Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace

by James B. Torrance

Here is a book that sets our worship, sacraments, communion and language of God back on track. In a day when refinement of method and quality of experience are the guiding lights for many Christians, 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.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Church, Christianity, Research, Grad School

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jethro Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even in worship, it's about what Christ is doing for me, not what I do for him. Phenomenal book.

"So at the Lord’s Table we do not merely remember the passion of our Lord as an isolated date from nineteen hundred years ago. Rather, we remember it in such a way that we know by the grace of God we are the people for whom our Saviour died and rose again, we are the people whose sins Jesus confessed on the cross, we are the people with whom God has made a new covenant in the blood of Christ, we are the Israel of God to whom God has said ‘I will be your God and you shall be my people’. We, today, are the people whose sorrows and cries Jesus bears on his kingly heart as he intercedes for us and constitutes himself the eternal Memorial for all his creatures before God. We are what we are today by the grace of God, because of what God did for us then."

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

ames Torrance identifies Trinitarian worship as “our participation through the Spirit in the Son’s communion with the Father, in his vicarious life of worship and intercession” (Torrance 15). He also clarifies what his brother meant by Christ’s “vicarious humanity.” In his humanity Jesus brings our worship to the Father.

The first bad model is unitarianism, aka Protestant liberalism. What matters is my soul’s relationship with God. The second bad model is functional unitarianism, aka the Experience model. This can be seen in both Bultmann and modern evangelicalism. It looks good on the outside: God addresses man and man responds. What is missing is Christ. There is no place for Christ to lead our worship and present our prayers before the Father (29). As Torrance notes, “It ignores the fact that God has already provided that response which is alone acceptable to him.”

Finally is the Trinitarian model. It begins with God and the humanity “vicariously realized in Jesus Christ” and a relationship between Jesus and the Church (31). This understanding of worship allows us to perceive “a double movement of grace–(a) a God-humanward movement, from (ek) the Father, through (dia) the Son, in (en) the Spirit and (b) a human-Godward movement to the Father, through the Son in the Spirit” (32).

Some Criticisms

Torrance uses the language of perichoresis with regard to the Trinity. That’s not wrong, but it isn’t exactly how it was used in the early church. Perichoresis applied to the two natures.

Torrance never adequately developed his definition of person as a relational being. I agree with him. I also agree with him that Boethius’s definition is problematic. But Boethius’s definition has tremendous explanatory power. To overturn it your definition has to be just as persuasive.

Conclusion

Torrance has a fine appendix on names and metaphors for God. Granted that God is beyond sexuality and isn’t physically male, then why is “Mother” not acceptable? Doesn’t the Bible use motherly metaphors for God in the prophets? Torrance points out that the Bible uses similes for mother in the Bible, not metaphors. A simile is a weaker concept. Furthermore, Father isn’t a metaphor for God. It is God’s naming himself, which is a stronger reality.

[Easton Tally · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a joy to rediscover worship as “a gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father”. In worship and the sacraments - and even in some ways community - God invites us into the end to which all is pointed, not only to remember the work of a triune God, but to participate in the joy of communion with a triune God.

Easy and brief read if you’d like to be swept away into the wonder of corporate worship.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has helped me understand worship, community, and the triune God of grace on a much deeper level. It lost a star in the last chapter, because I feel as if Torrance is *too* compassionate towards the feminist movement and what that means for understanding theology.

[Caleb Rolling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great treatment of the Trinity in ecclesial perspective, Reformed in flavor. The concluding chapters on the issue of gendered language for God is also helpful.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend that every Protestant evangelical pastor and worship leader read and carefully digest the contents of this book.

For the layperson, if you think the Trinity is a speculative theological exercise for academic philosophers with no connection to your everyday Christian experience, think AGAIN.

Who God is, who we believe him to be, has a direct impact on how rightly or wrongly we worship him. Torrance distinguishes between two kinds of worship.

First, there is the "unitarian" brand of worship, which conceives of God in terms of modern individualism and is an ultimately self-serving brand of worship more properly referred to biblically as "idolatry." Whenever we create God in our own image, this is unitarian worship and idolatrous self-worship. Many trends in contemporary evangelical worship are unitarian in nature, and Torrance pleads for a recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity in order to renew Christian worship after its true nature and purpose. Concern for practical relevance comes first, rather than revealed biblical truth.

Second, there is trinitarian worship. This worship receives God's self-revelation and self-naming of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and at the same time the person and work of Christ for us. God is worshiped as he is and not as we want him to be. God is worshiped for what he has done and continues to do for us in Christ by the Spirit. Our attention is directed to Christ and away from ourselves. As Bonhoeffer put it, the "who" of our worship is of far greater importance than "how" we worship. This means that as our attention is focused upon Christ as the object of our worship, questions related to worship style, how often to celebrate communion or baptism, and every other practical concern becomes secondary.

