High King of Heaven

High King of Heaven: Theological and Practical Perspectives on the Person and Work of Jesus

The book is published by Moody (and Master’s Seminary Press) – Hardcover 318 pages. This was welcome news as Moody needs to get back on track and promote more good books like this one!

If you were going to spend a year alone on a desert island, and you could take only one book (along with the Bible) with you – what would it be? I’m sure many have contemplated this conundrum. For example, one Reformed Scholar (Derek Thomas) from Banner of Truth regards John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress as his most important book, second to the Bible

One of the books at the top of my list would have to be William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour. At a pinch I’d pick Gurnall’s book for its sheer size and the precious nuggets which can be gleaned from every page. He was a favorite with Charles Spurgeon and J. C. Ryle as well.

But really I wouldn’t want to be limited to a single book. I’d have to bargain and argue my way up to a suitcase or trunk full. I have special books on my desk, by my armchair and by my bed. Even though I’ve read them, I like to re-read certain passages which are especially meaningful to me.

One strange thing about me is the habit of sometimes reading more than one book at a time. This was the case when I happened to see High King of Heaven fresh off the presses and on our church bookshop shelf. As soon as I picked it up, I knew this would be on my Desert Island List. In fact when I brought it home, I momentarily dropped the others.

High King of Heaven was edited by John MacArthur who also wrote the Preface. MacArthur also wrote the last chapter “Do You Love Me ?: the Essential Response to the High King of Heaven.”

The book is divided into four parts:

1) The Person of Christ

2) The Work of Christ

3) The Word of Christ

4) The Witness to Christ

Each part is populated by essays from a range of contributors which, according to Phil Johnson, began as sermons. The sermons were carefully edited into chapters for this book. This explains the pastoral and devotional nature. The book’s pages are word-dense and rich in theology. It is obviously highly Christological, but also presuppositional and Calvinistic in nature.

Some of its contributors include (in no particular order) Michael Vlach, Stephen Lawson, Paul Washer, Phil Johnson, Abner Chou and Ligon Duncan. There were names I hadn’t heard before but have taken note of. For Example, I loved Paul Twiss’ insights in “Son of God and Son of Man.”

Abner Chou’s “Seeing Christ in the Old Testament” was a special treat. I’m certain it was taken from a lecture he delivered – one I remember wishing I had a transcript of. And here it is!

Phil Johnson’s “No Other Gospel: The True Gospel of Christ” is timely. The gospel is constantly being re-defined in terms of Social Justice, race and other alleged cultural needs. Books are being written by progressive-professing Christians who have “de-converted.” The reality of sin and the need for atonement aren’t popular today. See also Michael Kruger’s online article “The Power of De-Conversion Stories.”

With this in mind, I liked what Tom Pennington wrote in “Up From The Grave”:

Because of His holiness and justice, God cannot allow a single sin to go unpunished. But in the marvelous transaction of justification, the Father, driven by His love and grace, credited to Christ the guilt for every sin of every person who would ever believe.

I could go on but then I’d have to review each chapter. This is a grand offering of a book which glorifies the High King of heaven – one I hope gets widely read. It is pastoral, theological, devotional and a treasure trove of gems. This is definitely a Desert Island book and I will be re-reading this one over and over again.

If you’re looking for a book on deep Christology this could be the one for you.

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