Brunner Emil Our Faith

OUR

FAITH

BY

EMIL

BRUNNER

\\

Professor ofTheology, UniversityofZurich

TRANSLATED

BY

_JOHN

W.

RILLING

CHARLES

SCRIBNER'S

SONS

NEW

YORK

COPYRIGHT,1936,BY

CHARLESSCRIBNER'SSONS

PrintedintheUnitedStates ofAmerica

Allrights reserved. Nofartofthislook

may bereproduced in any formwithout

thepermission of Charles Scribner'sSons

This book,now for thefirst time trans-lated into English, was published by Gotthelf-Verlag, Bern, under the title

UnserGlaube.

LIBRARIES

O-

~ ,

v

.

FOREWORD

"Man

shallnotlive

_by

bread_alone,but

_by

_every

Worcl

that_{proceedeth out of the}

mouth

of

God."

That

is

no

simile, but a literal

law

of life.

There

is a _pernicious

anaemia of thesoul)

a

starvationof the soul as well as

ofthe_body.

_Humanity

in our

time

suffers

from

chronic

under-nourishment

ofits soul. Itisnot sufficient _help

merely

to print

and

sell _copiesof the _Bible;

not

suffi-cient help, even,if

men

readit.

The

Bible

can

nourish

us onlyifitisunderstood

and

_{personallyappropriated}

as

God's

own

Word.

But

for

_many

whatever

thecause

may bethe

Bible is _{indigestible;} it _{does not speak}to

their need.

Such

_{people seek,therefore,}

an

_interpreter

to translate the _{great, difficult, strange}

words

of the

Bible intothefamiliar

_language

of_dailylife.

The

per-formance

of_{this task,}in

_my

_opinion,isthetrueservice

of _theology, to think

_through

the

_message

of

God's

work

inJesus Christ think it

_through

so_long,

and

so

thoroughlythatit

can

_{be spoken}

_simply

and

_intelligibly

to_every

man

in the

_language

of histime.

In

a time like ours

when

all

outward

securities are

shaken

as_{perhaps never before,}

_many

are

_beginning

to

listento

Truth

which

isnot

from man.

A

new

_hunger

FOREWORD'

for the

Word

of

God

is _{passing through!} the

world

the _{English-speaking}

world

no

less

_{than Europe}

and

the East.

The

Word

of

God

is the

one

_thing

which

is

able to unite East

and

_{West, the}

whole

dismembered

mankind,

and

to_reshape it into

one

_{bigfamily of}

na-tions. It is a _{special satisfaction} to

me

that this little

book

after

_{having been}

translated into several

conti-nental languages,*

can

now

_{appear simultaneously} in

both English

and

_Japanese.

_May

it _help in _bringing

to

our

consciousness that

we

areall called to

one

aim

as

we

areallcreated

_{by one}

Creatorafter

His

_image.

EMIL BRUNNER

Zurich,August, 1936.

*0uf Faith has _appeared in French, Dutch, Danish, and Hungarian

translations; a Czech editionis_{in preparation (Translator).}

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I. IS

THERE A

GOD?

I 1. IS

THE

BIBLE

THE

WORD

OF

GOD?

6

3.

THE MYSTERY

OF

GOD

II

4.

CREATION

AND

THE CREATOR

1

6

5.

GOD'S

PLAN FOR THE

WORLD

1O

6.

GOD

AND

THE DEMONIC ELEMENT

IN

THE

WORLD

₁₅

J.

ETERNAL

ELECTION

2.9 8.

THE MYSTERY

OF

MAN

₃₄

9.

ON

THE

GOODNESS OF

MAN

39

10.

THE

LAW

₄₄

11.

THE

TEN

COMMANDMENTS

AND

THE

DOUBLE

COMMANDMENT

₄₉

II.

THE ORDINANCES

OF

GOD

₅₄

13.

THE

PROMISE

59

14. JESUS

THE

CHRIST

63

15.

THE SON

OF

MAN

6j

16.

THE SON

OF

GOD

_JO

17.

THE KING

75

18.

THE MEDIATOR

80

CONTENTS

19.

THE

HOLY

GHOST

85 10.

FAITH

OR

DESPAIR

₈₉

11.

BY

FAITH

ALONE

₉₄

11.

CONVERSION

₉₉

13.

REGENERATION

IO3

14.

ON

CHRISTIAN

FREEDOM

Io6

15.

PRAYER

IIO

16.

THE

MEANING

OF

PRAYER

₁₁₅

17.

FELLOWSHIP

Il8

18.

THE

CHURCH

111

19.

THE

SACRAMENTS

117

30.

BAPTISM

131 31.

THE

LORD'S SUPPER

134

31.

THE FUTURE

138

33.

AFTERWARD?

141

34.

THE

LAST

JUDGMENT

146

35.

ON

LIFE

ETERNAL

150

OUR

FAITH

1. IS

THERE

A

GOD?

The

_only

answer

to such a _question is that

of

the

Greek

_philosopher,

who,

when

askedabout

God

_{by an}

idler, kept a persistent silence.

To

the merely inquisi-tive

question, "Is therea

God?

I should

be

interested to

know

whether

or not there is _one," silence is the sole

possible answer.

Or

perhaps

one

should reply to such

a _questioner:

_No,

"there is"

no God!

"There

is" a

Himalaya

range, "thereis" a planet Uranus, "there is"

an

element radium: in short there are

a

multitude of

thingsabout

which

theencyclopaedia givesinformation.

But

"thereis"

no God.

That

means, forthe_inquisitive

thereis

no

God.

God

is neither

an

_objectof scientific

investigation

nor

something that

we

can

insert in the

treasure_{of our knowledge,} as

one

mounts

arare

_stamp

in a

special place in

an

album

there itis, finest

and

costliestofall.

God

isnot

_something

intheworld, theeternal_being,

the divine inhabitant of the world.

God

is not inthe

OUR

FAITH

within your knowledge, your

knowledge

is in

God.

