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John Murray
John Murray (1898–1975). Born on October 14, 1898, in Badbea, Scotland, John Murray was a Presbyterian theologian and preacher renowned for his Reformed theology. Raised in a devout Free Presbyterian home, he served in World War I with the Black Watch, losing an eye at Arras in 1917. He studied at the University of Glasgow (MA, 1923) and Princeton Theological Seminary (ThB, ThM, 1927), later earning a ThM from New College, Edinburgh. Ordained in 1927, he briefly ministered in Scotland before joining Princeton’s faculty in 1929, then Westminster Theological Seminary in 1930, where he taught systematic theology until 1966. His preaching, marked by precision and reverence, was secondary to his scholarship, though he pastored congregations like First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Murray authored Redemption Accomplished and Applied and The Imputation of Adam’s Sin, shaping Reformed thought with clarity on justification and covenant theology. Married to Valerie Knowlton in 1937, he had no children and retired to Scotland, dying on May 8, 1975, in Dornoch. He said, “The fear of God is the soul of godliness.”
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John Murray preaches on the foundational aspects of salvation in the eternal election of the Father 'in Christ,' emphasizing that those who will be saved were chosen in union with Christ before the foundation of the world. Salvation is secured through redemption by Christ's blood, with His people represented as united to Him in His death, resurrection, and exaltation. Regeneration occurs in Christ, where believers are created anew for good works, highlighting the continuous union with Christ from the beginning of salvation. Glorification is also in Christ, where believers will be resurrected and glorified when the last trumpet sounds.
Union With Christ
Election. The foundation of salvation itself in the eternal election of the Father is "in Christ." Paul says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:3, 4). The Father elected from all eternity, but He elected in Christ. . . there was no election of the Father in eternity apart from Christ. And that means that those who will be saved were not even contemplated by the Father in the ultimate counsel of His predestinating love apart from union with Christ--they were chosen in Christ. As far back as we can go in tracing salvation to its foundation we find "union with Christ"; it is not something tacked on; it is there from the outset. Redemption. It is also because the people of God were in Christ when He gave His life a ransom and redeemed them by His blood that salvation has been secured for them; they are represented as united to Christ in His death, resurrection, and exaltation to heaven (Rom. 6:2-11; Eph.2:4-6; Col. 3:3, 4). . . . Hence we may never think of the work of redemption wrought once for all by Christ apart from the union with His people which was effected in the election of the Father before the foundation of the world. Regeneration. It is in Christ that the people of God are created anew. "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10). . . . the beginning of salvation in actual possession should be in union with Christ because we have found already that it is in Christ that salvation had its origin in the eternal election of the Father and that it is in Christ salvation was once for all secured by Jesus' ransom blood. We could not think of such union with Christ as suspended when the people of God become the actual partakers of redemption--they are created anew in Christ. Glorification. Finally, it is in Christ that the people of God will be resurrected and glorified. It is in Christ that they will be made alive when the last trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:22) (Redemption Accomplished and Applied, pp. 162-64).
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John Murray (1898–1975). Born on October 14, 1898, in Badbea, Scotland, John Murray was a Presbyterian theologian and preacher renowned for his Reformed theology. Raised in a devout Free Presbyterian home, he served in World War I with the Black Watch, losing an eye at Arras in 1917. He studied at the University of Glasgow (MA, 1923) and Princeton Theological Seminary (ThB, ThM, 1927), later earning a ThM from New College, Edinburgh. Ordained in 1927, he briefly ministered in Scotland before joining Princeton’s faculty in 1929, then Westminster Theological Seminary in 1930, where he taught systematic theology until 1966. His preaching, marked by precision and reverence, was secondary to his scholarship, though he pastored congregations like First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Murray authored Redemption Accomplished and Applied and The Imputation of Adam’s Sin, shaping Reformed thought with clarity on justification and covenant theology. Married to Valerie Knowlton in 1937, he had no children and retired to Scotland, dying on May 8, 1975, in Dornoch. He said, “The fear of God is the soul of godliness.”