# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1857_S316
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 316 —

that the mouth of such people should ordain so great and excellent a
power? Peter stands up at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, fears neither
Hannas nor Caiaphas, nor the whole council, opens his mouth, strikes into
the devil's kingdom, and with a single sermon converts three thousand
souls out of the devil's kingdom to Christ. The other apostles likewise
began such a power through their mouth and word that the synagogue and
the Jewish kingdom went down before it. Afterward they come to Rome, attack
the highest power on earth, punish its heathen, idolatrous ways, and
ordain through their mouth such a power that no one can withstand. Further,
they scatter into the world, storm the devil's kingdom through the word,
plant and build Christ's church: there this power sets in, which neither
emperors nor kings, neither princes nor the mighty can withstand. They
indeed struggle against it, deal horribly with the apostles and Christians,
but it does not help. The power out of the mouths of young children and
sucklings cuts through and keeps the victory. Emperors, kings, and the
mighty on earth must hang their heads and confess that they are not able
to withstand it.

In sum, it is God's nature to display his divine majesty and power
through nothingness and weakness. He himself says to Paul, 2 Cor. 12:9:
My strength is made perfect in weakness.

Emperors and kings, princes and lords on earth, proceed with force, use
all their money and goods, against Christ and his kingdom. The devil also
storms against it with reason, wisdom, and cleverness, through heretics,
factions, and sects. So says God: I too could make strong, mighty
emperors, kings, and rulers out of stones, could make reasonable, wise,
and clever people, and through them establish my dominion and kingdom, so
that power would go against power, force against force, reason against
reason, wisdom and cleverness against wisdom and cleverness; but I will
not do that — rather I will undertake it in a foolish way, so that in
their great cleverness they become fools and madmen, so that they may see
and recognize how all their wealth, power, reason, wisdom, and cleverness
are pure nothing before me. Therefore, just as they come on with force,
reason, wisdom, and cleverness, defying and blustering, so I turn it
straight around, and set before the rich, the powerful, the clever, and
the wise nothing but poor, weak, artless people, who have no house and
home, but are strangers and pilgrims in the world. And in this I take
delight and pleasure; because they boast of power and wisdom, I meet them
with nothing but weakness and foolishness. . . .

What happens in our own time? The Pope lacks nothing in learned,
clever, sensible people — indeed he far surpasses us in skill, wit, and
understanding. Yet he accomplishes nothing against us. We do nothing more
than open our mouths and press the word forward with confidence. Such is
the battle we wage with the Pope. We draw no sword, fire no guns; but with
the word, the Lord's Prayer, the children's faith, the Gospel, we ordain a
power so strong and mighty that it lays low priestcraft, monkery, nunnery,
and the whole papacy. He holds our Gospel to be a fool's sermon, indeed
heresy; but he must be terrified because of it, and go down. For the Lord
our Ruler is far stronger than the devil, the Pope, and the world. He has
the skill that, when he makes himself weak, he is at his strongest. With
weakness and powerlessness he begins it, lets his word be preached, which
the world holds to be child's play, folly, and foolishness. But through such