Luther's Works

Welcome to Session Two of TLC's Web Bible Study!
By Reverend Jean Lebbert

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And darkness was over the face of the abyss."

Luther: "Everything that is, was created by God. At the beginning of the first day were created the crude mass of mire or of earth, and the mists or waters. Into these, within the remaining space of the first day, God introduced light and made day appear, in order to expose to view the crude mass of heaven and earth, rather like an elementary seed, but one suited for producing something."

My favorite Bible study buddy, Dr. Rev. Margie Brown, paraphrases this verse this way:

"In the beginning, there was nothing, and God said, "Let there be light" and there was still nothing, but now you could see it."

I find it interesting that science and religion are at odds over creation vs. evolution instead of coming together in agreement that in beginnings there is chaos. There is everything all at once, but no shape until there is a direction or a goal.

Genesis 1:1 contains all the Good News. "Everything that is necessary is at hand." It would be good to start each day with that mantra and to do every day giving shape and to everything that is at hand, instead of wanting for something else. What exists outside of everything? Why do we think that we need that too?

Luther writes: (and herein is one of my favorite Luther quotes)

"The Arians have fancied that the angels and the Son of God were created before the beginning. But let us pass over this blasphemous idea. Let us also disregard another question: "What was God doing before the beginning of the world? Was He in a state of rest or not? Augustine relates in his Confessions that someone had answered to this effect: "God was making hell ready for those who pried into meddlesome questions."

It is a difficult concept to get a hold of, that before ANYTHING existed, God existed. So, is God an existence or something other? Brain wants to know. Brain wants knowing control. Luther writes, "It is folly to argue much about God outside and before time."

Isn't it good to know that Augustine was harsher than Luther sometimes? I don't know much about Augustine. Perhaps you don't either. This study will benefit us in that lacking.

Isn't it enough to know that out of chaos beginning takes shape? We certainly know chaos in life, and we certainly know ending. Beginning, we have a hard time with. Too much pain in endings. Beginnings occur without our being able to pay attention.

"And the Spirit hovered over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light'"

Luther sees the revelation of the Trinity at Creation. 1) Creator/Father creates everything; 2) Spirit hovers (Luther: "As a hen broods her eggs, keeping them warm in order to hatch her chicks, and, as it were, to bring them to life through the heat, so Scripture says that the Holy Spirit brooded, as it were, on the waters to bring to life those substances which were to be quickened and adorned. For it is the office of the Holy Spirit to make alive.") The third revelation is the word: 3) "Let there be light." Creator using stuff of creation (i.e. speech) to enlighten. Word incarnate in speech; word incarnate in Jesus.

It is not a big step, then, for us to fathom word incarnate in us as the body of Christ today.


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