The Link to the Entire Efficacy List Is Here
"...and He has revealed it in His Word, as
much as is needful for us to know of it in this life. Now, everything for which
we have in this instance clear, certain testimonies in the Scriptures, we must
simply believe, and in no way argue against it, as though the human nature in
Christ could not be capable of the same."
Solid Declaration, Article VIII., Person of Christ, Formula of Concord, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1033. Tappert,
p. 601.
"2. That such merit and benefits of Christ shall be presented, offered and
distributed to us through His Word and Sacraments. "3. That by His Holy
Ghost, through the Word, when it is preached, heard, and pondered, He will be
efficacious and active in us, convert hearts to true repentance, and preserve
them in the true faith."
Formula of Concord, SD, XI, Of God's Eternal Election, #17, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1069. Tappert,
p. 619.
"And this call of God, which is made through the preaching of the Word, we
should not regard as jugglery, but know that thereby God reveals His will, that
in those whom He thus calls He will work through the Word, that they may be
enlightened, converted, and saved. For the Word, whereby we are called, is a
ministration of the Spirit, that gives the Spirit, or whereby the Spirit is
given, 2 Corinthians 3:8, and a power of God unto salvation, Romans 1:16. And
since the Holy Ghost wishes to be efficacious through the Word, and to
strengthen and give power and ability, it is God's will that we should receive
the Word, believe and obey it."
Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article XI., Election, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1073. Tappert,
p. 621. 2 Corinthians 3:8; Romans 1:16.
"For few receive the Word and follow it; the greatest number despise the
Word, and will not come to the wedding, Matthew 22:3ff. The cause for this
contempt for the Word is not God's foreknowledge [or predestination], but the
perverse will of man, which rejects or perverts the means and instrument of the
Holy Ghost, which God offers him through the call, and resists the Holy Ghost,
who wishes to be efficacious, and works through the Word, as Christ says, 'How
often would I have gathered you together, and ye would not!' Matthew 23:37."
Solid Declaration, Article XI, Election, 41, Formula of Concord, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1077. Tappert,
p. 623. Matthew 22:3ff.; 23:37.
"Moreover, the declaration, John 6:44, that 'no one can come to Christ
except the Father draw him,' is right and true. However, the Father will not do
this without means, but has ordained for this purpose His Word and Sacraments
as ordinary means and instruments; and it is the will neither of the Father nor
of the Son that a man should not hear or should despise the preaching of His
Word, and wait for the drawing of the Father without the Word and
Sacraments."
Solid Declaration, Article XI, Election, #76, Concordia Triglotta,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1087. Tappert, p. 628f. John
6:44.
"Moreover, the declaration, John 6:44, that no one can come to Christ
except the Father draw him, is right and true. However, the Father will not do
this without means, but has ordained for this purpose His Word and Sacraments
as ordinary means and instruments; and it is the will neither of the Father nor
of the Son that a man should not hear or should despise the preaching of His
Word, and wait for the drawing of the Father without the Word and Sacraments.
For the Father draws indeed by the power of His Holy Ghost, however, according
to His usual order [the order decreed and instituted by Himself], by the
hearing of His holy, divine Word, as with a net, by which the elect are plucked
from the jaws of the devil. Every poor sinner should therefore repair thereto
[to holy preaching], hear it attentively, and not doubt the drawing of the
Father. For the Holy Ghost will be with His Word in His power, and work by
it...."
Solid Declaration, Article XI., Election, #76‑77, Formula of Concord, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1089. Tappert,
p. 629. John 6:44. [Cites A. L. Graebner, Doctrinal Theology]
"The Word of God is efficacious; it has the power to produce an effect, to
make an impression on the heart. The effect is not produced by the mere
external contact with the Word, but the Word must be learned and its true sense
and meaning must be apperceived by the mind."
Edward W. A. Koehler, A Summary of Christian Doctrine, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1952, p. 11.
"The objection that absolution is God's prerogative (Mark 2:7) is beside
the mark, since the minister forgives sins not in his own name, but in God's
name."
Th. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 113.
"Both Baptism and the Lord's Supper qualify as Means of Grace because of
the simple fact that they are visible forms of the essential Gospel message
announcing the forgiveness of sins."
Martin W. Lutz, "God the Holy Spirit Acts Through the Lord's
Supper," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield,
Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 117.
"It remains a hope for this age that the power of the Spirit operating
through the Word of Life may even draw spiritual opponents into union in the
truth for the building of God's great temple."
Arthur H. Drevlow, "God the Holy Spirit Acts to Build the
Church," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield,
Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 12.
"The effect of a message is determined by the content of the message. Not
every teaching of the Word of God will produce the same effect. Because of its
peculiar content, the Law produces knowledge of sin and contrition of heart
(Romans 3:20); the Gospel, being the glad tidings of the grace of God, produces
faith and hope (Romans 10:17). Thus the Scriptures are really able to make men
wise unto salvation through faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:15)." Formula of
Concord, Epitome, Article II, 5, Triglotta, p. 787:
"With this
Word of God the Holy Ghost is present, and opens hearts, so that they, as Lydia
in Acts 16:14, are attentive to it and are thus converted."
Edward W. A. Koehler, A Summary of Christian Doctrine, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1952, p. 12. Acts 16:14; Romans 3:20; 10:17; 2
Timothy 3:15.
"The Bible is efficacious not only because to the consciousness of the
hearer the authority of God stands behind its every statement, but chiefly
because the Holy Ghost operates through and by the Word. 'The words that I
speak to you, they are spirit and they are life' (John 6:63). The Word of God,
therefore, is not a dead letter, but it is powerful...(Hebrews 4:12; Jeremiah
23:29; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 2:4)."
Edward W. A. Koehler, A Summary of Christian Doctrine, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1952, p. 12. Hebrews 4:12; Jeremiah 23:29; 1
Thessalonians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 2:4.
