Through the Bible - Judges 8-10, Luke 9:1-37
Good morning,
We'll continue where we left off yesterday with the state of affairs in the church in Germany in the 1930's. Bonhoeffer was calling for the people of the churches to "test the spirits to see if they were of God".
Following is an excerpt from a Christmas sermon preached in Berlin in 1936:
"And just as our ancestors did not lose their faith in the coming light and the sun despite the ice and cold of the longest night, yes, indeed even celebrated seeing again the light of sun, which their God would give them in the coming year. And this is why we still give gifts around the Christmas tree.
Germany, after the Great War, was threatened with collapse. But then came he who, despite the great darkness in so many German hearts, spoke of light and showed them the way to the light. His appeal found an echo in thousands and hundreds of German souls, who carried the appeal further. It swelled out like a sweeping cloud and then happened the greatest miracle: Germany awoke and followed the sign of light, the Swastika.
The darkness is now conquered, now suffering is over, which so long gripped our people. The sun is rising even higher, with our ancient German symbol, the Swastika, and it's warmth surrounds the whole German people, melts our hearts together into one great community. No one is left out, no one needs to hunger or freeze, despite the deep night and snow and ice because the warmth from the hearts of the whole people pours out, in the emblem of the National Socialist Welfare programme and the Winter Help work and carries the German Christmas into the most forsaken German heart.
In this hour, Adolf Hitler is our benefactor, who has overcome the winter night with its terrors for the whole people and has led us under the Swastika to a new light and a new day." - From the book "Not Every Spirit" Christopher Morse pages 35-36.
How far the church (or at least many of the churches) had fallen..
For today's verse we'll continue in 1 John 4:
1 John 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. NKJV
In this "Christmas" message, where is the focus? Certainly not on Christ who "humbled Himself" in coming to earth and what He came to accomplish. The message was looking for leadership and deliverence from an ego maniac, looking for power and glory.
These "German Christians never represented the majority of Chrisitians in Germany. Officially the Roman Catholic leaders declared opposition to the "German Christians as did the "Confessing Church" which Bonhoeffer was a part of.
However, some within those churches supported the movement. One archbishop warned against saying or doing anything that "could be construed as criticism of the leading personalities in state and community of the political views they represent".
Seeing all of this one can understand how Bonhoeffer would call the people to "test the spirits in the Church of Christ".
There is a lot of "talk" going around today from pulpits and in the news that is being attributed to churches and to Christ. I would think a question to ask would be "where is Christ" in the messages that are coming out?
The Church of Christ should be exalting Christ. We are still being challenged to test the spirits, to test the messages to see if they are of God.
In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
1 John 4:1-5:1
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Knowing God Through Love(cf. John 3:16)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
The Consummation of Love
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Obedience by Faith
20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
NKJV
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