The Surprising God

This post continues a review of James B. (JB) Torrance's book, " Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace ." For additional posts in the series, click a number:  1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ,  6 ,  7 .  [Updated 12/3/2016] Through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, our humanity has been re-created. This stunning gift of God's grace was accomplished on our behalf, not merely through what Jesus did (though it includes that), but by and through who Jesus is--- the God-man who in his vicarious humanity stands in for and represents us all. As JB likes to say, Jesus is  the one and the many . In order to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, the eternal Son of God became fully human. In doing so, he assumed our fallen humanity  (not some other type of human nature) so that we "might be turned back to God, in him by his sinless life in the Spirit and through him in us" (p. 53).  Oh, the wonder of God's grace! Icon o...

This post continues a review of James B. (JB) Torrance's book, "Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace." For additional posts in the series, click a number:  1 , 2 , 4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 . Be Not Afraid by Liz Lemon Swindle (used with artist's permission) In chapter two, JB points out the encouraging truth that Jesus Christ knows all about us: "He has been through it all---through suffering and death and separation." In Jesus we are blessed to have a High Priest fully able (and willing) "to carry us through all we face into resurrection life" (p. 44). Hallelujah! How thankful we can be that Jesus, our High Priest, "is touched with a feeling of our infirmities, interceding for us, opening our hearts by the Spirit" (p. 45). When we are unable to pray (rightly or at all), we need not fret, for Jesus prays for us. When we suffer, we need not add fear to our struggle, for Jesus hears our groans and intercedes for us, just as he...

This post continues a review of James B. (JB) Torrance's book, Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace . For additional posts in the series, click a number:  1 , 3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 . Trinitarian worship In chapter one, JB contrasts "Trinitarian worship" with what he calls "unitarian worship." He emphasizes that Trinitarian worship is all about Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, who through his high priestly ministry, grants humanity the "gift of participating through the Spirit" in his own "communion with the Father." In and with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, we "draw near to God our Father" in worship that is Trinitarian in both form and substance (pp. 20-21, and see the quote above). JB elaborates: There is only one Mediator between God and humanity. There is only one offering which is truly acceptable to God, and it is not ours. It is the offering by which [Jesus] has sanctified for all time those who ...

In Romans 1:16-17 (KJV) Paul makes this declaration:  For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Then in Romans 3:21-22 (KJV), Paul tells us whose faith, manifested in the Gospel, accounts for this "righteousness of God":  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; e ven the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. This powerful, yet often-misunderstood passage is helpfully examined by Ian Potts on pp. 67-68 of Romans the Gospel of God  (and on Ian's  blog ).   Below is a lengthy (though partial) quote with my comments and edits added in brackets. For another Surprising God post on this topic, click here . Jes...