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Discussion paper presented by Pastor Roy A. Steward, Jr.
Current President of the Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North American and Senior Pastor and President of the "Central Pennsylvania Ev. Lutheran Ministerium & General Parish" (Faith Ev. Lutheran Church, Altoona Pa. - Barley Ev. Lutheran Church, Bakers Summit Pa.) at the Indianapolis Conference II, April 24 - 25, 1995
St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
My assignment has been to engage in some focus concerning the Means of Grace especially as these relate to our conference topic.
[The Holy Spirit] "has appointed a community on earth through which he speaks and does all his work" (LC II, 61)
[The Church] "is the mother that begets and bears every Christian through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit reveals and preaches thatWord, and by it he illumines and kindles hearts so that they grasp andacceptt it, cling to it, and persevere in it" (LC II, 42)
"Therefore everything in the Christian Church is so ordered that we may daily obtain full forgiveness of sins through the Word and throughsignss (The Sacraments) appointed to comfort and revive our consciences as long as we live" (LC, 34 415)
Luther and the Lutheran Confessional writings make it clear, at least to me, that the "Means of Grace" provided by God for our sake are the "Gospel and Sacraments". It is further evident, to me, that The Holy Spirit of God accomplishes his chief and main work through these means of grace.
"It is taught among us that the sacraments were instituted be signs by which people might be identified outwardly as Christians, but that they are signs and testimonies of God's will toward us the purpose of awakening and strengthening our faith" AC XIII .
The Church is constituted by Gospel and Sacrament. The Holy Spirit of God works through these specific means to "call, gather, enlighten and sanctify". The Holy Spirit works specifically through the sign gifts of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. These are the two specific actions commanded by Jesus and to which is attached an external or outward sign. Christ also commands that his disciples Go and Preach and Teach (The Word) and He commands that we baptize through Water and the Word and that we take Bread and Wine together with His Word as oft as we do it in remembrance of him. He may mention that other things will be done or may be done in his name but these we find find are not commanded as a means of grace.
"Hence signs instituted without God's command are not sure signs of grace, even though they may instruct or admonish the simple folk. The genuine sacraments, therefore, are Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution (which is the sacrament of penitence), for these rites have the commandment of God and the promise of grace, which is the heart of the New Testament." (AC, Apology XIII, 211)
Certainly the Holy Spirit of God may work through other "means" from time to time. However we know for sure that the Holy Spirit works in the Church specifically through the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. The Sacraments of the Church are the specific commands of our Lord and Savior. Thus these are the means or ( the signs) of Grace that we know for sure to be trustworthy and certain. I believe it behooves the church/ and individual Christian to concentrate on that which is known 'for sure and for certain' to be the means by which the Holy Spirit of God does his work.
E. Schlink, the Confessional Lutheran author of the Theology of the Lutheran Confessions whose work was occasioned by the post WWII movement (which he opposed) to meld the Lutheran and Reformed churches into a United Church in Germany writes (pg 151) "From beginning to end" [in the Lutheran Confessions] "attention is focused in both Lord's Supper and Baptism on the Word and thereby on the gift of God. Accordingly, both sacraments in their real essence are not "signs by which people might be identified outwardly as Christians" - this they are also - but they are signs and testimonies of God's will toward us." It is my sense that Schlink hits on a major reason for the expressed desire or distinctly communicated impression coming from renewal/ or Charismatic Lutherans that something more is required than Word and Sacrament in order for one to be identified truly renewed (spiritual) Christian/ believer. The concern of the renewal or Charismatic Christian is very much in line with the Pietistic and Enthusiast (Schwaermer) desire to achieve a visibly pure outward Christian identification which reflects or is synonymous with an inward pure spiritual state. In this perspective - the so called 'sign gifts' (i.e, Tongues, Healing, Prophecy etc.) become visible marks of who is truly a renewed Christian. The true 'sign gifts' are not so much for us to be identified to ourselves and others as for God and His will to be identified for us. As an aside, I am fearful that this same tendency toward achieving purity of Doctrine or of Congregation can be evidenced in attempts to define a pure Confessional Christian especially via the development of "orthodox" statements that may in effect add to Scripture.
