Part 3
You ask how much opportunity a convert has to spread the real Gospel, not the "Bruderhof gospel." What do you mean by the Gospel? What does the "good news" mean if it doesn't mean that there is a way other than the way of death and despair that rules this present world? What is it if it isn't the news that men can live together as brothers in peace, in full trust and love to one another, and as children of one Father? The Gospel is not only words; it stands for deed and truth,
for the whole way of life Christ has brought. It is the expression of a living experience. Our challenge is not to join the Bruderhof, but to live in brotherhood. We do not wish to add anything to the Gospel, but we feel strongly that nothing can be taken away from it, and that we must face every demand it makes upon us.
You ask whether we as a community need to isolate ourselves in order to be in the world but not of it. We live apart only in the sense of separating ourselves from the evil root of self-interest, greed, and injustice – from all that is loveless in the present world order. So ciety is basically no different today than it was in Jesus' time. Men are still self-centered, proud, and eager for their own gain, power, and position. The fruits of this evil pervade society in many forms: impurity, hatred, alcoholism, poverty, juvenile delinquency, mental ill ness, violent crime, and finally war. These are the fruits of mammon, the fruits of an unchristian society, the fruits of the present world order. This is the world out of which Christ called and still calls us. He calls us out of it and brings us together to build the city of God, where the Spirit alone rules –to build the city on a hill, which cannot be hidden but shines into the world.
The Gospels tell us that we will know a tree –or a person or a group –by its fruits, for a good tree can not produce evil fruit and an evil tree cannot produce good fruit. The fruits of a life based on Christ are not just preaching or speaking. It is our deeds that are important. Christ said all men would know we are his disciples by our love for one another –not by our talk
Mt. 7:16-18
Jn. 13:35
Mt. 7:21
about loving one another. His last prayer was for the
Jn. 17:21 unity of his disciples: "May they all be one, even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; may they also be in us, so the world may believe that thou hast sent me." So the church should be visible in the world. The light from the united body of believers must shine into the darkness of the world to the glory of God.
You ask, "If we deny ourselves enough to walk Christ's way, can't we live a sensible life amidst our fellowmen outside an organization of brothers?" You must answer this for yourself. We are here because we found that a "sensible life" was not enough –that Christ asked more of us. He wants the whole person. We are not an "organization of brothers" but simply a group of people who seek to live closer to God. We want to take Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount literally and be measured and judged by them. We can only respond to them fully by surrendering our lives to his will in the faith that he will lead us to truth.
From a letter: Our communal life is a constant struggle: we must continually fight to break away from everything that separates us from God and from our brothers and sisters. This breaking away –this dying to ourselves –can be a most painful experience. We be lieve that one hundred percent is demanded of us; all pride and self-will must go, and the whole framework of life and thought in which we have tried to find secu rity. This doesn't happen with a sudden burst of light,
but only gradually. As we live together we recognize that certain things bring separation: pride, self-pity, and false piety. We must turn away from these evils as they are shown to us. We will always remain weak, but our joy is in finding a source of strength that can be victorious in every struggle.
From a letter: It is a great gift to live with brothers and sisters. When God's love burns in us and welds us together to persevere in solidarity, no difficulty or struggle is too great. It is a relief to know that the life of discipleship is never something merely learned –not even through hard and painful struggle. Rather, it is a continually new experience of grace. What a deep paradox! The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob is always the same, yet he alone frees us from monoto ny and law. In him everything is new.
We must always be aware of the danger of material ism–the rule of money or anything else material over our heart and soul. Jesus said, "You cannot serve two
Mt. 6:24 masters. You cannot serve God and mammon." In and of themselves material things are not the enemy; they are part of life. But they should be used for the tasks of the church. Ultimately it is a question of our attitude. The degeneration of the soul makes it possible for any thing material to ruin a life. But if a person's relation
ship with Jesus and the church is alive, he will be able to use material things without being ruled by them.
From a letter: We are not interested in winning any one with smooth words. Our way of communal life is much too demanding. Today we have house, home, work, and daily bread. But as the history of the Ana baptists, Quakers, and many other radical movements has shown us, we do not know what will happen tomorrow.
One enormous danger to the life lived in God, wheth er within community or not, is money–mammon. Jesus says quite clearly, "Where your treasure is, there
Mt. 6:21 is your heart." The early Christian prophet Hermas speaks of the danger of owning fields, houses, and anything else of earthly value. He cries out: "Foolish, double-minded, wretched man, do you not realize that all these things do not belong to you, that they are under a power alien to your nature?"* In spite of the fact that we live in community of goods and share one purse, the danger of mammon still exists. Jesus says of
Lk. 9:58 himself: "The birds have nests, the foxes have holes; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
* Eberhard Arnold, ed., The Early Christians (Rifton, NY: Plough, 1970), p. 285.
Can one bind oneself to a group of people? When our novices take their vows we ask them, "Are you ready to surrender yourself unreservedly to God, to Christ, and to the brothers?" The question here is not surrender to God or Christ, but whether one can bind oneself to a group of people. I have been thinking about the meaning of the dedication spoken of here; this surren der to God, to Christ, and to brothers and sisters. We know the First Commandment –have no other gods
Mt. 22:39 before God – and we know Christ's command to love
1Jn. 4:20 our neighbor as ourselves. We also know that he who says he loves God but hates his brother is a liar. So we cannot separate our commitment to God from com mitment to those of our fellowmen who also want to follow God.
On the other hand, it is dangerous to commit one self without reservation to anyone; to commit oneself, as it says here, "to the brothers." What happens if those brothers go wrong, even in a subtle way? After the first and second generations religious groups may become rigid on certain points. They may become legalistic about certain things which seem right, and through this their inner life is suppressed.
If we see this danger, the real question is, "How can we bind ourselves to one another in spite of it?" The answer can be found only in faith in the Spirit – Christ's spirit. There is no other answer.
From a letter: I am grateful that you have openly con fessed your negative thoughts and feelings toward oth
er members of the church. God is stronger than likes and dislikes. He gives us love and he gives us commu nity, where likes and dislikes are overcome.
