This is what is meant by “Thy king cometh.” You do not seek him, but he seeks you. You do not find him, he finds
you. For the preachers come from him, not from you; their sermons come from him, not from you; your faith comes from
him, not from you; everything that faith works in you comes from him, not from you; and where he does not come, you
remain outside ; and where there is no Gospel there is no God, but only sin and damnation, free will may do, suffer, work
and live as it may and can. Therefore you should not ask, where to begin to be godly; there is no beginning, except
where the king enters and is proclaimed.
-Luther, First Sunday in Advent, 1522
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COMMENTS
5 responses to “The Kingdom Cometh”
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Thank you, Matt. That was a blessing.
Excellent. This is so much better that “Jesus is Lord” being the Gospel. I don’t even know what that means.
Is that a Van Gogh painting?
I thought that the gospel was “The Kingdom has Come”. . .
sorry–that was me: aka Karl Barth
All my love to the Stampdog! And to Browder…It is Van Gogh…I thought the Bird could use some Gogh. This painting is entitled “Starry Night.” I love Van Gogh. Is there any other way?