Schlink touches on this matter of the various sign gifts as he refers to the distinguishing features of the Preached Word and the Sacraments. (pg 182)
"Moreover in distinction from preaching the sacraments are not only an audible word but a 'visible word' (verbum visibile), "A sort of picture of the Word" (picturea vierbi), ' a painting whereby the same is signified as is proclaimed through the Word' (Ap. XIII,5), 'a seal and confirmation of the Word and promise' (Ap. XXIV, 70) Hence the sacraments are not only the Word, but there are "two parts to a sacrament, the sign and the Word......In the New testament, the Word is the added promise of grace (Ap.XIII, 3) Already at this point it becomes clear why the absolution in Confession is really no sacrament because to the promise of grace no visible sign has been added by God's Institution ( the sign of the cross and the laying on of hands are mere human customs)"
It is important, I believe, to point out that much of the current stress upon so called spiritual sign gifts is a stress upon things not commanded by God. Where is it commanded that we speak in tongues? What external sign is to accompany this? Yet the practice for some (even among some Lutherans take on an almost sacramental quality. In the matter of identification of who is a Christian and who is not "water & Word Baptism" and Bread & Wine with the Word" Communion are the only two specifically commanded marks and they are also the only two "sign gifts" commanded that are to be viewed as the sure and certain testimonies of God's will toward us. While "spiritual sign gifts" may be gifts from God for an occasional purpose, they are not the commanded means of grace and thus the possibility always exists that they may not, in fact be of God at all. Much better to focus upon that which is specifically set forth in God's Word as the Means of Grace and the place and means for the work of the Holy Spirit of God.
" This power of the keys or of bishops is used and exercised only by teaching and preaching the Word of God and by administering the sacraments (to many persons or to individuals, depending on one's In this way are imparted not bodily but eternal things and namely, eternal righteousness, the Holy Spirit, and eternal These gifts cannot be obtained except through the office of preaching and of administering the holy sacraments. " UAC XXVIII, 82
Again Schlink (pg 187) -
"The sacraments, therefore, are the rock to which the Christian on trial clings; yes, on which he may leap and stand erect in the midst of distress into which God's law brings him, the sinner, by means of ever-new attacks. In the midst of the storm caused by distinguishing between law and Gospel, contrition and faith, being righteous and being sinner, being reborn and yet only partially renewed, the sacraments stand firm. Here God lets you, you yourself personally, not only hear but also taste and feel that in Christ all this distinguishing has already been ended. In the believing reception of the sacraments the final superiority of the Gospel over the law is visibly demonstrated in all its comforting and convincing attraction."
"We are told" [the benefit of the sacrament]" in the words 'for you' and 'for the forgiveness of sins.' By these words the forgiveness ofsinss, life, and salvation are given to us in the sacrament" (SC VI, 6)
"For here in the sacrament you receive from Christ's lips the forgiveness of sins, which contains and conveys God's grace andSpirit with all his gifts, protection, defense, and power against death and the devil and all evils" (CC V, 70) of the Gospel over the law is visibly demonstrated in all its comforting and convincing attraction."
It is my further sense that the talk of "gifts" is usually in terms of gaining or achieving to something higher than what is given or conveyed to us through the means of grace provided us in Word and Sacrament. What are the gifts conveyed to us by God in Word and Sacrament? Can there be anything higher (gift wise) than what is received through Word and Sacrament? In my reading - it has struck me that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are essentially in terms of "eternal things and gifts" rather than in terms of the 'extra-normal or paranormal" occurrences that took place at the time of and as part of the establishment of the church. Again , I would not deny that the Holy Spirit of God can and does occasionally work through the extraordinary but I believe the Lutheran Confessions point toward gifts that are essentially external things with these gifts made available in their entirety through the external means of grace to each and every believer.
"However, it is a most wicked error to believe that evangelical perfection is to be found in human traditions. If it were, even the monks among the Mohammedan's could boast that they have evangelical perfection. Nor is it to be found in the observance of other things which are called adiaphora." (AP XXVII 273)
"But our opponents slyly seek to give the impression that they are modifying the common notion about perfection. They deny that the monastic life is perfection, but they say that it is a state for acquiring perfection." (AP XXVII 275)
"Besides all this, they persuaded the people that the invented spiritual estate of the orders was Christian perfection....For the righteousness of faith, which should be emphasized above all else in the Christian church, is obscured when man's eyes are dazzled with this curious angelic spirituality and sham of poverty, humility, and chastity." (UAC XXVII, 78)
"Forgiveness, Life, and salvation" would seem to be the highest of all gifts. Why indeed would a Christian need something more than these gifts? Is the desire for something more - in fact an expression of unfaith in the ability of the Holy Spirit to work his work through the Word and Sacraments?
