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God's Greater Glory: The Exalted God Of Scripture And The Christian Faith
Though in all things God's Word is the final authority, our Christian tradition, as inherited from centuries of careful reflection and endeavoring to be true to the teaching of Scripture, can greatly enlighten us. Nowhere is this blend of respectful listening to the wisdom of the past and faithfulness to the Bible more necessary than in our contemporary reformulations of the doctrine of God's person. Bruce Ware believes that while tradition's emphasis on God's metaphysical perfection and His supremacy over the world is correct, we must refine our understanding of the way in which He relates to us. While retaining the deepest concerns of the historic tradition, Ware offers a more rational view of God's dealings with His children–a view that is reflected in Scripture's own testimony of Him. Ware then applies this concept of real divine exaltation and real divine-human relationship to the areas of our prayer life, confidence in God and His guidance of us.
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2004
28 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Bruce A. Ware
34 books52 followersBruce A. Ware (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written numerous journal articles, book chapters, book reviews, and has authored God's Lesser Glory, God's Greater Glory, and Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 12, 2018
As one of three textbooks assigned for my Systematic Theology course, God's Greater Glory was the only book we actually needed to finish it. But honestly, even if we'd only been assigned a portion of this volume, I would've surely been intrigued enough to go all the way. This relatively short volume does an incredible job of explaining how prayer and providence work in light of a meticulously sovereign God, all in a succinct, easy-to-read fashion. Bruce Ware's writing style is straightforward and engaging, while occasionally hard-hitting enough to, for example, completely deconstruct the concept of libertarian free will in less than one page. It's an impeccable work, especially for anyone wanting to compare Calvinist and Open Theist views on the topic of God's sovereignty.
June 17, 2016
Calvinist? Arminianist? Molinist? Each of these interpretive systems has something in common: They all believe in free will. Well, at least in principle. Bruce Ware's is a Calvinist. He takes up Jonathan Edwards' "compatibilist" teaching on human freedom. That is, we always act according to our strongest desire. Very intriguing is his approach of applying Molina's model to compatibilism, however I find it unnecessary. Ware doesn't do enough to defeat libertarianism.
I've read and written much on free will. It's a tough topic because what we know and what we can show are so far apart. Each of us has a sense of our freedom, but it's tricky to make sense of it. If God knows what I'm about to do, how can I not do it? Once I do it, doesn't that prove I was never free? Yet I stubbornly go on believing in libertarian freedom. Couple reasons why:
the Bible teaches it. (Duet 30:15-20, Proverbs, 1Cor 6:12, Gal 5:13, Gal 6:7-8, "whosoever will")the very concept demands it. A choice necessitates at least two opposing options. (CDO) That means if only one "option" was ever viable, I wasn’t free. to deny it is self-defeating. We must exercise our freedom to deny our freedom.it comports with our experience, and its negation is unlivable. The compatibilist (or anyone else who denies free will, such as the Darwinist) will assert that our choices were illusory. He'll then live his life as if they're real, beating himself up for missed opportunities, congratulating himself for making the right move. Bruce Ware might be frustrated I wasn't persuaded by his arguments, but that frustration assumes it's in my hands.
Notes:
A defense of compatibilist freedom. We always do what we most desire. P. 20
Middle knowledge applied to compatibilist freedom. Bruce Ware doesn't think God could know how free creatures in the libertarian sense would act because they could act otherwise. Personal thought: this is overcome by understanding that God's knowledge is propositional.
Bit of a straw-man on his critique of libertarian freewill. Ware assumes Arminianists (and open theists) assert libertarian freedom as a brute fact and then interpret Scripture through that grid. I don't know of an Arminianist who would affirm that. Rather, they glean it from Scripture. Come to think of it, compatiblism is more guilty of this. It's an invention to rescue an interpretive system. p. 59.
We always do what we most desire (p. 68). Is this so? (Rom 7:19)
Good Scriptural defense of compatiblism. Good tree, abundance of heart, etc. (p. 70) Counterpoint: White swan fallacy. If you say that there are no black swans, no amount of pointing to white swans will make that case. As soon as someone shows you a black swan, your argument is defeated.
Conundrum: if God is equally in control of good and evil, how is He praiseworthy for good but not culpable for evil (p. 87)
Augustine's privation of good argument (p. 88)
Ware challenges Molinism on the grounds that we cannot describe the mechanism by which God can know how an agent would freely choose if he can do otherwise given same set of circumstances. (p. 97) He's right. We can't, but a simple thought experiment proves that this obtains even on calvinism. One need simply ask, does God know the counter factual? Most of us would be uncomfortable responding in the negative. The answer is that God's knowledge is propositional. He knows because he knows, not through some predictive mechanism.
Compatiblism commits the Scotsman fallacy. One can always assert that we're acting in accordance with our greatest inclination. Unfalsifiable.
Occasioning vs. Causing. P. 106
I've read and written much on free will. It's a tough topic because what we know and what we can show are so far apart. Each of us has a sense of our freedom, but it's tricky to make sense of it. If God knows what I'm about to do, how can I not do it? Once I do it, doesn't that prove I was never free? Yet I stubbornly go on believing in libertarian freedom. Couple reasons why:
the Bible teaches it. (Duet 30:15-20, Proverbs, 1Cor 6:12, Gal 5:13, Gal 6:7-8, "whosoever will")the very concept demands it. A choice necessitates at least two opposing options. (CDO) That means if only one "option" was ever viable, I wasn’t free. to deny it is self-defeating. We must exercise our freedom to deny our freedom.it comports with our experience, and its negation is unlivable. The compatibilist (or anyone else who denies free will, such as the Darwinist) will assert that our choices were illusory. He'll then live his life as if they're real, beating himself up for missed opportunities, congratulating himself for making the right move. Bruce Ware might be frustrated I wasn't persuaded by his arguments, but that frustration assumes it's in my hands.
