Piper was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Bill and Ruth Piper. When he and his older sister were still young, the Pipers moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where he spent the rest of his youth and graduated from Wade Hampton High School. His father was an itinerant evangelist who actively ministered through international radio and Bible courses until his death on March 6, 2007. Piper has written a tribute to his mother, who died in 1974, in the booklet, What's the Difference? (Crossway Books, 1990) which is also chapter one of the book Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Crossway Books, 1991).

On January 11, 2006, Piper announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. According to a letter sent to his church, he and his doctors believed that the cancer was fully treatable. Piper's reaction to his diagnosis was: "This news has, of course, been good for me. The most dangerous thing in the world is the sin of self-reliance and the stupor of worldliness. The news of cancer has a wonderfully blasting effect on both. I thank God for that. The times with Christ in these days have been unusually sweet." Piper underwent successful surgery on February 14, 2006.

He married Noël Henry in 1968, and together they have four sons, a daughter, and several grandchildren.

Piper attended Wheaton College (1964—68), where he majored in literature and minored in philosophy. Studying Romantic Literature with Clyde Kilby stimulated the poetic side of his nature, and today he regularly writes poems to celebrate special family occasions as well as composing story-poems (based on the life of biblical characters) for his congregation during the four weeks of Advent each year.

Following college, he completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (1968—71). While at Fuller, he took several courses from Daniel Fuller and through him discovered the writings of Jonathan Edwards.

Piper did his doctoral work in New Testament Studies at the University of Munich, Germany (1971—74) under Leonhard Goppelt. His dissertation, Love Your Enemies, was published by Cambridge University Press and Baker Book House. Upon completion of his doctorate, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel University and Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, for six years (1974—80).

Ministry

In 1980, after what he described as an irresistible call of the Lord to preach, Piper became Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he has been ministering ever since. Piper was catapulted onto the evangelical scene after the publication of his book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (1986) and has continued to publish dozens of other books further articulating this theological perspective. In 1994, he founded Desiring God Ministries, which today provides all of Piper's sermons and articles from the past three decades, and most of his books online free of charge, as well as offering for sale books, CDs, and DVDs and regularly hosting conferences.

According to Piper, Desiring God Ministries exists to "spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ," which is also his personal motto. Piper calls those who live out this motto Christian Hedonists. He places a heavy emphasis on the objective and absolute nature of truth and is confident in the Christian's ability to grasp that truth through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

On March 28, 2010, Piper announced that he would take an eight-month leave of absence from his ministry effective May 1.

Christian Hedonism

Piper advocates Christian hedonism and teaches that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" We Want You to Be a Christian Hedonist! :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library and that God's highest pursuit ("his glory") and man's deepest and most durable happiness come together in one pursuit – namely, the pursuit of joy in God. He was awakened to this notion in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Blaise Pascal, and C. S. Lewis, among others, and then found it throughout the Bible, for example ; ; ; among others.

Gender roles

Piper holds to a complementarian view of gender roles. Recovering: Chapter 2 This view says that the Bible teaches that a husband is called to lovingly lead, protect and provide for his wife and family, and that the wife should joyfully and intelligently affirm and submit to her husband's leadership. He also says that the Bible teaches that men are to bear the primary responsibility to lead the church and that therefore only men should be elders. Piper along with Wayne Grudem was co-editor of one of the bedrock books in this area called Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood . One of the chapters has been reprinted several times as an independent short book called What's the Difference?.

Calvinism

Piper's theology is Calvinist What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library and Baptist. I Baptize You with Water :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library He also believes in double predestination, which includes "unconditional reprobation" as a corollary to the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election, and he subscribes to the Leibnizian view that God runs the universe in such a way that it will be the best of all possible universes. What does Piper mean when he says he's a seven-point Calvinist? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

Piper believes in justification by faith alone apart from works, Does James Contradict Paul? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library and his teachings emphasize the need for the active perseverance of the believer in faith, sanctification, and enduring sufferings, as this is evidence of God's saving grace. A once-professing Christian who does not persevere in faith to the end demonstrates that he was never a true believer in the first place. Olympic Spirituality, Part 1 :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library Letter to a Friend Concerning the So-Called "Lordship Salvation" :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

Spiritual gifts

Regarding spiritual gifts, Piper is a continuationist. Are Signs and Wonders for Today? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library That is, he believes that supernatural gifts such as prophecy, miracles, healings, and speaking in tongues have not ceased and should be sought by the church, Spiritual Gifts and the Sovereignty of God, Panel Discussion :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library in particular with regard to missions and evangelism. He does believe, however, that the office of apostle has ceased and that the gift of prophecy in the church is not the same as the inspiration of scripture . While he believes that God's supernatural revelation in the N.T. gift of prophecy is without error, he says that the prophet's perception, understanding and delivery of that revelation is imperfect and fallible , thus N.T. prophecies are subject to sifting.