If

your question

were

answered, "Yes, there is a

_God,"

you

would

depart

with one

more

illusion, for

you

would

then _suppose that

God

is in

a

class with other

objects.

That, _precisely, is

what

God

is not if

He

is really

God.

God

isnever in a_{class, never something}

_among

other_things.

He

can never

be

named

_along

with

other

things. Planets, mountains, elements are _objects of

knowledge.

God

is not

an

_{object of knowledge.} It is

only becauseof

God

thatanythingisto

be

known

atall.

Without

God

there

would

be

_{absolutelynothing}atall,

without

God

a

man

could

know

_nothing.

_Knowledge

is

possibleonly because

God

is.

The

_{question about}

God

is a

possibilityonly because

God

already stands behind

the_question. If

_you

reallyenquireabout

God,

not

with

mere

_curiosity, not, as it _were, like

a

spiritual

stamp-collector, but as

an

anxious seeker, distressed in heart,

anguished

by

the possibility that

God

might

not exist

and

hence all life

be

_vanity

and one

_great

madness

if

you

askinsuch a

mood

asthe

man who

asks the doctor,

"Tell

_me,

will

_my

wifelive or will she die?" if

_you

ask thus about

God,

then

_you

know

_{already that}

God

exists; the anguished _question bears witness that

_you

IS

THERE

A

GOD?

know.

_{Without knowing}

God

_you

could not so ask about

Him.

You

want

God

because without

Him

life is nonsense.

Your

own

heart _{distinguishes}

between

sense

and

_nonsense; it

knows

that senseis _right.

Your

heart

knows

_something

of

God

_already;

and

it is that

very

knowledge which

gives your question existence

and

_power.

You

wish

that there

_{might be a God,}

for

otherwise_everythingis

ultimatelythe

same

evilisnot

evil,

good

isnot_good.

You

know

_alreadythat thereis

a

God,

for

_you

know

that

_good

cannot_possibly

be

the

same

as evil.

The

observationoftheevilin the world,

and

anxious _{questionings about} it cause

_you

to

doubt

God's

existence; but the very fact that

one

sees

and

questions is belief in

God.

Because your heart

knows

God

it

protests against

wrong.

In the act of asking

about

_God,

God

is _{already standing}

_{behind you and}

makes

_{your question}

possible.

Not

_onlytheheart within,but the

world

withoutalso

testifies of

God.

I

have

never

known

chance to create

order, so that the

_{meaningful and}

beautifulariseout of

mere

chance.

To

believe that the

world

is

a

creationof

God

is not

credulity. Credulous, rather, is the belief thatthe

human

_eye, or thestructureof

an

insect,or the

glory ofa spring

meadow

isaproduct of chance.

The

OUR

FAITH

rockcairn

which

the

wanderer

sees

on

a

_{mountain peak}

notchance,but a

hand

haslaidtheserocks

one

_upon

theother.

Yet

amilliontimes

more

beautifulthan such

astone

heap

istheretina ofthe_eye. It is

truly

no

evi-dence

o

_intelligence tomiss _anythingso obvious.

It is

really

a

sign

o

mental

disorder

when

a

man

asks, "Istherea

God?"

One

might

almostsay that this

is the_questionof

an

insane

man,

a

man who

can

no

longer see things simply,clearly

and

calmlyastheyare.

Something

of this

madness

however, pervades the

whole

world,

and

we

all feel its

consequences;

one

might

indeed call itthedistinctive

madness

that afflicts

our

modern

life.

Men

have

_{always asked} as far as

history gives us information "In

what

way

shall

we

think of

God?"

but never before, "Is there

a

God?"

Technical

and

scientific success has

_gone

to

our heads

and

confused our senses.

We

discard as

mere

chance

all that

we

_{cannot bring}

under

the_mastery of

our

rea-son.

We

_suppose that

we

alone create order

and

art

in the

world

_missing the obvious _suspicion that to

make

_{something ingenious}

we

must

first

have an

in-geniouslycreated brain

and

ingeniously created hands.

What we

do

create is but the creation of brain

and

hands which

we

_{verycertainly}didnotcreate!

IS

THERE

A

GOD?

To

askthe

question, then, "Is therea

God"

isto fail to

be

_morally serious.

For

when

one

is_morally serious

he

knows

that

_good

isnotevil,thatright

and

wrong

are

two

different _things,that

one

should seekthe_right

and

eschew

the

_{wrong. There}

isadivineorderto

which one

must

bow

whether

one

likes to

do

so or not.

Moral

seriousnessis

respecttothe voiceofconscience. Ifthere

is

no

_God,

conscienceisbut a

_complex

ofresidual habits

and

means

_nothing. Ifthereis

no

God

thenitisabsurd

to trouble oneself about_right or

_wrong.

It all

comes

to the

same

ultimate chaos. Scoundrel

and

saint are

only

phantoms

of the imagination.

The

man who

can

stop here

must

probably

be

left to

go

his

own

way.

Still if

God

_really doesexist,

_why

then

must

we

al-ways be

asking about

Him?

Our

heart cannot escape

from God;

it

knows

about

God!

But

ourheartdoes not

know

Him

truly.

Our

conscience tells us that

God

is,

but does not

know who

He

is.

Our

reason testifies of

God

and

_yetdoes not

know

who

He

is.

The

world with

a million _{ringers points}

_{toward God,}

but it cannot

re-veal

Him

tous.

Who

is

God?

What

does

He

want

ofus?

What

pur-pose does

He

have

for the

world?

To

these questions

OUR

FAITH

we know

no answer

and

so

_long

asthese

questionsare

unanswered

we

do

not

know

God.

There

is another,

and

_only

one

other, possibility: if

God

choseto reveal

Himself

to us

we

could

know

Him

_truly.

That

God

existsis testified

_by

_{reason, conscience,}

and

naturewith

itswonders.

But

who

God

is

God

Himself

must

tell

us in

His

Revelation.

2. IS

THE

BIBLE

THE

WORD

OF

GOD?

