QUOTES FROM – ‘THE HOLY TRINITY’ 1522
“It is a heavenly mystery which the world cannot understand”
“I have often told you that this, as well as every other article of faith, must not be based upon reason or comparisons, but must be understood and established by means of passages from the Scriptures.”
“The Scriptures gradually and beautifully lead us to Christ; first revealing him to us as a man, then as the lord of all creatures. and finally as God. Thus we are successfully led to the true knowledge of God. But the philosophers and the wise men of this world would begin at the top and so they have become fools.”
“In this Gospel you see clearly what reason and freewill can do. You may see it distinctly in Nicodemus, who was the best of the best, a prince and leader of the Pharisees, and the Pharisees held first place in their day. They were, however, in the highest things–in spiritual life–altogether blind and dead before God, however holy, wise, good and mighty they may have been considered by men.”
“Reason is so blind that it can neither perceive nor understand the things of God, nor all things which properly belong to its own sphere, This is a blow to nature and human reason, which have been rated so high by philosophy and the wise men of this world.”
“God has here given us an example showing that even the best in nature must fail. In instances where human nature is at its best it is blind.”
“Christ has here demonstrated by examples, words and deeds that human reason is altogether blind and dead before God, Hence, it cannot appreciate divine things nor desire them.”
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“Although the natural man hears the Word of God, the Gospel, and delights in it, yet it does not enter the heart. Therefore, we must slay reason and experience the new birth. This is what Christ means when he says that we must be born anew. Reason cannot understand this.”
“..reason takes offense at the Spirit, imagines unrealities and conceives of this new birth as a natural birth.”
” Now, Christ speaks and destroys reason, saying: “Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?” You should teach others the spiritual birth, that they might become righteous, but you yourself do not understand it.”
“Renounce your reason and close your eyes; cling only to My Word and believe it.”
“You presume to judge spiritual things by your reason, and at the same time you cannot understand the simple things of nature. He calls Nicodemus’ attention to the wind. No philosopher or scientist has ever been able to comprehend and describe the nature of the wind–where it has its beginning or where it ends. We cannot see where the wind comes from, or how it blows past us, or how far it goes. Now, if we cannot by our reason fathom those things which we see daily in nature, much less will we be able to fathom with our reason the divine works which God accomplishes within us.”
“How a man is born anew may easily be told in words. When, however, it is a question of experience, as it was here with Nicodemus, then it is a hard matter to understand and it requires effort to attain the experience. It is easy to say: We must blind our reason, disregard our feelings, close our eyes and only cling to the Word–finally die and yet live. But to persevere in this, when it becomes a matter of experience and when we are really tested, requires pains and labor. It is a very bitter experience.”
“He who is born of the flesh fights to defend himself, looks hither and thither, employs his reason to make his living.”
“Thus we must abandon the life of the flesh and enter into a new life, being dead to the old. This is a real dying and not merely a painful sensation, like the scratching off of a scab, as the philosophers have said; and they have compared the entering upon the new life with the rinsing of a pot by the cook. There must be a real change and an entire transformation of nature, for the natural state and natural feeling must be completely overthrown.”
“Now, the Lord says here: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” “Flesh” means the whole man, with body and soul, reason and will, who is not yet born of the Spirit.”
“‘And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.’ Reason does not understand what this means, for it is a sermon from heaven.”
“This Gospel, then, signifies that our works are nothing, and that all human power can do is useless, but faith in Christ does it all.”
http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/John3_1_15.html
