We Have Seen His Glory: A Vision of Kingdom Worship (The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies

Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies

by Ben Witherington III

 

We Have Seen His Glory  sounds a clarion call to worship in light of the coming Kingdom. Ben Witherington here contends that Christian worship cannot be a matter of merely continuing ancient practices; instead, we must be preparing for worship in the Kingdom of God when it comes on earth. The eight chapters in this thought-provoking book each end with questions for reflection and discussion -- ideal fare for church study groups.

"In this study I hope to tease some minds into active thought about what worship should look like if we really believe that God's Kingdom is coming. . . . It's time for us to explore a more biblical and Kingdom-oriented vision of worship."
--  from the prelude

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Christian Living

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest, and The New York Times bestseller The Brother of Jesus. He has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

Reviews

[Donner Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Witherington with his characteristic way with words brings his expert NT knowledge to bear on the subject of worship. This is a comparatively short book compared to the many academic tomes this prolific writer has churned out. It is probably targeted at the thoughtful Christian readers who sit in the pew wondering what the bible has to say about worship, given that worship cannot simply be a habit shaped by one's church tradition or the secular culture rather than what God has said about it. Witherington has some sharp things to say about Christians caught up in the 'what's in it for me?' culture of our time because he contends that worship is about God's glory rather than ours and more of what we do in response to his worth than what we hope to get out of the transaction. On another prong, he challenges the slavish carryover of Judaic practices such as Sabbath, priesthood, sacrifices and temple into Christian worship. While he notes the continuity with the old covenant, he puts the emphasis on the discontinuity by virtue of what Christ has fulfilled through his life, death and resurrection. He therefore restores the Christ event to the center of Christian worship.

The Christ event does not simply call for a backward look into the past but forward to the heavenly worship pictured in Rev 4-5. Our worship ought to recognise the inbreaking of God's kingdom with the first Easter as well as the advanced taste of worship in the new cosmos following the final Easter. This helps situates Christian worship in the proper place within the larger salvation historical narrative.

Witherington fleshes out this eschatological focus of worship by taking us through various NT texts that deal with the various components of Christian worship - preparing to be caught up in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, preaching, singing, the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Prayer and the labors of love. In reading this book, one gets the message that much of what gets passed for worship today suffers from some serious deficits - the narcissism, the shallow theological content, the disconnect between worship and life- to name just a few. This is therefore an important contribution to educating pastors, worship planners/leaders and all the people of God participating in worship. The discussion questions appended to each chapter will be useful for small group study.

If worship is the chief end of human existence, then Witherington's call to re-examine and reform our service to God in the light of scripture is an important one. But he does more than call. He has given us this basic primer with which to start exploring what it means to truly worship in the Spirit and in truth.

My only criticism is that it could be better organised around some logical structure or familiar liturgical movements. I find myself bogged down quite easily by the disparate concerns of the selected New Testament passages (as it is the nature of the NT materials to be occasion-based). It reads at times like a cut and paste pastiche of commentary on bible texts related to worship. This leads to the unfortunate (probably unintended) glossing over of the Lord's Supper, which was strangely subsumed as a small subsection under the chapter devoted to talking about the sermon. In fact, if there is one place where eschatology should come to a sharp focus, would it not be the Eucharist? Notwithstanding this flaw, Witherington's textual expositions are as in many of his commentary writings solid and inspiring. But readers need to keep in mind the overarching theme of eschatological worship to avoid getting lost in the interesting bits.

[Erisson Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro para quem deseja compreender adoração sob um ponto de vista bíblico, exegético e contextual. A dinâmica do reino e a era em que vivemos (entre a inauguração do reino e sua consumação; entre o novo nascimento e o novo corpo) nos faz entender a adoração como um ato ético e escatológico, fruto do anseio daqueles que aguardam o triunfo final de Deus e a redenção do seu povo. Witherington é metodista e expõe em oito capítulos a adoração como reconhecimento de que Deus é Senhor e nós não o somos, Cristo é redentor e nós não o somos. Uma visão importante para o culto cristão em meio a tempos de tanta confusão em relação a este tema.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it is just me, but I didn't really get what he was trying to achieve. He promised a radical new way to think about worship, one that looked forward eschatologically and not back to tradition (seeming to assume older traditional worship doesn't look forward), and I just didn't see it.

There were some helpful moments, some interesting scholarly bits, and a good emphasis on worship as a Godward thing. But overall I don't see how this is a very helpful book.

Just okay.

[Abigail G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really solid view into worship from the heart or "in spirit and truth". Unfortunately there are several chapters that totally shift in writing style and were extremely complicated exegesis on several New Testament books. I understood where the author was trying to go with those chapters it just made for some heavy reading.

[Kerry Buttram · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent exegetical survey of worship in the New Testament.

[Flynn Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content itself was excellent but could’ve been synthesized more clearly.

[Joe Stobaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witherington offers several excellent reminders for worship designers that the worship of God's people must be theocentric, especially in an age dominated by narcissism. He goes on the claim, "Perhaps it is worship that God most uses not only to change individuals into his image, but to change human history and the world in which we abide." May it be so!

[Chris Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts were excellent, especially where he focused on worship in the early church and oral tradition and rhetoric. Other parts were atrocious, particularly where he hinted at women being allowed to serve as ordaimed clergy. But Witherington is a Methodist...