Torrance believes that a loss of the doctrine of the Trinity in contemporary Protestantism has led to an increasing polarization between extremes of liberalism and fundamentalism ... it doesn't take a genius to see that polarization in our churches and denominations. A recovery of Trinitarian and Christological doctrine - basic Christian teaching, which is not about our salvation so much as it is about God himself - allows for a paradoxical but coherent middle ground between liberal and conservative theology. Liberals take valid, relevant issues like feminism, for instance, with its legitimate cry for justice against sexism and patriarchal domination and question or attack Trinitarian terms like "Father" and "Son." The conservatives are correct to defend and preserve trinitarian language and doctrine, but do so in an extreme manner that blinds and deafens them to the valid, relevant issue at stake. Against them both, Torrance rejects definitions of fatherhood that project human experience and understanding onto God and instead suggests that we define fatherhood in terms of God who has named himself "Father." In other words, rather than create God in our own image, let us receive God's self-revelation and we will find our contemporary concerns for justice and equality satisfied.

His ending chapter on gender and sexuality was great, practical, and highly relevant. However, I do wish he had addressed the issue of homosexuality, gender roles, and gender confusion more directly and at greater length. But that might be another book.

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful book. Torrance builds a theology of worship on the basis of the Trinity. His position is at once refreshingly original and appropriately ancient. His love of the Reformed faith shines through on every page, and in the frequent citations of Calvin's Institutes, the most often quoted work in the book.

He stumbles in the last chapter, in which he deals with issues of gender and speaking of God in the masculine and feminine. He clearly is in support or woman's ordination and makes a weak case for it. Otherwise, the first three chapters are phenomenal.

"The second view of worship is that it is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son's communion with the Father. It means participating in union with Christ, in what he has done for us once and for all, in his self-offering to the Father, in his life and death on the cross" *(20-21).

This is the glory of Trinitarian worship.

[Susan Henn · Rating 4 out of 5]

12/2015 The first half of the book is a good review of reformed Calvinism. The author uses big words, long sentences, and the word counterpart in an odd manner ... but the teaching is sound. The second half of the book explores baptism, communion, and the use of gender in reformed theology. Torrance's reasoning for his stands on these issues are well supported and insightful. His ideas about feminism within the triune God of grace are some of the best I've heard/read. In the Baptism/Communion chapter, Torrance quotes Duns Scotus, "even if the fall had not happened, the incarnation would still have taken place." The idea behind this statement is that Jesus Christ did not come only to save us from sin, but also as our high priest to lead us in worship and communion with the triune God of grace!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent little book on theology. James Torrance offers a critique of church life and worship, suggesting that we return our focus, in very practical ways, to the Triune character of God. This may sound dry, but it is emphatically not. He makes a compelling argument for why the doctrine of the Trinity actually matters to daily personal and communal faith, and for the significance of worshiping IN Jesus, rather than just worshiping Jesus. After reading this book I think I will especially have a different approach to the celebration of Communion. This book has three merits rarely found in theological works: it is short, it is easy to read, and it has immediately practicable applications. I will be suggesting it to people who I know would like to develop their understanding of God.

[Teer Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace is a collection of lectures given by James Torrance examining the role of God in the act of Christian worship. The lectures cover the basics of a trinitarian god, the priesthood of Christ, the sacraments, and gender and sexuality as they relate the practice of Christian worship. Each lecture is given in its own context, not recalling the others. Torrance utilizes not only scripture throughout each lecture to drive home his point but also looks to the larger Christian experience as he works through each topic. The introduction does an excellent job of setting the reader up to not only have a basic understanding of where Christ is in our worship but also then prepares the reader for what is to follow.
Of the four lectures, the second, titled “The Sole Priesthood of Christ, the Mediator of Worship,” makes the strongest of the arguments in the book. Torrance is correctly adamant in Christ’s role not only in Christian worship but also Christ’s place as the sole mediator in our worship. Not only are we worshiping Christ but the one we worship is also our mediator when it comes to our prayers and petitions. As followers of Christ, our worship is not done out of our own need to please God, rather as Torrance explains, our worship is “the gift of grace to participate through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.” What we do in Christian worship places us in participation with the Trinity, thus making our worship an opportunity to interact with the divine rather than being bystanders thanking God simply for being God.
Torrance’s story of providing pastoral care to the man whose wife was dying and not throwing the man back onto his own problems but instead directing the man to Christ’s grace is an excellent piece of pastoral care. Too often we try to fix the problems presented to us in pastoral care situations while what those who seek care from us really need is to be reminded that grace afforded by Christ is abundant and present even when it seems that hope and grace are lost.
While Torrance argues that returning to a trinitarian understanding of worship is of the utmost importance for the church, having worked with teenagers and seeing their lack of preparation to live out their faith after leaving the safe confines of youth group, I would argue while Torrance makes his greatest point in “The Sole Priesthood of Christ, the Mediator of Worship,” emphasis should be placed on his third lecture, “Baptism & the Lord’s Supper - the Way of Communion.” Often the church is viewed, not just Christian worship, as a means to an end. This is why we think if just get our children into church they will turn out to be decent human beings and then on the backend of adolescence our children end up learning more about being a a good person from social media than the church, we ask ourselves what happened. We are preoccupied with what it means to end the next humanitarian or social crisis, and while I do not mean to diminish the importance of these, worship is not where alleviating these crises will happen. Worship is where we experience the grace of God through water and the table, and then being transformed can respond to the world through the same grace extended to us at the table.
Torrance’s collection of lectures in Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace provides the reader with the answers sought to the questions of “why” when thinking about the “who” of Christian worship. While the lectures were given for the sake of themselves each compliments the other as the reader moves through the collection and then upon reflection is able to connect them together. Torrance proves to us that the doctrine of the Trinity, while being confusing and often times unable to be cracked, is a resource Christians can universally use to better understand the act of worship.

