On a given Sunday, the word ‘glory’ or its
linguistic equivalent is likely used thousands of times in churches across the
globe. We sing it with emotion. We speak it with force. But do we understand its richness?
In the scant 92 pages of The Glory of God, Arthur Michael Ramsey journeys
through a biblical meaning of ‘glory,’ from Torah through Revelation,
countering what he perceives as an inadequate understanding of glory among
Christians. In this short work, Ramsey seeks to inform his readers and to
persuade them that the New Testament understanding of glory, founded on the Old
Testament usage of kavod and centered
on the person of Christ, functions as the unifying concept in Christian
doctrine and worship. In the Old
Testament, “glory” (kavod)
communicates God’s power, radiance, character, and presence, often through
physical manifestations like the burning bush and the cloud at Sinai. In the New Testament (doxa), physical manifestations are minimized and the encounter with
God is centered on and fulfilled by Christ, “the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb 1:3 ESV). The one who trusts Christ encounters his
glory in the content of faith and in direct fellowship with Christ through the
Spirit, responding in the proclamation of Christ’s glory in personal and
communal worship.
Chapter one shows how the Old Testament
idea of glory (kavod) holds
transcendence and presence in tension.
Here God’s comprehensible attributes and his incomprehensible beauty,
his immanent presence and un-enterable splendor are intertwined.
Chapter two moves on to the New Testament,
where glory (doxa) expounds the ideas
of character and radiance-splendor from the Old Testament usage of kavod, as glory founded in creation,
centered in the Gospel, and moving toward the Kingdom. Though the classical Greek notion of
reputation may have had some influence, Ramsey finds that the use of doxa in the New Testament reflects its
use in the Septuagint, as the Greek translation of kavod. So, while maintaining
the Old Testament elements, the New Testament clarifies an aspect of glory that
was shrouded in the Old Testament: the centrality of Christ.
In chapter three, Ramsey begins to define
‘glory’ in terms of the person of Christ.
Glory, as revealed in Christ through the Gospels (especially Mark) is
entered through suffering and humiliation, sealed in resurrection, and
consummated in the Parousia.
In chapter four, leading up to what he sees
as the clearest communication of Christ's glory in the writings of John
(chapters 6 and 7), Ramsey focuses on glory in the writing of Luke (mission),
Peter (suffering), and the writer of Hebrews (cross), and in chapter five, he
turns to the writings of Paul, where glory is God's character and power,
revealed in Christ's person and participated in by the Church. Paul nearly merges the physical manifestation
with the glory experienced in the face of Christ. Christ’s glory, made known in his earthly
Passion and future Parousia is the context in which the Church lives her life
and understands her own suffering.
Chapters six and seven unpacking the idea
of glory in the writings of John, form a climax for Ramsey. In the beginning of John's gospel, glory is
expressed in the paradox of the incarnation: the Word made flesh, who created
everything and gives life to all creatures, who epitomizes and exceeds
prophetic expectations, shrouds his glory in suffering flesh, so that only
those who trust and follow him are able to understand. Later in John's writings, the disciples share
in Christ's glory by sharing in his service to and worship of the Father in
self-giving love (chap 7). The Holy
Spirit works in and through the church, expressing Christ’s glory through the
church’s life and proclamation. This
proclamation of Christ’s glory by the Spirit is the mission in which the church
is now engaged.
Beginning in chapter eight and continuing
through chapter nine, Ramsey integrates his extended definition of glory into
Christian doctrine and worship. Chapter
eight shows how God’s glory is expressed in creation, the humiliation of the
incarnation, the victory and expiation of the atonement, the participation of
his people the Church, and the final destiny of his people and all creation in
Christ. Ramsey shows, in few words, how
each doctrine expounds God’s self-giving glory, overflowing through his
creation and most fully expressed in the giving of Son and Spirit. This glory is present in the church, which
experiences it as a foretaste of the final revelation, when glory will be
unshrouded and all things will be made new.
Chapter nine shows how God's glory is
expressed as his people glorify him in worship, proclaiming the love and
judgment of God before the entire world.
As our worship is centered on Christ, looking back to his Passion, into
his Presence, and forward to his Parousia, our acts of personal and communal
worship make known Christ’s glory. The
church is both a witness to and expression of the glory of Christ, sealed by
his glorious resurrection.
TheGlory of God is a
good primer on glory for Christian teachers and worship leaders who are looking
for a richer understanding of glory.
Ramsey provides a basis for and an example of the integration of the
meaning of glory with our present understanding of doctrine and practice of
worship and grounds this integration in a rich, biblically based definition of
glory.