"The efficacy of the Bible is that property by which the Bible has
indissolubly united [Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13] with the true and
genuine sense [Ephesians 3:3‑4; Acts 8:30, 31, 34] expressed in its words the
power of the Holy Spirit, [Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:5] who has made it
for all times the ordinary means by which He operates [Psalm 19:8; Psalm
119:105, 130; 2 Peter 1:19; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17] on and in the hearts and minds
of those who properly hear and read it [Revelation 1:3; Ephesians 3:3‑4; John
7:17].
A. L. Graebner, Outlines of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1910, p. 12. Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13;
Ephesians 3:3‑4; Acts 8:30f; John 7:17.
"It is the Word of God, that still remits and retains, that binds and
looses. The pastor can only declare that Word, but the Word itself does
effectually work forgiveness to him that rightly receives it. Not only can the
minister carry this Word of God, this key of the kingdom, this power of God
unto salvation, and apply it, but any disciple of Christ can do so."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 126f.
"Every time a believer in Christ sits down beside a troubled and penitent
one, and speaks to such an one Christ's precious promises and assurances of
forgiveness, he carries out the Lutheran or scriptural idea of
absolution."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 127.
"The whole Gospel is nothing but a proclamation of the forgiveness of
sins, or a publication of the same Word to all men on earth, which God Himself
confirms in heaven."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 127.
Dr. Krauth: "The whole pastoral work is indeed but an extension of the
Lutheran idea of Confession and Absolution."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 127.
"The Holy Spirit works through the Word and the Sacraments, which only, in
the proper sense, are means of grace. Both the Word and the Sacraments bring a
positive grace, which is offered to all who receive them outwardly, and which
is actually imparted to all who have faith to embrace it."
Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology,
Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication House, 1871, p. 127.
"Such evangelical Confession and Absolution establishes and maintains the
true relationship that should exist between an evangelical pastor and the
members of his flock. Instead of a mere preacher, a platform orator, he becomes
a true spiritual guide, a curate for the cure of souls. [curate and cure in
italics] He encourages his members to reveal to him their weaknesses, their
besetting sins, their doubts and spiritual conflicts, in order that he may
instruct, direct, comfort and strengthen them with the all‑sufficient and
powerful Word of God."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 128.
"Erasmus was willing to ascribe as much as possible to the grace of God,
but he insisted that the 'human factor' of making one's self worthy of God's
saving grace ought not be overlooked. The spiritual heirs of Erasmus are still
with us today."
Arthur H. Drevlow, "God the Holy Spirit Acts to Build the
Church," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield,
Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 13.
[The popular idea about the Word] "He sees that he must repent and
believe, but by his own reason and strength he cannot. He learns further, that
he needs the Holy Spirit to enable him to repent and believe, but, according to
the current opinion, that Spirit is not in the Word, nor effective through it,
but operates independently of it."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 131.
"It is indeed a precious truth, that this Word not only tells me what I
must do to be saved, but it also enables me to do it. [enables me to do it in
italics] It is the vehicle and instrument of the Holy Spirit. Through it the
Holy Spirit works repentance and faith. Through it He regenerates, converts,
and sanctifies." G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the
Lutheran Church, Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 132.
"The Word of God does not merely teach man the way of salvation and show
him the means by which he may obtain it; but by its truly divine power (vis
vere divina) it actually converts, regenerates, and renews him. This unique
efficacy is possessed by no other book in the world nor by any discourse of man
unless these repeat God's Word as set forth in the Bible; for the divine
efficacy of Scripture is nothing else than God's power in the Word, Romans
1:16."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 133. Romans 1:16.
"Because Holy Scripture is the inspired Word of God, it possesses not only
divine authority, but also divine efficacy, that is to say, the creative power
to work in man, who by nature is spiritually dead, both saving faith and true
sanctification, Romans 10:17: faith; 1 Peter 1:23: regeneration; John 17:20:
faith and sanctification."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 133. Romans 10:17;
John 17:20; 1 Peter 1:23.
"The divine power which inheres in the Word is not irresistible, but
resisistible (efficacia resistibilis); that is to say, the saving effects of
the Word may be withstood though in itself the Word is omnipotent, Matthew
23:37; 2 Corinthians 4:3‑4."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 134. Matthew
23:37; 2 Cor 4:3‑4.
"And thus we might go on, and show that what is ascribed in one place to
the Spirit, is ascribed in another place to the Word‑‑proving conclusively that
the two always go together. Where one is, there the other is also. The Spirit
operates through the Word, whether it be the written, the preached, the
sacramental, or the Word in conversation or reflection."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church,
Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 134.
"The divine power must never be separated from the Word of Scripture; that
is to say, the Holy Ghost does not operate beside or outside the Word
(enthusiasm, Calvinism, Rathmannism in the Lutheran Church), but always in and
through the Word, Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23; John 6:23."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 134f. Romans
10:17; John 6:23; 1 Peter 1:23.
"On the other hand, the practical result of the acceptance of the Scriptural
doctrine that the Holy Spirit is inseparably united with the Word is the
absolute subjection of every thought to the Word of God, as this is set forth
in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 10:5. In this case every doctrine which is opposed
to Scripture is rejected as false, no matter to what source it may be
attributed, whether it be the 'spirit,' the 'inner word,' the 'inner light,'
'reason,' 'science,' 'the Church,' 'the Pope,' and the like. Unless we fully
accept the Scriptural doctrine that the Holy Spirit is indissolubly united with
the Word of Scripture, we cannot regard this precious Book of God as the only
source and standard of faith. It was for this reason that our Lutheran
theologians so strenuously defended the inseparable unity of the Word and the
Spirit."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 135. 2
Corinthians 10:5.
