The Grandeur of God: A Theological and Devotional Study of the Divine Attributes
by C. Samuel Storms. 180 pages, paperback, Baker Books, ISBN: 0801082544.
Among the many subjects of interest to the serious Christian none is so calculated to bring home to our hearts the greatness of God (Ps. 145:3) as a study of His attributes, or as Mr. Storms correctly calls it, the "essence" of God.
If the title The Grandeur of God tugs at the worshipper's heart, the subtitle A Theological and Devotional Study of the Divine Attributes suggests that this is not the speculative imaginings of some "cosmic mystic". Theology and doctrine are rescued from the experience-oriented rubbish heap of current day Christianity and given their valued place as foundational to a knowledge of the Holy (ps 119:130; Tim. 4:13, 16; 2 Tim. 4:3). Mr. Storms makes a skillful attempt at studying those areas missed or lightly touched upon in other volumes.
If the value of a book is best measured by the extent to which it stimulates a dependent search of the scriptures and issues in true worship, then this volume is priceless! Here is a truly marvelous blending of doctrine and devotion. This book combines the scholar's pen, the prophet's zeal, and the worshippers heart. The foolishness of the existentialist is condemned. The ignorance of the purely intellectual is exposed and the mouth of the atheist is shut. The following excerpt from the opening chapter is indicative of the characteristic balance to be found throughout the book:
"The knowledge of God which the biblical authors possessed was that sort of believing awareness and intellectual apprehension that yields and experiential oneness with God and a loving obedience to His revealed will."
I was particularly impressed with the chapters on omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence - terms generally understood in an overly simplistic way. These chapters made me a little embarrassed about the way I have talked so authoritatively on these subjects. I felt I was lost on the ocean of God's greatness, and all I could do is bow in awe. But when these attributes were applied to the practical life, I was comforted and challenged in a new way. The effects upon one's attitudes and behavior are certainly life-transforming.
Another chapter deserving special mention because it has the direct, relationally speaking, of putting things in their proper perspective is the chapter on grace entitled "How Sweet the Sound". Grace in these days is often either misunderstood, abused, or ignored. This has led to a depreciation of this vital truth. Mr. Storms gets to the root of the problem when he writes: "It is precisely because people today have lost sight of the depths of human depravity that they think so little of divine grace".
Mr. Storms makes a nice and very needful distinction between "common grace" and "soteric (saving) grace". This chapter and the following one on love take us from the greatness of God to His goodness as realized in the lives of men and women, boys and girls.
For the more scholarly, Mr. Storms reserves two appendices:
Appendix A: The Development of Trinitarianism in the Early Church, and Appendix B: The Sovereignty of God and Process Theism.
While the average believer will probably fall asleep reading the first, all should studiously consider and take careful heed to the second, especially to the quotations on pages 178-180:
Mr. Storms' words in his preface will serve well in closing:
"I must confess right now that this is not a 'how to' book. It is a 'who' and 'what' book. My purpose is singular and simple: WHO is God and WHAT is He like? If that does not interest you, then you should not waste your time reading further. On the other hand, if you sincerely believe that loving God is more important than loving yourself, and that the solutions to life's many crisis are to be found in God-centered, not human-focused, thinking, read on...."
George Cofresi