From a letter: How well I understand that you are disappointed in our community. I, too, shudder when I think of all that has happened in our history. Yet ultimately it is not to a community or a church that we have given our lives, even though we vow to be faithful to our brothers and sisters. It is to Jesus that we have surrendered ourselves. He experienced betrayal. He experienced abandonment by all his disciples. He experienced godforsakenness. And still the Father's will was more important to him than anything else. So I hold firmly to that and challenge you also to hold
Mt. 12:30 firmly to it. In this hour when the Enemy has scattered so many, we must take Jesus' words to heart: "He who does not gather with me, scatters." My wish is to prove my faithfulness to Jesus and to my brothers and sisters by gathering with them.
If we want to live in church community we must do it for the sake of God alone. Otherwise, even with the best will, we will be like parasites on the inner life of the church. Even if we work more hours than other members, even if we produce more income than oth ers, our efforts will lie like a heavy weight on the rest of the community. We have an open door for all people,
but we also expect each one who wants to stay with us to accept the challenge of full discipleship. Otherwise our community will go to pieces.
Our witness to a life of complete community–to the fact that Jesus gathers and unites men –is fully in keeping with his words and his nature. But com munity itself is not decisive; the decisive thing is love. Community of work, community of goods, and the community of the common table are only fruits of this love.
From a letter: We are always thankful when God strengthens our community by giving us new mem bers, but we do not want to "make" members with smooth words or try to convince anyone to join us by making a good impression. Communal life brings too much pain and need, and one cannot stand the test of its struggles if one does not trust wholly in God's strength. We do not have the strength in ourselves: God is the source of our strength.
Leadership
A true Christian church cannot be a living organism unless there is clear leadership. The ship of community needs a helmsman to guide it, and he must let him self be guided from above in deep humility and must honor and respect the brotherhood he leads. Being led from above means listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit as it speaks to the church as a whole. A leader must not isolate himself. Through close cooperation with all members, a perfectly clear direction in all mat ters can be found. This is true for all matters of faith, all practical things, and for the overall inner attitude of the church.
Any true service done for the church – including the service of leadership –is done as by an organ of the body, and it must therefore be done lovingly, sincerely, honestly, and in a childlike way. Someone who carries a responsibility is no higher than someone who does not: no one is higher, and no one is lower. We are all members of one body.
True leadership means service, so it is a terrible thing to use it as a position of power over others. When such abuse of leadership takes place in a church community, it is especially devilish, because brothers and sisters give themselves voluntarily, trustingly, and openheartedly to the church. In a dictatorial state, people might yield to a greater power even though their souls reject it as evil. But in a brotherhood of believers, where members trust their leaders, the misuse of power is real soulmurder.
When we ask brothers to lead the church, we must ask God that much is given to them. But we must also let them be themselves –as God made them. They should not be presumptuous; they should express only what is given them by God. We do not expect more. It would be disastrous if anyone were to feel himself pushed into a role that was not genuinely his. We do not expect someone who is meant to be an ear to be an eye.
When we speak about the authority of leaders in the church, it should be very clear that we never mean au thority over people. Jesus gave his disciples authority, but he gave them authority over spirits –not people. In the same way, those of us appointed to lead the church are given authority, but not over people. It is all too easy to forget this. We must seek for humility again and again.
A servant of the Word* is always in danger of teaching something false or suppressing something of the truth. I have a great fear of this, and I ask you to intercede for us all in prayer. Paul could say that he had neglected nothing and done everything in his duty as an apostle of the church. This strikes me very deeply. Pray that every servant of the Word may bring the whole Gospel afresh to the church again and again, without twisting or changing anything whatsoever.
Acts 10:26
2 Tim. 3:10-11
2 Tim. 4:7, 17
Jesus clearly says that to whom much is given, of him much will be demanded. A servant of the Word must realize that more will be demanded of him than of oth ers. There is no privilege in his task.
Lk. 12:48
A leader of the church should certainly be admon ished if someone feels he has done wrong. I remember how thankful I was years ago when a brother took me aside after a members' meeting –I had exploded at someone–and asked me, "Are you really sure your anger was of the Holy Spirit?" I had to admit that it was not, and so I called the meeting together again and set it straight. If you feel that I or anyone is misusing his position of authority, please do me the favor of pointing it out.
* Servant of the Word: Pastor, minister; brother chosen by unanimous approval to serve the members of a Bruderhof by caring for their inner and outer well-being. The term reflects the Hutterian belief that authentic leadership in Christian community means service.
We do not want a brotherhood that is bound to a man. I fear nothing more than a service in the church – whether teaching, counseling, or whatever –that binds someone emotionally to another person. It is terrible, and I want to have nothing to do with it. We must be bound together in Christ.
There is nothing I hate more than human beings having power over the souls and bodies of others, espe cially in Christian community. I have vowed to myself to fight this evil until the end of my life, and if anyone can point out to me where I have used power over a human being–even without my knowledge –I want to repent deeply for it. Personal power is the greatest enemy of a living church.
Mt. 18:3-4 Jesus put a child into his disciples' midst and said, "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. There fore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Here we see that Jesus loves the childlike spirit. This should also be true among us. In a marriage, both husband and wife must want to be the least. And in church community, each member – whether elder or steward or whoever – must also want to be the least. That is our goal.
Speaking the truth, which is a task of a leader of the church, is not a gift given only to especially clever and superior men. If it were, most people would have reason to fear being a disciple of Jesus or a leader in the church. It is not man's intellect that is receptive to the truth; it is his childlike spirit. Jesus says, "Become
Mt. 18:3 like a child–only then will you be able to enter God's kingdom." The childlike spirit is and remains spirit, and because of that it is authority and revelation. The
Mt. 11:25 realization –that the truth is revealed only to children and to the simple-hearted –is crucial in the disciple ship of Jesus.
From a letter: I was so thankful for your concern about our last members' meeting. So much was at stake, and yet we lost ourselves in trivial talk. The leadership I should have given as elder must have been lacking. There is always a tension: one does not want to dictate, but if everyone just talks as he pleases it is not good either, for then God's spirit cannot speak.
Someone who is given special responsibilities by the church –for example, a servant of the Word, house mother, steward, work distributor, or shop foreman – will either serve with humility or lord it over others as if they were his subjects. This is a danger for adults who work with children too. There is an inclination in each of us to want to be great. And even if it is a
small inclination – perhaps someone tends to be a bit bossy–it is the beginning of a much greater evil that will in the end bring much suffering.