Notes:
A defense of compatibilist freedom. We always do what we most desire. P. 20
Middle knowledge applied to compatibilist freedom. Bruce Ware doesn't think God could know how free creatures in the libertarian sense would act because they could act otherwise. Personal thought: this is overcome by understanding that God's knowledge is propositional.
Bit of a straw-man on his critique of libertarian freewill. Ware assumes Arminianists (and open theists) assert libertarian freedom as a brute fact and then interpret Scripture through that grid. I don't know of an Arminianist who would affirm that. Rather, they glean it from Scripture. Come to think of it, compatiblism is more guilty of this. It's an invention to rescue an interpretive system. p. 59.
We always do what we most desire (p. 68). Is this so? (Rom 7:19)
Good Scriptural defense of compatiblism. Good tree, abundance of heart, etc. (p. 70) Counterpoint: White swan fallacy. If you say that there are no black swans, no amount of pointing to white swans will make that case. As soon as someone shows you a black swan, your argument is defeated.
Conundrum: if God is equally in control of good and evil, how is He praiseworthy for good but not culpable for evil (p. 87)
Augustine's privation of good argument (p. 88)
Ware challenges Molinism on the grounds that we cannot describe the mechanism by which God can know how an agent would freely choose if he can do otherwise given same set of circumstances. (p. 97) He's right. We can't, but a simple thought experiment proves that this obtains even on calvinism. One need simply ask, does God know the counter factual? Most of us would be uncomfortable responding in the negative. The answer is that God's knowledge is propositional. He knows because he knows, not through some predictive mechanism.
Compatiblism commits the Scotsman fallacy. One can always assert that we're acting in accordance with our greatest inclination. Unfalsifiable.
Occasioning vs. Causing. P. 106
October 30, 2025
Probably more of a 3.5 star book. Ware sets out to treat the Doctrine of God, with a large chunk of the book dedicated to a doctrine of providence. I enjoyed how Ware writes with such a pastoral touch when he turns to application in the last section of the book. I have many questions about some of his proposals, including his modified view of Middle Knowledge in a compatibilist understanding of human choice. For that subject, I wish he had done more to contrast his position with other theodicies for the problem of evil.
January 3, 2022
Ware’s argument does not successfully refute molinism as it seeks to find a middle ground. I suggest A. W. Pink's 'Sovereignty of God' instead.
September 11, 2018
In its briefest summary, this book is about God’s providence and how God relates to us. Dr. Ware has been a critical opponent of open theism, which is essentially the belief that you have so much free will, God does not know what decision you will choose next. Therefore, God does not have complete foreknowledge and time functions literally in the moment as you make a decision. This book contains some critique of this understanding and relates on how to rightly interpret the providence of God.
Before I go any further, we must flesh out some of the basic understandings of God’s providence with terms that some theologians have postulated in order to come to the conclusions that Dr. Ware postulates. There are two basic ideas about free will: libertarianism and compatibilism. Libertarianism is the idea that man has complete free will over every decision he makes, in the vein of Arminian theology. Compatibilism states that you do what you are most inclined to do. As an illustration, if a gun man comes up to you on the street and tells you to give him all of your money, you would be forced to make a decision that you don’t really want to make. On the contrary, if your wife came up to you on the same street and asked for some money to finish her Christmas shopping, you would want to give her the money. In this way, compatibilism is the idea that you do what you are most inclined to do: for the unregenerate sinner, this means you are most inclined to sin. For the Christian, you are most inclined by the glory of God. Mollinism is the belief that, like string theory, they are an infinite number of decisions you could make, yet God does not know which you will make. Dr. Ware then suggests that compatibilism and Mollinism could be combined to form “Compatibilist Middle Knowledge” (Mollinism is middle knowledge). This means that there are an infinite number of decisions you could make (and God knows them all) and yet you will make the decision that you are most inclined to make. This does two things: it preserves man’s free will in the sense that he is making the decision, and yet it also preserves the sovereignty of God because he knows which decision you are most inclined to make. An interesting thought.
Dr. Ware moves from God’s providence in human affairs to providence in nature. The argument here is complex: we want to say that God is immutable, but this is only true in what Dr. Ware calls “ontological immutability”. This means that from eternity, God remains unchanged. However, it is not right for us to say that God is immutable ever since the creation of the world. For example, Christians were under God’s wrath in pre-salvation (Romans 1:18) but now we have the peace of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Dr. Ware calls this relational or ethical mutability. Another example could be the city of Nineveh, where God said He was going to destroy them and yet, the Prophet Jonah took the message of salvation to them and He spared them. Dr. Ware states that God is omnitemporal as he enters into the affairs of humanity and yet His essential attributes are unchangeable. This may be radical to those who hold to the blanket statement, “God is immutable” but I agree with Dr. Ware that a distinction must be made. This also is a polemic against open theists, even though it may not be stated the implications, if true, hold that the open theists’ views on how God changed His mind are faulty.
