The Feast of Pentecost, 2012
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10
AM Central Time
The Hymn #231 We Now Implore 3:38
The Confession
of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The
Gospel
Glory be to
Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #246 Holy,
Holy, Holy 3:35
Word and Spirit – Never One without the Other
The Communion
Hymn #294 O Word of God 3:31
The Preface p.
24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 283 God’s Word 3:90
KJV Acts 2:1 And when the
day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them
cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout
men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the
multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them
speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one
to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we
every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and
Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in
Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of
Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and
Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What
meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
KJV John 14:23 Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is
not mine, but the Father's which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto
you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto
you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for
my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass,
that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk
much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31
But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me
commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Pentecost
O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou almighty Son of God: We beseech
Thee, send Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, through Thy word, that He may rule
and govern us according to Thy will, comfort us in every temptation and
misfortune, and defend us by Thy truth against every error, so that we may
continue steadfast in the faith, increase in love and all good works, and
firmly trusting in Thy grace, which through death Thou hast purchased for us,
obtain eternal salvation, Thou who reignest, with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, world without end. Amen.
Word and Spirit – Never One without the Other
Three of Luther’s sermons are linked below:
KJV John 14:23 Jesus
answered and said unto him [Judas], If a man love me, he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him.
In the opening verse, Jesus
answered a question asked by Judas,
John 14:22 Judas saith unto
him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and
not unto the world?
The disciples were looking
for a restoration of the David’s Kingdom and doubtless followed Jesus with that
in mind. That is why they argued among themselves about who would be greatest
in the kingdom. We can see with great clarity that Jesus spoke on one level and
His audience often heard it at the materialistic level, where they started.
Jesus knew what was in their
hearts and built up their faith as He continued to train them. He knew what
Judas was hoping and planning, but He gave the betrayer another chance to
repent and believe in Him.
Here it is better to say
“guard My words” than keep My words. The problem is with our watering down of
English. It used to be that a prison was called a “keep” so keeping the Word of
Christ meant more. Since the verb is also used for guarding a prison, it is a
little clearer to say, “If a man loves Me, he will guard My words, and My
Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling place with
him.
Old English is “abode,”
which is parallel to Jesus speaking about abiding in the Word. Compare John
15:1-15.
KJV John 15:4 Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
KJV John 15:6 If a man abide
not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them,
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
KJV John 15:7 If ye abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done
unto you.
KJV John 15:10 If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and abide in his love.
KJV John 12:46 I am come a
light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in
darkness.
It should be impossible to
miss the relationship between abiding in the Word and abiding in Christ, so the
Trinitarian doctrine is clear. The Spirit witnesses to the Father and the Son.
When someone continues to abide in the Word, he has Christ abiding in him and
the Father’s love abiding in him. There will necessarily be spiritual results
from that abiding.
24 He that loveth me not
keepeth not my sayings: and the Word which ye hear is not mine, but the
Father's which sent me.
There are only two ways outlined here – one cannot claim
love of Jesus and while not guarding His Word. And this is not the Word of
Christ alone but the Word from the Father and the Son.
Lenski:
The answer to Judas is completed
by adding the opposite. They who constitute “the world,” to whom Jesus cannot
manifest himself as he can to his loving disciples, are all who lack love and
its evidence. Again this is personal and individual: “He that does not love me,
my words he does not guard.” Here Jesus uses the plural, for the one Word is
both a grand unit and at the same time composed of parts. Not one of these
parts is dear to the worldling. Not one is prized as valuable; all are treated
with indifference or with hostility. No need to add that such a loveless person
cannot be loved like a disciple and cannot be blessed with the indwelling and
the communion of the Father and the Son. His heart, like that of Iscariot, is
filled and dominated by another.
The full gravity of this lack of
love for Jesus and of this disregard of his Word as evidence of the lack is
brought out by once more showing the connection of Jesus and his Word with the
Father: “And the Word which you hear is not mine,” as if I invented it apart from
the Father, “but the Father’s who did send me” and who gave me this Word to
speak in my saving mission.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 1011.