It is unbelievable what heartache can result when someone in a position of responsibility lets his author ity be felt and treats his brothers and sisters as subjects. If a servant of the Word is bossy, it takes a certain courage to risk something and protest. But I wish all members that courage. No one but Jesus is our master, and we are all brothers.
Leaders of a church have no rights whatsoever over the souls entrusted to them. Consider how Jesus entrusted his flock to Peter. He did not give him any rights over the lambs. He only asked, "Do you love me?" And then he said, "Feed my sheep." It is a terrible sin –really nothing less than murder –when someone entrusted with a pastoral service thinks he has the right to govern souls. This also applies to those who care for children.
Jn. 21:15-17
I want nothing to do with human honor. I ask you never to honor a person, whoever he may be, but only Christ in him. We denounce the honoring of men, because it leads to sectarianism. In a sect the leader thinks he is great, but that is a horrible delusion. We want to honor Christ in our brothers and sisters; we want to love one another –Christ commanded us to.
But we reject the idea of human greatness, which is foolishness before God.
We long deeply for all other powers and spirits to yield, and for our beloved Jesus to lay his pierced hands over each of us. We long for him to be with us all, and we long to be ready to serve him. We ask for everything superficial in us and everything that might hinder or frighten us to melt away. We want to acknowledge the rulership of Jesus alone. Yes, every thing is in his hands: he is the ruler over all powers and principalities, the head of the church, and the vine of which we are only branches.
The revelation of Christ does not tolerate any human light next to it. If there is human light –pride and presumption –in any servant of the Word, it must be extinguished. Only the light of Jesus should rule in the church. God does not need human light. He needs men and women who wait in the darkness for his light, who hunger for truth and thirst for living water. If someone preaches the Gospel to his own credit and does not acknowledge that without God he can do nothing, he is a thief. He steals the words of Jesus and uses them for his own glory.
Jn. 15:4 Neither an individual nor a community can bear fruit without being united with Jesus. Once a person has
decided to follow Jesus, he becomes a branch on the vine and cannot live for himself anymore. To separate and isolate oneself out of pride and self-glory is the way of the devil, and it ends in death. For every mem ber of the church, but especially for its leaders, my wish is that they might dwell in Jesus, and still more, that Jesus might dwell in them.
Gifts
From a letter: Never forget that an act of love to one's fellowman is the only important act of the day. Ev erything else is of no value before God and may even tear us from him or separate us from our brothers. How strongly Jesus impresses this on our hearts in his prophecies about the Last Judgment! The question is never whether we are well-organized or act correctly, but whether we feed the hungry, take in strangers, clothe the naked, or visit those who are sick or in prison–in other words, whether we act out of love and compassion. Let us never pass by the need of another or forget the words and actions that strengthen love.
Mt. 25:31-46
Just as no one has so few gifts that he cannot be moved by God, no one has so many gifts that he is too good to do simple manual work. We must be willing to do any service asked of us, to serve in the humblest place. A man may be the most gifted person in his community, but if he lacks humility, if his heart is not moved by the spirit of Jesus, his life will be unfruitful.
The parable of the talents is perhaps best understood in the context of the church: the talents are gifts given to different brothers and sisters. One person receives the gift of wisdom, another knowledge, another faith, healing, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, or interpretation. These gifts are all required for the various tasks of the church, from leadership to any other. There is no difference in their importance; they all are parts of one body. The eye is no more important than the ear–they simply are two different organs.
Mt. 25:14-30
1 Cor. 12:8-10
Some people would like to see no differences. They think that if everyone were the same no one would know who was who, and then true justice would be established. But that is not the Gospel of Jesus. In Matthew 25, we read of a man who was given only one talent. This man felt he had not been given his fair share, and so he hated his master. He did nothing with his talent but hardened his heart. He not only lacked love, he was filled with hatred. He said, "Mas ter, I knew you to be a hard man." That is the worst thing that can happen to us: to feel we have not been given our fair share; to feel that others have received more from God; and then to become so envious and loveless –so separated from the Body –that we do not contribute to it in any way at all. The master in the parable said, "You should have at least put the money in the bank." He meant, "Do at least the little you are able to do."
Mt. 25:24-30
One person is brilliant, another deft with his hands, another very musical. These are natural gifts, and they should not be buried, though for the common good of the church they often have to be sacrificed. It would be wrong if someone with intellectual gifts thought he could do only intellectual work –otherwise he would be "burying his talents"– or if a very musical person thought she was wasting her talent by doing menial work. We must be willing to sacrifice our natural tal ents for the sake of the whole Body.
Mt. 25:18
From a letter: You write that you are not very gifted. That does not matter. No one has so few gifts that he cannot be moved by God. What matters is that you use the gifts you do possess–that they are brought into movement by God. It is never a lack of gifts that is the problem, but a lack of readiness to be used by God.
In 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, the apostle Paul speaks of many different gifts, including prophecy, leadership, healing, and speaking in tongues. But then he says that all these great gifts are nothing without love. Our communal life is a gift too, but unless God gives us love over and over again, it will become as lifeless as a machine.
1 Cor. 12-13
The gift of discernment of spirits is vital for a living church, but it must be given by God. It is not a hu
man gift. When we as individuals or a group tolerate a mixture of spirits in our midst, we lose contact with the spirit of God, even if we think we are being broadminded.
On the other hand, we must guard against fighting impure or false spirits with human zeal and correcting or criticizing one another out of fear that something false might enter the church. We must recognize the importance of discerning spirits, yet we must also rec ognize that it is no help to separate them in a human way.
The parable of the wheat and weeds growing to gether in one field shows how we can cause harm by attempting to "clean the field" ourselves. The disciples were full of zeal, but Jesus warned them to be careful, saying, "Wait, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them." There is always the dan ger of correcting too much, of admonishing each other too much. The only answer is for us to be more depen dent on God.
Mt. 13:24-30
Mt. 13:29
The gift of speaking in tongues was granted at Pen tecost through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was definitely a divine and holy experience, and we should have deep reverence for it. I believe that today, too, such holy experiences may be given. But we must guard against the spirit of error.
Acts 2:4
People speak too lightly about being "filled with the Spirit" and possessing "gifts of the Spirit." These terms
are often applied to speaking in tongues, but in the New Testament these phrases are used in that connec tion only in a few instances. In many other instances there is no mention of tongues. Who would dare to say that one cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit without the evidence of tongues? Thirty years before Pentecost,
Lk. 1:41,67 Elizabeth and Zechariah were "filled with the Holy Spirit." And there have been millions of instances since then when people who did not speak in tongues were brought to salvation.
