By Thomas Goodwin.
The Works of Thomas Goodwin, D.D.
Volume 2: CONTAINING AN EXPOSITION OF VARIOUS PASSAGES OF THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS; AND PATIENCE AND ITS PERFECT WORK, BEING AN EXPOSITION OF JAMES I. 1–5.
About Thomas Goodwin:
Born in 1600 in Rollesby, Norfolk, Thomas Goodwin grew up in a religious family in an area heavily influenced by Puritanism.
However, his religious fervor waned when he attended Cambridge University, as he was more focused on becoming a renowned preacher and gaining applause for his intellectual prowess. After hearing a funeral sermon in 1620, he began a seven-year period of introspection, searching for signs of grace within himself. Only when he was told to look outwards—not to trust to anything in himself, but to rest on Christ alone—only then was he free.
Goodwin became a pastor at Holy Trinity Church and followed Richard Sibbes, who had also been a Christ-centered preacher. Archbishop Laud’s high-church practices led Goodwin to resign his post in 1634 and become a Separatist preacher, and he eventually ended up in Holland with other Nonconformist exiles. In 1641, Parliament invited Nonconformists back to England, and Goodwin became a leader of the dissenting brethren at the Westminster Assembly.
Despite being known as a Separatist and Nonconformist, Goodwin was charitable towards those he disagreed with and commanded respect across the theological spectrum. He shared a pulpit with John Owen and co-authored the Savoy Declaration. Goodwin was known for his pastoral care and concern for his students at Magdalen College, where he served as President. He was also known for his fondness for nightcaps.
Goodwin spent the last two decades of his life as a pastor, writer, and scholar in London. He died at the age of eighty, saying that he was going to the three persons with whom he had communion, expressing his belief in Christ and the righteousness of God.
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