God is Not Your Co-pilot
Commentary
Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper stickers that say “God is my Co-pilot.” Was there any reservation in your mind when you saw this for the first time? There should be. While many have seen the sticker, almost no one remembers where the slogan first came about. In 1943, pilot Robert Lee Scott, Jr published a book by that name telling his story of flying with the famous Flying Tigers in WW2. The book was later adapted into a movie in 1945. What we have to ask here is what is implied by this slogan? Seeing as my co-founder and I here at Read the Puritans are both former Air Force pilots, we have a unique perspective on this. You see, in aviation there are essentially two types of airplanes: those that can be flown solo (single-seat) and those that require a crew (multiple pilots) to fly. Within a crew aircraft, there are two primary roles: the Captain (pilot in command) and the Co-Pilot (second in command). You can probably guess where I’m going with this. When someone says “God is my Co-pilot” they are not only saying that God requires assistance but that He has been relegated to second in command! Now do you have any reservations?
In Perkins’ book, he is arguing for the sufficiency of Christ as our perfect redeemer. In other words, concerning our justification and redemption, God is flying a single seat aircraft. He doesn’t require assistance and He certainly is not second in command. In fact, you’re not even in the cockpit. You’re a passenger at the mercy of the One flying the plane. As Perkins puts it, “In reconciling us to God, Christ has no partner.”
Perkins shows that we can and should rest in the sufficiency of Christ in this current life, but one of the things necessary to do so is to empty ourselves of self. In order to receive Christ as our perfect Redeemer, we have to get ourselves out of the way and understand that any merit we possess is nothing in God’s courtroom of justice. In fact, Perkins provides an analogy of two courtrooms so that we might grasp the difference. First, there is the courtroom of justice, where God judges by the law and the only thing that can stand is Christ and His merit. Everything else, as Paul argues in scripture, is “counted as loss” in the cause of salvation. Once we are redeemed, we stand in the courtroom of mercy where God judges His children not by the law, but by the merit of Christ alone. In this case, we stand before him already justified and reconciled and it has nothing to do with anything we bring to the table. As Augustine said, “God crowns only His own grace in us.”
In order to have Christ as our Redeemer, we must know Him. Perkins has a lengthy quote diagnosing a commonality we see even today that is worth stating at length:
“Common Protestants also fall short of the true manner of knowing Christ. How so? First, they acknowledge Him to be their Savior while insisting that He tolerates their sins. They walk in evil ways, yet persuade themselves that God is merciful, and that Christ has freed them from death and damnation. Second, they assume that a mere knowledge of Christ’s suffering for the remission of sins is sufficient. But they have no regard for the virtue of Christ’s death in the mortification of sin, or of the blessed example of His suffering. Third, they are content to know Christ to be their redeemer, but never once seek to feel the benefit of His passion in every condition of life.”
This, like so many other Puritan books, points right back to the Lordship of Christ in our lives as a telltale sign of our truly knowing Him as our Savior. We falter when we call him our Savior but go on living in sin, haughtily assuming His mercy covers us. We know about His suffering being sufficient for us but we don’t connect our own sin to His suffering. We are happy to call Him our redeemer but make no effort to die to self. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that we don’t take the time to meditate upon what He has truly done for us.
Perkins states that “the knowledge of Christ crucified is our greatest need.” Why? Because it is impossible to meditate upon Christ crucified and emerge with your self-righteousness intact. Nothing can be more humbling. The final chapter in this book provides a guide for how to meditate upon Christ crucified. Perkins lists 13 specific things we read in Scripture about the crucifixion and the events surrounding them, while providing considerations for each that we would all do well to ponder.
He says that when we read:
That Christ went to the garden to be arrested
Consider that he did so for our sins
That Christ prayed, sweating water and blood on the ground
Consider the measure of God’s wrath that was upon him
That Christ was taken and bound
Consider that it was our sins that brought Him into the hands of His enemies
That Christ was brought before Annas and Caiaphas
Consider that the eternal, sovereign judge of the world stood to be judged by wicked men
That Barabbas, a murderer, was preferred before Christ whose holiness exceeds all
Consider that it was our sins that placed this shameful reproach upon Him
That Christ was condemned to the cursed death of the cross
Consider God’s wrath and fury against sin and His great mercy to sinners
That Christ was clothed in purple and crowned with thorns, mocked and ridiculed
Consider the shame that is due to us anytime we are despised for His sake
That Christ was stripped of all His clothes
Consider that He was naked to bear our shame on the cross
That Christ was forsaken by His Father
Consider how He suffered the pains and torments of hell as our pledge and surety
That Christ commended His soul into the hands of His Father
Consider that our souls are delivered up into the hand of God and that He will hold us fast to the end
That Christ died
Consider that our sins were the cause
That the earth trembled at His death
Consider that it groaned under the burden of sins
That Christ was buried
Consider it was to ratify His death, and to vanquish death itself
In the end, we must all ask ourselves if we are subconsciously considering God to be our partner (or Co-pilot) in salvation. If you do, you must examine yourself. Even in the faith we possess, we must realize that it is given to us as a free gift, “that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). We don’t enjoy Christ as our Redeemer because of anything we have done. We enjoy Him as our Redeemer because He alone is sufficient and has graciously given us faith (John 1:16, Heb. 10:14). You don’t really want God to be your Co-pilot. In fact, you don’t even really want to be His Co-pilot. The safest and most delightful place for all of us to be is in the back, resting comfortably in His mercy as He sovereignly serves as Lord over every aspect of our lives. If that is not the posture you are in, you should sit up straight in your chair and realize the danger you are in. You’re not qualified to fly the plane.
In 1967, Scott doubled down on his slogan with a second book titled “God is Still My Co-Pilot.” Don’t double down on that today. If you’re a non-believer, this book will graciously point you to Christ, the sole-sufficient Savior. If you are a believer, do yourself a favor and read this book. Be reminded of all that Christ has done for you. I promise it will be a blessing.
Structure of the Book
The book is divided into 27 short chapters along with an introduction and conclusion:
Mercy Alone
The Courtroom of Mercy
God Crowns His Own Grace
Grace is Freely Given
When Christ is Our Gain
How Christ is Our Gain
A Desire to Know Christ
A Right Knowledge
A Desire to Win Christ
A Desire to Be Found In Christ
A Double Righteousness
The Obedience of Christ
The Gift of Faith
Faith Alone
Christ’s Resurrection
The Power of Christ’s Resurrection
The Fellowship of Christ’s Suffering
Eternal Glory
The Way to Eternal Life
Knowing Christ Crucified
Christ’s Merit
An Interest in Christ’s Merit
Christ’s Virtue
Christ’s Example
A Threefold Knowledge
Applying Christ and His Merits
Seeing Christ Crucified
Five Key Quotes
“It is a conclusion of our religion, worthy of careful consideration, that Jesus Christ alone is our Mediator, Justifier, Redeemer, and Savior, by works and merits which He produced by Himself, and not by any works or merits which He produces in us by the Holy Spirit.”
“The foundation upon which we build is Christ alone.”
“The knowledge of Christ crucified is our greatest need.”
“There must be nothing in us to receive Christ but faith alone resting on mercy alone.”
“The cause of our many sins is that we falsely think that God neither sees nor hears us.”
Recommended Complementary Reading
“The Lord our Righteousness” by Obadiah Grew
“The All-sufficiency of Christ to Save Sinners” by Ezekiel Hopkins
“Christ Set Forth” by Thomas Goodwin
“The Marrow of Modern Divinity” by Edward Fisher
“The Death of Death in the Death of Christ” by John Owen
“Christ Alone: The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior” by Stephen Wellum
