Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Not until the letters of Paul, the great apostle to the world and to the Gentiles, do we see the clear continuation of that holy doctrine of the Lord Jesus which is set before us in John 15-17. What is here pictured in the image of the Vine and explained in unspeakably beautiful and profound discourses returns in Paul in the image of the temple and the body of Christ. The body, as it is joined and knit together by every joint from the Head; the temple, as it is built and raised up to God's glory upon Christ the cornerstone and upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; the one, holy, universal, apostolic Church stands before Paul's eyes in a brilliance that fills with joy and amazement all who think the apostle's thoughts after him as they read his words. Here is a kingdom and a building not of this world, elevated beyond all human conceptions, surely constructed, certain of consummation amid all storms, worthy of our patience, sacrifice, and ardor. -- Blessed Wilhelm Loehe, *Aphorisms* p. 13