If we are going to discern the Word of God as it takes on flesh in our congregations, then we will need to understand Paul’s words that “…we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
The Word spoken by God takes shape in the life of the church which, at the same time, also reflects our fallen state or alienation from God. The form of the message is never pure Gospel nor is the church that bears that message free from the self-centered and self-serving features of all human lives as the church seeks to understand what is being revealed through it. (Church Dogmatics, Karl Barth, Volume 1, page 189) When grace is actually present and active in a church, it still is enveloped in mystery. We only glimpse it. We never possess it. (Ibid 4>3, page 661) To believe that it is present in our church is a response of faith. To name it is an act of awe rather than arrogance.