No

one

will _disputethe assertion that theBible is a

uniqueBook. It is noteworthy, if for

no

other reason,

in that so

_many

_{people possess} this

Book

and

so

few

people readit.

_Why

does

every

one have

aBible?

Why

is this

Book

translated into so

_many

hundreds

of

lan-guages?

Why

is this venerable

Book

_{reprinted again}

and

_againinmillionsof_{copiesannually?}

Two

hundred

years ago, scoffing Voltaire,_probably the

most

famous

man

ofhistime_prophesiedthatall

would

soon

be

over with theBible.

The

housein

which

thisboast

was

made

is_today

one

oftheofficesof a_greatBible_society.

Vol-taire's

name

is almost_forgotten; theBible has had, in the_meantime,

an

incredible career of

triumph

through-out the world.

What

is it about the Bible?

Whence

thesefacts?

-6-IS

THE

BIBLE

THE

WORD

OF GOD?

The

immediate answer

is _{quite plain:} because the

Christian

Church

believes the Bible to bethe

Word

of

God,

just as the

Mohammedan

is persuaded that the

Koran,

and

the

Hindu

that the

Bhagavadgita

is the

Word

of

_God;

and

becauseChristians are the

most

pro-ficient

propagandists, the Bible is the

most

widely

dis-seminated Book.

Quite

right.

But

this is to overlook

one

_{thing: the Bible not only}

comes

from

the

Chris-tians;Christians

come from

the Bible.

One

might

make

thestatement: there are Biblesbecause there are

Chris-tians. _Primarilythe reverseistrue: there are Christians

because ofthe Bible.

The

Bibleis thesoil

from

which

allChristianfaith_grows.

For

ifthere

were

no

Bible

we

should

know

_nothing of _{Jesus Christ,} after

whom

we

are called Christians. Christian faith is faithin_Christ,

and

Christ

meets

us

and

_speaks to us in the Bible.

Christian faith is Bible faith.

What

is

meant

_by

that

statement?

Who

is

God?

What

is

His

_purpose

for us?

What

are

His

_plans for theworld, for _humanity, for

_you?

You

cannot

know

thatof_yourself; nor can

_{any one}

tell

_you

that.

For

what

_you

_yourself cannot

_apprehend

of

God

no

one

else can

know

either. After all,

he

is_only

an-other

man

and

no

man

can

answer

these

OUR

FAITH

own

accord.

God

alonecan

do

it.

But

does

He? Does

He

tell us?

Does

He

reveal the secret of

His world

plan?

Does

He

make

known

His

purposesfor

you and

me

and

for all

mankind?

Christianity answers these

questions

with an

emphatic Yes,

God

has

made known

thesecret

of His

will _throughthe _Prophets

_and

Apos-tles in the

_Holy

Scriptures.

He

permitted

them

to say

who

He

is.

And

what

_theyall

sayindifferent

words

is

fundamentally the

same

thing, just as seven sons of

a

good

mother

speakseachin his

own

way

ofher.

Each

one

_{says the}

same

_thing;

and

_yet each _says

_something

different._{So, too,}the_prophetsall_speakof the

_{one God,}

not _only as _eternally enthroned

above

all _temporal

change, the invisiblespirit

above

all earthlyaffairs, but

as the

One

who

has _purposes for

_man,

who

does not

leave

man

tohis

own

devices like

some

_great

nobleman

who

says:Icangetalong without

them;

I

can

waituntil they

come

to

me.

Not

so

God.

He

who

alone is the

great Lord, does not act as does the

nobleman

who

proudly holds that the

poor

serf

must

come

to him.

God

has

_mercy

_{on men;}

He

even

comes

tothose

who

do

not

come

to

_Him;

He

troubles_{himself about them,}

fol-lows

after

them

like a

_good

_shepherd after his erring

sheep.

For

He

wants

to gather them, to bring

them

-8-IS

THE

BIBLE

THE

WORD

OP GOD?

home;

He

does not

want them

to

remain

lost;

He

wants

them

with

Himself.

That

is

God's

_purpose.

He

thereforecalls

His

peo-ple,

now

coaxing,

now

threatening,

now

from

the

heights,

now

from

the depths.

But

He

not onlycalls;

He

himself

comes

to them. In _{their error,} the

Good

Shepherd

seeks

His

lost _{sheep, gives} even

His

life for

them. It is of this

Good

_Shepherd

God

that the Bible

speaks.

The

voicesof theProphetsare thesinglevoice

of

_God,

calling. Jesus Christ is

God

Himself

_coming.

In him, "the

Word

became

flesh."

That

_means, in

him

is_present that

which

these _Prophets

and

_Apostles

were

not,but of

which

they could onlyspeak.

They

can

only speak ofthe

Good

Shepherd. Jesushimselfis the

Good

_Shepherd.

The

_Prophets

and

_{Apostles can only} point like doorkeepers tothe

coming one and

say: see

him

_yonder, there is

he

whom

we

await.

_They

can

open

the door:

now

he

stands there, himself!

He

is

the

Word

of

God.

_{In him,} his life

and

death,

God

proclaims

His

purpose,

His

plan,

His

feelings. "I

have

revealed to

them

_thy

name."

He

is the

Word

of

God

in the Bible. Is the

whole

Bible

God's

Word

then?

Yes, insofar as it _speaks of that

which

is "here" in

OUR

FAITH

Is

everything true that is to

be found

in trie Bible? Let

me

draw

a

somewhat modern

_analogy

_by

_way

of

answering this question. Every

one

has seen the trade slogan

"His

Master's Voice," If

you

buy

a

phonograph

record

_you

are told that

_you

will hear the

Master

Caruso. Isthat true?

Of

course!

But

_reallyhis voice?

Certainly!

And

yet thereare

some

noises

made

by

the

machine which

are not the Master's _voice, but the

scratching of the steel needle

upon

the

hard

disk.

But

do

not

become

_impatientwith the

hard

disk!

For

*

only

by

means

of

the record can

you

hear "themaster's voice." _{So, too,} isit

with

the Bible. It

makes

thereal

Master's voice audible, really his voice, his words,

what

he wants

to _say.