"On the other hand, the practical result of the acceptance of the
Scriptural doctrine that the Holy Spirit is inseparably united with the Word is
the absolute subjection of every thought to the Word of God, as this is set
forth in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 10:5. In this case every doctrine which is
opposed to Scripture is rejected as false, no matter to what source it may be
attributed, whether it be the 'spirit,' the 'inner word,' the 'inner light,'
'reason,' 'science,' 'the Church,' 'the Pope,' and the like. Unless we fully
accept the Scriptural doctrine that the Holy Spirit is indissolubly united with
the Word of Scripture, we cannot regard this precious Book of God as the only
source and standard of faith. It was for this reason that our Lutheran
theologians so strenuously defended the inseparable unity of the Word and the
Spirit."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 135. 2
Corinthians 10:5.
"The practical result of the separation of the divine power from the
divine Word of Scripture is the rejection of the Bible as the only source and
norm of faith (norma normans). This is proved by the very fact that the
enthusiasts have invariably placed the 'inner word' (verbum internum), or the
'spirit,' above Holy Scripture (verbum externum), assigning to the latter an
inferior place in the realm of divine revelation. To the enthusiasts the Bible
is only a norma normata, or a rule of faith subject to the 'inner word,' that
is, to their own notions and figments of reason."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 135.
"Although the Holy Ghost is always active through the Word, we must not
judge His activity from feeling (ex sensu)...Concordia Triglotta, FC, SD, II,
56, p. 903."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 136. Concordia
Triglotta, p. 903. 2 Corinthians 2:14ff; 3:5.
"In their controversy with the enthusiasts (Reformed) the Lutheran
theologians averred that Holy Scripture is efficacious also extra usum. By this
phrase they meant to say that the Holy Spirit is perpetually connected with the
Word, so that it retains its power even when not in use."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal
Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 136. Romans 1:16.
"In the Acts of the Apostles also we read how again and again the Spirit
was given through and in connection with the Word. The Apostles depended on
nothing but Word and Sacrament."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia:
Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 136.
"Hence, wherever the Lutheran Church is true to her name and faith, she
preaches the whole counsel of God, and relies on that for ingathering and
upbuilding."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia:
Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 136f.
"A true Lutheran pulpit cannot be a sensational pulpit, for discoursing
worldly wisdom, philosophy, poetry, or politics. It must expound the Word, and
never gets done preaching repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia:
Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 137.
"This faith, encouraging and consoling in these fears, receives remission
of sins, justifies and quickens. For this consolation is a new and spiritual
life [a new birth and a new life]. These things are plain and clear, and can be
understood by the pious, and have testimonies of the Church [as is to be seen
in the conversion of Paul and Augustine]. The adversaries nowhere can say how
the Holy Ghost is given. They imagine that the Sacraments confer the Holy Ghost
ex opere operato, without a good emotion in the recipient, as though, indeed,
the gift of the Holy Ghost were an idle matter."
Article IV., Justification, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 139. Tappert, p. 115.
"It is God the Holy Ghost who must work this change in the soul. This He
does through His own life‑giving Word. It is the office of that Word, as the
organ of the Holy Spirit, to bring about a knowledge of sin, to awaken sorrow
and contrition, and to make the sinner hate and turn from his sin. That same
Word then directs the sinner to Him who came to save him from sin. It takes him
to the cross, it enables him to believe that his sins were all atoned for
there, and that, therefore, he is not condemned. In other words, the Word of
God awakens and constantly deepens ture penitence. It also begets and
constantly increases true faith. Or, in one word, it converts the sinner."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia: Lutheran
Publication Society, 1887, p. 145f.
"To the Word let the unconverted sinner go. Let him be careful to put no
barrier in the way of its influence. Let him permit it to have free course, and
it will do its own blessed work."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia:
Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 146.
"Emphatically does Scripture state that the action of the Spirit covers
the whole life from first to the last. He is the Spirit of Life for
regeneration (John 3:5, 8): the Spirit of Sonship for adoption (Romans 8:15):
the Spirit of holiness for sanctification (Romans 8:5): the Spirit of Glory for
transfiguration (2 Corinthians 3:18); the Spirit of Promise for the
resurrection (Ephesians 1:13). Only through the Holy Spirit are men drawn to
the Author and Finisher of their salvation."
Arthur H. Drevlow, "God the HS Acts to Build the Church," God The
Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing
House, 1972, p. 15. John 3: 5,8; Romans 8:5; Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:18;
Ephesians 1:13
"Since the age of Rationalism and Lutheran Pietism a new spirit has crept
into the life of the church which is un‑Lutheran, un‑Evangelical, and un‑biblical.
The Sacraments have been neglected at the expense of the Word."
Walter G. Tillmanns, "Means of Grace: Use of," The Encyclopedia of
the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, II, p. 1505.
"These means are the true treasure of the church through which salvation
in Christ is offered. They are the objective proclamation of faith which alone
makes man's subjective faith possible (Augsburg Confession, Article V). The
Formula of Concord (Solid Declaration, Article XI, 76) states expressly that God
alone draws man to Christ and that he does this only through the means of
grace."
Walter G. Tillmanns, "Means of Grace: Use of," The Encyclopedia of
the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, II, p. 1505.
"The Sacraments are not mere symbolic expressions by which faith is
strengthened (Calvin), nor are they mere acts of confession of faith (notae
professionis, Zwingli), but are effective means by which God sows faith in the
hearts of men."
Walter G. Tillmanns, "Means of Grace: Use of," The Encyclopedia of
the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, II, p. 1506.
"Truly, it is amazing that the adversaries are in no way moved by so many
passages of Scripture, which clearly ascribe justification to faith, and,
indeed, deny it to works. Do they think that the same is repeated so often for
no purpose? Do they think that these words fell inconsiderately from the Holy
Ghost? But they have also devised sophistry whereby they elude them."