In general it increasingly appears to me that the Church Renewal/ Charismatic effort along with much of the Pietistic effort and the desire of the Enthusiasts is a yearning very much connected to that which resulted in Medieval Monasticism. Luther and the Lutheran Confessions confront the underlying preŠsuppositions of Monasticism very strongly. The Reformed theology is also connected with the desire and tendency to establish marks or signs by which to identify who is and who is not a genuine believer. Thus a hierarchy of marks or signs begin to grow which is similar to the development of certain types of hoods as the mark of a particular monastic profession. (AP XXIV 261ff). Friendship, Fellowship and warmth become signs of spiritual advancement. Article XXIV of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession correctly points out that all of this "is a secular idea that ignores the chief use of what God has instituted. It talks only about the practice of love, which even profane and secular men understand; it does not talk about faith, whose true meaning very few understand."
The Question is appropriate: Does not the emphasis upon gifts of the Spirit beyond the gifts conferred Through Word and Sacrament become a New Monasticism of sorts? Why should something more than the means of Grace as instituted by Christ be the focus? Is this not a recurrence of the old works desire? Let it be clear that the historic movements that led to protestant groups of the "Pentecostal" orientation were known as "Holiness movements". How do we become more Holy? This was the thrust of the Holiness atmosphere and thus the seeking of something more beyond "Water and the Word Baptism and beyond Word, Bread & Wine Communion. The Holy Spirit is He who comes to bring to remembrance all that Jesus has taught and commanded not He who is come to move believers toward that which is something not commanded and or directed by Jesus or something that is more than Jesus commanded.
Carter Lindberg writing an evaluation and examination of the Charismatic Movement within Lutheranism (The Third Reformation?: Charismatic Movements and the Lutheran Tradition 1983 Mercer Press ) points out the following on Page 295
"The Lutheran emphasis upon the connection between Word and sacraments and the Spirit becomes tenuous in light of the charismatic emphasis upon presence and power. The suspicion of ecclesial triumphalism is strengthened when the renewal in the local congregation is oriented not simply upon the expected new community but upon the circle of the renewed as the kernel for spiritual awakening.........In contrast, Luther emphasized both the insoluble connection between the Spirit and the outward means of Word and sacraments, as well as understanding the church in terms not of power but of the theology of the cross. In these perspectives Luther's concerns are not at odds with those of the charismatic movement but his theology is.
We have already seen that Luther maintains the sovereignty of the Spirit to act where and when he wills. Therefore, when Luther emphasized the relationship of Spirit to Word and sacrament, he is not thinking of any inner metaphysical connection which would lead to ex opera operato perspectives. Rather, sacraments are the sign of revelation. God's presence under the veil of outward things such as the incarnation and Word and sacrament reveals God as he who is for us in Christ. This is therefore at the same time an instrumental sign, for in revealing God as he truly is it changes our lives. This is the outward means of the Spirit........
The visibility and outwardness of the signs [The sacraments] express the rejection of all efforts to ascend toward God and proclaim God's descent to humankind. Thus Luther can speak of the certum signum. The activity of the Spirit through these signs is certain and public in contrast to the uncertainty of human speculation and experiences which are always ambiguous and hidden. Speaking in tongues and other charismata may or may not be signs used by the Holy Spirit, which is precisely the problem - as experiences they are both ambiguous and limited."
Yes, it must be external so that it can be perceived and grasped by the senses and thus brought into the heart, just as the entire Gospel is an external, oral proclamation. In short, whatever God effects in us he does through such external ordinance.......In Baptism, therefore, every Christian has enough to study and to practice all his life. He always has enough to do to believe firmly what Baptism promises and brings - victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sin, God's grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with his gifts" LC Baptism
The Means of grace instituted by Jesus are thus the sure and certain means of grace where in the Holy Spirit does His work for sure 'for us'. Desiring and seeking something more than this is to find oneself placed in danger of reverting to the old Adams desire to become like God and to attain to Perfection based in part on self effort (Monasticism replicated). Adiaphora would be anything not commanded by Jesus. Elevation of adiaphora to a necessary sign gift - or one to be sought beyond the Sign Gifts given in the means of grace is to move into the arena of error. The seeking of something more is essentially a human attempt to ascend toward God via experience and emotion. As such it is an ancient dead end tendency that never seems to get the message.
