I sometimes wonder if God is directing my reading because virtually everything I read speaks in some way or other to the circumstance I am in at any given time. It is probably some personal form of the hermeneutic spiral in action in which my life feeds my reading which in turn interprets my life which in turn further interprets and deepens my reading etc. etc.

 

I am reading Barth for Armchair Theologians (which is a polite way of saying Barth for Idiots) and am finding this overview of his life and theology incredibly profound. Here is a thought from Barth on the church as an agent of Grace. Before the quote comes an intro from the book's author John R. Franke:

 

"While the church is the instrument of God's grace in the world as a visible and historical institution, this does not in any way imply that the church has any control over the dispensation of grace in the world. This perogative belongs to God and to God alone. Grace constitutes God's claim on humanity, and this understanding cannot be reversed, or grace becomes something that enters into human control and as such is no longer grace. Hence, neither the church nor any individuals in the church have a claim on the grace of God."

 

Now for Barth:

 

"The splendour of the church can consist only in its hearing in poverty the Word of the eternally rich God, and making that Word heard by human beings. The Church does not control that Word as earthly beings can be controlled. Nor does the church possess the Word as material or intellectual goods are normally possessed. Nor does the church take the Word for granted as it would count on something which was not a gift."

 

Finally more commentary by Franke:

 

"Thus from Barth's perspective, the four marks of unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity are not given to the church such that they become a part of its constituent nature. Instead, they are always to be understood as properties of God's action by which He brings the church into existence moment by moment."