Integrating biblical studies, theology, and practical application, John Webster provides a thoroughgoing trinitarian understanding of God's holiness with highly relevant results. According to Webster, God's holiness is known not in his simple transcendence but in his gracious and free relationship to his people. Such holiness finds an echo in the holiness of the Christian community, especially in worship and witness, and in the life of the individual disciple.
Profound yet readily accessible to a wide range of readers, Webster's Holiness offers an ideal entry into reflection on the Christian God.
Professor John B. Webster, MA, PhD, DD, FRSE was a notable contemporary British theologian of the Anglican communion writing in the area of systematic, historical and moral theology. He was educated at the independent co-educational Bradford Grammar School and at the University of Cambridge.
Oh my goodness, this little book is the best good news I’ve read in a long time. With a title like “Holiness” you’d think it might beat you over the head but NO. It is the most freeing little book— in fact, it describes holiness as freedom, obedience, and love. And it makes me actually long for holiness more than I ever have in my life as a Christian. Not holiness as a means of perfection or control or to convince myself that I’m on God’s good side, but holiness as the life of a creature in right relationship with her creator. Oh my. I’m so grateful for this book.
This may, for all intents and purposes, be the best theology book ever written in our time. And not only that, but it's mercifully short and, get this, available for $2 on kindle!!!
Why is this a great book? Why was I so blown away with it? First, because the theology is constructive without being a novelty. Webster, for those of you unfamiliar with his work, was a Barth scholar who accepted a lot of modern theology, and then mid-career switched gears and carefully explored the older tradition in a way that encompassed patristics, medieval scholastics, and the reformers. Webster is clearly Protestant: in Holiness he reaffirms justification by faith in a beautiful way, but is careful to reframe it in the context of election and the call to be sanctified, in a way reframing it in a more "ecumenical" way without hinting that the Reformers were themselves defective on this point. (He's also really good on ecclesiology. Not quite two kingdoms, but he strongly affirms the reality of the invisible church without taking away from its reality.) Webster is also a master of recent exegetical trends: notice how he reframes salvation as a corporate deliverance, without overrealizing his eschatology as so many theologians and biblical scholars do.
Second, he is terrific on the doctrine of God. Many people think of the doctrine of God as something that you assemble from a bunch of disparate Bible verses. Webster here reminds us that the doctrine of God is something that involves both careful definition and precision that does not just derive from prooftexts. At the same time, Webster insists that God is primarily a revealed God, one whom we could not know without Scripture, and which must not be conceived of at all as some sort of "metaphysical project," but one done as an act of prayer and worship. That kind of stuff is beautiful. Indeed, that is why I mainly recommend this work. Not only is it a quick summary of the most important loci of theology (doctrine of God, ecclesiology, and soteriology), but he shows the theologian the spirit in which theology should be done, namely, one of prayer and conscious reliance on God with respect to those who have gone before us.
Finally, he's actually doing constructive theology. It's very small, and I think someone with a degree could easily understand what he's saying, but there's layers and layers here that could benefit someone doing theological work as an expert, or even just as a scholar. It would be good if NSA students read this book every year at the beginning of their studies. This is a book that a theologian should read every year. I might just make that a New Year tradition.
Incredible. This little copy of mine is marked up on nearly every page. Theology that makes the heart sing. I thank God for John Webster, a man who thought and wrote as one under divine authority.
1. I love Jesus more because of this book. 2. This is such a good introductory book for this author (Which happens to be my favorite). 3. Things I am now thinking about: (a) holiness as transcendence AND imminence, (b) the need for our reason to be made holy/sanctified in order for us to interact properly in God’s Word and world, (c) us being “liberated for acts of love toward our neighbor” in the gospel.
As always, it takes me about half the book to understand what Webster is building. And then its exhilarating.
A useful consideration of the relationship between God's holiness and the holiness of his church and his people. Heavy, hard reading that gives way to doxology.
What a delightful and insightful book by the man who has quickly become my favorite modern theologian! This book is simply structured; Webster writes on, across four chapters, the holiness of theology, of God, of the church, and of the individual Christian. In the latter half, he draws heavily on Calvin—who Webster calls “the theologian of sanctification par excellence”—which was so enriching to my spirit and understanding of the prominent place of sanctification among the (many) benefits of the gospel.
“Sinus Domini — We are the Lord’s — is the great evangelical declaration that stands over the entirety of the life of Christian holiness.”
Lovely little essay on holiness, which in some places reads like an extended engagement with Ephesians. Ironically, to me the weakest chapter was the one on the holiness of God, but Webster more than makes up for that in his chapters on the church and the Christian. What is particularly noteworthy is the way that he tracks the relational nature of holiness without collapsing into a weird social trinitarianism/neo-Hegelianism.
Solid. Encouraging. Highly recommend reading as a way to expand one's understanding of the word holiness through a trinitarian theological framework. It also addresses the moralism that is often (always?) attached to this subject, For me, this book prompted prayer and thanks for who God is.
