n issues relating to the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one except through or with the preceding outward Word [Galatians 3:2, 5]. This protects us from the enthusiasts (i.e., souls who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word). They judge Scripture or the spoken Word and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Munzer did. Many still do this today, wanting to be sharp judges between the Spirit and the letter, and yet they do not know what they are saying [2 Corinthians 3:6]. Actually, the papacy too is nothing but sheer enthusiasm. The pope boasts that all rights exist in the shrine of his heart. Whatever he decides and commands within his church is from the Spirit and is right, even though it is above and contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word. All this is the old devil and old serpent, who also turned Adam and Eve into enthusiasts. He led them away from Gods outward Word to spiritualizing and self-pride. And yet, he did through other outward words. In the same way, our enthusiasts today condemn the outward Word. Yet they themselves are not silent. They fill the world with their babblings and writings, as if the Spirit could not come through the apostles writings and spoken Word, but has to come through their writings and words.--Martin Luther
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:23:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015