[Kyle Shope · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Although repetitive at times, James Torrence does a fantastic job highlighting the importance of preserving and understanding the Triune God revealed in the scriptures.

Too often the concept of the Trinity is brushed under the rug. A topic too difficult or unimportant for the lay-Christian. This could not be more wrong! A proper understanding is what keeps us from all sorts of errors: Palagianism, Arianism, Sabelianism, postmodernism, traditionalism, the list goes on!

This was my first encounter with Christ as our “chief priest”. The connections laid out between the OT high priests and our NT chief priest (Christ) have forever altered my perspective on worship. I have such a clearer understanding of what it means to be “in Christ” and just how incredible that union is; How worship is "our participation through the Spirit in the Son's communion with the Father, in his vicarious life and intercession."

After finishing chapter 2, I can (shamefully) admit to slipping into the existential model of worship at times:

“Although it stresses the God-humanward movement in Christ, the human-Godward movement is still ours! It emphasizes our faith, our decision, our response in an event theology which short-circuits the vicarious humanity of Christ and belittles union with Christ.
…
It ignores the fact that God has already provided for us that response which alone is acceptable to Him- the offering made for the whole human race in the life, obedience and passion of Jesus Christ”

My error seems so obvious after considering the Church as a royal priesthood participating in the sole priesthood of Christ.

The book dropped .5 stars for the sections on infant baptism and gender/sexuality. The infant baptism stuff was not entirely convincing, but that’s neither here nor there. The gender/sexuality stuff was very interesting and well thought out, but the topic is too complex and multi-faceted for such a short chapter in an already short book.

Overall, I would definitely recommend. Even if only for chapters 1 and 2!

[Harrison Kretzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torrance is excellent at concisely presenting his thesis: The Triune God must be at the center of our life, worship and communion and Jesus Christ is our great high priest and the leader of our worship. Sure, it seems simple and we all nod our heads, but how many church’s are so infatuated with their own humanity, that they forget that Christ is our high priest that intercedes for us to the Father, through the Holy Spirit. (Torrance uses the book of Hebrews extensively…as if it is still relevant to Christians today).

Torrance then takes his thesis and turns the focus on the sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This section is all about the “who”, in Jesus Christ, and less on the “how” and “what” of the sacraments, something that I have been wrestling with lately. It’s so easy to get stuck on the “how” and “what” that I don’t rest in the mystery of Christ. He has given us baptism and the institution of the Lord’s Supper, not as signs of our own fruit or righteousness, but God’s faithfulness to us. Torrance’s work here is deeply encouraging.

In the last section, Torrance gracefully tackles issues (from the mid 1990’s…yeah they haven’t gone away, such problems are magnified in 2022) of sexuality, gender, liberalism, and fundamentalism. Boy, I bet Torrance could write a book about each of them, but he succinctly puts them in one chapter.

Takeaway from this book: Theology matters. Good theology matters. NOT that we may be right, but that we may be light. NOT that we may be saved by it, but that our love for God may immensely grow and he would be the true leader of our worship, not ourselves. Grace and peace.

[Mitch Bedzyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief book on the Trinity and worship is simply delightful. There's nothing novel here; only a deep love for the Trinity and a desire to retrieve the doctrine for the present day church, which often drifts into forms of worship that are "unitarian." Torrance shows how the Trinity is foundational to Christian faith and worship.

