There are three ways to read a good and growing number of the classics of the Christian faith. The first is to read the original work. This is usually the most rewarding option, but it can pose difficulties when the author’s language is either foreign or antiquated. The second is to read a modernized version in which a contemporary author has generally maintained the content and flow of the book, but rewritten it in modern English. The third is to read a modern adaptation of the work in which a contemporary author writes his own version or adaptation that conveys the same ideas as the original, but with fresh language, illustrations, and so on. As time goes on, many classic works are available in all three formats.

The most recent to receive this treatment is John Owen’s Communion with God. Already available in Communion with the Triune God, a slightly modernized version edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic, we now have a fully adapted version in Mike McKinley’s Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit.
There is little I need to say about the original text except that it is for good reason that it has stood the test of time. First printed in the 1650s, it continues to be the preeminent work on the subject of the Christian’s communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—realities that Owen understood to be not only crucial to the Christian life, but actually the heart and soul of it.
In this adaptation, McKinley chooses to speak of “friendship” rather than “communion.” “If you are a Christian,” he explains, “the Bible says that the eternal God—the one who made the universe and everything in it, the God who is more holy and glorious and powerful than we can even begin to understand—that God wants you to know him and be known by him. He has gone to great lengths to make it possible for you to be his friend. He delights in your company and loves to shower you with good gifts. In fact, he plans to spend eternity blessing you far beyond what you can imagine.” And, indeed, within the pages of Scripture we find the Lord referring to his people as friends, family, his body, his bride, and other terms of warmth, endearment, communion, and friendship. “That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? God intends to have a close and intimate connection with us.”
Yet we often have trouble believing this and living like it’s true—imagining that a being as great and holy and mighty as God might actually treasure a relationship with weak and broken people like us. And then even if we do believe it, we can struggle to know how to act out and foster that relationship. “I know both of those struggles in my own life and in the lives of the brothers and sisters in the church I pastor,” says McKinley. “I see it in the Christians who leave to find another church that makes them feel ‘more spiritual,’ in those who are always looking for the new conference or program that will unlock the key insight they need to feel closer to God, in those who have grown doubtful that God could really love someone like them, in those who feel like their walk with the Lord has simply stalled out, and in the people who have settled into going through the motions, hoping that something will change someday.”
And this is precisely where Owen’s book has proven so valuable to so many generations of Christians. Yet as time passes, it becomes increasingly inaccessible. “The problem (and the reason for this book) is that Owen can be difficult to read and understand. His language is outdated, the world that he was writing to is very different from ours, he never tires of listing out points and subpoints, and his writing style can seem overly complicated at times (he never seems to explain anything in ten words if he can explain it in fifty!). As a result, Communion with God just isn’t something that most twenty-first century Christians are going to pick up and read.”
Hence this modernization in which McKinley’s goal has been to “mine some of the most precious diamonds of Owen’s spiritual insights and make them available and applicable to you as you grow in your enjoyment of the friendship of the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I’ve tried to provide some of Owen’s most accessible and helpful quotes from the book, and if this motivates you to go read Owen on your own, you will be richly rewarded for your time and effort. It is true that some wonderful things are inevitably lost when you take a masterpiece written by a genius and let a (definite) nongenius like me shorten, rephrase, and rework it. But while some of Owen’s brilliance has certainly been lost in the process of creating this book, I do have hope that much good remains to serve you in your friendship with God.”
McKinley carries out his task well and helpfully conveys the best of Owen’s work in a way that is much easier to read and digest. If you have wanted to read a classic but have been intimidated by the original, or perhaps even incapable of understanding it, Friendship with God is just the answer. I am glad to recommend it.
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This week’s post is sponsored by The Master’s Academy International (TMAI), a global network of pastoral training centers that specialize in expository preaching. They invite you to sign up for their 2024 International Symposium on March 5th in Los Angeles, California.
Our world today is obsessed with what is new, clever, and convenient. Headlines, podcasts, and books are full of new gadgets, “life hacks”, and promises of ease with unique methods. The passion for this has revealed our culture’s esteem for what is modern, what is convenient, and what is easy.
Christians are not immune to this preoccupation with production. New methods and contrary advice—all touted as “more effective”—have crowded nearly every topic, particularly in the realm of global missions.
In 2024—with more knowledge and resources available to us than any time in human history—many Christians find themselves at a loss when considering what is truly needed for missions work, which components are necessary, which programs most effective.
Churches desiring to obey Christ’s call to missions work (Matthew 28:18-20) are confronted by different voices and methodologies, and many do not know who to listen to or where to start.
Where do they begin? Where should Christians who desire for all the nations to hear and proclaim the name Jesus Christ go to find the most effective tool, program, or method for international missions?
The answer to this question is clear: the Bible is effective in and of itself for all missions work.
The Inextricable Link Between the Bible and Missions
God has given the perfect, inerrant, and sufficient tool for missions in the Bible.
No book, program, podcast, template, emphasis, or example will ever surpass the relevance, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture. And if you’re looking to shepherd your church towards greater maturity and missions-mindedness, we want to help you see Scripture as the only tool a missionary needs.
This is why you’re invited to join us at the 2024 International Symposium on March 5th, where we’ll enjoy keynote messages from Mark Tatlock, Steven Lawson, and more.
You cannot have God-honoring and truly effective missions work that isn’t directly derived from the Bible.Share
The truth of Scripture’s sufficiency is timeless and immutable, yet it is being set aside for what is more convenient under the guise of “innovation.” However, there will always be an inextricable link between the Bible and missions. You cannot have God-honoring and truly effective missions work that isn’t directly derived from the Bible.
Missionaries of the past have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Scripture, and the effectiveness of this commitment is seen in their legacies today.
Long, Lasting Legacies
William Carey (1761–1834), Adoniram Judson (1788–1850), and Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) dedicated their lives to the translation of the Bible into the native languages of the people they served and evangelized to. They recognized that the Bible is central to all missions work. Other resources are only so helpful to the degree that they help someone better understand and love Scripture.
The effectiveness of their commitment is seen in the salvation of whole people groups and millions proclaiming Christ to this day.
Yet it is easy to slip into the thinking that one needs more to be an effective missionary, that outside resources will answer questions and provide help that the Bible cannot.
As Martin Luther wrote, “The authority of Scripture is greater than the comprehension of the whole of man’s reason.”
We want to help churches and individuals recognize the unlimited, sufficient resource the Bible is for missionaries, supporting missions, and all of life.
To help your church become more Bible-focused and missions-minded, join us Tuesday, March 5: https://bit.ly/48oJhNK