In the early church, speaking in tongues was closely related to repentance. Jesus started his mission with a call to repentance, and the apostle Peter, too, began his mission with the words, "Repent and be baptized for
Acts 2:38 the forgiveness of your sins." If we have not honestly repented and believed in Jesus Christ, then we have not received the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there is a lack of repentance in many of today's movements which see speaking in tongues as being "filled with the Spirit."
It is unwise to equate the receiving of the Holy Spirit with the pouring-out of particular emotions. As if that were the only way the Spirit worked! His indwelling does not depend on our emotions, but on our union with Christ, which is accomplished by God through our faith in him. The biblical conditions for receiving the Holy Spirit are repentance, faith in Christ, and the remission or forgiveness of our sins.
From a letter: We must have reverence for the gift of speaking in tongues as described in Acts 2 and 1 Cor inthians 12. But it is false and unhealthy to make a teaching or religion out of such a gift. In 1 Corinthians 13 we are told to ask for the higher gifts of faith, hope, and love, of which the greatest is love.
Acts 2
1 Cor. 12
1 Cor. 13
The gift of love leads to Jesus Christ, to community, to outreach, and to mission; it does not lead to talking about our own spiritual gifts. If we are filled with love, we may well speak in tongues, but we need not talk about it. Jesus says, "Go into your room, lock the door, and pray to God in heaven. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Mt. 6:6
The charismatic movement, which lays so much emphasis on speaking in tongues, is based on false teachings that bring division; it brings honor and glory to men rather than to God. If someone came to me and said he could speak in tongues, I would advise him not to talk about it but rather to show the fruits of the Spirit as described in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus did not teach us to speak in tongues but to refrain from making a show of our religion and to go the way of humility, love, and unity.
If we ask God for the gifts of prophecy, healing, and other gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, we need to be watchful of wanting to receive honor for having them. We should not ask for these gifts for our selves, but only on behalf of the whole Body of Christ
1 Cor 12-13
on earth. For ourselves we ought to ask for pure hearts, wisdom, faith, hope, and love; for more patience and more compassion.
It is not the development of man that will change the course of human history – only the intervention of the living God in men's lives. When he has touched us, we may hope for a change of heart and soul and for the Spirit and the kingdom of God to come. The Spirit brings the joy of God: joy in love, joy in sharing with brothers and sisters, joy in pure relationships between men and women, and joy in justice and peace among races and nations. Of ourselves we remain poor, help less, and tormented. But we must believe that the joy of God and his kingdom can change earth and heaven!
Forgiveness
It should be quite out of the question for anyone to come to prayer without having forgiven his brother, his neighbor, or even his enemy. Jesus clearly says,
Mt. 6:15 "He who does not forgive will not be forgiven." We cannot change one iota of this truth. The only way to find inner peace in Christ is through peace with one's brothers. Unforgiving thoughts lead to separation, and separation brings inner harm and leads to death. Com plete peace demands complete honesty. We can live in peace with our brothers only if we carry the truth in our hearts and are honest in our love.
From a letter: True forgiveness of sins is possible only
Eph. 1:7 in Jesus. In the world people forgive one another's
Col. 1:14 sins, but without Jesus, which is no help. At the time of the Reformation, the Catholic Church, which had tremendous influence over people, "forgave" sins through the sale of indulgences. Today, psychologists and psychiatrists "forgive" sin. They tell people, "You have not sinned; your behavior is quite normal; there is nothing wrong with it. You don't need to have a bad conscience; you can't help it." That is how the world forgives sin.
Things go wrong in churches and Christian commu nities because Jesus' words about making peace with one another before bringing a gift to the altar are not taken seriously anymore. Jesus himself said this, and as his followers we are entrusted with witnessing to his words. To us this means we should not come to prayer or partake of the Lord's Supper unless there is com plete peace among us. Too often it happens that things are left unresolved when people pray together. But communal life will not endure like that, and neither will marriage. We must clear things up and forgive one another again and again.
Mt. 5:23-24
If we hold a grudge against someone, the door to God will be closed. It will be absolutely closed, with no way to him. Only if we forgive others will we be forgiven. I am sure that many prayers are not heard because the person praying has a grudge against someone, even if he is not aware of it. Jesus says more than once that before we pray we must forgive. If we want Jesus, we must have a forgiving heart.
Mt. 6:15
Just as it did in the time of the apostles, the church of Jesus Christ has the authority to represent his kingdom today. It has the authority to loose and to bind, to forgive and to leave unforgiven. Without the forgive ness of sin no conscience can live, and without it no
Mt. 18:18
one can enter the kingdom of God. But unless we first forgive others, we cannot receive forgiveness.
Mt. 6:14-15
In the Letter of James we read that we should confess our sins to one another so that they may be forgiven. But this is possible only if Jesus lives in us. Without him there is no forgiveness.
Jas. 5:16
Unless forgiveness of sins is spoken out in com munion with Jesus, through his Holy Spirit, it means nothing. It is Jesus who promises that he will forgive us at the last judgment, and it is he who will also over come demons and devils on that day. We ourselves cannot overcome evil, even if we live together in broth erhood, even if we are burned as martyrs. Unless Jesus lives in us and we in him, our efforts are all in vain.
The words "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins...be glory and power for ever and ever" indicate that it is not we who can forgive sins. Forgive ness of sins is possible only through Christ, who loves us and frees us with his life's blood.
Rev. 1:5-6
We pronounce forgiveness of sins in the united church, yet this forgiveness descends from heaven – we ourselves have no authority whatsoever. Nothing human can take over. The grace of the cross must be present.
As a burning candle consumes itself and gives light, so the light of the risen Christ shines out to us through his death. When Christ arises in us –when the Sun comes up–night is overcome by day. So it is with the forgiveness of sins. We must experience what it means to be burdened with sin and then freed. Then we will see how the sun of Christ shines anew through the forgiveness of sins.
The redeeming power of forgiveness, which is in Jesus alone, must remain the center of the living church and of our expectation for the whole world.
