A. W. Tozer’s And
He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings From the Gospel of John Book Analysis
Introduction
A.
W. Tozer, who was an American Christian pastor, born 1897 and died 1963, was
recognized as having a prophetic voice and a heart to reach those who were lost.
This passion for souls is demonstrated in his book And He Dwelt Among Us[1]
– comprising of a compilation of Tozer’s sermons that were later printed and edited
by the award-winning author and pastor Dr. John L. Snyder acknowledged as an
authoritarian on the life and ministry
of A.W. Tozer.[2]
Tozer was captivated by the Gospels, in particular, the Gospel of John which
inspired him to do a year-long series of John’s gospel at his Chicago church. His
humility in allowing the Spirit to use him during this series resonated with
his congregants as they sometimes remained seated even after the close of
service.[3]
Tozer was of the belief that doctrine should be established on the firm
foundation of truth, to warrant against false teachings, and lead individuals
to the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ who became incarnate and lived
among men.[4]
Tozer
understood John to be of a mystic mindset whereas the Apostle Paul laid a
theological foundation with which John’s gospel could excel. Tozer taught them
both with balances so that one would not be legalistic and spiritually unempathetic
with Paul’s writings, while on the other hand, one would not be so heaven
minded they would neglect their earthly duties as Christians.[5] Tozer
addresses the need to avoid spiritual boredom in his book where Christians become
entangled in the things of the world while neglecting their spiritual health.[6] He
felt that the spiritually immature were at risk of becoming spiritually bored
with repetition and needed to have a spiritual refreshing. Therefore, his
response to this was to remind believers that the truth and Spirit of the Word
were equal partners and doing something new could help revitalize the spiritual
dying or dead. Therefore, he aims to connect the reader to the knowledge and
nature of Christ in his analysis of the Gospel of John.[7]
Summary
and Analysis
The Gospel of John exceeded the
other gospels in illuminating Christ’s deity and humanity according to Tozer.[8]
John builds on a theological setting as part of his mystical mindset to help
his readers have a special appreciation and captivation with getting to know
and understand Jesus as God everlasting on earth.[9]
Tozer says that there is something on the inside of man desiring a response
from an everlasting God that goes beyond simple understanding.[10]
God has placed on the inside of every man and woman a natural response for
those who have been redeemed by Him – a longing that automatically desires to
praise and pray to their Creator, which was established from the beginning of
time.[11]
Tozer, therefore, believes that everything in the universe was wrong after sin
until Jesus reversed it because there is no universal goodness in man as many
people choose to believe.[12]
Tozer believed that there is a
constant battle between the brain and the heart with most of what man has
devised concerning religion and what he deems as societal achievements have
only plagued humanity. It could never replace man’s longing immorality and the
hope of eternity.[13]
Sin has ruined mankind as the heart still searches for that which is eternal
without a beginning or end only found in the essence of the Word. Tozer points
out that God is not a creature who has a beginning, but is the Creator of the
creature who gave it its beginning.[14]
Tozer talks about the heartbreaking
aspect of Christ becoming incarnate despite His fulfillment of man’s redemption
and desire for immortality. He was welcomed by nature but not accepted by His
creation that He owned.[15]
Humanity was in need of Him and not Him for humanity and yet, man did not
process this need when presented before them due to their spiritual blindness. Tozer
lists reasons as to this taking place: personal priorities; change of living;
need for inward cleaning; reroute in direction and faith in the unknown.[16]
To make this more clear, Tozer explains man’s inability or lack of a desire to
allow Christ to do a total remake of their lives because they were completely
satisfied in the miserable conditions that they were in spiritually. It would
be likened to someone not wanting to turn the lights on so that they do not
have to clean up their filthy house. As long as it is dark, one cannot see the
need for change and in so doing, Tozer believed that man loved his sin more
than the Son of God, which became evident in their rejection of Him.[17]
When the Word was made flesh,
according to Tozer, He did not lose any part of His deity which is a mystery
for many, but the magnificent part is that man was elevated in his restoration
with God.[18] Even
as Jesus hung on the cross as an atonement for man’s sins, He did not leave
God’s heart as He fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures concerning Himself as
the Lamb of God made flesh to take away the sins of the world.[19]
Tozer examines the reason for such a sacrifice and comes to the conclusion that
each person is important to God. Jesus showed that He cared for those who felt
that they were unloved and isolated from the rest of the world.[20]
Satan wants man to believe that they are unloved by God but during Jesus
ministry, He was a hands-on God who showed that individuals mattered to Him.