But

there are incidentalnoises

accompanying, just because

God

speaks

His

Word

through the voice of

man.

Paul, Peter, Isaiah,

and

Moses

are such

men.

_{But through}

them

God

_speaks

His

Word.

God

hasalso

come

into the

world

as

_man,

really

God,

butreally

man

too. Thereforethe Bibleis all

His

voice,notwithstandingallthe_{disturbing things,} which, being

human

are unavoidable.

Only

a fool

listens tothe incidental noises

when

_{he might}

listento

the

sound

ofhisMaster'svoice!

The

importance

of

the

Bibleis that

God

_speakstous

_through

it.

THE MYSTERY

OF

GOD

How

then, are

we

toregardthose other

books which

claimto

be God's

word

also?

There

are

two

_things to

be

said: first, are

_you

a

Mohammedan

or

a

Hindu?

If

not, then these

books do

not applyto you. Second, if

you

still

want

to

know

how

we

are to_{regard those}other

books, I

can

tell

_you

_only

one

_thing:

a

differentvoiceis

to

be heard

in

them

than

that

which

we

hear in the

Bible. It isnotthe

same

_God,

not the

Good

_Shepherd

who

comes

to

His

sheep. It isthevoice

of

a stranger.

It

_may

be

that

somehow

it is

God's

voice, too.

But

if

so, a scarcelyrecognizable voice, just as a

poor

photo-graph

may

resemble you, but notatalllookas

_you

are.

Now

are there

_any

other_questions? Itis

_my

_opinion

that if this is the

_way

the matter _{stands, there} is _only

one

conclusionto

be drawn:

Go

now, and

beginat last

tolisten_{attentively to}theMaster'svoice.

3.

THE

MYSTERY OF GOD

Any

one

who

speaks of

God

as

though

He

were

a

cousin, about

whom,

naturally,

one

knows

everything,

really

knows

nothingatallof

God.

The

first

and

most

importantfactthat

we

can

know

about

God

iseverthis:

we

know

_nothingof

_Him,

except

what

He

Himself

has revealed to us.

God's

revelation of

Himself

_always

'OUR

FAITH

occurs in such a

_way

as to manifest

more

_deeply

His

inaccessibilitytoourthought

and

imagination. Allthat

we

can

know

is the world.

God

is not the world. Therefore

He

isalso exalted

above

all_{our knowledge.}

He

is _Mystery.

Not

_simply a _riddle, for riddles

can

eventually

be

solved,

some

sooner,

some

later.

That

God

is_mystery

means

that

we

cannot solve_{the enigma.}

"Can'st thou

_by

_{searching find} out

God?"

To

man's

proud

"not yet" the Bible replies "not ever."

Such

majesty islike

a profound

abyss,

whoever

looksintoit

becomes

_dizzy.

"From

_everlastingto_everlasting"

who

can understand that?

He

who

was

in _{the beginning}

when

there

was

_{as yet nothing,}

_{and through}

whose

will

all

thingsthat are

have

arisen

who

can

ever conceive

of such a_thing?

To

think_{of the mystery of}

God

makes

usfeelvain

and

_petty,

we

remember

that

we

aredust.

There

is,however, another thoughtthat abasesus

even

more;

that

God

isthe

_Holy

One.

_{Probablyevery}

one

re-members

from

childhood

what

_impressionit

made

_upon

him

when

he

was

told,

"God's

_eyesees

_you

_continually.

He

even sees into _your heart,

and

there is _nothing in

you

that

God

doesnot

know." For

we

knew

quitewell

even then that this

seeing is alsojudging.

God

is not

simply a spectator,

God

is theLord.

That means

God

TO

THE MYSTERY

OF

GOD

wants

_something.

He

wants

what he

wants

without

condition.

There

are

men

of _great will

power

about

whom

one

_perceivesthat_they

know

what

_{they want.}

Mys-terious influence,

something

of almost crushing

power

radiates

from

such

men. But

what

is

human

will

power!

No

man

wants

_{anything absolutely,} thereunto

even

the

strongestwillis

much

too

weak.

Even

an

iron willcan

be

bent, deflected, paralyzed.

For

every

man

there are

conditions

under

which

he

_simplywill not

_go

on, but

God's

willis absolute.

He

wants

to

be

_absolutely

Lord

.

of all. If

He

didnot

want

_that,

He

would

not

be

God.

But

that

He

doeswill,that

He

wants

unconditional

obe-dienceto_Himself,this_{thoughtreally}

humbles

us_utterly.

"The

_holy

God"

_destroys us

even

more

than "the

al-mighty God."

When

theProphetIsaiah

heard

the

song

of the cherubim, "Holy, Holy,

Holy

is _{the Lord,"}

he

answered,

"Woe

is

me

for I

am

undone."

The

holi-ness

of

God

is like a

_powerful

electric _current,

who-ever touches it dies.

What

if

we

refuse to

do what

God

wants,

what

He

absolutelydesires?

When

we

willnot

obey

Him,

what?

Imagine an

automobile driven

by a

madman.

He

will

not_{permit a wall} toblockhis_way. "I

won't

stand for

that,"

he

says,

and opens

the throttle

wide and

rushes

OUR

FAITH

against the wall.

That

is

a

simile forthe

man

who

is

disobedient to

God.

He

must

_simply

dash

himself to

pieces aganst

God's

holiness.

God's

holiness is

abso-lute.

The

disobedience of

man

shatters

_upon

_God,

God

resists the

proud

is

more

_trustworthy

even

than the

natural

law

of

gravity. It is just this unconditional

trustworthiness of

God

which

is the salvation of the

world.

For

without it

everything

would

fall into

dis-order.

God's

_{righteousness stands} like the mountains.

He

who

withstands

God

must

shatter himself

_upon

God.

This

is the

_meaning

of

God's

wrath. Because

God's

will is absolute obedience

He

therefore hates

disobedience _absolutely.