It is evident that the Lutheran Confessions at Least as well as Luther hold and teach that the Holy Spirit works with certainty through Word and sacrament. He may work through other special extraordinary means from time to time but the Christian is on a sure foundation only by keeping focused upon the Word and sacraments. To make other adiaphoron orientations the focus or a focus of Christian worship and devotional life is very dangerous matter.
Since others at our conference have given specific attention to "The Word" I direct my thoughts and observations now to the two sacraments which we as Lutheran Christians recognize. In each of course it is understood that it is "the Word" which is the constitutive element - not the water or the bread or the wine. When these external / visible elements are accompanied with the Word they become the sure and certain means of grace "for us". First we review some understandings regarding Holy Baptism and then we turn to The Lords Supper. A good bit of what I have already mentioned about the means of grace in general will be re-emphasized throughout.
Here in simple form for the heads of households to teach, Luther sets forth the main gifts of the Spirit that are given us in Baptism. In Holy Baptism all the gifts of God are conveyed to us. I believe Luther makes this abundantly clear in his further explanation for the heads of households to teach their families.
"How can water produce such great effects? Answer: It is not the water that produces these effects, but the Word of God connected with the water, and our faith which relies on the Word of God connected with the water. For without the Word of God the water is merely water and no Baptism. But when connected with the Word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul wrote to Titus (3:5-8), "He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life'. The saying is sure."
"It is of greatest importance that we regard Baptism as excellent, glorious, and exalted. It is the chief cause of our contentions and battles because the world now is full of sects who proclaim that Baptism is an external thing and that external things are of no use. But no matter how external it may be, here stand God's Word and command which have instituted, established, and confirmed Baptism. What God institutes and commands cannot be useless.....to be baptized in God's name is to be baptized not by men but by God himself.....But mad reason rushed forth and because Baptism is not dazzling like the works which we do regards it as worthless....... Therefore it is sheer wickedness and devilish blasphemy when our new spirits, in order to slander Baptism, ignore God's Word and ordinance, consider nothing but the water drawn from the well, and then babble, 'How can a handful of water help the soul?'....For the nucleus in the water is God's Word or commandment and God's name, and this is a treasure greater and nobler than heaven and earth....To put it most simply, the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save.......Our know-it-alls, the new spirits assert that faith alone saves and that works and external things contribute nothing to this end. We answer: It is true, nothing that is in us does it but faith , as we shall hear later on. But these leaders of the blind are unwilling to see that faith must have something to believe - something to which it may cling and upon which it may stand. Thus faith clings to the water and believes it to be Baptism in which there is sheer salvation and life, not through the water, as we have sufficiently stated, but through its incorporation with God's Word and ordinance and the joining of his name to it.....Now, these people are so foolish as to separate faith from the object to which faith is attached and bound on the ground that the object is something external." LC Baptism
Please note that the emphasis is upon being Justified. I believe that this is a very crucial issue. The emphasis is not upon an "Infusion" of grace nor upon a periodic "transfusion" of grace into our persons so that now the Spirit of God will bubble forth from within us. The emphasis is upon imputation of grace. The Saying is sure: So that we might be justified by his grace." This is along the exact lines of what I discussed concerning the means of grace in general. We can be sure (The saying is sure) that the Holy Spirit of God is at work through the means of grace specifically instituted by Christ. This is most certainly true. The saying is True. All else is sinking sand but this is the rock of our salvation indeed!
Luther of course goes on at much more length and into more detail in the Large Catechism. It is abundantly clear that he does not see Baptism as simply a starting of the Christian on the right path whereby the believer must become self perfected as his or her journey continues through ---this world. Sanctification is God's work which he will conclude for us at the coming of the kingdom. He will accomplish your perfection, not you.
"Baptism is no human plaything but is instituted by God himself. Moreover, it is solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved." LC
No Baptism - No gifts of the Holy Spirit - No future perfection.
The work of the Holy Spirit to make us Holy begins at Baptism and continues daily throughout our life's journey. As Luther states in the LC discussion of the 3rd Article of the Creed.