The last section is on how this plays out in our lives and what benefit that knowing this holds for Christians. It’s all very interesting. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it for maybe some of you scholars out there.
Before I go any further, we must flesh out some of the basic understandings of God’s providence with terms that some theologians have postulated in order to come to the conclusions that Dr. Ware postulates. There are two basic ideas about free will: libertarianism and compatibilism. Libertarianism is the idea that man has complete free will over every decision he makes, in the vein of Arminian theology. Compatibilism states that you do what you are most inclined to do. As an illustration, if a gun man comes up to you on the street and tells you to give him all of your money, you would be forced to make a decision that you don’t really want to make. On the contrary, if your wife came up to you on the same street and asked for some money to finish her Christmas shopping, you would want to give her the money. In this way, compatibilism is the idea that you do what you are most inclined to do: for the unregenerate sinner, this means you are most inclined to sin. For the Christian, you are most inclined by the glory of God. Mollinism is the belief that, like string theory, they are an infinite number of decisions you could make, yet God does not know which you will make. Dr. Ware then suggests that compatibilism and Mollinism could be combined to form “Compatibilist Middle Knowledge” (Mollinism is middle knowledge). This means that there are an infinite number of decisions you could make (and God knows them all) and yet you will make the decision that you are most inclined to make. This does two things: it preserves man’s free will in the sense that he is making the decision, and yet it also preserves the sovereignty of God because he knows which decision you are most inclined to make. An interesting thought.
Dr. Ware moves from God’s providence in human affairs to providence in nature. The argument here is complex: we want to say that God is immutable, but this is only true in what Dr. Ware calls “ontological immutability”. This means that from eternity, God remains unchanged. However, it is not right for us to say that God is immutable ever since the creation of the world. For example, Christians were under God’s wrath in pre-salvation (Romans 1:18) but now we have the peace of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Dr. Ware calls this relational or ethical mutability. Another example could be the city of Nineveh, where God said He was going to destroy them and yet, the Prophet Jonah took the message of salvation to them and He spared them. Dr. Ware states that God is omnitemporal as he enters into the affairs of humanity and yet His essential attributes are unchangeable. This may be radical to those who hold to the blanket statement, “God is immutable” but I agree with Dr. Ware that a distinction must be made. This also is a polemic against open theists, even though it may not be stated the implications, if true, hold that the open theists’ views on how God changed His mind are faulty.
The last section is on how this plays out in our lives and what benefit that knowing this holds for Christians. It’s all very interesting. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it for maybe some of you scholars out there.
November 21, 2021
What does the phrase ‘Jehovah Jireh’, the declaration ‘God is in control’, and the assurance of Romans 8:28 have in common? They all relate to the Biblical doctrine of (divine) providence. Interestingly, while the term is enigmatic to many Christians, the concept is integrated in varying degrees into the collective consciousness of the Christian community.
In his book God’s Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian faith, Bruce A. Ware gives a detailed explanation of the theological basis for the doctrine, exploring the Creator-creation relation and its practical implications.
He starts with a basic definition of divine providence:
God continually oversees and directs all things pertaining to the created order in such a way that 1) he preserves in existence and provides for the creation he has brought into being, and 2) he governs and reigns supremely over the entirety of the whole of creation in order to fulfill all of His intended purposes in it and through it.
He then expands and elucidates the definition, simultaneously addressing the most enduring questions of the doctrine including those surrounding human freedom, moral responsibility, and God’s relation to good and evil. Ware displays keen respect for traditional and Reformed Christian theology as well as the primacy of scripture in interpreting scripture. He shows his grasp of theological and philosophical concepts, particularly when discussing divine-human concurrence and compatibilist middle knowledge. However, it is his brilliant application of the doctrine of providence to suffering and prayer that catapults this book into the upper echelon of Christian literature.
“In God’s commands to pray, we are compelled by the force of divine authority to come and drink of the living water, to receive bread from heaven, and to realized afresh moment by moment that all that we long for, and everything that is good, is found in one and only one place: in God.”
“…God purposely designed how things would work so that some of what he accomplishes can only be accomplished as people pray.”
The open theism controversy and the author’s response in another title (God’s Lesser Glory) have served as the impetus for this sublime work, which I recommend to those seeking to understand the doctrine of divine providence or related topics such as God’s sovereignty and human freedom from a Christian perspective.
Note. Original review posted at Maygp.org
In his book God’s Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian faith, Bruce A. Ware gives a detailed explanation of the theological basis for the doctrine, exploring the Creator-creation relation and its practical implications.
He starts with a basic definition of divine providence:
God continually oversees and directs all things pertaining to the created order in such a way that 1) he preserves in existence and provides for the creation he has brought into being, and 2) he governs and reigns supremely over the entirety of the whole of creation in order to fulfill all of His intended purposes in it and through it.
He then expands and elucidates the definition, simultaneously addressing the most enduring questions of the doctrine including those surrounding human freedom, moral responsibility, and God’s relation to good and evil. Ware displays keen respect for traditional and Reformed Christian theology as well as the primacy of scripture in interpreting scripture. He shows his grasp of theological and philosophical concepts, particularly when discussing divine-human concurrence and compatibilist middle knowledge. However, it is his brilliant application of the doctrine of providence to suffering and prayer that catapults this book into the upper echelon of Christian literature.
“In God’s commands to pray, we are compelled by the force of divine authority to come and drink of the living water, to receive bread from heaven, and to realized afresh moment by moment that all that we long for, and everything that is good, is found in one and only one place: in God.”
