A Biblical And Theological Examination Of The Glory Of God -- By: Bruce A. Baker

Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 22:1 (Spring 2018)
Article: A Biblical And Theological Examination Of The Glory Of God
Author: Bruce A. Baker


A Biblical And Theological Examination Of The Glory Of God

Bruce A. Baker

Ryrie’s Sine Qua Non

“What marks off a man as a dispensationalist? What is the sine qua non of the system?”2 In 1965, Charles Ryrie answered these questions in what is arguably his greatest contribution to the development of dispensationalism. In his book Dispensationalism Today, Ryrie listed for the first time his evaluation of the essentials (the sine qua non)3 of dispensationalism. These essentials were (1) A distinction between Israel and the church, (2) the use of a consistent literal hermeneutic, and (3) a doxological purpose of history.4 Ryrie’s sine qua non gained almost immediate acceptance throughout dispensational circles5 and rapidly became the standard

definition for dispensationalism as a system for the next twenty years.6 Blaising correctly observes, “The importance of this work for the self-understanding of late twentieth-century dispensationalism cannot be overstated.”7

Still, a weakness of Ryrie’s third point is in the area of definition.8 Even though Ryrie discusses at great length the importance of a doxological purpose of history,9 he uses only

one sentence to define it. Although Ryrie expands upon this definition in Transformed by His Glory, nowhere does he provide a detailed exegetical basis for it.

An Historical Dispensational Understanding10

Ryrie understands the glory of God as follows: “The glory of God is manifesting God for who He is.”11 “Glory concerns what people think about something or someone, and thus refers to the reputation the person or object has. The glory of God is what He seems to be, which in His case is what He really is. It is God seen in some or all of His characteristics.”12

Walvoord’s definition is similar. He defines the glory of God as “the manifestation of God’s infinite perfections.”You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
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