Adolph Hoenecke, the WELS theologian, needs to be quoted
here, because he summarized the Biblical teaching of the Word beautifully:
“The Spirit not without the Word, the Word not without the
Spirit. That is sound doctrine.”
That is so condensed that it needs explaining. Hoenecke expressed
the concept taught consistently in the Scriptures that God binds His Holy
Spirit to the Word, so the Word always has divine power, and the Spirit never
works without the Word.
When I was studying the false underpinnings of Church
Growth, this came out as the problem behind marketing the Gospel and using
secular studies to “make the church grow.” I was puzzled about how far this
could be taken, so I explored all the Biblical passages about the Spirit and
the Word. This is just one example, Isaiah 55:8-11
KJV Isaiah 55:8 For My
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,
saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as
the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall My Word be that goeth forth out
of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
This passage reveals that
God’s Word is just like the rain and snow He created to bring us crops. No one
can claim that rain and snow fall without an effect. The change is inevitable.
NW Arkansas is dry right now. A cattle farmer told us the grass is gone for
now. What if I told him, “It will rain two inches, but nothing will happen to
your pasture. It will still be brown and dry”? He would laugh me out of the
room and check me into 4-H. Farmers and gardeners like snow too. Snow is a
blanket that protects the soil and many plants, providing early moisture for
germination.
God’s Word has the same
inevitable results as the rain and snow. Notice the three-fold Promise:
- It shall not return unto Me void. The double
negative says this is impossible.
- It shall accomplish that which I please.
Whatever happens from the Word, no matter how we judge the results, those
results will please God.
- It will not only accomplish what God intends,
but prosper in that mission.
This three-part Promise is
not an accident. God’s work is always described in a three-fold manner, to
remind us and teach us about the Three-ness of the One God.
If the Word of God always
has an effect, and always prospers in that effect, the Word is always
accompanied by the Holy Spirit, which is the witness to God the Father and God
the Son.
Our human failing is that we
judge God’s Word by our standards rather than trusting that all effects are
good and divinely willed – even in the blinding and hardening of hearts, even
in bringing the cross upon us, even when we are not pleased with the results.
The business model has dominated, even though it has no connection with the
Word of God.
“But,” some object, “cannot
God’s Spirit work apart from the Word? Why should God burden Himself or limit
Himself with that connection?” Once again, this is not our role, to judge and
advise God on how to do His work. The Scriptures promise us that God has bound
Himself to the invisible Word (teaching and preaching) and to the visible Word
(the Sacraments).
God has promised grace in
His Means of Grace. Therefore, baptism and communion give the grace promised.
And grace does not come to anyone without the Word in one form or another.
Non-Lutheran Protestants
deny grace in the Means of Grace – they are just ordinances to them. Catholics
use the term, but no one is really completely forgiven in their system, so they
also deny God’s grace.
UOJ is false because it teaches
that the entire world has received grace without the Word. Since the Holy
Spirit is limited to the Word, they have invented a magical forgiveness without
any support in the Scriptures or the Confessions.
The Word from the Father and
Son is conveyed by the Spirit, and this divine power gives us what is promised
in abundance in the Scriptures.
25 These things have I
spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you.
Lenski:
The second all is narrower, “will remind you of everything
that I myself said to you.” The fulfillment is exhibited in the marvelous
record of the four Gospels, most notably in that of John which contains the
extended discourses of Jesus. It is humanly impossible to reproduce with
fidelity even human words spoken during a period of over three years, when all
the words are understood perfectly at the moment they are heard. It is vastly
more impossible to reproduce with exactness the many words of Jesus which the
disciples failed to grasp at the time they heard them. The promise of Jesus
assures the eleven on this vital point. By means of an immediate illumination
the Spirit will enable them to recall every utterance of Jesus in its true
meaning. He will remind the disciples and in addition he will teach them what
is contained in all of which they are thus reminded.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 1014.