Article IV., Justification, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 153. Tappert, p.
122.
concerning God, etc. For these facts it is apparent that the Law cannot be kept
without Christ and the Holy Ghost."
Augsburg Confession, Article III, #11, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 159. Tappert, p. 126.
"But Christ was given for this purpose, namely, that for His sake there might
be bestowed on us the remission of sins, and the Holy Ghost to bring forth in
us new and eternal life, and eternal righteousness [to manifest Christ in our
hearts, as it is written John 16:15: He shall take of the things of Mine, and
show them unto you. Likewise, He works also other gifts, love, thanksgiving,
charity, patience, etc.]. Wherefore the Law cannot be truly kept unless the
Holy Ghost is received through faith...Then we learn to know how flesh, in
security and indifference, does not fear God, and is not fully certain that we
are regarded by God, but imagines that men are born and die by chance. Then we
experience that we do not believe that God forgives and hears us. But when, on
hearing the Gospel and the remission of sins, we are consoled by faith, we
receive the Holy Ghost, so that now we are able to think aright. Augsburg
Confession, Article III, #11, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 159. Tappert, p. 125.
"Only little weight is attached to the ministry of the Word, to worship
services, the Sacraments, to confession and absolution, and to the observance
of Christian customs; a thoroughly regenerated person does not need these
crutches at all. Pietism stressed the personal element over against the institutional;
voluntariness versus compulsion; the present versus tradition, and the rights
of the laity over against the pastors."
Martin Schmidt, "Pietism," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3
vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965,
III, p. 1899.
"The church is no longer the community of those who have been called by
the Word and the Sacraments, but association of the reborn, of those who
'earnestly desire to be Christians'...The church in the true sense consists of
the small circles of pietists, the 'conventicles,' where everyone knows
everyone else and where experiences are freely exchanged."
Martin Schmidt, "Pietism," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3
vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965,
III, p. 1899.
"Conversion was seen as a one‑time act, consisting of God's offer of grace
and man's decision to accept it, as 'the breakthrough of grace.' Perhaps it was
not said in so many words; at any rate it was a tacit assumption."
Martin Schmidt, "Pietism," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3
vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965,
III, p. 1899.
"Pietist preachers were anxious to discover and in a certain sense to
separate the invisible congregation from the visible congregation. They had to
meet demands different than those of the preceding period: they were expected
to witness, not in the objective sense, as Luther did, to God's saving acts
toward all men, but in a subjective sense of faith, as they themselves had
experienced it. In this way Pietism introduced a tendency toward the
dissolution of the concept of the ministry in the Lutheran Church."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the
Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.
"All those doctrinal questions which were not immediately connected with
the personal life of faith were avoided. The standard for the interpretation of
Scripture thus became the need of the individual for awakening, consolation,
and exhortation. The congregation as a totality was lost from view; in fact,
pietistic preaching was (and is) more apt to divide the congregation than to
hold it together."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the
Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.
"One who had experienced the wonder of faith in his inner life is the true
witness, even if he had not been called in an external sense according to the
order of the church. It now was relatively easy to introduce lay preaching,
thought it remained somewhat incompatible with the Lutheran Confessions."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the
Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1944.
"Pietism greatly weakened the confessional consciousness which was
characteristic of orthodox Lutheranism."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the
Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1945.
"The character of the Lutheran Church is reflected in her cultus. She
lives and moves and has her being in the grace of God, which comes to men in
the Means of Grace. Accordingly, she calls her people together in public
worship to implore the grace of God, to appropriate the grace of God, to
glorify the grace of God, and has provided a liturgy which fully meets these
requirements of Christian worship. Her one great concern is to have men
thoroughly instructed in the Gospel and fully assured of the grace of
God." The. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 20.
"The specific Reformed cultus, due to the Reformed denial of the efficacy
and objective nature of the Means of Grace, represents a quest after the grace
of God revolving around human agency and subjective experience. The Lutheran
cultus places the grace of God nigh unto the sinner in the Means of
Grace."
Th. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics, St.
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 21.
"And since the Gospel is taught among us purely and diligently, by God's
favor we receive also from it this fruit, that in our Churches no Anabaptists
have arisen [have not gained ground in our Churches], because the people have
been fortified by God's Word against the wicked and seditious faction of these
robbers. And as we condemn quite a number of other errors of the Anabaptists,
we condemn this also, that they dispute that the baptism of little children is
unprofitable."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IX, Baptism, Concordia Triglotta,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 245. Tappert, p. 178. Matthew
28:19.
"The word 'came' or 'happened' to the prophets. It confronted them with
irresistible force (Jeremiah 20:7‑9). 'The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it will light upon Israel' (Isaiah 9:8) like a stone that has been thrown;
today one would think of an atomic bomb. It can destroy, and it may bring
rejoicing of heart (Jeremiah 15:16); in any case it is irresistible (Isaiah
55:10f.). It proceeds from eternity and will stand forever, when all earthly
things have withered and faded away (Isaiah 40:8). By the power of this divine
Word the heavens and the earth were created, and they are preserved to this day
by the same Word. This fact gives a 'word‑character' to all the universe. All
things, all creatures are words of God (Luther)."
W. Echternach, "Word and Words," The Lutheran Encyclopedia, 3 vols.,
ed., Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p.
2499. Jeremiah 20:7‑9; Isaiah 9:8; Jeremiah 15:16; Isaiah 55:10f.; Isaiah 40:8
"As distinguished from the Gospel, Sacraments are acts, we apply water in
Baptism, and we eat and drink in the Lord's Supper. They are sacred acts, and
must, as such, be distinguished from ordinary washing, eating and drinking...A
Sacrament which offers God's blessings cannot be instituted by man or the
Church, but by God alone."
Edward W. A. Koehler, A Short Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther's Small
Catechism, Fort Wayne: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1946, p. 254.