“…God purposely designed how things would work so that some of what he accomplishes can only be accomplished as people pray.”
The open theism controversy and the author’s response in another title (God’s Lesser Glory) have served as the impetus for this sublime work, which I recommend to those seeking to understand the doctrine of divine providence or related topics such as God’s sovereignty and human freedom from a Christian perspective.
Note. Original review posted at Maygp.org
January 13, 2021
2021 reads: #01
Rating: 4.5 Stars
This is an excellent book on the doctrine of God (theology proper) with a particular focus on providence. Bruce Ware is a clear thinker, and in an area that can easily lead to dry academic discourse, he writes with an eye towards the worth of the surpassing excellencies and perfections of God.
Ware's book is not simply a rehashing of theologians of the past. At points he challenges the traditional understanding of the doctrine of God with the purpose of doing justice to the comprehensive witness of Scripture. This includes a wide variety of subjects from God's relationship to time and space to how God's meticulous sovereignty relates to His control over evil. We are to proclaim the necessary attributes of God in their perfections within God, but we must also not neglect that which is now contingently attributed to God due to His decision to create.
Ware's analysis should clear up many a tension that seeks a resolution, and yet he maintains his discipline of intellectual restraint. He generally does not speculate on matters that the Scriptures do not reveal.
Ware recognizes the importance of these truths for the church and therefore includes practical sections on how these truths relate to our lives before God in suffering, prayer and service in the church.
As a 'mere Molinist' I found Ware's use of God's middle knowledge an illuminating proposal for understanding God's control and yet not causation of evil. The examples from Scripture that he employs are very illustrative of this approach. He also does an excellent job of dismantling the notion of the 'freedom of indifference' and how it actually undermines human responsibility. Despite a capable defense of the notion of the 'freedom of inclination', I remain unconvinced that this corresponds to all of what Scripture teaches about our voluntary acts.
As I seek to explain some of these matters in discipleship I will definitely refer to Ware's work for it is a great example of breaking down complex concepts with clarity with a desire towards biblical faithfulness.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
This is an excellent book on the doctrine of God (theology proper) with a particular focus on providence. Bruce Ware is a clear thinker, and in an area that can easily lead to dry academic discourse, he writes with an eye towards the worth of the surpassing excellencies and perfections of God.
Ware's book is not simply a rehashing of theologians of the past. At points he challenges the traditional understanding of the doctrine of God with the purpose of doing justice to the comprehensive witness of Scripture. This includes a wide variety of subjects from God's relationship to time and space to how God's meticulous sovereignty relates to His control over evil. We are to proclaim the necessary attributes of God in their perfections within God, but we must also not neglect that which is now contingently attributed to God due to His decision to create.
Ware's analysis should clear up many a tension that seeks a resolution, and yet he maintains his discipline of intellectual restraint. He generally does not speculate on matters that the Scriptures do not reveal.
Ware recognizes the importance of these truths for the church and therefore includes practical sections on how these truths relate to our lives before God in suffering, prayer and service in the church.
As a 'mere Molinist' I found Ware's use of God's middle knowledge an illuminating proposal for understanding God's control and yet not causation of evil. The examples from Scripture that he employs are very illustrative of this approach. He also does an excellent job of dismantling the notion of the 'freedom of indifference' and how it actually undermines human responsibility. Despite a capable defense of the notion of the 'freedom of inclination', I remain unconvinced that this corresponds to all of what Scripture teaches about our voluntary acts.
As I seek to explain some of these matters in discipleship I will definitely refer to Ware's work for it is a great example of breaking down complex concepts with clarity with a desire towards biblical faithfulness.
July 9, 2025
Wish I had a paper copy to underline and make notes. Dr. Ware takes deep thoughts (in my opinion) and writes in a way the reader can understand.
It speaks to if God lives within time, why God made us if he doesn’t need us, suffering, why he wants us to pray if he already knows it all and a lot more but those stood out.
Read this so quick because I was on a time crunch but wish I could’ve taken it slower - there’s a lot packed into it, covers a broad range!
Quotes and jots with wrong pages bc read on hoopla:
“God actively seeks restored relationships with those whom he has made.” - in speaking of how God doesn’t neeeddd relationship with man but he wants it
“Though he needed one of what he made, yet he brought it to be and made it the object of his special care.” P. 98
“Though God does not need us, he loves us; and though we can do nothing for him, he does everything for us.” P.99
On suffering
Roman’s 8:28
Roman’s 8:32
Psalm 34:10
“We have good reason to thank God in and for all that occurs…what hope, what confidence, what peace, what joy, and what strength, all in the midst of suffering, God wants his people to have” p. 355-356
“God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort, with our transformation than with the trials necessary to get us where he wants us to be” p. 356
“The only way that any person could find trials and afflictions “all joy” (James 1:3-4) is to know that they have been designed for great gain and ultimate joy.” P. 356 James is not trivializing the agony but looking beyond the pain to the purpose
On prayer
“He wants us to pray w/o ceasing in part bc our need for him never ceases. prayer is not instituted, then, as a means of helping God out. Just the opposite, it is for our sake, and ours alone” p. 384
“It is the heart of God to give, so he calls his people to ask” p. 387 Matt. 7:7-11
“God has devised prayer as a means of enlisting us as participants in the work he has ordained, as part of the outworking of his sovereign rulership over all.” p. 389
In the same way that some people may be called to missions, yet God does not need missionaries. God has called us to pray. He does not need us to pray. Yet it is his good and perfect design that he has chosen to call us to.