He

who

_persists in

disobedi-encefalls

under

the fearful

wrath

of

God.

That

isthe

holy

God.

But

the_mysteryof

God

iseven

greater.

THe

willof

this_holy

God

what

He

_absolutelydesires,islove.

His

feeling

toward

us is infinite love.

He

wants

to give

Himself

tous,to

draw

and

bind usto

Him.

_Fellowship isthe

one

_thing

He

wants

_absolutely.

God

created the

world

in orderto share_Himself,

He

createdusfor

fel-lowship,

and

that

He

might have

fellowship with us.

For

that reason, too,

He

did not permit the

world

and

the

_{humanity which}

did not

want

Him

to follow its

THE MYSTERY

OP

GOD

own

devices, but hastened after it as

a

mother

follows her faithlesschild into all the

_byways

of the _cityuntil

she finds it.

_Though

_every

one

showers _discouraging

advice

"be ashamed

for

_running

after _{the ugly thing,}

he

never _really deserved it," the

mother can

say only, "I

am

stillhismother." _So,too,is

God.

Itisthis

which

He

has

shown

Himself

to

be

in

Jesus Christ. It isnot

too

much

for

Him

todescendintothe lowest_depthsof

human

filth,to

be

_bespattered

and

befouled as

He

pur-sues

His

child thatit

_may

not

be

lost.

"For

the

Son

of

Man

is

come

to seek

and

to save that

which

is lost."

That

isthe

God

_{of mercy.}

We

must

_keep

this endless

and

merciful _pursuit in

focus

with

what

we

saidofthe_majesty

and

dieholiness

of

God

inordertounderstand the_greatnessof

His

love.

There

is_{nothing remarkable}ina

_beggar

_lendinga

hand

to

a

_beggar.

But whoever heard

of a

_{king dismounting}

from

his horse to take

a

_beggar's

hand?

That

the heavenly King,

whose

majesty is inconceivable,

comes

down

toseek

His

unfaithful child inall his

squalor, is

the love

of

God

as the _gospel

and

_{only the gospel}

knows.

And

we, the beggars, should

know

what

sort

of

_King

it is

who

has

come

down

tous.

We

should

be

OUR

FAITH

may

then

make

our heart _{obedient through}

His

love.

God

desires

one

_{thingabsolutely:} that

we

should

know

the _greatness

and

seriousness of his _{will-to-love,}

and

permit ourselves to

be

led

by

it.

Our

heart is like a

fortress

which

God

wants

to _capture.

He

wants

to cap-tureit

with His

love. If,

overcome by His

love

we

open

the_gate, itiswell

with

oursouls. _{If, however,}

we

ob-stinately closeourhearts to

His

love.

His

absolute will

then

woe

to us! If

we

refuse to surrender tothe love

of

_God,

we

must

feel the absoluteness of

His

will as

wrath.

4.

CREATION

AND

THE CREATOR

The

first

word

of the Bible is the

word

about the Creator

and

creation.

But

that is not _{simply the} first

word

with

which one

_begins in order to

pass

on

to

greater,

more

important matters. It is the primeval

word,

the

fundamental

word

_{supporting everything}

else.

Take

it

_away

and

_everything

collapses.

Indeed

if

one

_rightlyunderstandsthat

which

the Bible

means

_by

the Creator,

he

has_rightlyunderstood the

whole

Bible.

Everything else is involved in this

one word.

But

if!

Do

men

know

the Creator?

Do

_they

know

what

it

means

to_say,

God

thou

art

_my

Creator?

-16-CREATION

AND

THE CREATOR

It is not because of

God

that

we

do

not

know

Him

thus.

For

_just as ina_{royalpalace everything}is

royally

administered, or as in a_great artist's

house

the

whole

house

testifiesof the_artist,evenif

he

isnot_{seen, so, too,} the

world

isdie

house

ofthe Great

_King

and

theGreat

Artist.

He

doesnot_permithimselfto

be

seen; for

man

cannot see

_God,

_only theworld.

But

this

world

is

His

creation,

and whether

consciousofitor_not,it

speaksof

Him

who

made

it.

Yet

in

spite ofthis testimony

man

doesnot

know

_Him,

oratleastnot_rightly.

Every

man

has

two

hands

eachof

which

is a_greater

work

of art than _anything else that

human

_ingenuity

has _created; but

men

are so obsessed

with

their

own

doings that they acclaim every

human

creation

and

make

a

_{great display}over it, yet failto discern

God's

miraculous deeds. _Every

one

has

two

_eyes.

Have

_you

ever

_thought

of

how

_astounding

a

miracle is a _seeing

eye, the

window

of the soul? Yes,

even

more

than

a

window;

one might even

call the _{eye the} soul itself

gazing

and

visible.

Who

has so

made

itthatthe

hun-dred

millionsof

rod and cone

cells

which

_together

make

sight possible, are so co-ordinated that they

can

give

sight?

Chance?

What

harebrained superstition! Truly,

you

do

not

behold

man

alone

through

theeye, but the

-17-OUR

FAITH

Creator as well.

Yet

we

fools

do

not _perceive

Him.

We

behave

ourselves inthisGod-created

world

_(if

one

may

use the_{clumsysimile)} like

_dogs

ina_great art gal-lery.

We

seethepictures

and

yetfail to see them, for

if

we

saw

them

rightly

we

would

see the Creator too.

Our

madness, haughtiness, irreverence in short,

our

sin, is thereason for our failure to see the Creator in

His

creation.

And

_yet

He

_{speaks so loudly}that

we

cannot fail to

hear

His

voice.

For

thisreason the_peoplesofall

ages,

even

when

_they

have

not

known

_{the Creator,}

have

had

some

presentiments of

Him.

There

is

no

religion in

which

thereisnot

some

sortof surmiseof the Creator.

But

men

have

never

known

Him

_rightly.

The

book

of

Nature

does not sufficeto reveal the Creator _{aright to}

such_{unintelligent}

and

obdurate

pupils as ourselves.