"If you are asked, What do you mean by the words, 'I believe in the Holy Spirit?' you can answer, 'I believe that the Holy Spirit makes me holy, as his name implies.' How does he do this? By what means? Answer: "Through the Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life. Further we believe that in this Christian church we have the forgiveness of sins, which is granted through the holy sacraments and absolution as well as through all the comforting words of the entire Gospel. Toward forgiveness is directed everything that is to be preached concerning the sacraments and, in short, the entire Gospel and all the duties of Christianity........Therefore everything in the Christian Church is so ordered that we may daily obtain full forgiveness of sins through the Word and through signs (The Sacraments) appointed to comfort and revive our consciences as long as we live. Although we have sin, the Holy Spirit sees to it that it does not harm us because we are in the Christian church, where there is full forgiveness of Sin......Now we are only halfway pure and holy. The Holy Spirit must continue to work in us through the Word, daily granting forgiveness until we attain to that life where there will be no more forgiveness...All of this, then, is the office and work of the Holy Spirit, to begin daily to increase holiness on earth through these two means, the Christian Church and the forgiveness of sins. Then when we pass from this life, he will instantly perfect our holiness and will eternally preserve us in it by means of the last two parts of this article. " LC, 34, 415ff.
E. Schlink emphasizes that the "total life of a [Christian] is a daily return to Baptism and a daily approach to the Lord's Supper (141). Repentance "is really nothing else than Baptism" (143). In these two means of Grace - which really are the Word of Forgiveness The Holy Spirit of God is continually at work on our behalf. Our perfection, however is never complete on this side of death. However, Baptism gives "God's grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with his gifts" LC IV, 41 (149). In other words in Baptism we receive it all (even though that is not yet apparent even to ourselves - the hope in things yet unseen). Likewise in the sacrament of the Lords Supper.
From all that I have read on the subject - I conclude that the Confessional Lutheran understanding that the Holy Spirit gives us all of Himself in Holy Baptism works to guard against the elevation of self generated experiences as the measure by which all else is to be judged. For if something within us becomes the measure of what is "spiritual and Holy" then obviously there was either no need for Christ or the act of God in Christ Jesus was only a partial act on our behalf. The Word of God together with the Water make Holy Baptism a sure and certain means of grace. It is a command and promise of Christ external to self which is connected with an element external to self. In this external act on our behalf we are covered over with the robe of righteousness which is Christ Jesus. Justification is imputed to us and in this act of Forgiveness the Holy Spirit brings to us all His gifts and begins his lifelong work upon us. Baptism is something we cling to or stand upon.
"Repentance means that the baptized sinner should always 'head for" his once for all Baptism as to the saving ship 'and cling to it untilhee can climb aboard and sail on it" (LC, IV, 82)
"Baptism is nothing else than the Word of God in Water" (SA III, V,1)
"For Baptism gives "God's grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with his gifts" (LC IV, 41)
"In the third place, the holy sacrament was not institituted to make provision for sin....but to awaken our faith and comfort our consciences when we perceive that through the sacrament grace and forgiveness of sin are promised us by Christ ........Therefore the Mass was instituted that faith on the part of those who use the sacrament should remember what benefits are received through Christ and should cheer and comfort anxious consciences. For to remember Christ is to remember his benefits and realize that they are truly offered to us" (59)
Schlink writes in this regard - " Thus the sacraments are "signs and testimonies of God's will toward us" ("signa et testimonia voluntatis Dei erga nos," AC XIII, 1); signs of the New Testament," testimonies of grace and of the forgiveness of sins' (Ap. XIII, 14); 'a seal and sure sign' (Ap. XXIV,49).
