Category Archives: Flavel, John

Flavel on Jesus’ cry of dereliction

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‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46)

Here is a summary of Ch. 33 of John Flavel’s great work, The Fountain of Life.

Here, says Flavel, ‘are words that might rend the hardest heart.’

The manner of the complaint

Note what our Lord complains of. ‘It is not of the cruel tortures he felt in his body, nor of the scoffs and reproaches of his name; he mentions not a word of these, they were all swallowed up in the sufferings within, as the river is swallowed up in the sea, or the lesser flame in the greater.’…

‘Father, forgive them’

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A summary of ch. 30 of John Flavel’s The Fountain of Life

In Lk 23:34, says Flavel, we find the best of mercies desired for the worst of sinners.

Peter (Acts 3:17) and Paul (1 Cor 2:8) also stress the ignorance of those who crucified the Lord Jesus.  These people may have known many things, but they did not know that this was the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.  This was because

  • though they had the Scriptures, they misunderstood them: they could not believe that the Messiah would arise out of Galilee (Jn 7:52), or that he would die (Jn 12:34; cf.
…

‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’

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What is implied here?

1. That the soul outlives the body. The house in which it dwelt falls into ruins, and it seeks a new home with God.

2. That the soul’s true rest is in God. During this earthly pilgrimage, we long to be with God, Psa 73:25.

3. That the soul is of great value. We commit our dead bodies to our friends; let our living souls be kept safe by God.

4. That a great change comes upon us at death.…

Desiring Christ

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The Puritan John Flavel invites us to ask the following questions about our desires for Christ:-

‘Are they ARDENT? Has Christ the supreme place in our hearts? Do we esteem all things but dung that we may win Christ and be found in him?

Are they UNIVERSAL? Is everything about Christ desirable in our eyes? The hypocrite is for a divided Christ. The believer loves his government and his grace, his sovereignty and his mercy, his Lordship and his priesthood.…

Christ’s illegal trial and condemnation

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Outline of a sermon on Luke 23:23f by John Flavel (1628-1691).

I.  The trial of Christ was conducted most maliciously and illegally by his unrighteous judges.  The righteous Judge of all the world is judged most unrighteously.

1.  He was inhumanly abused, both in word and action.

2.  He was falsely examined by a court (the Sanhedrin) that had no authority to try him.

3.  He was absurdly accused of perverting the nation, and of denying tribute to Caesar.…

Flavel on guidance

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John Flavel (1628-1691) offers much in very few words:-

If therefore, in doubtful cases, you would discover God’s will, govern yourselves in your search after it by these rules:

1. Get the true fear of God upon your hearts; be really afraid of offending him.

2. Study the Word more, and the concerns and interests of the world less.

3. Reduce what you know into practice, and you shall know what is your duty to practice.…

Christ’s primeval glory

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Here’s a second instalment from John Flavel’s The Fountain of Life (subtitled, ‘Presenting Christ in his Essential and Mediatorial Glory’).  Chapter 2 is based on Proverbs 8:30: ‘Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence.’  What follows is a summary.

This verse speaks of the eternal delights that Jesus Christ, the wisdom of the Father, had with his Father before his assumption of our nature. …

The excellency of knowing Christ crucified

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John Flavel’s work entitled The Fountain of Life (subtitled, ‘Presenting Christ in his Essential and Mediatorial Glory’) is an absolute treasure.  The first chapter is based on 1 Corinthians 2:2 (‘I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’).  What follows is a summary.

I resolved – this is his settled, considered, conviction, reached after due consideration of the pros and cons, arguments and counter-arguments.

To know nothing – he does not mean that he despised all other knowledge, but only so far as it stood in opposition to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. …