Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

"God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness, ' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ - 2 Corinthians 4:6. This book is a cry from the heart of John Piper. He is pleading that God himself, as revealed in Christ's death and resurrection, is the ultimate and greatest gift of the gospel. None of Christ's gospel deeds and none of our gospel blessings are good news except as means of seeing and savoring the glory of Christ. Forgiveness is good news because it opens the way to the enjoyment of God himself. Justification is good news because it wins access to the presence and pleasures of God himself. Eternal life is good news because it becomes the everlasting enjoyment of Christ. All God's gifts are loving only to the degree that they lead us to God himself. That is what God's love is: His commitment to do everything necessary (most painfully the death of his only Son) to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying-namely, Himself"--Jacket.