"On the contrary, with the Anabaptists and the Reformed Church in general,
the Mennonites are Enthusiasts, lay great stress on the immediate working of
the Holy Ghost, who is said to 'guide the saints into all truth.' In his
Geschichte der Mennonitengemeinden John Horsch, a prominent Mennonite, states
that the Holy Spirit is the 'inner word,' who enables Christians to understand
the Scriptures. Without the inner word, or the light, the Scripture is a dead
letter and a dark lantern."
The. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics, St.
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 260.
"But as the Confutation condemns us for having assigned these two parts to
repentance, we must show that [not we, but] Scripture expresses these as the
chief parts in repentance and conversion. For Christ says, Matthew 11:28: Come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Here
there are two members. The labor and the burden signify the contrition,
anxiety, and terrors of sin and of death. To come to Christ is to believe that
sins are remitted for Christ's sake; when we believe, our hearts are quickened
by the Holy Ghost through the Word of Christ. Here, therefore, there are these
two chief parts, contrition and faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XII (V), #44, Concordia Triglotta,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 263. Tappert, p. 187. Matthew
11:28.
"Is it not a limitation of God's sovreignty and power to affirm that these
acts are accomplished only through means? Theology does not deal with divine
possibilities, but with what God has revealed concerning Himself and His
various forms of activity. Not only have we no promise of His intervention
otherwise, but He constantly turns us away from any expectation of such aid to
the simple means, in and through which He promises to be always found with His
entire efficacy."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 265.
"But in extraordinary cases, does He not dispense with means? Even there,
means are employed; but in an extraordinary way. At Pentecost the multitudes
were converted through the Word, although this Word was given under
extraordinary conditions and circumstances, just as the multitudes in the
wilderness were sustained not without bread, but with bread furnished in an
extraordinary manner."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 266.
"Christ compares the Word of God to a seed, to a grain of wheat sown in
the ground. (Matthew 13:3‑23) A seed possesses power and life in itself. Power
and life belong to the properties of the seed. Power is not communicated to the
seed only now and then, under certain circumstances, in peculiar cases. But the
Word of God is an incorruptible seed, that is able to regenerate, a Word which
liveth and abideth forever. (1 Peter 1:23)"
E. Hove, Christian Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p.
27. Matthew 13:3‑23; 1 Peter 1:23.
"Zwingli, Calvin, and their adherents denied that the Word of God always
possesses the same efficacy, and that God always operates through the
Word."
E. Hove, Christian Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p.
27.
"The Word of God is efficacious not only when it is being read from the
Bible, but also when it is being spoken or preached, and when it is recalled by
memory. The Word of God, properly speaking, is really not the letters which we
see or the sound which we hear, but the divine thoughts, the truths designated
by these signs."
E. Hove, Christian Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p.
27.
"In the Word of God there is not only a speaking about God, but in and
through His Word God Himself speaks to us, deals with us, acts upon us.
Therefore the Word of God is also an efficacious means of grace through which
God regenerates, converts, and sanctifies man. This efficacy the Word of God
possesses always; it is always united with the Word, never separated from it.
The effect which God intends through the Word is indeed not always attained,
but this is owing to no lack of efficacy in the Word, but solely to the
resistance of man; for man has the power to resist God and to prevent His Word
from accomplishing the effect which He intends." E. Hove, Christian
Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p. 27.
"God has not only made known the truth to us in such a way that once upon
a stime in the distant past He inspired His prophets and apostles and brought
about the writing of the Holy Scriptures. God did not then withdraw and leave
it to us mortals to appropriate this truth as best we might. No, God continues
to be active in and through His Word."
E. Hove, Christian Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p.
27.
"For the very reason that Scripture is the Word of God, it is not a dead
letter or an empty word, but a living and powerful Word that can bring about
the most radical transformations in man himself." E. Hove, Christian
Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p. 27. St. Louis grad.
Luther Sem dog prof.
"Spirit and Word, or Word and Spirit are never separated."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 271.
"The most important of all the pastor's acts is his public preaching...A
minister may be ever so good as a liturgist, ever so gifted as a ruler of his
congregation, or in private pastoral work, but all this can never take the
place of right preaching." (Walther, Pastorale, p. 76) G. H. Gerberding,
The Lutheran Pastor, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1915, p. 275.
"To the Lutheran the sermon, as the preached Word, is a means of grace.
Through it the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole
Christian church on earth. It is a constant offer of pardon; a giving of life,
as well as a nourishing and strengthening of life. In the Reformed churches the
sermon is apt to be more hortatory and ethical. It partakes more of the
sacrificial than of the sacramental character. The individuality of the
preacher, the subjective choice of a text, the using of it merely for a motto,
the discussion of secular subjects, the unrestrained platform style, lack of
reverence, lack of dignity, and many other faults are common, and are not
regarded as unbecoming the messenger of God in His temple. Where there is a
properly trained Lutheran consciousness such things repel, shock, and are not
tolerated."
G. H. Gerberding, The Lutheran Pastor, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House,
1915, p. 278.
"The Anabaptists, the mystics, and other fanatics spoke of Scripture only
as the external word, a dead letter, and contemptuously pronounced those who
adhered to Scripture as 'worshipers of the letter.' They separated the activity
of the Spirit from Scripture, from the Word, and held that the Spirit operates
immediately, producing an inner illumination, etc." E. Hove, Christian Doctrine,
Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p. 27f. "Is it the office of
the Word simply to afford directions that are to be followed in order to obtain
salvation? It is more than a directory and guide to Christ. It does more than
'give directions how to live.' It brings and communicates the grace concerning
which it instructs. It has an inherent and objective efficacy, derived from its
divine institution and promise, and explained by the constant presence and
activity of the Holy Spirit in and with it. Romans 1:16; John 6:63; 1 Peter
1:23; Matthew 4:4; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; Romans 10:5‑10; Isaiah
55:10."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 288.