The

Creator has therefore _given us _another,

even

more

_clearlywritten

book

in

which

to

know

Him

the

Bible. Init

He

hasalso

drawn

His

own

_portraitso that

we

must

all_perceivethat

He

is_{truly the Creator.}

The

name

of this

picture is Jesus Christ. In

him

we

know

the Creatorforthefirstas

He

_reallyis.

For

in

him

we

know

God's

_purposefor

His

creation.

God

firstrevealed

Himself

tothe childrenofIsraelas

-18-CREATION

AND

THE CREATOR

the Creator.

At

that time the

world

was

_replete

with

religions,but they did not

honor

the

one Lord

ofallthe

world.

The

_gods

of the heathen are

partly

construc-tions of

human

fantasy, partly surmise of the true

God,

a wild

combination of both.

The

_great thinkers

likePlato

and

Aristotle_spokeindeed of a_divinitythat

pervaded

allthings.

But

they did not

know

the living

God.

It_pleased

God

toreveal

Himself

tothelittle

peo-ple of Israel as the

Lord God.

That

means

the

God

whom

we

_may

not use as

one

uses a _porter as the heathen use their _gods.

And

as the

God

whom

one

cannot conceive as the _philosophers think of

_Him,

an

"idea of

God."

But

to Israel

He

was

revealed as

one

who

encounters

man

and

claims

Him

as Lord. "I

am

the

Lord

_thy

God."

"I will

be

_your

God

and

_yeshall

be

my

people."

The

Lord

is

_He,

to

whom

one

_belongs

wholly,

body

and

soul.

The

Lord

is

He

who

has

an

absoluteclaim to _{us, because we,}

and

all that inus-is,

come from Him.

The

Lord

God

is also the Creator

God, and

only

when

we

know

Him

asthe

Lord

God

do

we

know

Him

_rightlyas the Creator.

The

_heathen,

even

their_{greatest thinkers,}

do

not _rightly

know

the

differ-ence

between

God

and

_world,

between

God

_{and man,}

between

God

and

nature.

These

are all confused

with

OUR

FAITH

one

another.

God

firstrevealed

Himself

toIsraelasthe

One who

is over all the _world, asits

Lord

}

o

whom,

through

whom

and

to

whom

itiscreated.

That

adivine

beingcreated the

world

isnotfaithinthe Creator,but

Ja theory of the origin of the world,

which

signifies

'nothing.

That

God

istheCreator

means:

thyCreatorIs

the

Lord

of the _world,

thy Lord,

you belong

to

Him

totally.

Without

Him

you

arenothing,

and

in

His

hand

is_yourlife.

He

wants you

forHimself: I

am

the

Lord

thy

God, thou

shalt

have

no

other

Gods

(idols) before

Me.

That

isas

much

to

say:thoushaltlove the

Lord

thy

God

withall_{thy heart}

and

withall_thysoul

and

withall

thystrength.

That

is

no

lovely,interestingtheory about

the _origin of theworld; if

_you

believe _this,

_you

are a

"slaveof

_God,"

_yourlifethen has another

_meaning,

then

you

arereallyanother

man.

Rather,

you

are

now

forthe

firsttime a

man.

To

believe in

God

the Creator

means

to

obey

God

theLord.

5. GOD'S

PLAN

FOR

THE

WORLD

Looking

down

atnight

from

the

mountain

top

upon

Zurich, the traveller seesa

broad

luminous

_strip in the

midst ofthe_{confusing welter of the twinklinglights}of the _city. It is _lovely

and

attractive _although

one

does

GOD'S

PLAN FOR THE

WORLD

not understand the _significance of this _aggregation of

lights. It is the

park

square in front of the railway

station; each

one

of the

hundreds

of _lights is in its

place, but the wayfarer

on

the heights

above

knows

nothing ofthisperfectorder.

Only

the chief electrician

knows

_why

this

_arrangement

has

been

made

and

not

some

other.

He

has the _blue-print

and

can _grasp the

whole

_plan at a _glance; it ishis

insight, his will that

orders

and

_guidesthewhole.

Just so, too,

we

may

thinkof

what

takes

placeinthe

whole

world.

We

_poor

insignificant

humans

are set

down

inthemidst of the

whole wild world and

cannot surveyitall.

Here

and

thereit

_may

_be,

we

can catch a glimpse ofthe

wonderful

orderin nature,theregularity

of the _stars, scattered over the

wide

_spaces of the

uni-verse _yet obedient to

one

law; the order to

be found

even in the _{microscopic world,} as also within visible

thingsconcerning

which

sciencehasgivensuch

amazing

information in _{recent years; the} order in the construc-tion of a flower or of

an

animal,

from

the flea to the

whale,

a

noteworthy obedience to

law

even in the life of

man.

_When,

_however,

we

ask,

what

does all this

mean,

what

is its_purpose,

we

know

_nothingdefinite.

We

can

advance

clever theories

and

make

_guesses,

OUR

FAITH

and

men

_{have been doing}

so for _ages

and have

ex-pressed

most

curiousopinions about thepurposeof the

happenings

intheworld.

Each one

has

made

hisguess

from

thecenterofhis_tinycircleof_experience.

But

who

would want

to build

_upon

such a foundation?

Who

would

dare _{say; yes,} it isthus

and

so? _Every

one

real-izes that these are _only

humble

_{opinions concerning}

something

too sublime for our conception.

We

know

neither

where

we

nor the

world

are _heading. In

spite

of all

experiment

and

experience it remains for us

a

profound, impenetrable mystery.

And

that

weighs

heavily

upon

us. It is as

though

we

were

feeling our

way

in the dark.

Whither?

_{Why? What}

isthe

mean-ing of everything?

What

is the goal? Because

we

do

not

know

that,

we

are apprehensive, despondent,

troubled, like a

man

condemned

to

hard

labor without

knowing

the reason

_why.

Because

we

have

no

_insight

intothe_planofthe

world

we

are dull

and

apathetic.

There

is

One

who

knows

the

destiny of the world,

He,

who

first

made

the sketch,

He

who

created

and

rules the

world

_according to this

plan.