What does "sign" mean in these definitions? In the doctrine of the Lord's Supper one might think first of bread and wine, but the terms "ritus" and "ceremonia" point beyond these elements to the act of offering and receiving the bread and wine. The Apology ultimately uses the term "sign" to designate also the sacrament as a whole. In a different way the Large Catechism calls Christ's body and blood "a sure pledge and sign" (LC V, 22) (186)
"Some clever people [Ulrich Zwingli and his followers] imagine that the Lord's supper was instituted for two reasons. First, it was supposed to be a mark and witness of profession, just as a certain type of hood is the mark of a particular monastic profession. In the second place, Christ was supposed to be very pleased with a mark that took the form of a meal symbolizing the mutual union and friendship among Christians because banquets are symbols of agreement and friendship. But this is a secular idea that ignores the chief use of what God has institituted. It talks only about the practice of love, which even profane and secular men understand; it does not talk about faith, whose true meaning very few understand.......The promise of the new Testament is the promise of the forgiveness of sins, as the text says, 'This is my body, which is given for you (Luke 22:19); 'this is the cup of the New Testament which my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins' (Matt.26:28). Therefore the Word offers forgiveness of sins, while the ceremony is a sort of picture or 'seal," as Paul calls it (Rom.4:11) showing forth the promise." AP XXIV (261ff)
Reformed Theology, especially held forth two notions that continue to re-appear among Lutherans of the Charismatic and Pietistic bent. I have already spoken of the one danger, namely the desire to establish marks and signs as a way of determining the sincere-ness of ones Christian belief. This I believe leads inevitably to the desire for something more beyond the sacrament as a way of providing proof (fruit proof) that one is truly a spirit filled believer. The second emphasis of the Reformed Theology was the desire to emphasize the "Communal or union aspects of friendship and agreement in the meal. This thrust brings human feeling and experience of Love and warmth and fellowship into the center as means by which to authenticate genuine Faith. Essentially it is a self centered focus or human centered focus which leads back into the old effort to ascend to God. And so in Article XXIV of the Apology this very subject is tackled head on. The Current Ecumenical thrust is grounded in this desire to forge agreement, and the human experience of love, warmth, fellowship, and organizational union.
Schlink writes on this subject as follows:
"In the union of the Word and the element, the element is entirely passive in the Lord's Supper just as in Baptism. As in the doctrine of Baptism so also here the Confessions are not at all interested in exhibiting any symbolical significance which bread and wine might have in themselves and by which bread and wine as such might be set apart from other elements of this world. In themselves bread and wine are "mere bread or wine such as is served at the table (LC V, 9) and they share the same nothingness as do water and straw, among other elements, and do not of themselves point to Christ's death and God's grace. We find no symbolic interpretation of the Bread's derivation from kernels of grain and of the wine's derivation from grapes offered up for the sake of our nourishment. We find no symbolic interpretation of the natural process of eating and drinking; nor is the community of the meal as such a topic of theological significance. In no way does the doctrine of the Lord's Supper start with the empirical impressions produced by physical processes and their symbolic possibilities. Not bread and wine but only God's Word must make the element a sacrament; otherwise it remains a mere element." (LC V 10) pp 155-6.
"God's Word 'brings' forgiveness through the sacrament. For 'the whole Gospel' is 'embodied in this sacrament and offered to us through the Word. (LC V, 32) - especially the words, 'given for you,' 'Shed for you.' The Word in the Lord's Supper not only speaks of forgiveness but gives it (LC V, 33) and offers it (LC V, 35) And whoever believes the Word not only hears about forgiveness, but has it" (158)
To be convinced of "The Forgiveness of Sins" that is to "Believe" is the highest Gift of the Holy Spirit and it is his chief work in the Sacrament to bring us to Faith and Belief. The Small Catechism sets forth the gifts or "Benefits" obtained through the Sacrament of the Altar -in the same way as with the description of the gifts and benefits obtained in the Sacrament of Baptism. The three benefits (gifts) are certainly the highest gifts that can be given us through the Spirit of God. These become ours when the Holy Spirit enables us to believe.
Schlink addresses the matter of Justification over against the notions of Infusion of Grace and Transfusion of Grace. Overall he comes out emphasizing the pre-eminence of the gift of forgiveness as the imputation of Grace (Justification) while also being for us a strengthening and encouragement to us for the battle that surrounds the believer everyday.
"The benefits of this sacrament are pointed out by the words, given and shed for you for the remission of sins. These words assure us that in the sacrament we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. "For here in the sacrament you receive from Christ's lips the forgiveness of sins, which contains and conveys God's grace and Spirit with all his gifts, protection, defense, and power against death and the devil and all evils" CC V, 70)
"In an attempt to systematize the abundance of statements" [In the Confessions] in which the gift of forgiveness is expounded and extolled, we first call attention to the fact that just as in the doctrine of justification 'declaring righteous' and 'making righteous' are untied in one act of God, so also in the Lord's Supper forgiveness is not merely the nonŠimputation of sins but also the strengthening and encouragement of the sinner in the battle against sin. The Lord's Supper is comfort, refreshment, and invigoration for faith and the new obedience. Conversely, he who withdraws from the Lord's Supper will day by day 'become more and more callous and cold' (LC V, 53)
Thus the Lord's Supper is given as a 'comfort' so that man in the battle with the devil may here obtain 'new strength and refreshment' (LC V, 27).