Forgiveness means personal redemption and freeing, but it must always be seen in the greater context of re demption for the whole world. We should expect it to bring the kingdom of peace to whole nations and to all men. This expectation, which can be found on every page of the New Testament, is from Jesus. It must be alive in us so that it is not just something we believe in but something that burns in our hearts.
Because Jesus died for us, his blood speaks louder than the blood of Abel, who symbolizes the innocent man who has been slain. In Jesus even a murderer can find forgiveness. The blood of Jesus speaks louder than the accusing blood shed by the hand of man.
We have Christ's wonderful promise that if we forgive we will be forgiven. Certainly we also have his sharp warning that if we do not forgive we will not be forgiv en. Let us look at one another with new eyes and see each other as a gift from God, even if we know each other's weaknesses.
Paul writes to the Colossians that they are called to live in the peace of Christ as members of one body. It is not enough to feel the peace of God around us – it should reign in our hearts. The soul of man groans for peace. Therefore Jesus said to his disciples on his last evening, "I give you my peace. It is not peace such as the world gives."
Col. 3:15
Jn. 14:27
By nature we are not at peace; we are divided. But we are called to find reconciliation with God in Jesus. He offers us forgiveness of sins so that we may find unity and peace with him and with one another. It is not enough to seek peace for ourselves, for our own souls. We must seek it for the whole Body and ulti mately for the whole creation.
From a letter: Every serious Christian must go through hours of godforsakenness; even Jesus himself did. The only answer in such hours is: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." If we give ourselves uncon ditionally to the Father, he will show us the way. But nothing will be shown to him who does not forgive
Resentment
Lk. 23:46
his brother. God will not have mercy on him, and he will remain godforsaken as long as he continues in his hatred and unforgiveness.
From a letter: Be firm in your rejection of all touchi ness and anything else that destroys love. Beloved brother and sister, you are not the only ones who could find reason to be touchy. I am hated and accused by many; yet if I gave in to resentment, the door of prayer to God would be closed to me. God hears only those who forgive.
From a letter: I feel pained that at your young age you have to undergo such difficult struggles. But do not blame your troubles on your father. Through Adam we are all under the curse of sin and death and can not find new life or purity of heart except through the blood of Christ. That is the same for you as for me and for any other human being. Hold on to Jesus.
From a letter: You are cynical about the deception that has been revealed among us. Yes, it is terrible –so terrible that it could tear one completely apart. But you are only adding sin to sin if you become bitter.
Ps. 22 Read Psalm 22; consider what happened to Jesus and how he reacted to mockery, contempt, and betrayal. It did not make him cynical.
From a letter: You ask for forgiveness for your envy and hatred. We personally will gladly forgive you. But the forgiveness of the whole brotherhood, which means the renewal of unity with Jesus and his church, cannot be given until you turn fully away from your sin.
We are not angry with you, but we cannot pro nounce forgiveness on behalf of the brotherhood for your sinful attitude until you prove your repentance more deeply. This may have already begun. If so, con tinue in that direction. God is good, and he will not reject you. The brotherhood loves you, too, and will not reject you either. But we cannot unite with you as long as there is envy and hatred in you.
From a letter: You wrote that it was impossible for you to work because you were so upset about the hurt done to you. Your resentment must come to light and be overcome. Ultimately, the wrongs other people have done to you cannot separate you from God; only the wrongs you do to others. This is of utmost importance: all hurt and bitterness must be overcome.
From a letter: Hold firm to hope and faith, and deep joy will fill your heart and heal your wounds –joy that will overcome all fear and pessimism. After all, we are called to a way of joy –joy in God and in one another, for in the deepest sense love means joy.
Unity
Mt. 23:37 In Matthew 23:37 Jesus says, "How often have I want ed to gather you to me as a hen gathers her chicks, and you would not." This plea, along with the plea in
Jn. 17:21 Jesus' last prayer –"May they all be one, Father, even as I am one with thee"– is a decisive and constant chal lenge to us. It calls us to a way of complete brotherly love and oneness in Jesus, and it calls us to follow him in unity so that the world may recognize we are his disciples.
Nothing binds or unites people more deeply than having the same hope, the same faith, the same joy and expectation. It is very sad, therefore, when indi vidual believers stand alone. There have always been people who had to stand alone on account of their faith–some of them in prison, for years. But where there is true expectation, people are usually drawn together; their common faith leads to community, and they can strengthen and encourage one another. Stand ing for God always has a unifying power. Let us pray that we may be gathered together with all those who live in expectation of him.
From a letter: Jesus' first commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and being, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. In this individualistic age more than ever, a church of people committed to one another in such love and faithfulness is an ab solute necessity. Jesus stresses the importance of love and absolute unity–unity such as he has with the Father–again and again. I do not think we have ever reached this ultimate state of unity, even in our holiest moments; only God knows. Yet we want to live as a witness to it. We cannot separate dedication to Jesus from dedication to our brothers and sisters.
Mt. 22:37-39
Jn. 14-17
From a letter: It is true that Jesus can be served any where. But what a special gift it is when through him two or three or more people become of one heart and one soul! This cannot be manufactured; it is a gift.
God does not contradict himself. He does not say to one, "Thou shalt go to war," and to another, "Thou shalt not go to war"; or to one, "Thou shalt be faithful in marriage," and to the other, "Thou art free to di vorce." If we are open to the truth –if we listen to God in our hearts –we will find that he says the same thing to all, also in practical matters. We do not believe in the rule of a majority over a minority. We believe in the unanimity brought about by Christ, who wants to speak the same truth in every heart. This unity is a
grace and a miracle we experience again and again. But if we are unfaithful to God and to each other, it can be taken from us.
The unity of all believers is the only criterion for truth. When true unity is lacking, charisma –the power of in dividual persons or personalities over others –takes its place. People listen in a human way to others merely because they are strong personalities or leaders. Charis ma is not only the wrong foundation for community; it is altogether dangerous ground.
A religious group can find a healthy inner life only if its members find unity again and again with the Spirit and with God. Only then can the conscience of each one live and thrive, and only then can true una nimity be achieved.
It is immaterial where unity is lived. The important thing is that it is lived somewhere.
Many people today seek religious experiences or char ismatic gifts like speaking in tongues. But there is a danger that in seeking these gifts people miss the main message of the Gospel: unity in love. What help would it be to humankind if thousands and tens of thousands of people spoke in tongues but had no love and unity?