This is an important part of the Holy Spirit’s work. The
false teachers like to say, “There are 100 ways to interpret each verse, so
adopt our interpretation.” I agreed with the Mormon who said this. He lit up
with surprise, until I added, “Ninety-nine wrong ways and one right way.”
When he tried to argue the point with me, I asked him, “You
think God created the world and sent His only-begotten Son, yet could not find
a way to communicate this clearly to man?”
The same is true for those who claim that a mediocre career
at a mediocre seminary means they alone have all the truths of the Bible locked
up in their brains, a power that no one can question. The Holy Spirit speaks to
everyone through the Word.
First He brought all things to remembrance for those who
wrote the Gospels and Epistles. He did so in such a way that all the books of
the Bible are in complete harmony, across the ages. That gives us clarity and
confidence. If we have learned one lesson well from a text (the purpose of
repeating lessons) then we can apply that to other texts. If a text seems
baffling or dark to us, we can use the plainer passages to give us
enlightenment.
God could have made all of the Bible as clear and simple in
language as the Gospel of John, but that would make us take things for granted
and not want to study the Word with greater depth. Of course, the irony is that
the Fourth Gospel is the simplest in language but has the most profound
lessons.
Difficult passages are often seen that way because we need
to study them more and compare them with parallel passages. One of my Yale
professors complained that the ministers he taught were lazy about doing this.
The congregation is going to learn little more than the minister teaches,
although some break rank and study on their own. The effect on the larger group
is less spiritual knowledge and an expectation to make things even easier for
everyone.
This Bible we have is the only book in the world inspired
directly by God and guided by God in its creation and preservation. We can find
faithful witnesses to God’s Word, but nothing equals God’s Word.
It is not surprising that people who do not trust, love, and
guard God’s Word also lack respect for pastors. Thus we have a relatively small
number of DPs and bishops with a death grip on all the Lutheran congregations
in America. What do they support? Fuller Seminary fads, social activism, and
milquetoast Christianity. One hundred men and women work against Lutheran
doctrine while grabbing top salaries and benefits for themselves, topped by
luxury retreats in posh surroundings.
27 Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The peace that Christ gives
us is not the peace of this world, which consists of security, honors, and
material gain. But it is the peace that passes all understanding. It means God
allows the afflictions to remain, but takes our heart away from the
afflictions, as Luther said, so we imagine we are in a rose garden.
God teaches us about our complete forgiveness each and every
day, promised to all believers in Christ. And yet, we still have times of
anxiety and worry. Being forgiven does not take away our human weaknesses, but
helps us battle against them. God’s will is to have the Gospel reign in our
lives, so we do everything in gratitude toward God and in love toward our
Savior.
So we live in this paradox of being sinners who are forgiven
through faith in Christ. Our faith is strengthened by remembering our baptism
and by participating in Holy Communion.
Each part of the Bible teaches us some aspect of this One
Truth taught by the Holy Spirit.
When we are troubled, the Word of Christ comes to us,
because the Holy Spirit helps us in remembering the Promises and Blessings
revealed in the Word.
Believing in Christ means being helped by the Holy Spirit at
all times. We encourage that help by listening to faithful confessors of the
truth and by avoiding falsehood. It is no surprise that smaller congregations
value the worship service as the Means of Grace.
Krauth, I believe said, the purer the teaching, the more
powerful it is. Faithful hymns and books aid in the work of the Holy Spirit by
being true to the Word. We often have The Messiah or Bach playing in the
kitchen area, 24/7. It is wonderful to walk into the kitchen and hear someone singing:
I know that my Redeemer lives.