Forgiveness is both power and protection against the devil. The Lord's Supper does not redeem from the dominion of the devil in the sense that it places the prisoner of Satan under the dominion of Jesus Christ. This was done in Baptism. But the Lord's Supper provides protection against the ever-recurring concrete attacks and temptations with which Satan constantly stalks and attacks the Christian. The forgiveness of sins is affirmed and extolled particularly as life, and the Lord's Supper is described as life-giving food and as protection, guard, and gift against death." (164).
Thus in The Lord's Supper All the power for life that is needed comes to us as the gift of the Spirit. Since it is obvious that Satan is unrelenting in his attacks upon the Christian it also becomes obvious that it is imperative for the Christian to stick with the means of Grace that is sure and certain and that has been commanded by Jesus. The descriptive phrase that we are being "constantly stalked and attacked" is a humbling reminder for us not to go forth without our sure and certain means of defense.
"As in the case of Baptism, we shall first learn what is of greatest importance, namely, God's Word and ordinance or command, which is the chief thing to be considered. For the Lord's supper was not invented or devised by any man......For it is not founded on the holiness of men but on the Word of God....no one can change or alter the sacrament, even if it is misused.....We go to the sacrament because we receive there a great treasure, through and in which we obtain the forgiveness of sins. Why? Because the words are there through which this is imparted! Christ bids me eat and drink in order that the sacrament may be mine and may be a source of blessing to me as a sure pledge and sign - indeed, as the very gift he has provided for me against my sins, death, and all evils....while it is true that through Baptism we are first born anew, our human flesh and blood have not lost their old skin......The Lord's Supper is given as a daily food and sustenance so that our faith may refresh and strengthen itself and not weaken in the struggle but grow continually stronger. For the new life should be one that continually develops and progresses..........now the whole Gospel and the article of the Creed, "I believe in the holy Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins," are embodied in this sacrament and offered to us through theWord." (LC V)
Schlink in his Study of the Confessions makes the following remark in commentary uponUAC VII with which I am in hearty concurrence.
"If, then, the Gospel and the sacraments belong to the concept 'church,' the essence of the church includes the only 'means' through which 'God gives the Holy Spirit' (AC V, 2) and through which the HolySpirit is active" .
I add to Schlink by saying that it is my conviction that, while the Holy Spirit of God can work through other signs from time to time, that Christian believers should focus only upon those signs that God has commanded and that we know to be for sure the certain means of Grace.
I reiterate - the only place we know for sure that the Holy Spirit Works his work upon us is in the Preaching and teaching of the Word and in the administration of the Sign Gifts Commanded by God, namely, the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
Schlink : "The Gospel in the sermon and in the sacrament is so completely identical that to deny the benefit of the Gospel in the sacrament is equivalent to asserting "that the whole Gospel or Word of God apart from the sacraments is of no value" (184) .
Thus nothing more should be sought beyond what God has commanded and provided.
Schlink responds to the question of "Why there are Sacraments in addition to preaching and Why preaching in addition to Sacraments?" We could add Why are there two Sacraments instead of just one Sacrament? "Are Christ and his gift received only partially through the sacraments?" he asks rhetorically. In others words do we get a little of Jesus in one, a little more of his gifts in another, and yet more of him and his gifts in the third area? Another way of phrasing this would appropriately be, I believe to put it in terms of the need for something more through "Infusions of Grace" or through "periodic transfusions of Grace". In other words do we need infusions and transfusions of Grace in order to receive the full benefits and gifts of The Holy Spirit?
"Are the merits of Jesus Christ and forgiveness received only partially and incompletely in absolution?"
"Why then preaching and sacraments?"
We are not to add to God's Word nor are we to Subtract from it. I believe this a very necessary reminder to not only those who would reduce Scripture to its message but also to those who would fence Scripture through additional statements. If we are not erring in the one direction we tend to be erring in the other. It strikes me that this is precisely why Preaching, and The Sacrament of Baptism and The Sacrament of Holy Communion are before us as the means of Grace. In other words taken together we know for sure that through the Word and the Sign Gifts of God the Holy Spirit is calling, gathering,enlightening, sanctifying, and keeping in the true faith.