Glory of God Archives - Bob on Books

The Earth Will Be Filled

The Earth Will Be Filled, (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), Donnie Berry. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010778) 2025.

Summary: The glory of God in scripture, that God reveals his glory to his people and through them, to fill the earth.

The glory of God is the bedrock of scripture. So maintains Donnie Berry who finds the glory of God wherever he turns in scripture. But what do we mean by the glory of God? Berry studies the words used and proposes this definition;

“Glory refers to all the fullness of the triune God–the fullness of his wisdom, love, creativity, beauty, strength, compassion, justice, life, joy–all that makes him weighty and wonderful, made manifest for us to see, experience, respond to, and, perhaps most surprisingly, participate in” (p. 7).

Berry argues that this is a worthwhile study. God made and redeemed us for Himself and to long for and behold God’s glory is the bedrock of joy in our lives. So what is the witness of scripture to God’s glory? Like other volumes in this series, Berry will trace the theme of glory from Genesis to Revelation. In the process he will formulate a biblical theology of the glory of God.

The narrative begins with creation. God fills the earth with the glory shared with God’s triune self. Not only that but God crowns humans with the special glory of dominion, bringing God’s goodness to all creation. But as a result of disobedience, humans cease to glorify God and spread his glory to all creation. Instead, they spread destruction and death. But even then, God clothes them and spares Noah and his creatures.

But God does not give up on his plan to spread his glory through his people. Beginning with Abraham, he calls out a people through whom he will bless the earth. He reveals that glory through Israel in the exodus and at Sinai. When they rebel, Moses not only pleads for God to go with them but asks to see God’s glory. God cannot do this. It would kill Moses. But he makes all his goodness pass before him. Moses sees what is glorious about God. Then he discloses Israel’s purpose–they are God’s treasured possession and a kingdom of priests. Furthermore, God makes his glory dwell among them through giving them both Torah and tabernacle. Eventually, the temple will replace the tabernacle at the height of Solomon’s rule. God’s glory will descend upon it.

Yet Israel, like Adam will rebel. The nation will fall and the glory will depart from the temple. But God doesn’t give up. God is present and preserves them through exile. Then he promises that his glory will not only return to Zion but fill the earth. Key to this will be “the servant of the Lord.”

Then John tells us “the Word became flesh” and glory came down among us. Signs of that glory fill the first part of John’s gospel. Then the hour of his glory comes when he is lifted up on the cross to draw all people unto him. God raises him and and he imparts the Spirit of glory, empowering his disciples for mission.

Paul, in Romans, speaks of our hope of sharing in God’s glory as God restore all creation. This is hope for both Jew and Greek, for all who hear God’s “no condemnation.” God’s glory in Christ extends to this redeemed humanity, and through them to the groaning creation.

Finally, in Revelation, we witness the final victory of God’s glory, centering on the slain Lamb, who is worthy of all praise. Though him, God brings all earth under his rule. And in the new creation, his people share his glory and rule.

How then shall we respond? The invitation is to behold, and by beholding, God transforms us from one degree of glory to another. Whereas our enemy subjects us to slavery, our redeeming Lord both reveals and shares his glory with us.

I wish Berry could have discussed the Synoptic gospels and Acts, and the witness of Hebrews, which would have enriched this study. However, there are plenty of riches in this “story of glory.” In addition, Berry uses various iterations of a very clear diagram to show the unfolding story. I felt Berry wrote in such a way as to not merely inform but to invite us to behold God’s glory and be transformed. This is biblical theology at its best.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Glory of God and Paul (New Studies in Biblical Theology #58), Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson. Downers Grove and London: IVP Academic and Apollos, 2022. (Link to UK publisher)

Summary: A study of the theme of the glory of God in scripture, with a particular focus on the writings of Paul.

At an Urbana Missions Convention, I remember being provoked to thought by a statement of John R. W. Stott to the effect that the highest motive for the church’s mission in the world was neither obedience to the Great Commission nor concern for those who did not know Christ, but rather zeal for the glory of Christ (a remark reproduced on p. 230 of this book). It didn’t make sense at the time but it has increasingly over the years. In my university work, I walk through hallways with displays of research posters and read news of incredible research being done in a multitude of fields, uncovering the wonders of the creation (only one aspect of God’s glory), yet rarely acknowledging its source. Increasingly I find myself praying and working that these researchers would know and acknowledge and glorify the One who is the source of all these wonders, who has illumined and delights in their research.

This may seem an odd way into a review of The Glory of God and Paul. It is not however, because I sense the same motive behind the writing of these two authors, as John Stott spoke of, to foster in us a zeal for the glory of God in all of the manifold excellencies of that glory. They do so by primarily focusing on the theme of God’s glory in the writings of the apostle Paul, who was certainly captivated by the glory he beheld in the risen Lord.

The work begins though by stepping back and attempting a summary of the “panorama” of God’s glory within which Paul’s writing is set: in major sections of scripture, in relation to key doctrines, at turning points in the biblical story, in different senses of “glory” in scripture (summarized as possessed, purposed, displayed, ascribed, and shared) as intrinsic and extrinsic, in biblical tensions (e.g transcendent and immanent), and in redemptive history. One could spend days just pondering this panoramic presentation!

In the second chapter, the authors turn from panorama to drama, considering the storyline of scripture and how every part of redemptive history reveals glory: the creation, the fall, the working our of redemption and the consummation of God’s purposes. These two chapters set the stage for chapters 3-7 which focus on five major sections of the Pauline corpus:

Chapter Three: Romans: The Glory of God in salvation
Chapter Four: 1 Corinthians 15: The Glory of God and the resurrection
Chapter Five: 2 Corinthians 3-4: The Glory of God and the new covenant
Chapter Six: Ephesians: The Glory of God and the church
Chapter Seven: 2 Thessalonians 1: The Glory of God and eschatology

Each chapter identifies multiple themes in the particular text relating to the major theme for the chapter. So much is offered here for reflection that I will only touch on a few personal highlights. In Romans, we see how glory suffuses every aspect of our salvation. I Corinthians 15 reveals the glory of the risen Christ as the second Adam and the glory we will share in Him. The discussion of the church in Ephesians is challenging in that we do not often think of the place of the church in the purpose of God as a showcase of the one new humanity united through the revealed mystery of Christ’s saving work.

The writers then draw all this together in two concluding chapters. In chapter 8, the biblical theologians address systematic theology, showing how the glory of God relates to the areas commonly discussed in systematic theology: God and his Word, humanity and sin, Christ’s person and work, the Holy Spirit and the new covenant, salvation, the church, the future, and ministry (under which the statement by Stott mentioned earlier appears). Finally, the writers turn to the Christian life and how God’s glory bears on love, provision, hope, mystery, boasting (no room for such!) and our worship.

I suspect that for many of us, John Calvin’s statement about our chief end being to glorify and enjoy God forever is just so much pious content without substance either in our thought, worship, or daily life. Likely, this follows from lack of instruction and personal reflection in a culture focused on “how to’s” and getting God to work for us, or at times simply a list of “ought to’s.” This work certainly represents one place to begin, by taking us into scripture, focusing on the many ways God’s glory shines through every aspect of life, inviting us from hum-drum workaday to wonder and worship and the mission of showcasing that glory to the world.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.