In The Excellence of God, pastor and nonprofit founder Phillip D. Fletcher shares twelve essays that demonstrate God’s goodness through his many majestic traits.
This series of essays testifies of the majesty and excellence of God as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Through an array of Bible verses, the essays on theology address the holiness, glory, and love of God; Jesus as the great prophet, high priest, and king; and the Holy Spirit, who abides on the delight of God and binds the broken. The doxology essays focus on David’s reign, the God of peace, and his worthiness.
The Excellence of God communicates that God is the greatest being inside and outside of our universe. He is the reason everything exists and why everything has purpose and significance. Fletcher shows the importance of regaining a vision of the excellence of God in the midst of a world that has had its eyes trained to enjoy lesser things.
When we speak of someone being excellent, we are affirming that this person because of their behavior and or acts is living in such a way that it affects everything and everyone around them. Earthly rulers such as presidents are excellent by virtue of their office and the weight that the position holds. When they enter rooms, their names are announced, people rise to their feet to honor the one who leads from such a lofty position. It is with that experience we launch into the journey of seeing a more excellent and perfect ruler, king and God.
In the following pages, we will plumb the depths of the excellence of God who has revealed himself in Christ and has testified of himself by the Holy Spirit through Scripture. This book is divided in two portions; theology and doxology. We will endeavor to climb up the vast mountain of Holy Scripture and sit at the feet of God, having him instruct us about his nature, his offices and sovereign work. This is the theology. While we are on the mountain and in the throne room of God we will ponder what impact the excellence of God is to have on our lives. I pray that we would be like Isaiah and proclaim, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Is 6:5)!
What is to be our response when we learn about the most excellent God of heaven and earth? Our response is that of praise. While we realize our complete inadequacy in the presence of God, our hearts should respond with praise because he has made his people able to dwell in his presence. The man or woman’s heart who has been moved by the excellence of God will undoubtedly respond in some type of jubilation because God has made them acceptable in Jesus Christ. In the Scripture we find several instances of these praises or doxologies. Theology leads to doxology. The second portion of this book involves three meditations concerning three doxologies that highlight the excellence of God in regards to his majesty, sufficiency and redemptive grace.
Phillip D. Fletcher earned a BA in ethnic studies from the University of California–Riverside and a MA in theology from Liberty University. He planted the Church at Oakwood, which seeks to plant churches in under resourced communities. In 2009 he co-founded the City of Hope Outreach, a nonprofit agency which promotes community renewal in under resourced communities through the Gospel in Conway, Arkansas. Fletcher and his wife, Nicolle, have three children.