Therefore, Tozer helps the reader to understand that God wants them to come as
they are, but not stay where they are. He is a God of change who does miracles
in a person’s life from the inside out.[21]
Christ’s mission was to come into
the world to save it but not offer condemnation by reclaiming what was
rightfully His.[22] Therefore,
Tozer allows the reader to see that they can take it personally that God is for
them and not against them. He came to redeem that which was lost so they man
would be reconnected with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[23]
God as Judge and Savior allows for humanity to be held accountable for their
actions because of His ultimate sacrifice.[24]
He was able to identify with the needs of man to became man’s search and rescue
party so that man will one day be able to pass from the material world to the
spiritual world for all eternity.[25]
Tozer makes a profound statement
that is important for people to understand about God, especially those who may
have challenges with issues regarding low self-esteem. What God thinks about a
person is more important than what they person thinks of himself because God
does not view man the same as man views man.[26]
God holds a higher value on what a man is rather than what he does, for some
people do the right thing for the wrong reason and this is why God judges the
heart.[27]
Finally, attention should be drawn to three prepositions Tozer uses regarding
God’s relationship with man and His ultimate purpose for eternity. God first walked
“with” man, then after sin, apart
from Enoch, He appeared “to” man, so
that He may dwell “in” man, which will
lead Him back to dwelling “with” man,
is a simple summary of understanding the Gospel of John.[28]
Application
One of the most applicable parts of
Tozer’s book can be found in the section titled Why His Own Received Him Not. It brings to heart the issue of man
being spiritually warped with a moral deficit.[29]
The reality that the natural world had more wisdom than humanity in that man
did not recognize that his Creator was dwelling among him is made evident in
the five reasons Tozer gives for this. Nevertheless, by taking a look into
these reasons, one can be careful to not repeat the same mistakes and apply a
spiritual gauge to counteract these indiscretions. First, one must be careful
to make Jesus first in their life. One cannot be a friend to the world and God
at the same time. Priorities must be set with Jesus at the top and all else
next.[30]
Second, Tozer explains that most
people do not want to change their daily patterns. Nevertheless, a person who
is truly for Jesus must change from their sinful ways of living into a new
pattern for Life.[31]
It has been said that it takes twenty-one days for a person to develop a habit.
Jesus, came, however to do what man could not do independent of Him but one
must be willing to allow Him to develop a new pattern of living. Third, a
person must undergo a thorough housecleaning of the heart according to Tozer in
order to Christ to reside. Even though Tozer may have been incorrect about the
manger being clean, for it would have had animals that had to eliminate waste
where they stood, the Lord does not wish for His children to have waste in
their hearts.[32]
That waste consists of anything that in sinful such as pride, sexual
immorality, dishonesty, hatred, and other traits that are not sewn in
righteousness.
Fourth, according to Tozer, man is in need of moving in a new direction.[33]
Jesus said that He is the only way to gain access to the Father which means
that one cannot continue driving down the same road and think that it will lead
them to an eternity with Christ. Therefore, one must shift to the narrow road
after turning off the broad way to destruction. Finally, Tozer believes that
one must put their complete trust in Jesus for reformation to take place.[34]
Total trust in Christ means placing oneself in His hands completely and not
trying to handle things on their own. Jesus came to make that possible so that
every person could be confident in knowing that all power is in His hands.
