Kelsey addresses pastoral concerns largely overlooked by serious theological reflection and by doing so he makes productive and needed contributions to areas of doctrine that have been largely neglected. In this book the life of God ad intra with respect to interaction with creation receives needed investigation and explanation. Kelsey supports his conclusions through the retrieval of historical doctrines that have shaped the church. My published review from the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care is posted below.
A central theme in Kelsey’s thesis is divine “Glory.” I will post my short lesson on theological “glory” and a helpful reading on “glory” in the Old Testament and the New Testament. For this post let the following suffice: “Glory” in John 1:14 is the visible, radiant, royal presence of the holy God himself, unveiled to the whole world as He is born in the form of a baby to redeem and dwell with His people.
On Kelsey;
“Glory is the dynamic relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit ad intra and the central divine attribute Kelsey draws on in his presentation. Glory, in Kelsy’s presentation, is the cornerstone of God’s sovereignty, love, power, and “self–expressiveness” ad extra.[1] As Kelsey states, “it is (God’s) glory that gives him the ability to relate the eschatological blessing (salvation unto eternal life).”[2] When Glory is applied to the single “strand” of creative blessing, without attending to the other two “strands” (reconciliation and salvation) problems arise through “misguiding” people in anguish. Under this truncated view the two strands of “reconciliation” and “eschatological blessing” in the divine economy are weakened and obscured. According to Kelsey, when these two of the three strands in the economy attenuate, the result is devaluation of grace and overvaluation of human effort in the arenas of self–care and healing.”[3]
[1] Kelsey, HAGP, 65, 71.
[2] Kelsey, HAGP, 25.
[3] Kelsey, HAGP, 185.
Kelsey-Review-Human-Anguish-and-Gods-Power