Monday, February 18, 2008

A short history of the church

Luther regarding Genesis 12:1-4

AELW2:265

"If you desire to reduce to a few words the history of the church from the time of Abraham until today, carefully consider these four verses. You will see the blessing, and you will also see some who curse; but these, in turn, God has cursed so that they utterly perished, while the eternal blessing of the church has remained unshaken. Hence this passage is in agreement with the first sermon about the Seed who crushes the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). The church does not lack enemies; it is troubled, and it sighs; and yet it overcomes through the Seed and finally triumphs forever over all its enemies."

"But just as the Lord gave a warning above about the bite of the serpent, so here He warns that the seed of Abraham will encounter some who will curse it. But if we are hurt by the world and the devil, the damage is slight, since we have the angels, yes, even God Himself to bless us and annihilate our adversaries. "

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