The Key Teachings of George MacDonald

This is a companion to George MacDonald, not a book by him. Written by Ochorus, it sets out in fourteen short chapters the teaching for which MacDonald is chiefly remembered — the Fatherhood of God, the love that burns like fire and will not let sin stand, obedience as the way to knowledge, the childlikeness of God, prayer, the denial of self, the new name God gives to each soul, love of neighbour and enemy, the truth in Jesus, the cry of desolation on the cross, the creation of all things in Christ, the imagination as a servant of truth, death and the life beyond it, and the last farthing. It adds a chapter on his life, a conclusion, and a guide to his books.

It is important to be clear about what this book is. It is an independent work of exposition, summary and appreciation by Ochorus. MacDonald’s own writings are in the public domain, and where he is quoted the words have been checked against the text of his Unspoken Sermons in the Ochorus library, where every sermon named in these pages can be read in full. Readers are warmly encouraged to go to them directly. Scripture quotations are from the Authorised (King James) Version.

MacDonald was a man of deep faith and fierce honesty, and he did not hold everything that evangelical Christians hold. This volume says so where it matters — on his hope, which became a conviction, that God’s love would at last redeem every soul; on his rejection of the teaching that Christ bore the punishment of our sins in our place; on his rejection of imputed righteousness; and on his quarrel with the doctrine of adoption — plainly, charitably and without hiding it. He wanted nothing taken on his authority, and he would have wanted every claim tested against the words of Christ.

The Unspoken Sermons, all three series, are in the Ochorus library, and the last chapter of this book is a guide to them and to his other books.