Gospel Deeps [eBook]

Reveling in the Excellencies of Jesus

While pastoring for the past fifteen years, Jared Wilson has become known in contemporary evangelicalism for his passionate, gospel-centered writing and teaching. Following Wilson’s well-received publication of Gospel Wakefulness, he writes Gospel Deeps as a “next step” to establishing the need for astonishment, which begins by looking at the astonishing things God has done in and through Christ. Wilson holds up the gospel like a diamond and examines it facet by facet, demonstrating the riches of its implications. This book serves as a valuable contribution to the emerging canon of gospel-centered literature, in the spirit of John Piper’s Pleasures of God and Tim Keller’s emphasis on a “robust gospel,” and continues in the glory-reveling legacy left by Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, and the like. The distinctiveness of Gospel Deeps is found in Wilson’s winsome and frequently ecstatic writing voice, as well as his unique approach to showcasing the gospel’s beauty.

Jared C. Wilson is the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont. He is an award-winning author whose articles and short stories have appeared in a number of periodicals, and has written the popular books Your Jesus Is Too Safe and Gospel Wakefulness, as well as the curriculum Abide. Wilson also blogs daily at GospelDrivenChurch.com. 

“Wilson labors to make us appreciate the greatness and grandeur of the gospel and its Christ. Again and again he succeeds.”
—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College

“Too many of us treat the gospel as somebody else’s news. We know it’s what saved us, but we encounter it only as we overhear ourselves rehearsing it to unbelievers. Or, we treat the gospel as some law of supernatural quantum physics—holding everything together but too complicated to think about very much. That’s a dry, flat, and depressing way to live. This brilliant, winsome book calls us back to the exhilarating bigness of the gospel, in a way that can spark up every day with crucified power. Read this book. It’s like a gospel fountain flowing, deep and wide.”
—Russell D. Moore, President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; author, Tempted and Tried

“This is good leaf, grown with gospel sap, grounded in Bible soil. Drop this fresh bag from Jared in your soul’s mug, and give it a good steep. As good as the flavor was in Gospel Wakefulness, it’s even better in Gospel Deeps.”
—David Mathis, executive editor, desiringGod.org; elder, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Twin Cities, Minnesota

“If your faith in Christ is shallow, this is not the book for you. But if you are suffering, if you are sinning, if you are broken, and you need a big Savior, Jared Wilson’s Gospel Deeps might take you deeper with Christ than you’ve ever gone before, deeper than you’ve ever dreamed of going. Enjoy the journey.”
—Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee

“Jared Wilson’s Gospel Deeps is not just another book on the Christian life, it is a book on what gives the Christian life—the gospel. And it isn’t a mere summary of the gospel, but a plunge deep into the good news to help the reader understand the gospel’s centrality and power in our lives. Gospel Deeps helps us behold and experience the glory and goodness of Jesus Christ in ways we often forget, or may be completely unfamiliar with.”
—Joe Thorn, author, Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself; Lead Pastor, Redeemer Fellowship, St. Charles, Illinois

“Those without spiritual eyes will not enjoy Jared’s book. How could they? All he does is stare deeply into the person of Jesus Christ and his gospel work. But for those with eyes to see, what treasures await here. Jared gazes upon the gospel from angle after angle, showing how every area of theology points back to the gospel, and reminding us that the knowledge of God is like a spiderweb—where touching any one spot makes the whole thing vibrate. Jared, like the best theologians, worships as he writes and invites readers to join him. And that means this pastor-theologian’s pen is a lyrical one. Read slowly, enjoy, savor, and worship.”
—Jonathan Leeman, Editorial Director, 9Marks; author, Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love

“Wilson’s Gospel Deeps offers a majestic portrait of the gospel that is far more than a solution to guilt or a one-time gate to forgiveness. It’s a path we are to walk each day of our lives, an answer to the moral corruption of our culture and entire cosmos, the power to change us into authentic worshippers of God and lovers of people, and a supernatural power given to the church to bring healing to a broken world. Multifaceted in its reflection of the many spiritual blessings promised to those united with Christ, Gospel Deeps compels us to revel anew in the excellencies of Jesus.”
—Steve Childers, President and CEO, Global Church Advancement; Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Reformed Seminary Orlando

“The gospel of Jesus Christ offers to us spiritual riches that exceed our wildest imaginations. Gospel Deeps is a delightful ledger of sorts to these riches. As one of the top writers in the church today, Jared Wilson labors hard to surface great gospel truth with clarity and brilliance, and in language that carries with it a steady overtone of delight. He says it well: ‘If Christ is true then boredom is a sin.’ Yes! And because Christ is true, and because Jared knows it, I dare you to find a boring page in this book.”
—Tony Reinke, Content Strategist, Desiring God Ministries; author, Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books

“First of all, a given: Jared Wilson is one of the finest and brightest young pastors and gospel thinkers in America. Second, a nongiven: Jared is still growing. What excites me most about Gospel Deeps is that it represents the trajectory of a heart that is continuing to come alive to the implications of the gospel. In this book, Jared is not just our gifted teacher, but also our worship leader. He bids us join him in putting our roots deeper and deeper into the garden of God’s grace. Thank you, my brother, for theology as doxology.”
—Scotty Smith, Teacher in Residence, West End Community Church, Nashville, Tennessee

“If you have assumed that doctrine must be dull, cool, or cerebral, Gospel Deeps will disabuse you of that notion. If you think that passionate adoration and deep dogmas—sovereign election, double imputation, inaugurated eschatology—don’t belong together, Gospel Deeps will surprise you by its blend of worshipful warmth with theological profundity. If you are beginning to realize that growing up in Christ does not mean getting beyond the gospel but going more deeply into it, exploring the implications of Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection on our behalf, Gospel Deeps will energize your pursuit of holiness by fortifying your assurance of the Father’s unwavering love and glad acceptance. If you thirst to know the triune God who saves you, Gospel Deeps will lead you into the Word by which he reveals himself and invites us into communion with himself. Plunge into these deeps!”
—Dennis E. Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California