The dogs often come with me, to get some treats, so I direct
the Halleluia chorus for them. Recently I read Luther’s comments on “He shall
dash them to pieces with a rod of iron.” He observed that God uses the Word as
a rod of iron, but the opponents use the real thing. The Word is more powerful,
but it gets a reaction from unbelievers.
Faithful art also teaches the Word of God. In the past, people
did that with stained glass windows. Now it can be done on the Net with graphics.
I take Luther’s sermons with me when I have to wait at a
doctor’s office. Every single time I have said, “I never thought of that
before.” And I have through four volumes paragraph by paragraph. It shows how
repetition teaches, and how opposition creates a desire to learn more.
If our spiritual tools are left unused, they rust away. But
if we are challenged, they are sharpened and polished on the whetstone of
difficulty and opposition.
Pentecost Quotations
"For
neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and
obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts
by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and
accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His
suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that
no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure,
therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has
caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost
to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is
nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which could
not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed,
Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 689.
"For
now we are only half pure and holy, so that the Holy Ghost has ever [some
reason why] to continue His work in us through the Word, and daily to dispense
forgiveness, until we attain to that life where there will be no more
forgiveness, but only perfectly pure and holy people, full of godliness and
righteousness, removed and free from sin, death, and all evil, in a new,
immortal, and glorified body."
The Large Catechism, The Creed,
Article III, #58, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 693.
"But
outside of this Christian Church, where the Gospel is not, there is no
forgiveness, as also there can be no holiness [sanctification]. Therefore all
who seek and wish to merit holiness [sanctification], not through the Gospel
and forgiveness of sin, but by their works, have expelled and severed
themselves [from this Church]."
The Large Catechism, The Creed,
Article III, #56, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 693.
"Everything,
therefore, in the Christian Church is offered to the end that we shall daily
obtain there nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and signs, to
comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here. Thus, although
we have sins, the [grace of the] Holy Ghost does not allow them to injure us,
because we are in the Christian Church, where there is nothing but [continuous,
uninterupted] forgiveness of sin, both in that God forgives us, and in that we
forgive, bear with, and help each other."
The Large Catechism, The Creed,
Article III, #55, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 693.
"Therefore,
before the conversion of man there are only two efficient causes, namely, the
Holy Ghost and the Word of God, as the instrument of the Holy Ghost, by which
He works conversion. This Word man is [indeed] to hear; however, it is not by
his own powers, but only through the grace and working of the Holy Ghost that
he can yield faith to it and accept it."
Formula of Concord, Epitome, II, Of
the Free Will, #19, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 791.
"But
as the Confutation condemns us for having assigned these two parts to
repentance, we must show that [not we, but] Scripture expresses these as the
chief parts in repentance and conversion. For Christ says, Matthew 11:28: Come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Here
there are two members. The labor and the burden signify the contrition,
anxiety, and terrors of sin and of death. To come to Christ is to believe that
sins are remitted for Christ's sake; when we believe, our hearts are quickened
by the Holy Ghost through the Word of Christ. Here, therefore, there are these
two chief parts, contrition and faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession,
Article XII (V), #44, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1921, p. 263. Matthew 11:28.
"But
if ordination be understood as applying to the ministry of the Word, we are not
unwilling to call ordination a sacrament. For the ministry of the Word has
God's command and glorious promises. Romans 1:16 The Gospel is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth. Likewise, Isaiah 55:11: So shall My
Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but
it shall accomplish that which I please...And it is of advantage, so far as can
be done, to adorn the ministry of the Word with every kind of praise against
fanatical men, who dream that the Holy Ghost is given not through the Word, but
because of certain preparations of their own...."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession,
Article XIII (VII), #11, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1921, p. 311. Romans 1:16; Isaiah 55:11.