He’s fully capable of doing it on his own but he enlists us to help.
Also when we pray we get to give God the credit. He could do so much, but he’s going to probably do more when we ask and we will acknowledge him for it. Very much have experienced this personally.
It speaks to if God lives within time, why God made us if he doesn’t need us, suffering, why he wants us to pray if he already knows it all and a lot more but those stood out.
Read this so quick because I was on a time crunch but wish I could’ve taken it slower - there’s a lot packed into it, covers a broad range!
Quotes and jots with wrong pages bc read on hoopla:
“God actively seeks restored relationships with those whom he has made.” - in speaking of how God doesn’t neeeddd relationship with man but he wants it
“Though he needed one of what he made, yet he brought it to be and made it the object of his special care.” P. 98
“Though God does not need us, he loves us; and though we can do nothing for him, he does everything for us.” P.99
On suffering
Roman’s 8:28
Roman’s 8:32
Psalm 34:10
“We have good reason to thank God in and for all that occurs…what hope, what confidence, what peace, what joy, and what strength, all in the midst of suffering, God wants his people to have” p. 355-356
“God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort, with our transformation than with the trials necessary to get us where he wants us to be” p. 356
“The only way that any person could find trials and afflictions “all joy” (James 1:3-4) is to know that they have been designed for great gain and ultimate joy.” P. 356 James is not trivializing the agony but looking beyond the pain to the purpose
On prayer
“He wants us to pray w/o ceasing in part bc our need for him never ceases. prayer is not instituted, then, as a means of helping God out. Just the opposite, it is for our sake, and ours alone” p. 384
“It is the heart of God to give, so he calls his people to ask” p. 387 Matt. 7:7-11
“God has devised prayer as a means of enlisting us as participants in the work he has ordained, as part of the outworking of his sovereign rulership over all.” p. 389
In the same way that some people may be called to missions, yet God does not need missionaries. God has called us to pray. He does not need us to pray. Yet it is his good and perfect design that he has chosen to call us to.
He’s fully capable of doing it on his own but he enlists us to help.
Also when we pray we get to give God the credit. He could do so much, but he’s going to probably do more when we ask and we will acknowledge him for it. Very much have experienced this personally.
March 3, 2021
You will enjoy this book if you desire to think deeply of the character of God as revealed in Scripture, particularly within the realm of God's sovereignty and man's volition (free will). When starting the book, I was not aware that this was a sequel to Ware's polemic against Open Theism. I decided to read it anyway and found that this book, while addressing Open Theism in passing, was more of a book that focused positively on how to think rightly about God, his relationship with man, his absolute sovereignty (and its compatibility with human free will), his perfect knowledge (including of the future), his characteristics (both eternal and contingent) and other related, nuanced topics.
This is not just a theology book though, but a call to right worship of the true God. Ware doesn't give you cold hard theology. His writing style reflects a man who responds to these theological truths with an offering of deep reverence, awe, and praise to his God.
This is not just a theology book though, but a call to right worship of the true God. Ware doesn't give you cold hard theology. His writing style reflects a man who responds to these theological truths with an offering of deep reverence, awe, and praise to his God.
July 2, 2020
Bruce Ware honors God by highlighting both his transcendence and his nearness. He warns about the dangers of overemphasizing one versus the other. Thanks to chapter 3 on human freedom, I have a better understanding on the difference between libertarian freedom and freedom of desire. I particularly appreciate his treatment of prayer in chapter 7. It magnifies both the nearness of God to listen and the power of God to act. His conclusion is inspiring, urging the Christian to draw near to God. He uses the helpful analogy of mountains: Do not be satisfied with seeing them from a distance, but draw near to experience them in all their grandeur. My only suggestion to improve the book would be this: Introduce the mountain metaphor from the conclusion at the beginning of the book and refer to it in each chapter so the reader can follow that thread throughout the whole book.
May 16, 2018
Really enjoyed this book, despite the fact I had no idea what to expect from the front cover! Previously I've always thought that free will/ human moral choice and God's sovereignty were two ideas that we had no idea how they fitted together, but both were in the Bible, so you just had to live with it. This book was so helpful in seeing what more the Bible does say on those concepts and then suggests a way we can fit them together (compatibilist middle knowledge). It was also filled with much praise to God and helps paint a picture of how incredibly huge and glorious God is. The book discusses how we like to shrink down God and fit him into a me centred box. It has given me much to think about to decide what I believe but mostly warmed my heart in thinking how mind bendingly huge God is!
March 30, 2021
This book is a must read.
I came into the book expecting to disagree with some of Ware’s conclusions and came out the other side agreeing with many of his thoughts. Ware is a Biblicist by nature, which gives more weight to what he says. He doesn’t rely on creeds or confessions to make arguments, in fact, there is a noticeable lack of many sources/footnotes in a book that takes on some weighty things.
If you are interested in God’s sovereign governing, why we should pray if God knows all, or you just want to get a more Biblical view of God, please read this book.
I came into the book expecting to disagree with some of Ware’s conclusions and came out the other side agreeing with many of his thoughts. Ware is a Biblicist by nature, which gives more weight to what he says. He doesn’t rely on creeds or confessions to make arguments, in fact, there is a noticeable lack of many sources/footnotes in a book that takes on some weighty things.
