A. J. Gordon Quotes on Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Lord's Return
A. J. Gordon pastored the Clarendon Street Baptist Church in Boston from 1869 until his death in 1895. He's remembered as the founder of Gordon College and the composer of the tune for "My Jesus, I Love Thee," but his books are where he says the most. He had a gift for the balanced sentence: two halves set against each other so that a whole doctrine sticks in the mind.
Gordon quoted other writers often, so many lines passed around under his name aren't his. Every quotation below is his own, copied exactly from his books in TheWay Library, with the book and chapter it comes from. For his life story, see who was A. J. Gordon. For a guide to all six books, see A. J. Gordon books.
On being in Christ
In Christ was Gordon's favorite theme: whatever is true of Christ is true of the believer who is joined to Him.
Christian experience is the making real in ourselves, of what is already true for us in Christ.
In Christ, chapter I
If one is in Christ, he must have regeneration; for how can the Head be alive, and the members dead? If one is in Christ, he must be justified; for how can God approve the Head, and condemn the members?
In Christ, chapter I
God has said, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." The soul has sinned, and it has died in Christ.
In Christ, chapter II
But from the moment we know ourselves dead with Christ, its tyranny is broken.
In Christ, chapter II
And yet we may well beware lest God's faithfulness find us more skeptical than his severity.
In Christ, chapter VI
As a gift of grace, then, sanctification is conferred on each Christian as soon as he believes.
In Christ, chapter IX
On Christ's work for us and in us
The Twofold Life sets the two sides of salvation side by side.
We do not work for life, but from life; we do not by our own power attain unto Christ, but we receive Christ in order that we may have power to attain.
The Twofold Life, chapter VIII
By the one we get the righteousness of Christ imputed to us; by the other the righteousness of Christ imparted to us.
The Twofold Life, chapter VII
The most exalted saint is no more a child of God, than the weakest and most imperfect believer.
The Twofold Life, chapter V
Here are two Advocates appointed to us, for the maintenance of our two-fold life — Christ on the throne, and the Spirit in our hearts.
The Twofold Life, chapter IX
All gifts are wrapped up in the gift of the Spirit, all powers are included in the power of the Holy Ghost.
The Twofold Life, chapter XI
On the Holy Spirit
Gordon believed the churches had forgotten that the Spirit is present and in charge. The Ministry of the Spirit was his call to remember.
The altar is Calvary and the laver is Pentecost; one stands for the sacrificial blood, the other for the sanctifying Spirit.
The Ministry of the Spirit
The great office of the Spirit in the present economy is to communicate Christ to his church which is his body.
The Ministry of the Spirit
Conscience is the witness to the law; the Spirit is the witness to grace.
The Ministry of the Spirit
The Spirit is the breath of God in the body of his church.
The Ministry of the Spirit
The keynote of all true intercession is the will of God.
The Ministry of the Spirit
Thus our growth in grace is our glory begun; but the progress is like the artist's slow and patient perfecting of his picture.
The Ministry of the Spirit
On Christ in the church
After his dream of Christ visiting his congregation, Gordon looked at worship differently. These lines come from the chapters he wrote about it.
Yet Christ is still Christ; and he has never outgrown the print of the nails.
How Christ Came to Church, In Thy Light
Our latter day Christianity would not abolish the cross indeed, but it seeks so to festoon it with flowers, that the offense thereof may be hidden out of sight.
How Christ Came to Church, In Thy Light
It is not what we have but what we know that we have which determines our material or spiritual wealth.
How Christ Came to Church, Here To-Day
What the lungs are to the air the church is to the Holy Spirit; and each individual believer is like a cell in those lungs.
How Christ Came to Church, Cleansing the Temple
We cannot scourge dead works out of the church, but we can live them out.
How Christ Came to Church, Cleansing the Temple
On the Lord's return
Gordon was a leading premillennial teacher. He thought the hope of Christ's coming should shape daily life, not just fill charts.
The second coming of Christ is the crowning event of redemption; and the belief of it constitutes the crowning article of an evangelical creed.
Ecce Venit, The Uplifted Gaze
Christ is not only coming in power at the last day, but the power of His coming is to be constantly operating in the present day.
Ecce Venit, The Power of His Coming
If we make Death our hope, let us not be surprised if others learn to make him their hero.
Ecce Venit, The Power of His Coming
There should be ever in our hearts the calm certainty and the sober hope that keep us ready for this event at any moment.
Ecce Venit, Tarrying Within the Veil
Just as Christ crucified is the center of soteriology, so Christ coming again is the center of eschatology.
How Christ Came to Church, And to Come Again
On faith and prayer
Last, a few lines from The Ministry of Healing, which is as much about the prayer of faith as about healing.
The faith which saves us is the simplest exercise of the heart; the prayer of faith which saves the sick is the most exacting.
The Ministry of Healing, chapter XII
As riches increase, that close dependence on God which is the fertile soil of faith and trust, decreases.
The Ministry of Healing, chapter XI
Never do we find the heart of God opening so widely to us as when the heart of the world is closed against us.
The Ministry of Healing, chapter XII
Where to read more Gordon
If you want one book to start with, read In Christ, the source of many of the lines above. For the story behind the man, read How Christ Came to Church. All six books are on the A. J. Gordon author page, and our reading guide explains each one.