What

is

con-fusion for us is order for

_{Him, what}

we

call chance is

designed

by

Him,

thought out

from

eternity

and

exe-cuted

with

_omnipotence. It is indeed

much

to

know

GOD'S

PLAN FOR THE

WORLD

"He

thrones in

_might

and

doeth all _things well."

Chance?

With

this_sorry

word

we

_merely

admit

that

we

do

not

_{know why}

_things

_happen

as_they do.

But

God

knows;

God

willsit.

There

is

no

chance,

no more

than

any

light inthestation

below

just

happens

to

be where

it is.

The

chief _Designer

knows

_why,

while

we

_say,

"chance," "fate." It is _importantto

know

that.

Indeed, in

His

_{great goodness,}

God

has

done even

more.

He

did not

want

toleaveus inthe dark, forit is

not

His

will that

we

should

_{go plodding}

_through life

fearful, troubled,

and

_apathetic,butthat

_we,

mere

men

though

we

are, should

know

something

of

His

great

world

_plans.

He

has, therefore,revealedtous the

coun-selsof

His

will in

His

Word.

He

has not

done

it allat

once

men

would

not

have

understoodit at all. _But,

long

ago, like a wise teacher

He

laid his plans.

To

Abraham,

Moses, and

the prophets

He

revealed

more

and

more

of

His

_plans,

_{making them}

ever_{clearer, until}

at_last,

"when

thetime

was

_{accomplished"}

He

revealed

His

heart

and

let

men

behold

what

He

had

in

_{mind, His}

goal.

Then

He

brought

forth

His

planoutofthe

dark-ness _{of mystery}

and

revealed it to all theworld: _Jesus

Christ,the

Word

of

God

inperson,

God's

revelationof

the

_meaning

of universal

OUR

FAITH

longer

walk

indarkness butin thelight,

How

different

God's

_plansare than the ruminations of

man

_upon

the

riddleof theworld!

We

spell out thisgreat

Word

of

God

Jesus Christ reconciliation, salvation,

forgive-ness of sins,

promise

of eternal life, fulfilment of all

things in

God's

own

life.

That

is

God's

plan for the

world.

Perhaps

some

one

expresses himself, "It's all right

with

me

ifit

comes

outthat_{way." Unfortunately}that

is not the

_way

_things

_happen

in

God's

household.

To

besure,itis_only

_by

the_graceof

_God,

_through

His

free

gift that

we

can

have

a part in

His kingdom. But

the

man

who

says, "It'sall right

with me,"

has

no

partin it.

God's

_help is

_something

that

_{comes by}

grace, not

something

that

comes

"of itself" like the

change

in

voice

which comes

naturallyatthe age ofpuberty.

God

refusestodeal

with

us

on

_{these terms, for}

He

wants

our

heart.

He

does not hurl his

grace at us, like a

brick-layer

throwing

mortaratawall.

God

callsusto

salva-tion.

He

invites us into

_{His kingdom, he wants}

us to

hear

_{His summons,}

believe

_{and obey}

Him.

For

it is

only throughsuch obediencethat

one

understands

any-thingatallof

God's world

plan; only

he

who

hearsthe

call receives _light,

he

alone

"walks

no more

in

-24-GOD

AND

THE

DEMONIC ELEMENT

ness"butinthe_lightof

God.

He

alone

_knows,

_through

God,

the

destinyofallthings,orrather

where

God

will

bring all things.

To

hear this call,

and

in this call to

hear

where

God

willleadus,to

have

_{insight into}

God's

planforthe

world

thatisfaith.

6.

GOD

AND

THE DEMONIC ELEMENT

IN

THE

WORLD

"And

were

the

world

withdevilsfilled, allwaitingto

devour

us.

...

"

Who

can

deny

thatthisisabedevilled

world

the

world

in

which

we

live?

One

_glance at the

newspaper

suffices to establish this fact. Accidents,

crimes, catastrophes, famines, epidemics, revolution,

war

and

_preparationsforwar.

"And

_you

dareto claim

thatthis

world

is

God's

creation?ruled

_by

a

God who

is

love?

Are

_you

_deranged?"

What

_replyshall

we

make?

I

would

_propose

that

we

answer

_{frankly, yes,}

we

are

deranged.

That

is

one

thing the Bible tells us about

ourselves,

and

hence, too, about our world.

Can

you

imagine

God's

creationof the

world

as a sort

of

book

setin

type

by

theprinter;everythingisinthe

rightplace

and

_{makes good}

sense

when

one

reads it;

and

then

,while the

typesetter is gone, a scoundrel confuses the

type. Everything is _"de-ranged,"

whole

sentences are

inverted, others are utterly meaningless.

Will

you

-25-OUR

FAITH

accuse the

typesetter of setting

up

a

madman's

book?

It is so

with

our world.

God's

_{"composition" has}

become

_{deranged through}

evil, sin.

As

itiswritten in

the_parable,

an

_{enemy came}

and

sowed

tares

_among

the

wheat.

There

is

_{something opposed}

to

God

and

tothe

creation in this world.

The

Bible _speaks of a

_power

inimical to

_God,

aleaderofall diabolical_powers.

But

it _speaks still

more

of the

_ungodly

_power

which

we

all

know

_onlytoowellout of our

own

_experience, concern-ing

which

we

know

quitewellthatitis

opposed

to

God.

'

This _opposition is sin,

which

means

rebellion against

God's

self-will, our

own

stubborn resistance to

God's

\ _{"composition."}

As

surely as

God

is love, is

_my

own

lovelessness _{ungodly, diabolical,} resistance _against

God's

action.

Whenever

an

unkmdness

is _done,

God's

will is not done. Rather that occurs

which

God

does notwill.

So then

God

does not_reallyrule inthis

world?

When

a father _merely observes, for a while, the petulant,

headstrongactionsof hislittle son so that thelad

may

experience forhimself

where

his

own

will leads does

that

mean

that the fatheris a

weak

_parent,

who

cannot

control hisson?