If you are interested in God’s sovereign governing, why we should pray if God knows all, or you just want to get a more Biblical view of God, please read this book.
May 30, 2021
The work is a terrific book on God’s providence and the implications of God’s purposeful sovereignty in ordering all things for His glory. While the work can be repetitive and elongated at points, Ware seeks to provide a thorough Biblical basis for comprehending the outworking of the LORD’s decrees. The books strength comes in a discussion of compatibility as the Biblical manner of understanding how moral responsibility and agency relate to God’s sovereignty. The book is thoroughly Biblical and would serve anyone well who reads it.
January 16, 2025
A frustrating book for me. People who believe in free will believe it's a separate things which can choose to assent to the will or not. Bruce Ware argues that God is not responsible for our sin because it's us who wills it, not God. The obvious question is why do we will what we will? Someone with such a strong view of sovereignty would surely have to say that the ultimate answer is God. The two points I have just made are the foundation for the position Ware is answering, and he completely fails to engage with them. A basically fine book on the minor points, but totally misses the mark imo
December 10, 2018
Bruce Ware had attempted to peel the curtain back a little in the question of God’s sovereignty and how that interacts with man’s freedom to choose and then be held morally responsible for those choices. I think that he did a great job of starting with Scripture and working out from there. He is a top-rate theologian and wrote this book on a mostly popular level. I am still processing through some of his propositions, but as I whole I recommend it.
September 25, 2022
Ware gives an incredible theological unpacking of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility and freedom of man. As someone who strongly holds to the sovereignty of God, it really showed how man is still free and responsible because of the freedom of inclination. Anyone who questions freewill needs to check this book out.
March 19, 2023
This is a fabulous book! Bruce Ware's writing is beautiful and interesting. The book examines the nature and attributes of God according to the Scriptures. A wonderful reminder of just how great the God we serve really is.
September 23, 2018
Course requirement for Systematic Theology I at SBTS. Great treatment of God's Providence. So detailed, but so applicable. Well done, Ware.
September 24, 2020
Wonderful
This book is simply wonderful and glorifies the one, true God. It will help all readers at least glimpse the magnitude and awesomeness of the God who loves them.
This book is simply wonderful and glorifies the one, true God. It will help all readers at least glimpse the magnitude and awesomeness of the God who loves them.
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August 21, 2024For PhD seminar
June 23, 2013
God's people throughout the centuries have struggled to understand the relationship between God's sovereignty and our human responsibility. Recently, some theologians have developed a theological framework most commonly referred to as "Open Theism," in order explain the apparent paradox that exists between the twin realities of God's divine rule and our human freedom. This framework was previously critiqued in an earlier book by Bruce Ware entitled, God's Lesser Glory, in which the title of the book foreshadowed Ware's conclusion of Open Theism: it is a theological framework where "God's glory is cheapened and diminished" (9). The view presented in the present volume ('God's Greater Glory'), is, according to Ware, a vision of God in which his glory is "honored and exalted" (9).
Whereas 'God's Lesser Glory' was written as a critique of Open Theism, 'God's Greater Glory' is written as a positive affirmation of God's sovereignty as revealed in Scripture. That is not to say that Ware refrains from critically assessing the tenants of Open Theism in this present volume - in certain places this is necessary - but instead of narrowing in on the negative elements of Open Theism primarily, Ware's main thrust of God's Greater Glory is to present a glorious, satisfying, historically faithful and Biblically consistent vision of the sovereign God of the Bible.
In my judgment, what brings spiritual power and persuasiveness to this book is Ware's passion for the vision of God he presents in God's Greater Glory. One of the most edifying portions of the book (that is a difficult distinction to make, to be sure!) is the preface where he explains why he has written this book. He is not driven by the desire to win an argument or feed personal ego - the stakes are infinitely higher than that. Ware writes, "If we are to escape the cult of self and find, instead, the true meaning of life and the path of true satisfaction, if we are to give God the glory rightly and exclusively owed to him...we must behold God for who he is" (9).
Ware is far from a cool, dispassionate, detached academician. His rigorous interaction with the subject matter is coupled throughout with heart-felt adoration of the sovereign God of Scripture. The reader is given a taste of the practical implications that Ware's vision will have on personal worship on page 158: "...worship happens only when we are granted eyes to behold God's magnificence, and splendor, and glory and majesty. This is a seeing with deep and abiding longing, a seeing that savors, eliciting a savoring that satisfies." Ware is passionately and personally engaged with the issue of God's sovereignty and thus his work is both accessible and beneficial for all of God's people, scholar and layperson alike.
Another notable strength is Ware's treatment of practical issues directly impacted by a study of God's sovereignty: suffering, prayer and service. Ware's discussion of suffering is especially clear, balanced, biblically saturated, and deeply encouraging. Yet, although Ware approaches and seeks to understand the issue of suffering in light Scripture, he does not attempt to speak where God has not spoken.
Perhaps one of the most important sentences in the book is Ware's observation that our lives are often marked by befuddlement. He writes, "How much of life, our life, is like this: we simply don't know. In our experiences of suffering and affliction, we are often in the position of Job was in, where we don't even know that we don't know, and we certainly don't know what the bigger picture is that would explain and make sense of our confusion and bewilderment" (163).