Superb. Webster writes confessional theology--"theological theology," as it's been called; and here, specifically, he gives us a "trinitarian dogmatics of holiness" (1) His conceptual rigor and felicitous expressions make it difficult not to share every sentence with whoever happens to be next to me at the time.
He says, "Talk of God's holiness denotes the majesty and singular purity which the triune God is in himself and with which he acts towards and in the lives of his creatures, opposing that which is itself opposed to his purpose as creator, reconciler and perfecter, and bringing that purpose to its completion in the fellowship of the saints. Holiness, because it is the holiness of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ now present in the Spirit's power, is pure majesty in relation" (41). He discusses the holiness of theology, the holiness of God, the holiness of the Church, and the holiness of the Christian.
Highly recommended. In fact, read anything by John Webster that you can get your hands on. _________________________________________________________
Just read through this again as I honor Webster's memory over the course of this year and next. As an aside, I encourage anyone interested in Webster and his influence to check out the Sapientia blog of the Carl F.H. Henry Center, which is hosting monthly essays by prominent theologians reflecting on individual essays by Webster that have been influential in their own theological development.
This particular volume constitutes an excellent introduction to the work of theology and also an excellent dogmatic framework within which to think further about the holiness of theology, of the Triune God, of the church, and of the individual Christian. Webster's moves are somewhat predictable (and more clearly Barthian than they would have been had he written this in 2015), but that's to be expected in dogmatic theology that seeks not to name God but to confess him as Father, Son, and Spirit. I would recommend this book to anyone considering or beginning graduate work in theology.
There are two areas where I would push back against Webster. First, following Barth, Webster says that "revelation is reconciliation" (13). As many have pointed out, this creates some difficulty: how, for example, do we handle statements like that found in Rom. 1:18 that "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness"? I cannot imagine any reconciliation of Webster's claim and this and similar passages that neither does damage to Scripture nor commits one to universalism. Second, his claim that the "Church's acts do not realize, complete, continue or in any way extend or embody God's work, which is perfect, and which alone is properly holy" (72) goes a little too far in seeking to secure the holiness of God against immanentization. I think it's better to say that we make the Church's holiness (received holiness, no doubt, given to us graciously by God) visible by continuing God's work--started by him, ordained for us by him, and carried out in him.
The best part of this book the second time through was undoubtedly Webster's gift for the memorable and expansive phrasing and the felicitous and poignant sentence. He identifies dogmatics as "that delightful activity in which the Church praises God by ordering its thinking towards the gospel of Christ" (8). He rightly notes that we must "refuse to segregate intellectual activity from other acts of discipleship" (29). He refers to the attributes of God as "conceptual glosses on God's name" (37). In describing the perfection of God he points out God's "singular plenitude" (39). In talking about the holiness of the Church, he describes it as "non-possessable holiness" (56). Again in talking about the holiness of the Church, he says, "The Church does not separate itself, for it has neither mandate nor competence to do so; indeed, to try to do so is blasphemy, for it is to try to repeat by a human action the work of election which is God's alone" (60). In describing the repentance that marks the individual Christian, he calls it "that truthful turn from the shadow of sin towards the light of life" (92). He also makes reference to "the strange gift of evangelical freedom" (92), to "decadent legalism" (95), to the "relationlessness of sin" (97), and to the all-too-common "collapse of morality into self-stylization" (103).
Anyway, highly recommended to burgeoning theologians (pastor- and professional alike) and to those who have forgotten that theology is about God and all things in relation to God.
After leaving and coming back to this book a dozen times this last year, I can confirm it is a remarkable read.
DON'T LET THE SIZE OF THIS BOOK FOOL YOU!
It might as well have been 350 pages. Webster is amazing at packing so much into a sentence. I had to put it down a number of times just to process a single line.
Anyway, the book builds each chapter, finding its roots in a trinitarian view of holiness, which communicates itself to the church which is made up of individuals being sanctified by the triune one.
Also, he kicks off the book by talking about the holiness of the theological task itself; that when done right, theological exploration inevitably leads to prayer and doxology.
I will say that this book did just that: thrust me into prayer and praise with and to the Holy God.
Obviously, Webster's work deeply explores the dogmatics of holiness. Still, I felt like he was often unclear, muddled, full of words. I know that this book came out of lectures so that's part of it. But it felt like the presentation belied the point of holiness: fellowship with the triune God. I still recommend it. But I cannot give it 5 stars.
This book would be a great introduction to the writings of John Webster. Profound Trinitarian and ontological theology practically applied to the Church, the Christian, and the culture. Recommended!
Glorious. I took my time with this one because it is not a meal to be scarfed down but one to be savored and enjoyed. Christians today have mostly lost the exalted God centered picture of holiness that Webster presents here. This truly is theology that leads to doxology. I will be reading everything by him that I can get my hands on moving forward.
Here is one nugget that has stayed with me, “This means that, far from being a matter of confident purity, holiness is visible as humble acknowledgement of sin and as prayer for forgiveness. ‘There is no greater sinner than the Christian Church,’ said Luther in his Easter Day sermon in 1531. It is repentance, rather than in the assumption of moral pre-eminence, that holiness is visible. Thus the Church’s holiness is inseparable from its prayer.”