He

will,

no

doubt, takethingsin

hand

-26-GOD

AND

THE

DEMONIC ELEMENT

at the_proper

moment,

but

he

_prefersnotto lecture his

son, but rather to educate

him

through

experience to

make

his

own

decisions.

There

is

no doubt

that

God

could,if

He

sodesired, create orderin this_topsy-turvy

world

all at _once;

He

could,

no

doubt,

make

us

obe-dientwith

a

wave

of

His

hand.

But

He

doesn't

want

to

force us;itis His-'desirethat

we

should turnto

Him

of

our

own

freewill.

Hence

He

gives us, situated as

we

are inthis

deranged

world,

His

Word,

namely, the

Law

and

the Promises, that

we

_perceiving the insane _folly

of evil

and

the fixed nature of

His

_love,

_may

return

to

Him

in

freedom

and

_gladness.

For

this reason

He

has _given

Himself

in Christ _Jesus to this

_deranged

world, permitting the

world

to_rage

against

Him

the

madness

of

_men,

the crucifixion of

His

_son,

He

has

made

the revelation of

His

ineffable love. It is there

He

shows

us

how

He

ismasterofthis_perverse

world

so

much

master, that

He

can even

employ

its

madness

to reveal

His

love.

God

there

produced His

master-piece, if

we

may

expressitso

_humanly,

_{by showing}

that

He

is

Lord

even of the_greatestdarkness inthis world,

that

men

even in rebellion _against

Him

still

remain

tools in

His

hand

to

be

usedas

He

wills.

If

we

were

_compelled to discover

God

_simply

_by

-27-OUR

FAITH

means

of the

world

as it

now

_{is, the thought}

would

probablyoccur to usthat there are

two

kinds of

Gods,

good and

evil, _redemptive

and

destructive.

But

in the

crossof_{Jesus Christ}

we

_perceivethat destructionisnot

God's

will,

and

that in _spite ofit

God

_keeps

His

mas-terlygrip

upon

theworld,

and

accomplishes

His

coun-sels of love.

He

_gives us time to decide for ourselves,

toturnto

Him.

And

He

_givesus

signs

enough

of

His

steadfast creative loyalty in themidst of this_deranged,

bedevilledworld, that

we

_may

be

able to find_{our way.}

"Yes, but

how

are

we

to explainallthe evil,the

wrong

and

the_suffering

from

theloveof

God?" Dear

friend,

who

has

given

you

the task of explaining all this?

A

man

who

_proposesto _"explain"

_{God's government}

of

the

world

is even

more

ludicrous than the

raw

recruit

who

wants

_{to explain the general'splan} or a

_shophand

who

criticises the _organization

_{and management}

of

a

mammoth

industrial

enterprise.

Man,

v/hat

do you

understand ofthe

government

oftheworld!

"Thou

art

notthe_regent, creationwell_{to guide" the}

_hymn

_rightly phrases it. It is

_enough

forusto

know

that

God

Who

rules in a

manner

inconceivable to us inthis

_deranged

world

_yetrules

_by

means

of the Cross of

His

son. Let us

give

heed

tothesignals

where

God

givesthem, that

-28-ETERNAL

ELECTION

we

_may

understand

His

will.

God

transmits

His

will

tousin thedarkness ofthisworld. It isto

be found

in

the

commandments

and

the

gospel of forgiveness

and

salvation.

To

that

we

must

_{cleave, foregoing}the desire to _decipherout of the darkness

His

will for ourselves.1

The

solutionofthe

world

riddle willnot

come

untiltheI

day

ofsalvation.

7.

ETERNAL

ELECTION

Our

life is

"superficial" without depth or

meaning

so

long

asitdoes not

have

itsrootsin_eternity. Eitherit

has eternal

significance or it has

no

significance at all.

Temporal

sense is nonsense.

The

Bible _permits us to seethiseternal_depth: "thine _eyesdid see

_my

substance

yet being imperfect,

and

in thy

book

all

my

members

were

written,

which

in continuance

were

fashioned,

when

_{as yet there}

was

none

ofthem."

We

do

not_just

happen

to exist.

_Although

we

were

_begotten

and born

of our

parents,

we

come from

eternity,

from

the eternal

thought

and

will of

God.

Beforeanything

comes

into

existenceithas

been

_thought

and

willed

_{by God,}

asthe

work

ofartisinthe

mind

ofthemaster beforeitis

_put

on

canvas or

paper,.or in stone.

Deep, deep

are the

roots of our life. Far

_beyond

all _temporal

visibility

-29-OUR

FAITH

it roots in the divine _{invisibility,} inthe eternal

"coun-sels."

It

was

_{something profound}

when

this

God-rooted

quality oflife

was

revealedto theauthor

of

the 139th

Psalm.

But

we

feel even the Psalmist

had

intimations

given of a destiny as

deep

as hisrevealedorigin.

That

God's

_eye

saw

us in _{eternity, signifies not only}

an

eternal _origin;it _signifies

an

eternal

destiny.

When

God

"beholds" a

_man,

it is_written,

He

looks

upon him

graciously.

His

faceis againstthe

man

with

whom He

is _angry.

When

a

man

is _permittedto

per-ceive that

God

sees

him

from

_eternity,

when

the

eter-nallybeholdingeyesof

God

rest

upon him

and

his

view

meets

God's

eternal _vision, the _{greatestthing} that can

happen

on

earth transpires.

A

man

then

knows

that

God

loves

_{him from}

eternity

and

foreternity.

God

has-/chosen

me

from

eternity to eternity.

That

is thefaith,

Ithe _full,

whole

evangelical

faithelection

from

eter-!

nity.

Such

a

man

knows

that

he

is saved without his effort, out

of

this evil

world

and

age, out

of

the

de-pravityofsin

and

death. It is

God's

gracealone.

His

mercy,

His

boundless love,

His

election alone is the

basisof

_my

salvation.

That

is a_{Christian's greatestjoy.}

When

the _disciples returned to _Jesus

from

their first