Lutherans know a church that does not merely happen from time to time by the miracle of the Holy Spirit coming to the words, but a church that endures through the millennia of history where the means of grace, the Word and the sacrament, have the work of the Holy Spirit alive in them. This church has its own history, which faith reads in the administration of the means of grace. If there is a history of the way of God's Word in the world, then there is also a history of the working of this Word. -- Hermann Sasse, *We Confess: Jesus Christ* p. 82.
Wow, you make it tough for me to be able to use the "I'm too busy to work out" excuse! :)
ReplyDeleteWhy does it seem like so many Lutherans talk about the Church as if it's an event ("doing church", God "churches" us, etc.) or like it's some indefinite substance instead of a single existing entity ("Are we church?" or "being church" instead of "being the Church" or "being in the Church")? "Church" is a proper noun, right? Is this all attributable to Barth, or is there some other reason why?
ReplyDeletePhil,
ReplyDeleteThat is an oddity that I'm not sure how to explain. I think it may result from mistaking the "marks" for that of which they ARE marks?