With this post we begin a review of "Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace" a book by Trintarian theologian James B. Torrance (brother of Thomas F. Torrance).
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Though James B. Torrance ("JB" to his students) did not produce a large body of writing, this book summarizes well a life of teaching that made a significant contribution to a resurgence in the 20th Century of Trinitarian theology (the Nicene faith). Here's a summary statement from the book's publisher, IVP:
James Torrance points us to the indispensable who of worship, the triune God of grace. Worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son's communion with the Father, writes Torrance. This book explodes the notion that the doctrine of the Trinity may be indispensable for the creed but remote from life and worship. Firmly rooted in Scripture and theology, alive with pastoral counsel and anecdote, Torrance's work shows us just why real trinitarian theology is the very fiber of Christian confession.
I've quoted JB's book many times on this blog, and now I want to take a more comprehensive look. We'll begin here by examining the introduction, which is titled The Place of Jesus Christ in Worship. JB begins noting that God, who "made all creatures for his glory... made men and women in his own image to be the priests of creation and to express on behalf of all creatures the praises of God." In that sense we who are followers of Jesus, through our worship together, "gather up the worship of all creation," with our "chief end" being to "glorify God" (p. 13).
But who among us is righteous and otherwise able enough for this lofty calling? The answer is that there is but one human who is: the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ. JB comments: "The good news is that God comes to us in Jesus to stand in for us and bring to fulfillment his purposes of worship and communion" (p. 14). And to that we say, Hallelujah!
In his vicarious humanity, Jesus stands in for us in worshipping the Father on our behalf (and on behalf of all creation). Jesus, the Source and Head of all things (he created the universe out of nothing, and now by his power sustains it), through the Spirit makes the church (the assembly of believers) to be his body on earth, calling them to be "a royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices" in order to join him in his "great priestly work and ministry of intercession" (p. 14). JB summarizes these thoughts with this powerful statement:
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Through what is referred to as the wonderful exchange, "Christ takes what is ours (our broken lives and unworthy prayers), sanctifies them, offers them without spot or wrinkle to the Father, and gives them back to us, that we might 'feed' upon him in thanksgiving" (p. 15). JB comments further:
Christian worship is...our participation through the Spirit in the Son's communion with the Father, in his vicarious life of worship and intercession. It is our response to our Father for all that he has done for us in Christ. It is our self-offering in body, mind and spirit, in response to the one true offering made for us in Christ, our response of gratitude (eucharistia) to God's grace (charis), our sharing by grace in the heavenly intercession of Christ. Therefore, anything we say about worship---the forms of worship, its practises and procedure---must be said in the light of him to whom it is a response. It must be said in the light of the gospel of grace. (p. 15)
JB challenges us to ask ourselves: Does our worship make the real presence of Christ transparent, or does it obscure that presence? Is it reflective of the triune God of grace, or is it reflective of "the contract God who has to be conditioned into being gracious by what we do" (p. 16)? JB then asks us to remember that the author of Hebrews describes our Lord as the one Leitourgos---the "leader of our worship" (Hebrews 8:2). As JB notes, the book of Hebrews contrasts Jesus' work as worship leader with that provided by others (including the priests of Israel under the old covenant), noting that Christ's form of worship "gathers up" the worship provided by Israel's worship leaders and "replaces it."
Baptism of Jesus by I, Davezelenka,
used with permission via Wikimedia Commons
The worship Jesus provides for us under the new covenant "is the substance of all Christian worship," which focuses on the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper (the Eucharist). And because Christ's worship is our worship, his baptism is our baptism, and his sacrifice is our sacrifice. Jesus' "righteousness is our righteousness apprehended by faith," and thus we understand that "the real agent of true worship is Jesus Christ" himself.
Sadly, this truth is often overlooked (or at least minimized) in Christian circles. Why? Largely because we neglect "the continuing priesthood of Christ" (p. 17). JB comments:
We cannot have a true understanding of worship, prayer, baptism, and the Lord's Supper without a New Testament understanding of the priesthood of Christ. It is he who calls the church into being as a royal priesthood to participate by grace in his continuing ministry, lifting us by the Spirit into the very triune life of God in wonderful communion. (p. 18)
And so JB begins his book establishing the basis and means of our worship in the person of the God-man, Jesus Christ, who by the Spirt leads us in worshipping the Father. We'll see more about this Trnitarian shape of worship as we proceed through the book.