The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1915, Page 10

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10

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Spirit of God hath made me,” Job 33, 4. St. Paul
expressly gives the Spirit a divine name, saying,
“When Israel shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall
be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit,”
2 Cor. 3, 16. 17.

Thus we have seen that each of these three Per-
sons is God.

But some one might say, “Tence we have three
Gods.” No, this is impossible, for the Bible teaches
clearly and most emphatically that there is only
one God. Or may we not assume, then, that
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are merely three dif-
ferent names of God? No; for the Bible shows
time and again that these three are distinct Per-
sons; for instance, immediately after Christ’s bap-
tism, when He, the second Person in the Godhead,
prayed by the water, while the third Person, de-
scending like a dove, lighted upon Him, the first
Person called from heaven: “This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

We also read that the Father has begotten the
Son from eternity, Ps. 2, 7; and that the Holy
Ghost from eternity proceeds from both the Father
and the Son, John 15, 26; Gal. 4, 6.

Hence our God is triune, consisting of three
distinct; Persons that are united in one Godhead,
being of one divine essence. Therefore the Savior
says with regard to the first and second Persons,
“T and My Father are one,” John 10, 30; and when

‘commanding His disciples to baptize in the name
of God, He mentions the three Persons in the bap-
tismal formula, thereby pointing out unmistakably
that these three are one, that they are the one true
God into whose communion we are received by the
washing of regeneration, Matt. 28, 19.

Caspari relates that Augustine (Bishop of
Hippo, Africa, 354430) once dreamt that he was
walking along the seashore, steeped in deep medi-
tation, brooding over the doctrine of the Trinity,
wondering how it could be possible that three are
one, when he saw a boy, who, scooping water from
the sea into a hole he had dug in the sand with a
shell, said, “I will scoop the whole sea into this
little hole.” Augustine, smiling, replied, “You will
never be able to do it.” “Is that so?” answered
the child. ‘How much less will you be able to
fathom the great mystery of the Holy Trinity!”
Now Augustine perceived that this was a reminder
from God, whereupon he abandoned his speculations,
simply clung to the divine Word, and brought into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..

H. Osternus.

A Few Words Concerning the
Lord’s Supper.

One of our missionaries, who feels that the mem-
bers of his station are not partaking of the Holy
Supper as frequently as they should, has asked us
to write a few words on this point. We gladly
accede to his request.

To the question, “What is the Sacrament of
the Altar?” our Small Catechism gives the answer:
“Tt is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ under the bread and wine for us Christians
to cat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.”
Here we confess that Christ instituted this heavenly
Supper that we might partake of it. As Luther
puts it in his introduction to the Small Catechism:
“Christ did not say, Omit this, or, Despise this;
but, ‘This do ye as oft as ye drink it,’ ete. Truly,
He wants it done and by no means despised. “This
do ye, is His command.”

Now it is a sad fact that there is a growing
tendency on the part of many Christians to com-
mune less and less. In not a few congregations
members scarcely commune more than once a year
on an average, while Christ asks us to commune
often. Luther writes in the preface to his Small
Catechism, “that if a person does not seck or
desire the Lord’s Supper at least some four times
a year, it is to be feared that he despises the Sacra-
ment, and is not a Christian, just as he is no
Christian who refuses to believe or hear the Gos-
pel.” And when we consider that Christ speaks
of partaking of His Supper often, can we say that
Luther goes too far in saying what he does?

But why is it that our members in many cases
partake of the Lord’s Supper so seldom? What
are their reasons for staying away? Well, some
of them give no reasons at all. They simply do
not come. Oh, what shame such members bring
upon the Church! How shamefully they. insult
the Savior, who instituted this Sacrament! Oh,
that these would but think over their evil behavior,
come to a knowledge of their sin, pray for for-
giveness, and with grateful hearts accept this gra-
cious invitation: “This do in remembrance of Me!”

If you ask some people why they do not go to
the Lord’s Supper, they say that as long as certain
persons, whose life does not agree with their .pro-
fession, are seen at the Lord’s Table, they will not
commune. Now it is a sad fact that in the case
of many communicants the Holy Supper does not
gain its purpose; their faith is not strengthened,