Eschatology

Piper describes himself as an "optimistic premillennialist" and holds a post tribulation view of the second coming of Jesus. Definitions and Observations Concerning the Second Coming of Christ :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library What Must Happen Before the Day of the Lord? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library He maintains that Romans 11 teaches that a mass in-gathering of ethnic Israel will be saved when the hardening of their hearts is removed at Jesus' second coming. Did Israel Stumble in Order That They Might Fall? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library He advocates the importance of hoping in the resurrection of the dead at Christ's return. What Happens When You Die? The Dead Will Be Raised Imperishable :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

Law and covenant

Piper does not don any of the typical hermeneutical frameworks, but claims he is furthest from dispensationalism, and closest to Covenant Theology, or a New Covenant Theology in matters of the Law and covenants, but agrees with the dispensationalist belief that there will be a millennium. What does John Piper believe about dispensationalism, covenant theology, and new covenant theology? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library He says that the Law was meant by God to reveal sin and show man's inability to live up to God's righteous standards Why Then the Law? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library. Christians, living under the new covenant, are not under the old-covenant law but able to fulfill its intent through faith in Jesus Christ. What Does It Mean to Fulfill the Law in Romans 8:3-4 :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library Hagar and Slavery Vs. Sarah and Freedom :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

Piper teaches that God has only one covenant people, mostly believing Jews in the Old Testament, and now that relationship has been superseded by the Church. Israel and Us Reconciled in One Body :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library Thus, the Church is rightful inheritor of all the promises made to ethnic Israel (land, kingdom, etc.), and Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah have no divine right of claim on those promises. Israel, Palestine and the Middle East :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

• Love Your Enemies: Jesus' Love Command in the Synoptic Gospels and the Early Christian Paraenesis (Cambridge University Press, 1980; Baker, 1991).
• The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23 (Baker, 1983; 2nd edition 1993).
• Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah, 1986; 2nd edition, 1996, 3rd edition, 2003).
• The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Baker, 1990, 2nd edition, 2003).
• The Pleasures of God (Multnomah, 1991; Expanded edition, 2000).
• Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Co-editor) (Crossway, 1991). Online copy.
• Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Baker, 1993, 2nd Edition 2003).
• The Purifying Power of Living By Faith In Future Grace (Multnomah, 1995).
• A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer (Crossway, 1997).
• A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah, 1997).
• God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Crossway, 1998).
• The Innkeeper (Crossway, 1998).
• A Godward Life, Book Two: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah, 1999).
• The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (Crossway, 2000).
• The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (Crossway, 2001).
• Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (Crossway, 2001, 2nd edition, 2004).
• The Dangerous Duty of Delight: Daring to Make God the Object of Your Desire (Multnomah, 2001).
• What's the Difference?: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible (Crossway, 2001, reprint 2008).
• The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God (Crossway, 2002).
• Brothers, We Are not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002).
• The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce (Crossway, 2002).
• Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness? (Crossway, 2002). Several chapters are available online for free.
• Beyond the Bounds (co-editor) (Crossway, 2003).
• Don't Waste Your Life (Crossway, 2003).
• Pierced By the Word: Thirty-One Meditations for Your Soul (Multnomah, 2003).
• The Prodigal's Sister (Crossway, 2003).
• The Passion of Jesus Christ (Crossway, 2004). Also released under title "50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die"
• When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy (Crossway, 2004).
• Life As a Vapor (Multnomah, 2004).
• A God Entranced Vision of All Things (Co-editor; Crossway, 2004).
• Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (w/ Justin Taylor, Crossway, 2005).
• Taste and See: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah, 2005).
• God is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself (Crossway, 2005).
• Contending for Our All: Defending Truth and Treasuring Christ in the Lives of Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen (Crossway, 2006).
• Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (Crossway, 2006).
• Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (Crossway, 2006).
• What Jesus Demands from the World (Crossway, 2006).
• When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God...and Joy (Crossway, 2007)
• Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce (Crossway, 2007).
• The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World (co-editor w/ Justin Taylor, Crossway, 2007)
• Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure (Multnomah, 2007)
• The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright (Crossway 2007).
• Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ (Crossway, 2008).
• John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God (Crossway, 2008).
• The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (Crossway, 2008).
• Finally Alive (Christian Focus, 2009).
• This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence (Crossway, 2009)
• Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ: The Cost of Bringing the Gospel to the Nations in the Lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton (Crossway, 2009).
• A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (Crossway 2010).
• Jesus: The Only Way to God: Must You Hear the Gospel to be Saved? (Baker, 2010).
• Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Crossway, 2010).

The complete text of most of Piper's books can be accessed free of charge at Desiring God. Online Books by Title :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library