Highly recommended for all believers, pastors, and worship leaders.

[Daunavan Buyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book on worship. Torrance propses an understanding of a Trinitarian focus of worship - we worship the Father through Jesus (the worship leader) with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This book was written at a bit of a deeper level so it's not for everyone and the final chapter seems to be disconnected from the rest of the book, but it's for sure worth reading if you want to challenge or expand your understanding of 'worship.'

[Alexander Yonjof · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great overview of trinitarian, reformed worship. For such a short volume, Torrance packs a lot of helpful insight into this little book. That said, chapter 4 on"Gender, sexuality, and the Trinity" feels a bit unnatural in it's placement in this book and kind of feels like a departure from the main focus of the work, though it could just be my misunderstanding.

[John Arndt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for less philosophy of worship (lol, i know i know what the title says) and more practical considerations of how a community might participate in Trinitarian fellowship. But, besides what I was hoping for, it is a good book, if a bit dense and aloof. Worth reading for those interested in Trinity.

[Russell Matherly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was EXCELLENT! Torrance did a real gem of a theological treatise on trinitarian theology and it's implications. Really well argued and pastoral. I found myself fist pumping on some pages and wiping tears on others. Also very timely in some spots to a creepy degree. Very necessary for some modern theologies and topics.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat technical, but clear corrective to unitarian and experiential based worship patterns. Deeply rooted in the three-in-one, Torrance makes the case for reclaiming worship and communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. This book will change the way I lead worship. Some material is clearly 1990's context, but take the good and discard the chaff.

[Raully · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit it. I never thought such a short book could redefine my conception of worship. His insight into the tributaries nature of worship helped me align my Reformed theology with my Sunday uneasiness with church practice. Recommended.

[Travis Robnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for intro-ch. 2 1/2. His definition of worship is marvelous: “The gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.”

Ch. 4 felt out of place and was probably much more relevant 25 years ago.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and to the point.

We (Christians) have forgotten the triune God. Which leads to false theology which we can't explain, at best. Or the borrowing of characteristics of God that we then assign to ourselves, at worst.

Recommend

[Alfred Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Summary of participation in Worship. There are too many smokes and mirrors that cloud the Trinity into Unitarianism. As a consequence, we lose the deepness of the intimacy of our Union with Christ.

[Mason Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives essential, much needed guidance on worship.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info about the relationship of the 3 persons of the God head and us

[Lainey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapter is phenomenal.

[Eric Keel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good... And then really confusing and then really good... And then human sexuality? I feel like he knows what he's talking about but had a hard time communicating the message to the reader.

[Mammu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third time I've read this book. When I read it a second time, I thought I've learned all I can from it, but reading it a third time showed me that I have gleaned yet something more. Each time I've had to read it with my Bible and reflect on both what Torrance has written and the biblical passages quoted throughout. The depths of God's Word cannot be fathomed completely because He reveals to us continuously more and more as we mature spiritually, each revelation meatier than the first. This book has far-reaching implications as it gives us practical application of theology, so very sadly lacking in 90% of our churches today, where theology is always divorced from life and reality in our never-ending bipolar quest to compartmentalize our Monday-to-Friday lives from our supposedly Christian, worshipping-God-on-Sunday-only lives. I wish Christians would read this book not merely to improve worship, but also to heal the divide between who we think we are and what we truly already are in Christ Jesus.

[Luke Brodine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mediation on how our worship is to be fueled by the Trinity, not just directed toward. Torrance's thesis is that we say that we worship the Trinity, but then don't realize how the Trinity is intimately involved in our ability to worship. A lot of great insights into the sacraments as well. Last chapter is on the use of gender language for God. Admittedly I haven't encounter this in my own circles yet, but Torrance provides a very helpful discussion of the subject. The problem is that we think of gender in biological terms, whereas God is outside of realm of biology. This language is used by God to help us understand the relationship between the persons of the Godhead.

[Daniel Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I freely admit that I gave this book 3 stars largely because the genre of academic theology is not my cup of tea. I do think Torrance made some fabulous points, although much wading through dense theological concepts was required to find them. I was deeply struck on his reminder of the role of Christ as not only the means of humanity's forgiveness, but as the enabler of worship and love in us. I foresee that this, and the chapter on gender and sexuality with regards to the trinity, will continue to resonate with me for quite some time.

[Bill Twyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the major work from the Torrance family. The book calls us out from a largely Unitarian practice to a genuine life with our God who himself is community. The recovery of Trinitarian Worship is the stock that genuine reformation is made of. Be challenged and be blessed as you see the Lord more acurately than before and lose your guilt and shame to live in peace by faith in the righteousness of Christ.