Our faith in Jesus Christ unites us as brothers and sisters and urges us to call others to follow him with us. We do this in absolute poverty of spirit –it is not that we want to make more members. But we do feel
Mt. 12:30 urged to call others to unity. The Holy Spirit does not scatter; it unites.
The attempt to reconcile different churches and con fessions is without any doubt good. But true unity – the unity that breaks down all barriers –starts with re-
Acts 2:37 pentance. When the Holy Spirit came down at Pente cost, people asked, "Brothers, what shall we do?" They were deeply struck in their hearts, and they repented for their sins and became of one heart and one soul. Unfortunately, in today's ecumenical movement bar riers or fences often remain, and people shake hands over them. But we must testify to the possibility of true unity among men. It comes only through repen tance and through personally facing Jesus –as man, as living spirit, and as Lord.
From a letter: The ecumenical movement tends to resolve differences by making concessions. Concessions take the place of repentance, deep reconciliation, and the unanimity that grows as the fruit of repentance, and in the end serious evils are often smeared over.
A merely emotional feeling of unity is not enough. In our communities we promise to speak openly to one another when there are problems –to admonish each other and to accept admonition. Whenever we avoid this brotherly honesty because we fear the conse quences it might have, our unity is no longer a reality. God's will is deed, and we must live according to it with deeds. When we do this, Christ can bring about a truly united church, purified by the Holy Spirit. We will no longer nurse feelings against others, and we will become of one heart and one soul, as in the early Church.
Mt. 12:33 Jesus said more than once that a tree is recognized
Lk. 6:44 by its fruits. We must never forget this. All of us can see what kind of tree today's society is: its fruits are murder, injustice, impurity, unfaithfulness, and destruction.
What were the fruits Jesus wanted to see? The first fruit is unity. How else shall the world recognize his
Jn. 17:21 disciples? Jesus said, "May they all be one, Father, even as we are one."
How can we show the fruits of unity and remain a part of today's society? It is impossible: society is ruled by mammon, the spirit of this world, which is "a liar
Jn. 8:44 and a murderer from the beginning." It is ruled not by the spirit of unity but by the spirits of disintegration, destruction, and separation. True unity can be found only in a life of brotherhood.
Is it not true that Christ demands the surrender of the whole man to his new order? The time is urgent. Let us come to a true sense of responsibility! Let us gather with Christ and unite with him as branches on the tree of life!
In a brotherhood ruled by the Holy Spirit one can see many aspects of Jesus, just as one sees different colors in a rainbow. Each of us is different, but God created us, and we should not try to be something that we are not. We should give our heart, soul, and being to Jesus and let him do with us what he wants. Then our lives will find true fulfillment, and we will love each other as we are, with our differences –even our national dif ferences. The same Jesus is expressed in every brother and sister.
Church Discipline
In our Bruderhof communities each member makes a covenant with God at baptism and promises never again to sin willfully against him. If after baptism someone does sin willfully against God, he must un dergo church discipline in order to make a completely new beginning.
The small sins we all commit every day can be for given through our daily prayer. If the sins are worse, they can be forgiven through confession. James says,
Jas. 5:16 "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and then you will be healed." For more seri ous sins, church discipline is necessary.
Discipline is carried out only at the request of the person concerned. In some cases a person may be excluded from common prayer and from members' meetings until he has repented and is forgiven. In oth ers, a person is put into the "small exclusion." This means that he may not take part in common prayer and should not be given the greeting of peace, though he may still participate in the daily life of the com munity. If an even graver sin is committed, the church may use the "great exclusion." In this case, a person is pronounced cut off from the kingdom of God, and he
may take no part in the communal life of the church until he has found a repentant heart.
When someone has to repent of an especially dark, willfully committed sin, we use Paul's words, "I give you over to Satan for the destruction of your flesh and the salvation of your soul." Paul was speaking of a man who lived with his father's wife, yet even after such a sin he believed that exclusion could lead to the salva tion of this man's soul. We also believe –and have ex perienced it–that through discipline people who have sinned can find full repentance and full forgiveness and can become true brothers and sisters again.
1 Cor. 5:1-5
Paul warned the early church to let no bitter weed grow up to poison the whole. If this warning was given to the earliest believers, then it surely applies to us too. That is one reason we use church discipline: so that no poison may destroy the church. Another reason is to give the person who is disciplined a chance to begin anew, to find forgiveness of sins, and to purify his or her life.
Heb. 12:15
We can exclude a brother or sister only if we recog nize that the sin in our own hearts must be judged as well. Church discipline is not carried out to judge a person, but to separate the evil in a person from the church. This has to happen again and again in our own hearts.
When brothers and sisters accept church discipline, it should remind us of the grace of repentance. If they really repent, they do something for the whole church – in fact, for the whole world–because evil is overcome by Jesus. In this sense we must have deep respect and reverence for those who are disciplined, because we know that we need God's mercy and compassion our selves.
We must be very careful not to load onto a person even one milligram more than his actual guilt. We should be thankful that repentance and reconciliation with God is possible for those excluded, for us, and for all humankind.
Church discipline is a victory of light over darkness; it is the beginning of healing in a person. If it is accept ed in this sense–the only true sense –it is a grace.
I believe that the question of exclusion and reaccep tance–as indeed of church discipline altogether –is closely connected with Jesus, the loving and redeem ing Savior who bears the sins of the whole world. He accepted death on the cross so that all men would be given the possibility of finding reconciliation with God again and again. This reconciliation cannot be sepa rated from the forgiveness of sins.
The whole question of church discipline is some thing that has become blurred or softened in Chris tendom today. But it is not a matter of the Bruderhof's point of view versus the view of Christianity in gen
eral. Our understanding of church discipline is based wholly on the words of Jesus and his apostles. They are our only guide.
Mt. 18:15-20
In a church that is almost dead or totally dead, people gossip about one another's weaknesses. There is little, if any, church discipline, and therefore no forgiveness either. Jesus commanded, "When you go to the altar to bring your sacrifice and you remember that your brother has something against you, go back and make peace with him, and then bring your sacrifice to the altar." He also said that we should not pray unless we forgive every person in the whole world, whether the person is right or wrong, friend or enemy. These com mands have been almost entirely forgotten.