At the same time, however, and as we see in the life of Job, it is through the crucible of suffering that our beliefs about God's Providence are brought to the surface of our lives. A sincere and engaged reading and embracing of what Ware writes in this section will enable us, I believe, to respond to trials with the posture of Job, saying, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed by the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
Needless to say, I have profited tremendously from Ware's heart-felt and theologically rigorous treatment of the age-old questions relating to God's providence over all creation. I commend this book to you for your growth and edification, and I pray that God would enable us to live in light of these glorious truths.
Whereas 'God's Lesser Glory' was written as a critique of Open Theism, 'God's Greater Glory' is written as a positive affirmation of God's sovereignty as revealed in Scripture. That is not to say that Ware refrains from critically assessing the tenants of Open Theism in this present volume - in certain places this is necessary - but instead of narrowing in on the negative elements of Open Theism primarily, Ware's main thrust of God's Greater Glory is to present a glorious, satisfying, historically faithful and Biblically consistent vision of the sovereign God of the Bible.
In my judgment, what brings spiritual power and persuasiveness to this book is Ware's passion for the vision of God he presents in God's Greater Glory. One of the most edifying portions of the book (that is a difficult distinction to make, to be sure!) is the preface where he explains why he has written this book. He is not driven by the desire to win an argument or feed personal ego - the stakes are infinitely higher than that. Ware writes, "If we are to escape the cult of self and find, instead, the true meaning of life and the path of true satisfaction, if we are to give God the glory rightly and exclusively owed to him...we must behold God for who he is" (9).
Ware is far from a cool, dispassionate, detached academician. His rigorous interaction with the subject matter is coupled throughout with heart-felt adoration of the sovereign God of Scripture. The reader is given a taste of the practical implications that Ware's vision will have on personal worship on page 158: "...worship happens only when we are granted eyes to behold God's magnificence, and splendor, and glory and majesty. This is a seeing with deep and abiding longing, a seeing that savors, eliciting a savoring that satisfies." Ware is passionately and personally engaged with the issue of God's sovereignty and thus his work is both accessible and beneficial for all of God's people, scholar and layperson alike.
Another notable strength is Ware's treatment of practical issues directly impacted by a study of God's sovereignty: suffering, prayer and service. Ware's discussion of suffering is especially clear, balanced, biblically saturated, and deeply encouraging. Yet, although Ware approaches and seeks to understand the issue of suffering in light Scripture, he does not attempt to speak where God has not spoken.
Perhaps one of the most important sentences in the book is Ware's observation that our lives are often marked by befuddlement. He writes, "How much of life, our life, is like this: we simply don't know. In our experiences of suffering and affliction, we are often in the position of Job was in, where we don't even know that we don't know, and we certainly don't know what the bigger picture is that would explain and make sense of our confusion and bewilderment" (163).
At the same time, however, and as we see in the life of Job, it is through the crucible of suffering that our beliefs about God's Providence are brought to the surface of our lives. A sincere and engaged reading and embracing of what Ware writes in this section will enable us, I believe, to respond to trials with the posture of Job, saying, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed by the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
Needless to say, I have profited tremendously from Ware's heart-felt and theologically rigorous treatment of the age-old questions relating to God's providence over all creation. I commend this book to you for your growth and edification, and I pray that God would enable us to live in light of these glorious truths.
September 1, 2012
I received this book as a well-intentioned birthday gift. The only name recommending it on the back cover that I recognized is John Piper. I’m sure that Mr. Piper is a fun guy, that he likes pizza and Wii and a lot of the same things that I do, but he’s not exactly on the same page of the hymnal as I am. The author Mr. Bruce A. Ware gets the benefit of doubt because I’ve never heard of him.
I proceeded with caution.
Glancing through the table of contents, I found a chapter subtitled “Veiled to the Purpose of God in Suffering.” I thought that theodicy (the problem of a good, omnipotent God against the existence of evil) would be a good place to start.
He of course starts by pointing out that Job suffered for no given reason and wasn’t given any clear answers as to why. And then Mr. Bruce A. Ware proceeds to give us answers why. He hits all the old points: God may not cause innocent suffering, but he may use it to bring about a greater good; suffering can be used for judgment or discipline; suffering can lead to “spiritual growth”; it can show God’s power compared to human weakness; it can be a tool to learn empathy; it can be a test of our allegiances; God is more concerned with our character than our comfort, etc.
Several of these points just don’t resonate with me. I really think the problem of evil and human suffering is much more terrible than can be just brushed off with platitudes like, “Everything happens for a reason,” and, “Everything works out in the end for the greater good.”
But I don’t think I would get too far in a discussion about this with Mr. Bruce A. Ware. The problem of theodicy boils down to this: An all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful God should not, would not, and could not allow evil – innocent suffering – to exist. To solve the problem, God must either not be all-good, all-knowing, or all-powerful, or else he simply must not be.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware firmly believes that God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He is compelled to solve the problem by offering up his pat answers. I’m forced to either suspend my belief in reality, logic, and common sense in order to side with Mr. Bruce A. Ware, or else suspend my belief in Mr. Bruce A. Ware in order to be true to my experiences and my sense of rationalism, common sense, and reality.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware helps to further clarify the issue in his Appendix examining Open Theism. Open Theism might be summarized by the idea that God cannot know future events because the future does not yet exist. It was helpful for me to pair with quantum physics in order to get out of my worry that everything is predetermined and we have no free will.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware examines open theism and concludes it must be incorrect because it is not “biblical.” For example, if God can’t know the future, what would have happened if Adam had killed Eve after he predicted that Eve’s descendent would be the savior? Or what would have happened if Noah had decided not to build the ark? Of course, he doesn’t consider for one second that perhaps these stories are in the Bible to tell us about human and divine nature, not to record an actual history of events. I doubt that this argument will change any open theist minds.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware puts forth several similar arguments which only serve to support his position to himself, but would doubtfully would change any open theist minds. For example, God might have false beliefs about what will happen in the future; God might have limited wisdom; God may look back through history and realize he had not done the best thing… He goes on, but I haven’t had the stomach to go much further. All of his objections are made in seclusion from people who have serious but different beliefs from him, and none have been nearly as insurmountable as he may have hoped.