"What testimony is given to the presence of the Holy Spirit in and with
the Word? The words of Scripture are repeatedly cited as the words of the Holy
Spirit. Acts 1:16, 28:25; Hebrew 3:7; Psalm 10:15."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General Council
Publication House, 1913, p. 288f.
"'When the Word is read at home it is not as fruitful or as forcible as in
public preaching and through the mouth of thepreacher whom God has called for
this purpose.' (Luther, Erlangen edition, 3:401)."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 290.
"'The Word is in itself the living seed of regeneration; the hand which
does the sowing can add to it no further efficacy.' (Philippi, V, 2:15)."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 291.
"Is the success of preaching as a means of grace conditioned by the
observance of similar principles by the preacher? Undoubtedly. For it is not
preaching itself, but the Word as preached which is a means of grace. This
demands not only that nothing be preached but what comes directly or indirectly
from Holy Scripture, but also that the contents of Holy Scripture be preached
in due proportion and in the proper order."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 293.
"Hence, too, the lack of emphasis, even in the best of Reformed preaching,
upon the divine Word as the vehicle of regenerating grace and on the
Sacraments. The office of the Word, then, is merely to point to the way of
life, without communicating that of which it conveys the idea. The Word and
Sacraments are declared to be necessary; their office in the Church is a divine
institution; but they are only symbols of what the Spirit does within; and the
Spirit works immediately and irresistibly."
"Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th.
Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 298.
"The doctrine of the means of grace is a peculiar glory of Lutheran
theology. To this central teaching it owes its sanity and strong appeal, its
freedom from sectarian tendencies and morbid fanaticism, its coherence and practicalness,
and its adaptation to men of every race and every degree of culture. The
Lutheran Confessions bring out with great clearness the thought of the
Reformers upon this subject."
"Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th.
Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 299.
"The crudest extravagances of revivalism (Methodism, Pente-costalism, Holy
Rollerism) have their root in this specifically Reformed doctrine of the
immediate working of the Holy Spirit." [Fuller Seminary is known for its
Pentecostal extremism, including C. Peter Wagner's "Signs and
Wonders" course.]
"Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th.
Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 299.
"The New Testament is the inerrant record of the revelation of Jesus
Christ in word and deed, and of the truths and principles proceeding, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, from that revelation. The Old Testament is in like
manner an inerrant record, having the express and often repeated testimony and
authority of Christ, of the preparatory and partial revelations made concerning
Him before His coming. Hebrews 1:1."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 3. Hebrews 1:1.
"The same divine Saviour now works through means. He has founded a Church,
ordained a ministry, and instituted the preaching of the Word and the
administration of His own sacraments. Christ now works in and through His
Church. Through her ministry, preaching the Word, and administering the
sacraments, the Holy Spirit is given. (Augsburg Confession, Article 5.)
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia:
Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 30.
"If we call Sacraments rites which have the command of God, and to which
the promise of grace has been added, it is easy to decide what are properly
Sacraments...Therefore Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Absolution, which is the
Sacrament of Repentance, are truly Sacraments. For these rites have God's
command and the promise of grace, which is peculiar to the New Testament. For
when we are baptized, when we eat the Lord's body, when we are absolved, our
hearts must be firmly assured that God truly forgives us for Christ's sake. And
God, at the same time, by the Word and by the rite, moves hearts to believe and
conceive faith, just as Paul says, Romans 10:17: 'Faith cometh by hearing.' But
just as the Word enters the ear in order to strike our heart, so the rite
itself strikes the eye, in order to move the heart. The effect of the Word and
of the rite is the same..."
[Luther, Bab Captivity, 3 sacraments] Article XIII, Number/Use Sacraments,
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 309. Tappert, p. 211.
"But if ordination be understood as applying to the ministry of the Word,
we are not unwilling to call ordination a sacrament. For the ministry of the
Word has God's command and glorious promises. Romans 1:16 The Gospel is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Likewise, Isaiah
55:11: So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not
return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please...And it is of
advantage, so far as can be done, to adorn the ministry of the Word with every
kind of praise against fanatical men, who dream that the Holy Ghost is given
not through the Word, but because of certain preparations of their
own...."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XIII (VII), #11, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 311. Tappert, p.
212. Romans 1:16; Isaiah 55:11.
"And we know that the Church is among those who teach the Word of God
aright, and administer the Sacraments aright, and not with those who not only
by their edicts endeavor to efface God's Word, but also put to death those who
teach what is right and true; towards whom, even though they do something
contrary to the canons, yet the very canons are milder."
Article XIV, Eccles. Order, #4, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 315. Tappert, p.
214f.
"For it is not the sacramental action, but the Word that accompanies the
action, which communicates saving grace; and this Word received, not by the
body, but by the heart and mind, so as to awaken faith. Without faith, 'sine
bono motu utentis,' no benefit is received from the Sacraments."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 319.
"When the efficacy of Word and Sacraments encounters man's unbelief and
persistent resistance, their efficacy is not destroyed; but it is transformed
from an efficacy of grace to one of judgment (2 Corinthians 2:16; 1 Corinthians
11:29)."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 320.
"The Lutheran Church Faces the World by Clinging to the Means of Grace.
The doctrine of the means of grace is truly a most timely subject. For just in
these last times, according to divine revelation, there will be at work many
spiritual brigands who will perpetrate the grossest kind of deception."
Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed.,
Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 322.
"Wherever the means of grace are present, there the Lord Himself is
present, and where the Lord rules there is victory. The true doctrine of
justification is intimately bound up with the true doctrine of the means of
grace. In order to keep the doctrine of justification in all its purity, one
must ever maintain that the forgiveness of sins which Christ earned for mankind
can never be appropriated by man through any other means than the Word and the
Sacrament. Therefore, Walther said, the correct doctrine on justification
stands or falls with the correct doctrine concerning the means of grace."
Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed.,
Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 327.
"peculiar glory" follows. See Conc Cyc.
"In its teaching on the immutability, unchangeableness, and permanency of
the means of grace, the Lutheran Church gives all glory to God alone because it
teaches that no one, not even a minister of the Word, can change the means of
grace from that which God instituted."
Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed.,
Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 333.
"It is God alone who may speak the word of pardon, who can produce faith,
but it is God who is speaking in the Gospel and the Sacraments (Luke 24:47: 'in
His name') and creating faith through them (Acts 16:14‑‑Lydia; James 1:18; 1
Thessalonians 2:13). The word of the Gospel is therefore not a dead letter, nor
are the Sacraments empty symbols, but they are the power of God. The power of
God is inseparably connected with, is inherent in, the means of grace."
Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed.,
Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 335. Luke
24:47; Acts 16:14; James 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
"A denial of the efficacy and sufficiency of the means of grace is
contained in the theological systems of all religious enthusiasts." Edwin
E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed., Theodore
Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 343.
"God bestows His saving grace 'only through the Word and with the external
and preceding Word' (nisi per verbum et cum verbo externo et praecedente, SA‑III
VIII, 3; John 8:31‑32; Rom 10:14‑17). Therefore the Bible inculcates faithful
adherence to the Gospel and the Sacraments administered according to Christ's
institution (Mt 28:19‑20; Jn 8:31‑32; Acts 17:11; Titus 1:9). Because of the
strong emphasis on the Word in the Lutheran Confessions, Holy Scripture has
rightly been called the Formal Principle of the Reformation."
John T. Mueller, "Grace, Means of," Lutheran Cyclopedia, Erwin L.
Lueker, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975, p. 343. John 8:31; Romans
10:14‑17; Matthew 28:19‑20; Acts 17:11; Titus 1:9.
"The correct understanding of the doctrine of the Means of Grace will have
a salutary influence on pastors and hearers; without the proper use of the
Means of Grace no sinner can expect to be saved and no Church can hope to
grow."
Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed.,
Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 344.
"The means of grace are necessary because of Christ's command and because
they offer God's grace. God has not bound Himself to the means of grace (Lk
1:15, 41), but He has bound His church to them. Christians dare not regard as
unnecessary the Sacraments and the preaching of the Word (Mt 28:19‑20; Lk
22:19; 1 Co 11:23‑28), as some 'enthusiasts' do."
John T. Mueller, "Grace, Means of," Lutheran Cyclopedia, Erwin L.
Lueker, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975, p. 344.
"Calvinism rejects the means of grace as unnecessary; it holds that the
Holy Spirit requires no escort or vehicle by which to enter human hearts."
John T. Mueller, "Grace, Means of," Lutheran Cyclopedia, Erwin L.
Lueker, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975, p. 344.
"The Lutheran Confessions take a decisive stand against 'enthusiasts,' who
teach that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of men without the Word and
Sacraments (SA‑III VIII 3‑13; LC II 34‑62; FC Ep II 13)."
John T. Mueller, "Grace, Means of," Lutheran Cyclopedia, Erwin L.
Lueker, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975, p. 344.
Lutheran Confessions passages: Apology VII‑VIII 36; SA‑III VIII 10; FC SD II
48; AC V
John T. Mueller, "Grace, Means of," Lutheran Cyclopedia, Erwin L.
Lueker, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975, p. 344.
"'The hearers of the Word of God who understand the doctrine of the means
of grace will be diligent hearers of it. While God has commanded the pastor to
preach the Gospel, He has commanded the congregation to hear it. The Gospel is
the means not only of converting the sinner, but also of strengthening the
faith of those who already are converted. Christians having this knowledge will
be faithful and diligent in the use of the means of grace.'" Edwin E.
Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed., Theodore
Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 346.
"'The more purely the Word of God is preached in a Church, and the nearer
the preaching and doctrine comes to the norm of the Holy Scripture, the purer
will be the Church; the further it recedes from the rule of the Word, the more
impure and corrupt will be the Church.' (Gerhard)"
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General
Council Publication House, 1913, p. 383f.
"The Christian's faith trusts in the ordinary means. Prayer is not a means
of grace. Means of grace are divine appointments through which God uniformly
offers blessings to all who use them. Faith is the means by which the blessings
are received and appropriated. God gives us bread, when we ask it, not through
the channel of prayer, but through the ordinary channels of His providence. He
gives us grace when we ask it, not through prayer, but through the ordinary means
appointed for this end, namely the Word and Sacraments. He who despises these
will as little have grace as he who refuses to accept bread produced in the
ordinary way of nature. Faith asks with confidence, and trusts in the ordinary
means of God's appointment for the blessings asked."
Matthias Loy, Sermons on the Gospels, Columbus: Lutheran Book Concern, 1888, p.
387.
"...Whereunto there has been added from Holy Scripture, that only Norm and
Rule of Doctrine..." Concordia preface, 1580, Concordia Triglotta, St.
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 4. Tappert, p. 1
"And just as the Word has been given in order to excite this faith, so the
Sacrament has been instituted in order that the outward appearance meeting the
eyes might move the heart to believe [and strengthen faith]. For through these,
namely, through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Ghost works."
Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV (XII), #70, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 409. Tappert, p. 262.
"Naturally, Universalists deny that the Sacraments are Means of Grace.
Some Universalists observe three sacraments‑‑consecration, Baptism, and the
Lord's Supper. The act of consecration of children consists in the parents'
pledging themselves to rear their children in the admonition of the Lord."
The. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics, St.
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 409f.
