calvinism.

 

Table of Contents

PART 1 — EXCELLENCIES WHICH PERTAIN TO THE GODHEAD AS GOD

1. The Solitariness of God
2. The Decrees of God
3. The Knowledge of God
4. The Foreknowledge of God
5. The Supremacy of God
6. The Sovereignty of God
7. The Immutability of God
8. The Holiness of God
9. The Power of God
10. The Faithfulness of God
11. The Lovingkindness of God
12. The Goodness of God
13. The Patience of God
14. The Grace of God
15. The Mercy of God
16. The Love of God
17. The Wrath of God
18. The Contemplation of God
19. The Bounties of God
20. The Gifts of God
21. The Guidance of God
22. The Blessings of God
23. The Cursings of God
24. The Love of God to Us
25. The Gospel of the Grace of God

PART 2 — EXCELLENCIES WHICH PERTAIN TO GOD THE SON AS CHRIST

26. The Fullness of Christ
27. The Radiance of Christ
28. The Condescension of Christ
29. The Humanity of Christ
30. The Person of Christ
31. The Subsistence of Christ
32. The Servitude of Christ
33. The Despisement of Christ
34. The Crucifixion of Christ
35. The Redemption of Christ
36. The Saviorhood of Christ
37. The Lordship of Christ
38. The Friendship of Christ
39. The Helpfulness of Christ
40. The Call of Christ
41. The Rest of Christ
42. The Yoke of Christ
43. The Quintessence of Christ
44. The Leadership of Christ
45. The Example of Christ

 

Part One – The Excellencies Which Pertain to the Godhead as God

God is solitary in his excellence: there is none like him. He is a necessary being and is self-sufficient in every way. As the independent Creator, he does not need anything, and he does not gain in his perfection from our existence or from the praise we give him. God is literally in a class by himself, and he can only be known through the revelation he chooses to provide. God is spirit, and he can only be known spiritually. The intellectual, philosophical speculations of human beings will never rise to comprehend the being of God.

“The decree of God is His purpose or determination with respect to future things. We have used the singular number as Scripture does (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 3:11) because there was only one act of His infinite mind about future things.” Nevertheless, our finite minds think of the decree of God in terms of a plurality of decrees, since we cannot comprehend things without sequence. God’s decrees are eternal, holy, and wise. They are all-encompassing and include everything that ever occurs in creation. God’s decrees are free, absolute, and unconditional. God is never the author of sin, and people are always responsible for what they do. There is a mystery here, but the believer’s comfort is in the fact that the future is fully controlled by God.

God is omniscient, knowing absolutely everything about every time (past, present, and future). Every one of our actions, words, and internal thoughts and motives are known by God. He knows all about his children and cares for them. God’s perfect knowledge is illustrated in numerous prophecies recorded in Scripture, which have been fulfilled in precise detail. The cause of all things is not God’s knowledge, but his will: he knows all things because he wills all things. When we recognize the doctrine of divine omniscience, we should walk reverently before the Lord and worship him. . . .

[To continue reading this summary, please see below....]