Torrance, The Doctrine of Jesus Christ, 189.
62. Ibid., 187.
63. Ibid.
64. Ibid., 188.
65. Brunner, The Mediator, 156.
66. Torrance, The Doctrine of Jesus Christ, 190.
67. Ibid.
68. Ibid., 191.
69. Ibid., 193.
70. Ibid.
71. Ibid., 192.
72. Ibid., 193.
73. Ibid., 194.
74. The offices of Christ have their basis in the Old Testament, but Calvin was the first to distinguish the three offices and to give them a role in a systematic theology. See Institutes, II, 15. Ever since, Protestant theologians have in general recognized the validity of the offices, even though they have had great difficulty finding agreement on their function, interrelation, and even their number. Given the neglect of the ascension in modern Christologies, it is no surprise that the offices of Christ fell into desuetude with it. Torrance did, however, find inspiration for the recovery of the offices in Barth’s Credo. For a good general survey of the offices of Christ, see Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 356–66; 406–11; also Emil Brunner, Dogmatics, vol. 3, 271–307.
75. Torrance, The Doctrine of Jesus Christ, 194.
76. Ibid.
77. Ibid.
78. Ibid.
79. Ibid., 196.
80. Ibid., 197.
81. Ibid.
82. Ibid., 196.
83. Ibid., 197.
84. Ibid., 197.
85. Ibid., 192.
86. Torrance, The Doctrine of Jesus Christ, 198.
87. A number of years later, Torrance would write an article in refutation of J. A. T Robinson’s case for universalism. See “Universalism or Election ?” 310–18.
88. Torrance, The Doctrine of Jesus Christ, 199.
89. Ibid., 198.
90. Ibid.
91. Ibid., 198.
2 / Practical Eschatology
Alyth, Scotland 1940–1943
We must look to Torrance’s sermons if we wish to learn about his eschatology in the 1940s. The Apocalypse Today (1960), one of his most eschatological works, is actually a collection of sermons from this period. Torrance published a number of papers in this decade, but they contain relatively little in the way of eschatology. He probably did not intend on expatiating on the subject, but historical and pastoral circumstances dictated otherwise. The principles of it—Christ’s resurrection and ascension—were certainly in place at Auburn. Yet his eschatology flowers as he engages with the events of his time and the spiritual needs of his parish members. His sermons, he recalls, “seemed to reflect themselves in answer to concerns in the congregation.”1 This eschatology is not only deeply theological; it is also practical and pastoral. McGrath wisely observes that Alyth and Beechgrove were to Torrance what Safenwil was to Karl Barth.2
Although this eschatology comes from Torrance’s sermons, that does not mean we can discount it. If anything, reading his sermons brings us to the heart of his eschatology. For Torrance, the sermon was the supreme test for theology. He learned this point from his great teachers. Mackintosh had insisted that true theology is theology that can be preached. Barth had stated that “in conformity with its object, the fundamental form of theology is the prayer and the sermon.”3 It seems that years in the pulpit drove home these truths to Torrance. While lecturing on Reformation eschatology in 1952, he insists that “Grace today is the mighty Word of God, not a verbum (statio) but the sermo (active).”4
A. Resurrection
1. “The Personal Touch of the Risen Lord”
On March 20, 1940, Thomas Torrance realized his goal of becoming a minister for the Church of Scotland. He was ordained and inducted into the vacant charge at Alyth Barony Parish Church.5 Alyth is located about forty miles from Edinburgh on the north side of the Forth estuary, between Perth and Angus. Torrance remembers it as “a lovely old town,” with about 3,000 souls and a “distinguished church history.”6
He began his ministry of the Word at about the point he left off in his Auburn lectures, on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His very first sermon was on Easter evening, and contains words taken straight from those lectures: “The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead dynamited the whole world.”7 Torrance could not have begun his ministry on a more fitting day on the church calendar. His preaching was essentially kerygmatic, and Christ’s resurrection is the ground of the kerygma. Luke 24, the basis for his first sermon, was one of his favorite chapters in the Bible. He would preach from it seven times.8 The essence of the kerygma should always remain the same, yet—as every minister knows—it has to be adapted to constantly changing socio-historical circumstances. Ideally, it should always come across as timely and new. And on March 20, 1940, when Britain was bracing itself for Hitler’s aerial onslaught, Torrance’s message must have come across just that way. “The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead dynamited the whole world; that is the only light in which
