A PECULIAR GLORY:
How the Christian Scriptures reveal their
complete truthfulness
By John Piper
IVP, 302 pages £9.99
ISBN 978 1 783 594 092
God-centred theology and practice are a hallmark of the preaching and writing ministry of John Piper.
In this latest volume, the author seeks to set God’s glory at the centre of how individuals can find confidence in the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. Using the tools of biblical theology and apologetics interchangeably, A Peculiar Glory covers a wide range of issues with regard to the inspiration of Scripture, but always with the larger issue of God’s ultimate exaltation in view.
Personal story
Part 1 of the book offers a biographical summary of how the Bible has impacted the author, and this is followed in Parts 2-3 by an overview of some well-worn apologetic pathways which help establish the integrity of the canon, and the specific claims that the Bible makes for itself. Piper is a sure-footed guide in these areas, ably demonstrating how the Christian can be confident and the non-Christian convinced of the Bible’s authority.
Main argument
In Part 4 Piper introduces his main argument for the Bible’s authority. Leaning heavily on Jonathan Edwards’ exegesis of 2 Corinthians 4.6, the author seeks to establish a model for how God communicates and authenticates his Word. Beyond mere mechanical arguments there is a need for the Holy Spirit to so work in people’s hearts and minds that they perceive God’s glory as they encounter the written text of Scripture. The case made for this approach is elaborate and exegetically rigorous, with the reader being asked to follow quite intricate logic as developed by Piper himself. The argument is bolstered by interaction with Calvin’s view of the internal testimony of Scripture, as well as an extended treatment of how truth feeds trust, rather than belief being a wager or leap into the dark.
In Part 5 the principles established in the preceding section are extrapolated and applied. Here Piper is spelling out how God’s glory is made known through the Word, with specific examples from fulfilled prophecy, the miracles of Jesus and the evidence of God’s work in the life of believers.
It is hard to fault Piper’s logic in this text and his passion for God’s glory is refreshing and challenging. A Peculiar Glory skilfully places God at the heart of how we interact with the Bible, and lays helpful emphasis on the supernatural work which must take place for men and women to be convinced of its truth. The weakness of the book, however, is in the author’s prose style. This is, at times, a complex read – not necessarily because of the substance of the argument, but its articulation. Sentences tend to be overladen with technical terms coined by Piper himself, leaving the reader frequently wishing that the same principles could have been explored in less stylistically elaborate ways. These reservations do not, however, detract from the book’s worth nor helpfulness in validating the Bible's unique claims to authority.
Readers with good theological competence and an ability to follow a complex argument will benefit most from A Peculiar Glory. The book provides an important corrective to excessively mechanical approaches to Scripture, places God front and centre of the apologetic task, and encourages the reader to meet and magnify the Lord in his Word.