As I said earlier, I don’t think that I would get to far in a discussion with Mr. Bruce A. Ware. He holds on to his over-simple literalism too strongly to be taken seriously.
Review from my blog:
http://mrsundquist.blogspot.com/2012/...
I proceeded with caution.
Glancing through the table of contents, I found a chapter subtitled “Veiled to the Purpose of God in Suffering.” I thought that theodicy (the problem of a good, omnipotent God against the existence of evil) would be a good place to start.
He of course starts by pointing out that Job suffered for no given reason and wasn’t given any clear answers as to why. And then Mr. Bruce A. Ware proceeds to give us answers why. He hits all the old points: God may not cause innocent suffering, but he may use it to bring about a greater good; suffering can be used for judgment or discipline; suffering can lead to “spiritual growth”; it can show God’s power compared to human weakness; it can be a tool to learn empathy; it can be a test of our allegiances; God is more concerned with our character than our comfort, etc.
Several of these points just don’t resonate with me. I really think the problem of evil and human suffering is much more terrible than can be just brushed off with platitudes like, “Everything happens for a reason,” and, “Everything works out in the end for the greater good.”
But I don’t think I would get too far in a discussion about this with Mr. Bruce A. Ware. The problem of theodicy boils down to this: An all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful God should not, would not, and could not allow evil – innocent suffering – to exist. To solve the problem, God must either not be all-good, all-knowing, or all-powerful, or else he simply must not be.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware firmly believes that God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He is compelled to solve the problem by offering up his pat answers. I’m forced to either suspend my belief in reality, logic, and common sense in order to side with Mr. Bruce A. Ware, or else suspend my belief in Mr. Bruce A. Ware in order to be true to my experiences and my sense of rationalism, common sense, and reality.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware helps to further clarify the issue in his Appendix examining Open Theism. Open Theism might be summarized by the idea that God cannot know future events because the future does not yet exist. It was helpful for me to pair with quantum physics in order to get out of my worry that everything is predetermined and we have no free will.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware examines open theism and concludes it must be incorrect because it is not “biblical.” For example, if God can’t know the future, what would have happened if Adam had killed Eve after he predicted that Eve’s descendent would be the savior? Or what would have happened if Noah had decided not to build the ark? Of course, he doesn’t consider for one second that perhaps these stories are in the Bible to tell us about human and divine nature, not to record an actual history of events. I doubt that this argument will change any open theist minds.
Mr. Bruce A. Ware puts forth several similar arguments which only serve to support his position to himself, but would doubtfully would change any open theist minds. For example, God might have false beliefs about what will happen in the future; God might have limited wisdom; God may look back through history and realize he had not done the best thing… He goes on, but I haven’t had the stomach to go much further. All of his objections are made in seclusion from people who have serious but different beliefs from him, and none have been nearly as insurmountable as he may have hoped.
As I said earlier, I don’t think that I would get to far in a discussion with Mr. Bruce A. Ware. He holds on to his over-simple literalism too strongly to be taken seriously.
Review from my blog:
http://mrsundquist.blogspot.com/2012/...
August 27, 2016
While many things about God remain mysterious, there are certain things that we can know about God because God has chosen to reveal them to us. Ware seeks to examine the Scriptural revelation of God to His people and then work out the implications that flow from that teaching. Although some things lie beyond the realm of our understanding, Ware emphatically refuses to diminish God’s sovereign kingship or devalue His authority to do as He wills.
December 11, 2010
Amazing. Read this right after reading Ware's GOD'S LESSER GLORY, which focuses on refuting open theism. This book focuses on the sovereignty of an almighty God, I found myself wanting to stand up and sing the Hallelujah Chorus in my living room!
Biblical and thorough, but not a quick and easy read. But don't let that stop you from reading it.....in fact, I am thinking about reading it again!
Biblical and thorough, but not a quick and easy read. But don't let that stop you from reading it.....in fact, I am thinking about reading it again!
July 28, 2011
This book is great. You need a hard hat if you are going to read this book. It requires work. Some guys in life you just have to say, "That guy is smarter then anybody I know." I feel this way about this book. A great book for those thinking about the difficult things surronding God's soverign work. I know alot of pastors who need to read this.
August 31, 2012
Simply stellar. Fantastic critique of theological systems that downgrade God's sovereignty from the Bible's view (such as open theism), but more than that, a solid and worshipful defense of the big view of God's sovereignty and providence Scripture presents. Beautiful picture of God.
June 3, 2014
Great analysis, though I personally see no need to combine middle knowledge and human responsibility together. However, as long as Libertarian freedom is not advocated, I can live with his conclusion.
December 3, 2011
Too deep to read quickly; wished I could have read it slower and taken more notes. Need to re-read
December 17, 2012
Worshipped on every page.
March 9, 2007
A positive response and challenge to Open Theism.
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