Critical
Review
Tozer's compilation of sermons as
edited by Snyder does a thorough job in helping the reader, as it seemingly did
with his congregants, to understand the humanity and deity of Jesus as He
relates to them in their Christian walk. He helps the reader to understand
God's desire for being relational with His children and the need to serve Him
as their Mighty Lord and Savior. The author shows how sin separated man from
God resulting in him having the desire to appease the natural man while the
heart longs for the eternal. Yet, Tozer creates a view for the reader to
embrace God's everlasting power in their lives as they have the blessed hope of
living with Him throughout all eternity.
Tozer gave an in-depth amount of
knowledge taken from the Gospel of John in addition to hymns, poetry, real-life
stories and other biblical texts to show God's desire to dwell on the inside of
man. He highlights, however, that it is an individual choice as to rather one
will allow God to elevate them in Him as there should be no separation in Jesus
being both Lord and Savior in the lives of His children.
As the book delivers a powerful
understanding regarding God's love for mankind, one may find that there are very
few objections and/or weaknesses that can easily be assessed in the book. A
suggestion for this book, however, may to include sources of reference for the
people and their works that were mentioned in the book such as William Cullen
Bryant[35]
and Daniel Webster with whom the reader may find of interest for additional
study.[36]
Also, in the section describing The Mysticism of John, there may have been a
better description used regarding the contrast between Paul and John instead of
bird analogies and flight patterns.[37]
Conclusion
Readers of And He Dwelt Among Us will go on a journey into understanding God’s
desire to be relational with mankind. They will find that God placed things on
the inside of each individual to have a longing for His presence. Some people
will embrace and appreciate the incarnation of Christ as they understand the
love of the Father through Christ’s life, works, and ministry, while others
will continue to be reprobate and reject Him altogether as they seek to fulfill
their own selfish desires. Nevertheless, those who choose to follow Christ will
find that John’s gospel unveils the nature of the everlasting Lord who is the Savior
with no beginning or end as none of the other Gospels did. Therefore, Tozer efficaciously
engages the reader into understanding the mystical John through his Gospel as
he also affords the reader a greater opportunity to appreciate Jesus becoming
incarnate and dwelling among men.
Bibliography
Snyder,
James L. "About Us." Dr. James L. Snider Ministries. Accessed
November 8, 2018.
http://www.jamessnyderministries.com/page/page/5762374.htm.
Tozer,
A. W., and James L. Snyder. And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the
Gospel
of
John.
Bloomington: Bethany House Publishers, 2014.
[1] A. W. Tozer and James L. Snyder, And He
Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John (Bloomington: Bethany
House Publishers, 2014), 7.
[2] James L. Snyder, "About Us,"
Dr. James L. Snider Ministries, accessed November 8, 2018,
http://www.jamessnyderministries.com/page/page/5762374.htm..
[3] Tozer and Snyder, He Dwelt Among Us, 7.
[4]
Ibid., 8-9.
[5]
Ibid., 9-10.
[6]
Ibid., 10.
[7]
Ibid., 10-11.
[8]
Ibid., 15.
[9]
Ibid., 15-16.
[10]
Ibid., 17.
[11]
Ibid., 21.
[12]
Ibid., 23.
[13]
Ibid., 25-27.
[14]
Ibid., 27-31.
[15]
Ibid., 62-65.
[16]
Ibid., 70-74.
[17]
Ibid., 74-76.
[18]
Ibid., 79-80.
[19]
Ibid., 90-98.
[20]
Ibid., 109-110.
[21]
Ibid., 114-121.
[22]
Ibid., 132-133.
[23]
Ibid., 144-148.
[24]
Ibid., 155-169.
[25]
Ibid., 183-195.
[26]
Ibid., 83.
[27]
Ibid.
[28]
Ibid., 82.
[29]
Ibid., 69.
[30]
Ibid., 70.
[31]
Ibid., 71.
[32]
Ibid. 71-72.
[33]
Ibid., 72-73.
[34]
Ibid., 73-74.
[35]
Ibid., 111.
[36]
Ibid., 161.
[37]
Ibid., 9.
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