In this message we will fellowship concerning the history of the Lord’s recovery of spiritual life. World history calls the centuries leading up to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Dark Ages. Most historians acknowledge the fact that those years were dark, but most do not realize what caused the darkness. We know, however, that the reason those years were dark was because at that time the word of God was completely sealed. Not only was the word of God sealed in letter, it was even physically locked up. The Roman Catholic Church prohibited people from reading the Bible. In their view, only the pope, bishops, and priests were qualified to read the Scriptures, and the interpretation of the Bible was altogether limited to what the pope taught. Hence, the Lord’s word, which is the light, was not among the human race at that time. Human history prior to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was at its darkest hour.
It was in the sixteenth century that God raised up Martin Luther to bring in the Reformation. The first item God recovered through Luther was the truth of justification by faith. Luther taught that man is saved through justification by faith. This was truly the Lord’s doing. However, Protestantism has greatly exaggerated and excessively promoted the recovery of this truth through Luther. Although it was a great move of God, its spiritual value is actually not that great. Although I have not read many of Luther’s writings, I have read some of them. Forty to fifty years ago I truly appreciated Luther’s writings, but today when I read his books, I feel that they do not mean that much to me. I do not say this because I am proud but because when I read his books, regardless of the subject matter, I touch only doctrines and not life.
Even though his faith and his boldness have been admired by many, he was not always so bold. When the Roman Catholic Church sought to kill him, he relied on Germany’s political power for protection. Hence, he betrayed the matter of the church. It is not too much to say this. He betrayed the truth concerning the church in order to gain protection from Germany’s political powers.
In any case, when you read Luther’s books, you cannot readily find help for your spiritual life. Hence, the result of the Reformation was the coming forth of Sardis. The Lord’s word in His epistle to Sardis is, “You have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead” (Rev. 3:1b). Nothing in the midst of Sardis is lively and strong. This is the condition of the Protestant churches. The degradation of the Protestant churches into their present situation did not begin recently. Rather, they became dead and cold shortly after the Reformation began through Luther. The Reformers left the Roman Catholic Church, accepted the doctrine of justification by faith, and even established the so-called Lutheran church. Several northern European countries, such as Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, accepted the Lutheran church as their state religion. Up to this day the pastors of the German Lutheran church are paid from the treasury of the German government. The kings of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway all serve as the heads of their state churches. The reformers established the Lutheran sect and the Lutheran church, but they sacrificed the truth concerning the church. Hence, from the beginning, even before Luther passed away, the Protestant churches were lifeless.
Church history shows us that God reacted to this situation. There was a reaction of life against the deadness and coldness of the Lutheran doctrines. At that time, both inside and outside of the Catholic Church, there were some reactions of life. While Luther was still alive, several people who were quite strong in life rose up to react to Luther, letting him know that what he taught was all doctrines without life. Luther, however, greatly condemned and opposed them.
One of Luther’s contemporaries was a person by the name of Schwenckfeld (1489-1561), who was very strong in life. When I read his books on the experience of life, I noticed that he even referred to the tree of life and to Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Furthermore, he spoke extensively on the condition of Christianity being according to the tree of knowledge of good and evil and on how we can live according to the tree of life by walking according to the Spirit of life and by experiencing Christ. This was a great surprise to me. When we began to see these matters in the Word, we thought we were seeing what no one had ever seen before. Little did we know that Schwenckfeld had seen these things over three hundred years ago. When Schwenckfeld found that Luther would not accept what he had seen, he went into voluntary exile, which lasted for many years. Luther rejected his attempt at reconciliation, calling him a fool possessed by the devil. From this we can begin to understand why fundamental Christianity opposes us when we get into matters such as the Spirit of life. While the emphasis of fundamental Christianity is on doctrines, the emphasis of the Lord’s reaction is on life.
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