"Our adversaries have no testimonies and no command from Scripture for
defending the application of the ceremony for liberating the souls of the dead,
although from this they derive infinite revenue. Nor, indeed, is it a light sin
to establish such services in the Church without the command of God and without
the example of Scripture, and to apply to the dead the Lord's Supper, which was
instituted for commemoration and preaching among the living [for the purpose of
strengthening the faith of those who use the ceremony]. This is to violate the
Second Commandment, by abusing God's name."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV, The Mass, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 414f. Tappert, p.
265f.
"In order to offer and convey to men the merits which Christ has secured
for the world by His death on the cross, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:18, God
employs certain external, visible means through which the Holy Spirit works and
preserves faith and thus accomplishes the sinner's salvation."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 441. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Rom
5:18.
"The doctrine of the means of grace is understood properly only when it is
considered in the light of Christ's redemptive work (satisfactio vicaria) and
the objective justification, or reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:19‑20, which He
secured by His substitutionary obedience (satisfactio vicaria). If these two
doctrines are corrupted (Calvinism: denial of the gratia universalis;
synergism: denial of sola gratia), then also the Scripture doctrine of the
means of grace will become perverted." John Theodore Mueller, Christian
Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1934, p. 442. 2 Corinthians 5:19‑20.
"Moreover, the Gospel is a true means of grace in every form in which it
is presented to the sinner..."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 443.
"Since God has connected His most gracious promise of forgiveness with
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, these also are true and efficacious means of
grace, namely, by virtue of the divine promises that are attached to
them."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 444.
"Christ commands us not only to hear the Gospel, but also to 'search the
Scriptures,' John 5:29, 46, thus asserting the efficacy of the Word also when
it is being read."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 444. John 5:29, 46.
"If the question is put, 'Why did God ordain so many means of grace when
one suffices to confer upon the sinner His grace and forgiveness?' we quote the
reply of Luther who writes (Smalcald Articles, IV: 'The Gospel not merely in
one way gives us counsel and aid against sin, for God is superabundantly rich
in His grace. First through the spoken Word, by which the forgiveness of sins
is preached in the whole world, which is the peculiar office of the Gospel.
Secondly through Baptism. Thirdly through the holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Fourthly through the power of the keys and also through the mutual conversation
and consolation of brethren, Matthew 18:20.'"
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 447. SA, IV, Concordia
Triglotta, p. 491. Matthew 18:20.
"For Christ wishes to assure us, as was necessary, that we should know
that the Word delivered by men is efficacious, and that no other word from
heaven ought to be sought. 'He that heareth you heareth Me,' cannot be
understood of traditions. For Christ requires that they teach in such a way
that [by their mouth] He Himself be heard, because He says: 'He heareth Me.'
Therefore He wishes His own voice, His own Word, to be heard, not human
traditions."
Article XXVIII, Eccles. Power, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 449. Tappert, p.
284.
"That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and
administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and
Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith,
where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God,
not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that
they are received into grace for Christ's sake. They condemn the Anabaptists
and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external
Word, through their own preparation and works."
Augsburg Confession, Article V, The Office of the Ministry, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 31.
"So the Law finds all guilty, none righteous, no not one; it stops every
mouth, and holds the whole world accountable (Romans 3)." George Tiefel,
Jr., "God the HS Acts in Both Law and Gospel," God The Holy Spirit
Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972,
p. 47. Romans 3.
"Of Confession they teach that Private Absolution ought to be retained in
the churches, although in confession an enumeration of all sins is not
necessary. For it is impossible according to the Psalm: 'Who can understand his
errors?' Psalm 19:12."
Augsburg Confession, Article XI, Confession, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 47. Tappert, p. 34. Psalm 19:12.
"Of Baptism they teach that it is necessary to salvation, and that through
Baptism is offered the grace of God; and that children are to be baptized, who,
being offered to God through Baptism, are received into God's grace. They
condemn the Anabaptists, who reject the baptism of children, and say that
children are saved without Baptism."
Augsburg Confession, Article IX, Baptism, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 47. Tappert, p. 33.
"Although the Church properly is the congregation of saints and true believers,
nevertheless, since in this life many hypocrites and evil persons are mingled
therewith, it is lawful to use Sacraments administered by evil men, according
to the saying of Christ: 'The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat,
etc.' Matthew 23:2. Both the Sacraments and Word are effectual by reason of the
institution and commandment of Christ, notwithstanding they be administered by
evil men."
Augsburg Confession, Article VIII, What the Church Is, Concordia Triglotta, St.
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 47. Tappert, p. 33. Matthew 23:2.
"Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church
is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the
Sacraments are rightly administered. And to the true unity of the Church it is
enough [satis est] to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the
administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions,
that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. As
Paul says: 'One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc.'"
Augsburg Confession, Article VII, The Church, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 47. Tappert, p. 32. Ephesians 4:4,5.
"...it is exceedingly difficult to prevent this low view from running out
into Socinianism, as, indeed, it actually has run in Calvinistic lands, so that
it became a proverb, often met with in the older theological writers‑‑'A young
Calvinist, an old Socinian.' This peril is confessed and mourned over by great
Calvinistic divines. New England is an illustration of it on an immense scale,
in our own land."
Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia:
The United Lutheran Publication House, 1871, p. 489.
"The doctrine of salvation through the Means of Grace is distinctive of
Lutheranism. The Catholic churches have no use for means of grace, for a Gospel
and for Sacraments which offer salvation as a free gift. And the Reformed
churches, while they hold, in general, that salvation is by grace, repudiate
the Gospel and the Sacraments as the means of grace. It is clear that matters
of fundamental importance are involved. The chief article of the Christian
religion, justification by faith, stands and falls with the article of the
Means of Grace. Justification by faith means absolutely nothing without the
Means of Grace, whereby the righteousness gained by Christ is bestowed and
faith, which appropriates the gift, is created."
The. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics, St.
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 4f.
