What Role Does God Play In The Life Of George Whitefield

In the history of Christ’s Church, few men have been so mightily used of God for the furtherance and advancement of the kingdom as George Whitefield. William Cowper, a contemporary of George Whitefield, said of him that, “It is as though the Apostolic times have returned upon us.” So powerful was the Spirit of God manifest in him, that his ministry can only be characterized as wholly supernatural. Indeed he was such a one as though crying out in the wilderness, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Though he is often forgotten in annals of church history, through the kind providence of God, George Whitefield’s ministry would have an enduring impact well into the modern era. George Whitefield was born in Gloucester,
Whitefield was given a book by his friend Charles Wesley that would help him to understand the spiritual reality of being truly Christian. This book stressed the need for spiritual rebirth, and this key doctrine, otherwise known as regeneration, would later become a hallmark of his preaching and evangelism. As a result, George Whitefield was made dramatically aware of his need to be born again and soon after called on the name of the Lord, and was wonderfully converted by God’s sovereign grace. George Whitefield now filled with the Holy Spirit and an insatiable appetite for the Word of God, began to consume the Scriptures. With the help of his Greek New Testament and Matthew Henry’s trusted commentary, he quickly fell into a godly heritage of Christian Reformers who had gone before
At the age of twenty-four, and though thousands regularly began to amass themselves to hear this carried man, he soon resolved to return to the American colonies. After a two-month trip across the Atlantic, he was once again on American soil. This time he arrived in Lewes, Delaware. As was his custom, he wasted no time going to the highways and hedges. Everywhere he traveled the entire countryside was seemingly arrested to hear him proclaim the truth of the Gospel. He was aflame with the Holy Spirit’s power. He quickly made is way to the northern colonies of New England where his audiences numbered in the tens of thousands. He preached where ever he was welcome, and when he wasn’t, he was exceeding pleased to go where he was most