Conclusion: Edwards as a Theological Bridge

Scripture focus

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

2 Timothy 2:2 KJV

At a glance

Summary of the chapter

The concluding chapter gathers the book's argument that Edwards was genuinely Reformed — in his intellectual formation, covenantal theology, and stress on sovereign grace and conversion — while showing deep affinities with traditions outside Calvinism: Enlightenment philosophy, patristic-medieval typology, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Trinitarian thought, and even medieval angelology. Edwards's qualification of sola fide, while retaining sola gratia, and his stress on the believer's real union with God place him closer to Augustine, and to a doctrine of divinization, than to a narrowly forensic Protestantism.

The authors trace Edwards's afterlife across several major streams: his theology of revival has shaped evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics worldwide; his ecclesiology stressed unity across local, national, and international bounds and a positive view of Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians; his sacramental theology affirmed Christ's real presence in the Supper; and his public theology rejected every parochial vision of the common good limited to self, tribe, or nation. Even his apocalyptic expectation of coming 'glorious times' for the church reflects this same universal, expansive instinct.

The book's final claim is that scholars have too readily reduced Edwards to a theologian of divine sovereignty. McClymond and McDermott propose instead that God's centrality is the deeper, more encompassing category — central in ontology and epistemology, in the giving of grace, in history, in human participation in the divine life, in revival, in typology, and even in Edwards's provisional openness toward the world's non-Christian religions as providential preparations for the gospel.

Key points

• Edwards was authentically Reformed in intellectual formation, covenant theology, and his stress on sovereign grace, yet showed real affinities with Enlightenment philosophy, patristic-medieval typology, and both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic thought.
• His qualification of sola fide alongside a firm sola gratia, and his stress on real union and participation in God, align him with Augustine and with a doctrine of divinization rather than a narrowly forensic Protestant soteriology.
• Edwards's theology of revival became one of his most durable global legacies, shaping evangelical, Pentecostal, and Charismatic movements far beyond his own century and denomination.
• His ecclesiology and public theology pressed toward unity and universality — a positive view of other Christian traditions, and a rejection of any common good limited to self, tribe, or nation.
• McClymond and McDermott conclude that "centrality," not "sovereignty" alone, best names the single thread running through Edwards's metaphysics, ethics, history, missions, and view of world religions.

A line worth remembering

A remarkable feature of Edwards's theology was its approach to non-Christian religions.

McClymond & McDermott The Theology of Jonathan Edwards, ch. 45

Related Scripture

• Ephesians 4:13
• 1 Corinthians 3:6
• Hebrews 12:1
• John 17:21

For reflection and discussion

1. How does thinking of God's 'centrality' rather than only God's 'sovereignty' change the way you picture God's relationship to the whole of your life?
2. Edwards pressed toward Christian unity across denominational lines centuries before the modern ecumenical movement — what would it look like for your own church to take that instinct seriously today?
3. Having read across this whole study companion, what single aspect of Edwards's theology has most reshaped how you think about God?