Mt. 5:23-24
Mk. 11:25
Jesus' parable about the weeds among the wheat is often used as an excuse for a dying church. But I believe that this parable is not chiefly meant for the church; it is meant mainly for the world in general. We cannot use it as an excuse for tolerating evil. If we know there is sin in the church, it must be rooted out through church discipline, out of love to the person in volved and to the church. Otherwise the whole church
Mt. 13:24-30
will be lost. Paul says that the church should not have spots, blemishes, or wrinkles, but be pure and holy as Jesus himself is holy. We cannot excuse evil by saying that where there is wheat there is always chaff.
Eph. 5:27
Col. 1:22
There is no better way to defeat the devil in our own hearts than by giving ourselves completely to Jesus. This is especially true for members under church dis cipline and for those who struggle with evil thoughts and feelings. They must give themselves over to Jesus again and again. That is the only way victory is pos sible in the struggle of the heart in daily life.
Heb. 4:12 In the Letter to the Hebrews it says that the spirit of God is as sharp as a two-edged sword. We should apply this sharpness to ourselves first of all. But the New Testament also speaks of the great compassion, love, and warmth that come from the Spirit, and we should always show this love to others, especially to sinners.
We can come to Jesus with any need, and we will find compassion and grace. But we must be willing to ac cept his sharpness, too. Every Christian needs someone who speaks the truth to him in the love of Christ, no matter how painful it is, in order to cut through what is evil in him.
We must pray that along with the salt of the truth we may have compassion and merciful love. Then we will not fall into extremes, and we will not speak to each other without love. My father once wrote, "He who admonishes his brother without love is a murderer."
I think all of us have to recognize where we have been loveless, and ask for forgiveness.*
When something is not right in a brother or sister, we must speak to him or her about it out of love. And if someone speaks plainly to us, we must not be touchy. I can assure you that those who lived with Jesus heard plenty of straight talking. In comparison to Jesus, we are perhaps still much too polite. Jesus honored his
Jn. 2:4 mother, but he also said to her, "What have I to do with you, woman?" His way of love is not a way of politeness.
From a letter: If you know of specific instances of complacency, lovelessness, or sin among us, please bring them to our attention. But don't make general accusations and talk about them with others. Such talking is extremely dangerous and divisive. It will not help to bring brothers and sisters together but will drive them further apart.
It is very clear from the New Testament that forgive ness of sin is connected with the church. Jesus gives
Mt. 16:19 the keys "to bind and to loose" to the church. So anywhere on this earth where two or three meet in his
* Another similar saying of Eberhard Arnold is "Love without truth lies, but truth without love kills."
name–that is, in a spirit of total and unconditional surrender to him –there the keys to bind and to loose are given. Forgiveness is not merely a private matter.
God wants us to become clearer in discernment, but he also wants us to become more loving, more under standing, and more merciful. Church discipline must exist, but we must remember Jesus' words, "He who judges will be judged" and "With the same measure you use, you will be measured." Love is the greatest gift.
Lk. 6:37-38
Baptism
In baptism three things are of utmost importance: faith in Jesus Christ, assurance of the forgiveness of sins through repentance, and incorporation into the Body, which is the church.
Baptism is a covenant with God and his church in which we give ourselves wholeheartedly to Jesus with all that we are and have, in the belief that he will for give our sins. This forgiveness of sins is possible only
Eph. 1:7 through the death of Jesus, though he has given his
Jn. 20:23 church the power to forgive sins in his name.
May God forgive the sins of each person who de sires baptism, and may Jesus purify each of them with
1Jn. 1:7 his blood and make them children of God and true brothers and sisters.
Baptism is a confession of repentance, and therefore it means absolute dedication: it means giving ourselves, pouring ourselves out totally for Jesus Christ, as a vessel is poured out, so that we become empty of our selves and poor before God.
Baptism is the declaration of a good conscience before God, which is possible only through the gracious help and cleansing power of Christ's blood. It is Christ's spirit, the spirit of truth, that speaks to the believing conscience and directs it toward unity with the will of God. Only in such unity – the unity of a good con science with God – is there true peace. Here the con science is freed from the Law and from the powers of the spirit of our time.
1 Pet. 3:21
Rom. 6:3-4
Gal. 3:25-27
Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, and I believe he meant baptism to be a real immersion. But the form is not important – if there is no water available for immersion, water can also be poured over the person being baptized. The important thing is that we are buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him through the faith which God works in us, just as Christ was raised from the dead.
Col. 2:12
The step of baptism is a step of total dedication to God and the church, and we do not want to persuade anyone to take it. But we must call people to repen tance; we must point out that the Gospel contains the sharpest condemnation of sin, though it also contains the warmest welcome for repentant sinners. God calls us again and again to come to him with our trespasses and our need, and we can always turn trustingly to him, no matter what the circumstances.
From a letter: We do not become better people through baptism; we do not climb up to become gods. We will always remain lowly sinners to whom God comes down. It is a miracle we are never worthy of, yet God is full of grace.
It is better to remain unbaptized than to take the step half-heartedly for the sake of parents or someone you love, or in order to find security in church member ship. Baptism must be a personal decision. No one can make it for you.
Millions of people are baptized, but for many of them baptism is a completely dead form. I would ad vise anyone who wants to be baptized to ask himself, "Am I willing, for the sake of Jesus, to love nothing more than him –neither wife, parents, nor children – so that he can live in me? Am I willing to give every thing to Jesus and my brothers?" If you are not, don't be baptized. You must be willing to die for him so that he himself may live in your heart. Jesus must be your only treasure.
If you are baptized for the sake of Jesus, he will receive
Rom. 8:1-4 you and love you and give you his forgiveness and peace. He will live within you, and help you conquer every temptation. You will be purified and washed clean by his blood.
True baptism is deeply related to the death and the resurrection of Jesus. It cannot be separated from them. Baptism really means dying with Christ and then rising with him. The phrase "dying with Christ" has been so overused that perhaps some of its power has been lost; but when we consider deeply what it meant for God to come to this earth and die for us, we will begin to feel the seriousness of his asking us to die with him.
Rom. 6:3-4
Mt. 10:38-39
Jn. 12:24-26
Baptism requires a personal decision to confess one's sins and to give one's life to Jesus completely. It means wanting to die rather than consciously sin again. You must personally experience that Christ is your peace of heart and that he died for you. But this is not enough. You must have a much greater vision of Christ. It would be wrong to forget your personal experience, yet you must see beyond it and recognize the greatness of the suffering and sin of the whole world. And you must also recognize the greatness of God, the greatness of the universe, and the greatness of Jesus, who is king over the kingdom of God and holds the key to the underworld. He has power over all powers.
