The Pure, Clear Word
Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony . . .. And many more believed because of His word.
JOHN 4:39, 41
+
The Pure, Clear Word
If only God would grant that my interpretation and that of all teachers perish and that every Christian himself would take for himself the pure Scripture and the clear Word of God! You can see from my babbling how immeasurably different God's Word is from human words, and how no man with all his words is able sufficiently to attain to and elucidate a single Word of God. It is an infinite Word that must be grasped and contemplated with a quiet spirit, as the psalmist says, "I will hear what God Himself speaks in me" (Psalm 85:8). No one but such a quiet, contemplating spirit grasps it. Whoever could arrive at this without glosses and interpretations would have no need of my glosses and those of other men; indeed, they would only be in his way. Therefore, go in, go in, dear Christians, and let my interpretation and that of other teachers be only a scaffold for the true building, so that we may grasp and taste the pure, clear Word of God and remain there, for there alone God dwells in Zion. Amen.
From the conclusion of the 1522 and 1525 editions of the Church Postil (Luther's Works 76:137 n. 134)
JOHN 4:39, 41
+
The Pure, Clear Word
If only God would grant that my interpretation and that of all teachers perish and that every Christian himself would take for himself the pure Scripture and the clear Word of God! You can see from my babbling how immeasurably different God's Word is from human words, and how no man with all his words is able sufficiently to attain to and elucidate a single Word of God. It is an infinite Word that must be grasped and contemplated with a quiet spirit, as the psalmist says, "I will hear what God Himself speaks in me" (Psalm 85:8). No one but such a quiet, contemplating spirit grasps it. Whoever could arrive at this without glosses and interpretations would have no need of my glosses and those of other men; indeed, they would only be in his way. Therefore, go in, go in, dear Christians, and let my interpretation and that of other teachers be only a scaffold for the true building, so that we may grasp and taste the pure, clear Word of God and remain there, for there alone God dwells in Zion. Amen.
From the conclusion of the 1522 and 1525 editions of the Church Postil (Luther's Works 76:137 n. 134)
Posted in Daily Devotions
Recent
Archive
2026
January
In The GardenBy Your Own LawA Kingdom Not From HereThe King Who Bears Witness to the TruthWhich Jesus Will You Have?Behold the King We MockedBehold the Man, Lifted for YouAuthority from Above, Glory from the CrossBehold Your King, Lifted Up to JudgeThe Place of the SkullIt Is WrittenEvery Promise KeptStabat MaterIt Is FinishedThese Three TestifyA True TestimonyA Quiet Courage at the CrossThe Empty Tomb and the Wounded SaviorSeeing, Believing, and the Linen Left BehindCalled by Name in the GardenDo Not Cling, Go and TellPeace in Wounded HandsThe Wounds That Speak PeaceYou May Have LifeMy Lord and My GodFishingIt Is the LordThey KnewFeed My LambsFollow HimFollowing Jesus, Not Comparing Paths
February
The Testimony That Is EnoughBefore Kings, Before the CrossBefore You Were Born, the Word Was GivenSet Like FlintRemembering First LoveForsaking the FountainBroken Cisterns and the Living CrossAshamed of Our False RescuesForgottenWe Have SinnedLift Up Your EyesLike SisterReturn to the LordThe Gift of ShepherdsOur Only HopeShame That Leads to SalvationCircumcised HeartsBlow the Trumpet in the LandWhen Wisdom FailsThe Storm We Have SummonedThe Sound of the TrumpetWhen Wisdom Becomes FollyThe Earth Shall MournCan You Find One?There Is No DifferenceThe Lord Must InterveneSpeak TruthEnduring Nation
March
2025
January
Not AshamedIn Every RespectWe Are In His HouseHear His VoiceTodayBut You BelieveRest in ChristRest in FaithRest in Christ’s WordConfidence in Our Great High PriestOur Eternal High PriestCalled by GracePerfect Through SufferingA Little MilkFoundationGod Comes to UsFaith in ChristObtaining the PromiseThe King of PeaceBlessed by the SuperiorA Priest Forever in ChristThe Forever PriestA Better HopeOur Eternal IntercessorOur Perfect High PriestOur Eternal High PriestThe Better Covenant in ChristA New CovenantPromises KeptOnly The High PriestNot the Blood of Goats