Simply magnificent. Webster's discussion of holiness is something that my soul desperately needed. He opens with an ever-helpful reminder of the purpose, nature, and limitations of authentically Christian theology and grounds his examination of holiness in the life of the Blessed Trinity before moving to consider holiness within the contexts of the Church corporately and the Christian individually. Such a fully-orbed treatment has helped the concept of holiness acquire for me a depth and dimensionality that I'm not certain it's ever had before. Both earnestly challenging and warmly encouraging, this little book packs the kind of enormous punch I'm coming to expect more and more from John Webster, and it's a book I'm certain to profit from reading over and over again in years to come.
I initially thought I would give this book four stars, because there were a number of sections that I found concerning; concerning because the late (2018) Webster would probably phrase things different than the earlier (2003) Webster did in this book, especially some passages on the holiness of God. Webster’s essay Holiness and Love in “God Without Measure” is a better treatment of God’s holiness. But the chapters on the holiness of the Church and the individual Christian were absolutely spectacular. They are some of the most encouraging and stimulating passages of theology, and one cannot help but get excited and enlivened by reading them.
Excellent modern theology. The academic language takes a little familiarisation but is worth the time invested.
The work is split into three main sections - the holiness of God, the holiness of the church, and the holiness of the Christian.
Webster is deeply trinitarian in focus and makes clarifying distinctions to increase the scope of common reformed thought and guard against false ideas. I especially enjoyed the final section on the holiness of the Christian.
John Webster is a theologian. Want to experience what it’s like to read dogmatics in a manner that is as theologically erudite as it is doxological? This is not an academic enterprise, but quite clearly an extended essay written out of worshipful devotion to the Triune God, and for the sake of edifying the people He has called to Himself.
A whole new way to understand Holiness. To God be the glory.
Everything Webster propounded I agreed with so that made for a boring experience. Nevertheless, this work is a refreshing combination of attention to text, attention to Trinity, and attention to Church. More theologians should follow his lead.
Thank you both for pushing me to read this book. It was as insightful for me as it was healing, which was a lot. If academic philosophy on the holiness of God can be anything like it was described here, that’s something I want to be a part of.
John Webster's simple structure of talking about the holiness of Theology, God, the Church, and the Christian was so disarming for me. Talking about the holiness of Theology and how it must be done in prayer and humility was so refreshing. God as holy is not a new concept to me. God as holy in his closeness to us had not been described to me as well as I read here. The holiness of the church being set apart yet close to everything. I needed to hear this. I needed this book.
There is more I can say, but honestly, I just need to reread this book. It’s been so long since I read something with this much philosophical density, that I need to read it again just to get more than just the surface level beauty of his content.
A brief but marvelous treatise on holiness. Webster considers how theologians have defined the term and the weaknesses of many methods in the last century, delineating what he perceives as the only theologically sound means of giving its meaning. He then moves on to consider the nature of the holiness in the exploration of theology, in God, in the church, and finally in the individual.
Despite Webster's Anglican heritage, he approaches the subject with what seems to be a very Reformed perspective. He references Calvin frequently and is focused primarily on God, making humanity's works quite secondary. He is very dependent upon Scripture and explains why he believes this is necessary, which places him squarely in Evangelical-friendly territory. While not immediately practical, there are potential practical implications that could arise out of the text.
The only weakness I see in Webster's examination is that while he works quite hard at describing how other methods of defining holiness are problematic, he fails to give a clear description of his own understanding. It is there, but it is somewhat diffuse and muddled. Certain aspects of it become much clearer as he progresses through the later chapters, though I felt it could have been clearer up front.
Short and relatively dense, but still generally quite readable for a theology text, Holiness is an excellent little book that connects holiness to a number of valuable and perhaps a bit unexpected places.
Webster emphasizes the Trinity and the 'act' of God's salvation in His holiness - a term that to me, had taken on a static, aloof, otherness. Good comprehensive picture.
This is a book of considerable depth despite being only one hundred pages long. Systematic theologians have not always been strong on the doctrine of holiness so Webster's contribution is very welcome. This is "confessional" theology, confident in God's Trinitarian self-revelation. It bears the characteristically Reformed and Barthian emphasis on what is usually called "positonal holiness" and also shares Barth's nervousness about the piety of the sanctified. Though its dominant note is positional holiness it avoids any antinomian implication by stressing the genuine godliness of the elect. As well as covering the Holiness of God, the Holiness of the Church and the Holiness of the Believer, perhaps the most fascinating chapter is the first on the Holiness of Theology itself. It will need to be read slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully, but this book makes a great contribution to contemporary discussion on the doctrine of holiness and is highly recommended.
Holiness is all about fellowship with God. This book breaks down the idea of holiness in theology (which is essentially confession), God Himself (displayed in the personal relationships of the ontological trinity, the economy of salvation and covenant, and His kingship or majesty over all of creation), the church (the object of God's triune redeeming love), and the individual Christian (to be a law-abiding citizen in his relationship with God).
It's a great book. It is worth reading multiple times. Make notes on it. Pray through it. You'll be happy you did.