Rev. 1:18
Baptism is not a human institution: it is a step in which sins are forgiven and demons are driven out through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. No man can do this, nor can any group of people. We need
the presence of Christ himself, and therefore we ask for God to be present at our baptismal meetings. It is he whom we honor, he who forgives our sins through faith in the death of Jesus Christ. Of course, before God can forgive sins through baptism, there must be repentance. All of us must take repentance seriously, and all of us must break with human justice, human goodness, and human fairness. No one of us is right; God alone is right. Jesus was sharpest to those who were "good"– to those who did not need the cross or believed that since they were Abraham's children they were saved. He said, "It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick. I have come not to save virtu ous people, but sinners."
Mk. 2:17
Paul says that once we are converted and baptized – once we have decided to follow Jesus – we should no longer put the members of our body at the disposal of sin. This is very important: the brain must be filled by God's grace and God's thoughts; the hands must no longer cause the shedding of blood or carry out impure or obscene acts; and the eyes must no longer be used for lust, but to radiate God's love to brothers and sis ters. When we give ourselves to Christ in baptism, we seal our whole body for his use.
Rom. 6:12-13
Yet everyone knows that after baptism, evil still tries to work in us. In one it may be through impurity, in another it may be through pride, in another through hatred and bitterness. It is impossible to pull ourselves
out of the mud by our own shoe-strings. We may fight and struggle, but we will never be able to change our selves. It is through the death of Jesus, his forgiveness, and his power to drive out evil from the heart that we
Rom. 6 will no longer be slaves to sin. We will still be tempted, but our temptation will be answered by the deep in ner experience of faith. If we have only the Law –the "Thou shalt not desire"– and evil desire comes up in our hearts, we won't know what to do with it. But if we have experienced Jesus through repentance, we will be able to overcome. We will still be human, but we will no longer be slaves to sin.
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is an outward symbol, a sign of giv ing ourselves in brokenness to Jesus, whose body was broken and crucified. Christ wants to be present in the heart of each one who breaks the bread and drinks the wine. He wants us to become weak with him so that we may then become strong in his strength and have communion with him. Bread and wine are only sym bols, but the purifying unity with Christ which they symbolize is a great reality. At the Lord's Supper we experience community with Christ.
Just as grains of wheat from different fields are ground and formed into one loaf, and grapes from many vine yards are pressed to produce wine, so we, who come from different countries and cultures, can be united in the Lord's Supper. But this unity is possible only when we sacrifice our self-importance.
1 Cor. 10:16-17
The Lord's Supper is a meal of unity, and we should prepare ourselves so that we may partake of it in the right way. It is a meal at which we remember Jesus, whose redeeming spirit of forgiveness is there for the whole world–for all people and all races. And it is also
a time for us to renew our covenant of faithfulness to God and unburden our hearts so that they may be freed for service and rededicated to him.
As we remember how Jesus appointed the meal on his last evening on earth, we should also remember that every Christian should be ready to sacrifice his life – in fact should sacrifice his life–like him. We live in a world that is just as hostile to God's kingdom as it was in Jesus' time, and he did not promise us that we would fare better than he did. Rather, he said that his disciples would be persecuted and that what was done to their Master would be done to them too.
Jn. 15:18-20
By celebrating the Lord's Supper we testify to the love of our Lord Jesus, whose death made it possible for us to find forgiveness of sins, love, and unity with one an other. It is actually a very simple meal, but Jesus asked his disciples to hold it in memory of him, and so we celebrate it in that sense.
Paul says that he who eats the bread and drinks the wine unworthily at the Meal of Remembrance eats and drinks judgment on himself. It is clear by this that we should not go to the Lord's Supper with a conscience burdened by unconfessed sin. But we should not allow feelings of unworthiness to torment us. Paul is speak ing here mainly about the inner attitude with which we should come to the Lord's Supper. We should come
1 Cor. 11:29
with the same reverent fear Moses had when God showed him the burning bush and said to him, "Take off your shoes, here is holy ground."
Ex. 3:5
In the early church the believers met often to hold the Lord's Supper so that evil spirits would be driven out from among them. When a spiritual struggle is going on in our brotherhood, we, too, feel urged to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Jörg Blaurock, an early Anabaptist leader, said that if it is celebrated often, it will reveal any false brothers among us.
In the breaking of bread and drinking of wine at the Lord's Supper, we join ourselves to Christ in the deep est sense possible. We remember his saving death and "proclaim it until he comes," as Paul says. We proclaim Christ's death as the greatest historical event: through his wounds we are healed, through his suffering we find God, and through his great light we find love. We pray that he alone may be our Lord and Master. Let us love him –his way and his life–with all our being.
1 Cor. 11:26
The New Testament says that if we love Christ, we must die with him. This means we must die to our selves. Dying to oneself is often very painful and may cost a long struggle, but it is possible if we love Christ and his cross deeply enough. It is not a matter of selftorment but of finding Jesus.
cf. Jn. 12:24-25
Certainly we should not only remember Christ's death and his suffering when we think of the Lord's
Supper –we should also remember his resurrection from the dead and his ascension to the Father, from whose side he will rule the church and the heart of every believer. And we should remember his promise to come again to judge us and to establish his wonder ful kingdom.
Love and Marriage
Love Jesus showed us that love means giving one's life for others rather than taking life, becoming the lowest and humblest rather than the most powerful. Love makes us free. A person who wants to dominate others and have power over them has a tormented soul, whereas a person who is burning with love has a joyful soul. We wish for our couples that love might rule their life, and that service to one another might come before ser vice to oneself. But more than this, we wish that they might be dedicated to the great cause of God, and that their love to him might come before everything else – even before their marriage.
In the sphere of love, the determining factor is always the nonphysical: it is the relationship from heart to heart and from soul to soul. We cannot forget that without the soul, the body is merely the human form–merely matter. Yet we should not despise it on
1 Cor. 6:19 that account. "Do you not know that your body is a shrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is
* For this chapter extensive use has been made of the author's book In the Image of God: Marriage and Chastity in Christian Life (Plough, 1977).