Well then, that is just what is done for us feeble human beings, and in it we see how God deals with us as with beloved children and not, as he surely would have a right to, in his majesty. And yet, in this guise he performs his majestic, divine works and exercises his might and power, such as forgiving sin, cleansing from sin, removing death, bestowing grace and eternal life. Indeed, these things are missing in the devil’s sacraments and churches. No one can say there, “God commanded it, ordered it, instituted it, and ordained it; he himself is present and will do everything himself”; but one must say, “God did not command, but forbade it, that man, or rather that ape of God, invented it and misled the people with it.” For he effects nothing except that which is temporal, or, if it purports to be spiritual, it is sheer fraud. He cannot forgive sin eternally and save, as he lyingly claims, by means of holy water, masses, and monkery, even though he may restore a cow’s milk which he had first stolen from her by his prophetesses and priestesses. Among Christians these are called the devil’s harlots and, when apprehended, are rightfully burned at the stake, not because of the theft of milk, but because of the blasphemy with which they fortify the devil, his sacraments, and his churches against Christ.  (Luther’s Works, v.41, p.171-172)

Picture:  The pulpit was made for Trinity in 1864.  Originally it had the four evangelists and an angel, which was damaged by the tornado of 1896.  A statue of Martin Luther (a gift from a congregation in Dresden, Germany) has replaced the angel.

Therefore the ecclesia, “the holy Christian people,” does not have mere external words, sacraments, or offices, like God’s ape Satan has, and in far greater numbers, but it has these as commanded, instituted, and ordained by God, so that he himself and not any angel will work through them with the Holy Spirit. They are called word, baptism, sacrament, and office of forgiveness, not of angels, men, or any other creature, but of God; only he does not choose to do it through his unveiled, brilliant, and glorious majesty, out of consideration for us poor, weak, and timid mortals and for our comfort, for who could bear such majesty for an instant in this poor and sinful flesh? As Moses says, “Man shall not see me and live” [Exod. 33:20]. If the Jews could not endure even the shoes of his feet on Mount Sinai, that is, the thunder and the clouds, how could they, with their feeble eyes, have endured the sight of the sun of his divine majesty and the clear light of his countenance? No, he wants to work through tolerable, kind, and pleasant means, which we ourselves could not have chosen better. He has, for instance, a godly and kind man speak to us, preach, lay his hands on us, remit sin, baptize, give us bread and wine to eat and to drink. Who can be terrified by these pleasing methods, and wouldn’t rather delight in them with all his heart?  (Luther’s Works, v.41, p.171)

Picture:  A banner “Die Ev. Luth. Dreieinigkeits Kirche, U.A.C. St. Louis, Mo,”  The Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church. Unaltered Augsburg Confession, destroyed by a tornado on May 27, 1896 and rebuilt and reopened May 28, 1897.

And that is what happened. When we began to teach, on the basis of the gospel, that these external things do not save, since they are merely physical and creatural and are often used by the devil for the purpose of sorcery, people, even great and learned people, concluded that baptism, being external water, that the word, being outward human speech, that Scripture, being physical letters made with ink, that the bread, being baked by the baker, and the wine were nothing more than outward, perishable things. So they devised the slogan, “Spirit! Spirit! The Spirit must do it! The letter kills!” So Münzer called us Wittenberg theologians scribes of Scripture and himself the scribe of the Holy Spirit, and many others followed his example. There you see how the devil had armed himself and built up his barricades. If anyone were to attack his outward doctrine and sacraments (which afford quick, visible, and mighty aid), then the outward words and sacraments of Christ (attended by tardy or, at least, by invisible and feeble help) must go down to far worse destruction along with them.  (Luther’s Works, v.41, p.170-171)

Picture:  The Holy Spirit (Good Shepherd Window, top)