"But
Christ was given for this purpose, namely, that for His sake there might be
bestowed on us the remission of sins, and the Holy Ghost to bring forth in us
new and eternal life, and eternal righteousness [to manifest Christ in our
hearts, as it is written John 16:15: He shall take of the things of Mine, and
show them unto you. Likewise, He works also other gifts, love, thanksgiving,
charity, patience, etc.]. Wherefore the Law cannot be truly kept unless the
Holy Ghost is received through faith...Then we learn to know how flesh, in
security and indifference, does not fear God, and is not fully certain that we
are regarded by God, but imagines that men are born and die by chance. Then we
experience that we do not believe that God forgives and hears us. But when, on
hearing the Gospel and the remission of sins, we are consoled by faith, we
receive the Holy Ghost, so that now we are able to think aright."
Augsburg Confession, Article III,
#11, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p.
159.
"The
Holy Spirit works through the Word and the Sacraments, which only, in the
proper sense, are means of grace. Both the Word and the Sacraments bring a
positive grace, which is offered to all who receive them outwardly, and which
is actually imparted to all who have faith to embrace it."
Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative
Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication
House, 1871, p. 127.
"The
Holy Spirit teaches man better than all the books; He teaches him to understand
the Scriptures better than he can understand them from the teaching of any
other; and of his own accord he does everything God wills he should, so the Law
dare make no demands upon him."
Sermons of Martin Luther, III, p. 280.
"The
Holy Spirit is given to none except to those who are in sorrow and fear; in
them it produces good fruit. This gift is so precious and worthy that God does
not cast it before dogs. Though the unrepentant discover it themselves, hearing
it preached, they devour it and know not what they devour."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 281f.
"He
allows the affliction to remain and to oppress; yet He employs different
tactics to bestow peace; He changes the heart, removing it from the affliction,
not the affliction from the heart. This is the way it is done: When you are
sunk in affliction He so turns your mind from it and gives you such consolation
that you imagine you are dwelling in a garden of roses."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 285.
John 14:23-31.
"Thus
true spiritual leaders fight. They strike Satan dead and rescue souls from him;
for to pierce Satan to death is nothing else than to rescue from him a human
being whom he has taken captive by deceitful teachings. And that is the right
kind of spiritual tactics."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 289.
John 14:23-31.
"Neither
is he [Satan] truthful; he is the spirit of lies, who, by means of false fear
and false comfort having the appearance of truth, both deceives and destroys.
He possesses the art of filling his own victims with sweet comfort ; that is,
he gives them unbelieving, arrogant, secure, impious hearts...He can even make
them joyful; furthermore, he renders them haughty and proud in their opinions,
in their wisdom and self-made personal holiness; then no threat nor terror of
God's wrath and of eternal damnation moves them, but their hearts grow harder
than steel or adamant."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 302.
John 14:23-31.
"Again,
with truly pious hearts, which in many respects are timid and tender, his
[Satan's] practice is just the opposite. He tortures them with everything
terrible that can be imagined, martyring and piercing them as with fiery darts,
until they may find no good thing nor comfort before God. His object in both
cases is to ruin souls by means of his lies and to lead them to eternal death."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed. John N. Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 302. John
14:23-31
"Therefore,
let God's Word be of more authority to you than your own feelings and the
judgment of the whole world; do not give God the lie and rob yourself of the
Spirit of truth."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 304.
John 14:23-31.
"In
the eyes of the world, and even in her own estimation, she has not the
appearance of a prosperous and well ordered organization; rather she is a
scattered group of poor, miserable orphans, without leader, protection or help
upon earth. All the world laughs at her and ridicules her as a great fool in
thinking that she is the Church and comprises the people of God. Furthermore,
each individual is so burdened and oppressed in his need and suffering as to
feel that no one else lies so low or is so far from help as he."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 304f.
John 14:23-31.
"It
will not do for individuals to formulate their own ideas of conduct, act
accordingly and then say that the Church is led by the Holy Spirit."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 320.
John 14:23-31.
"Secondly,
it is shown here that this Word precedes, or must be spoken beforehand, and
that afterwards the Holy Spirit works through the Word. One must not reverse
the order and dream of a Holy Spirit who works without the Word and before the
Word, but one who comes with and through the Word and goes no farther than the
Word goes."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 329.