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Playboy Makes Perversion Woke
Carl Trueman has some insightful commentary about Playboy and Hugh Hefner. “it seems that Playboy is once again trying to clean up its image and, in the process, contradict its own reasons for existence. This time the move comes in advance of an A&E documentary series that will reveal in detail the perversions and sleaze of its founder, Hugh Hefner.”
Men and Women in Romans 16
Murray Campbell: “Romans 16 isn’t foremost about men and women, it’s about the Apostle Paul commending his ministry team to the church in Rome. It is a team that consists of many people from all kinds of walks of life. Among the number are many men and many women.”
Register Now for RMC22
The Radius Missiology Conference (RMC) is a unique time where the ideas, philosophies, and methodologies of historic and contemporary missions are discussed and taught on over a two-day conference. June 29-30, 2022, with Kevin DeYoung, Alistair Begg & others. (Sponsored Link)
You Might Be a Stingy Forgiver If…
Cindy Matson offers a few ways to know if you might just be a stingy forgiver.
Five Reasons for Wives to Lean In
“I met my future mother-in-law when I was barely 17 years old. Barb was warm and welcoming, and I instantly liked her. As a brand-new Christian, Barb was a mentor to me and someone I looked up to.” Stacy Reaoch gives some counsel to daughters-in-law.
Jesus is Here
Blake Long offers an encouraging reminder: “Jesus is here with us. He is not distant, far off, or lost. He is here and cares for us.”
Flashback: On Living in a Post-Christian Context
So I suppose this is a call for those of us in the West to take comfort and confidence in this: there are Christians who can assist us. There are believers elsewhere who can guide us into this territory that is foreign to us but familiar to them.

Christianity does not think of a man finally submitting to the power of God, it thinks of him as finally surrendering to the love of God. It is not that man’s will is crushed, but that man’s heart is broken. —William Barclay