John 14:23-31.
"We
hear God's Word, which is in fact the preaching of the Holy Spirit, who is at
all times present with it, but it does not always at once reach the heart and
be accepted by faith; yea, in the case of those who are moved by the Holy
Spirit and gladly receive the Word, it does not at once bear fruit."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 330.
John 14:23-31.
"Likewise,
in the matter of preaching, we must make selection that order may be preserved.
But since all who are Christians have authority to preach, what will be the
outcome? for women will also want to preach. No so. St. Paul forbids women to
put themselves forward as preachers in a congregation of men and says: They
should be subject to their husbands."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 375. 1
Timothy 2:11-12.
"Paul
does not speak of opposing or antagonistic doctrines, but of those placed
beside the true doctrine; they are additions, making divisions. Paul calls it a
rival doctrine, an addition, an occasion of stumbling, an offense and a byway,
when on establishes the conscience upon his own goodness or deeds. Now the
Gospel is sensitive, complete and pre-eminent: it must be intolerant of
additions and rival teachings."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 376.
Romans 16:16-17.
"The
world desires such wolf preaching, and is not worthy of anything better since
it will not hear nor respect Christ. Hence it is that there are so few true
Christians and faithful preachers, always outnumbered by the members of the
false church."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 385.
Deuteronomy 29:19.
"For
you do not find Him; He finds you. For the preachers come from Him, not from
you. Your faith comes from Him, not from you. And everything that works faith
within you comes from Him, not from you."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3
vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p.
345. Matthew 21:1-9.
"(3)
Hollazius (ib.): 'The Word of God, as such, cannot be conceived of without the
divine virtue, or the Holy Spirit, who is inseparable from His Word. For if the
Holy Spirit could be separated from the Word of God, it would not be the Word
of God or of the Spirit, but a word of man. Nor is there any other Word of God,
which is in God, or with which the men of God have been inspired, than that
which is given in the Scriptures or is preached or is treasured up in the human
mind. But, as it cannot be denied that that is the divine will, counsel, mind,
and the wisdom of God, so it cannot be destitute of the divine virtue or
efficacy.'"
Heinrich Schmid, Doctrinal Theology
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, trans., Charles A. Hay and Henry E. Jacobs,
Philadelphia: United Lutheran Publication House, 1899, p.
505.
"The
Lutheran theologians, in general, had reason to illustrate very particularly
the doctrine of the operation of the Word of God, in order to oppose the
Enthusiasts and Mystics, who held that the Holy Spirit operated rather
irrespectively of the Word than through it; and to oppose also the Calvinists,
who, led by their doctrine of predestination, would not grant that the Word
possessed this power per se, but only in such cases where God chose...."
Heinrich Schmid, The Doctrinal
Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, trans., Charles A. Hay, Henry E.
Jacobs, Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1889, p.
511.
"Mrs.
Barnhill looked at me and said, with such a loving look in her gray eyes, 'Oh,
Grace, Christ said, 'No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,' and, my dear,
you have no way of approach to a holy God unless you come through Christ, His
Son, as your Saviour.' "The Scripture which she quoted," Mrs. Fuller
continues, "was the Sword of the Spirit, and at that moment Unitarianism
was killed forever in my heart. I saw the light like a flash and believed at
that moment, though I said nothing. She had quoted God's Word, the Spirit had
used it, and, believing, I instantly became a new creation in Christ Jesus. She
might have talked and even argued with me about it, but instead she just used
the Word." [conversion
of Mrs. Grace Fuller, wife of Charles Fuller, Old Fashioned Revival Hour
broadcast, founder of Fuller Seminary]
J. Elwin Wright, The Old Fashioned
Revival Hour and the Broadcasters, Boston: The Fellowship Press, 1940, p.
54.
