Dreams In The Light Of God's External Word

We're looking at the Bible's peculiar worldview (at least to the modern world). To do that I'm focusing on the fact that we all dream and consequently ask what the dreams mean. Psychological answers vary.  Freud thought they are symbolical representations of unconscious desires and thoughts. Others say that dreams are one's interpretation of signals generated by one's brain. Out of this come many creative ideas. Still others say that dreaming is the brain's computer-like process of cleaning up the previous day's clutter. And so it goes. There's no modern single, unifying understanding of why we dream or what our dreams mean.

To assist us in interpreting our dreams you can find whole dictionaries of dream symbols and terms such as "An A to Z Dream Dictionary." Others offer dream interpretation, based upon years of experience. Still others, claiming to be Christians, tell us they can teach us not merely to study about God, but how to have direct experiences of Him speaking to us in our dreams. It all sounds most enticing. But is that what the written, objective Word of God as contained in Holy Scripture teaches? Recall Dr. Luther's comment about enthusiasm quoted in my earlier post: 

"We should and must insist that God does not want to deal with us human beings, except by means of his external Word and sacrament. Everything that boasts of being from the Spirit apart from such a Word and sacrament is of the devil."

What does Luther mean by God's external Word? He means simply and emphatically the Scriptures. The very words of Scriptures are God's words, all of them. The Holy Spirit always blesses and brings salvation in Christ through the Word. No preached or taught word not based upon the Scriptures is the Word of God. The Holy Spirit comes and reveals God and His will in the Word of the Lord Christ. Anyone, therefore, who distorts or blasphemes the written Word will be judged by God. This was Luther's sola Scriptura principle. This claim is further founded on the total truthfulness, reliability and
consistency of Scripture. One text of Scripture does not contradict another, regardless of how ridiculous it may seem at first. To that end I quote again what Paul wrote to Timothy:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. - 2Ti 3:14-17 ESV

 With that in mind, return with me to Joseph's dream experience as recorded by Matthew (Matt. 1:18-25). Joseph was of royal lineage, as Matthew emphasizes in the opening verses of his Gospel (Matt. 1:1-17). He traced that lineage all the way back to David and through David to Abraham himself. He knew of the promises recorded in the written Scriptures about the coming of the Messiah. He knew about the promised virgin birth of the One named Immanuel. A few examples:

To Abraham — "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." - Gen 12:2-3 ESV 

And again to Abraham —"I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." - Gen 22:17-18 ESV 

To Isaac — "I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" - Gen 26:4 ESV 

About the promised Messiah —"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins." - Isa 11:1-5 ESV

To Ahaz, one of Judah's anointed kings — "And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." - Isa 7:13-14 ESV

There are numerous other passages of Scripture. Joseph knew them. He was a righteous and just man who sought ever to conduct his life according to the plans and will of God. He believed in the promises of the Messiah as recorded in Scripture. Therefore it was not at all impossible for him to accept what the angel said to him in his dream about Mary's pregnancy and the promised coming of the Messiah. His dream was a confirmation of God's external Word and in no way contrary to it.

The best counsel to any dreamer is based upon this record of Joseph's dreams as well as other dreams in Scripture. If you believe God has sent His messenger to speak to you, then test it carefully against the written Word. Ask especially how what you have seen and heard in your dream relates to God's will and plan to lead men to salvation and eternal life in Christ. Remember as well that we are all members one of another. No one of us owns nor can he control the Spirit. Invite other members of Christ's body to ponder with you your dream in the light of God's revelation in Scripture. Seek confirmation from other members of Christ's body. And at the same time be very conscious or the fact that demonic powers are also at work to lead us away from Christ and distort God's Word.

Bottom line: There's more indeed to this world than what we can see, taste, touch, smell and feel. There's more than we can measure with our scientific instruments and theorize about with our mathematics. Scripture teaches that men have contact with that other world in dreams and visions. But—and this is critical—our first, primary and most significant contact with the Spirit of God is in the written Word of Holy Scripture. As Jesus emphasized in his criticism of the Jews of His day,

And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. - Jhn 5:37-40 ESV

Luther's Stand

This is a photo of one of many statues of Martin Luther in northern Europe.  Copies of this and similar statues are found on campuses of various Lutheran colleges and seminaries in the United States. 


When attending Concordia University, St. Paul and later at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, I joined other students each Reformation Day morning to stand before the statues of Luther to hear the reading of Scripture, pray and sing several Lutheran hymns. Of course we always sang "A Mighty Fortress," Luther's hymn based on Psalm 46. This was one of the ways by which the faculties of those institutions helped us to retain our identity as Lutherans and believers in Jesus Christ.

Above is the statue at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. 

What is the purpose of these statues? And why should we Lutherans want to have statues, busts, paintings and other images of Luther in our churches and schools? Obviously, these images remind us of Luther, what he did and what his call to reformation means for us Christians even over five hundred years later, not only in Europe or the United States, but throughout the world. Our purpose is certainly not to worship Luther, the man, but to remember what he taught and what he stands for.  


Most of these statues show Luther pointing to the Scriptures or holding a Bible. When called before the Diet of Worms to recant his writings, he refused because he was convinced that what he wrote was based upon the inspired Scriptures. He is quoted as saying, "Hier stehe Ich, Ich kann nicht anders" (Here I stand, I can say no more). This stand brought about the world-changing reformation of the Christian Church.

On this Reformation Day I find myself pondering these memories and praying that we of the 21st century Lutheran churches may have the courage and strength to follow Luther's example. Without the heritage of the Holy Scripture we surely are in danger of losing Him to whom they testify. As Jesus said, ". . . it is they that bear witness about me" (John 5:39).

 

How We Christians Define And Argue About Tradition

We Christians all have traditions. For instance, I wrote about the tradition of celebrating Christ's birth on December 25. I'd like to explore the meaning of traditions among us Christians. I'm especially concerned about this because our brothers and sisters in both the Western and Eastern branches of Christendom claim tradition as a source of teaching authority, equal to the Bible.

For example, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second edition, paragraph 83, reads

Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church's Magisterium.

Note that the Catechism speaks of traditions and the great Tradition. The Catholic Catechism continues:

1. "The apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority.'" (Par. 77).
2. "This living transmission, accomplished through the Holy Spirit, is called tradition..." (Par. 78).
3. "Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence." (Par. 82).

Let me give you an example. In addition to what is revealed in the Bible, Tradition tells us that the Holy Spirit revealed over the centuries that Mary, Jesus' mother, was conceived immaculately and later assumed into heaven. There are many other examples, but lets focus upon Mary as a good way to grasp what this means.

Fr. Yves Congar in his book The Meaning of Tradition defines tradition as a real, living self-communication of God. This means there are teachings God has made implicit in the Scripture, but the prophets and apostles were not led to explicitly spell out at the time they wrote. However, the Spirit continues to work in the Church. As the Church's teachers, the Magisterium, led by the Vicar of Christ, (Christ's living representative on the earth, the Pope) meditate upon those Scriptures, they gain new insights into what was inferred, even though they were not specifically spelled out in the Scriptures. The Magisterium continues to supervise this whole process and stigmatizes, condemns and disapproves of errors. This is the living work of the Holy Spirit at work in Christ's Body, the Church. 


The teaching about the Virgin Mary's conception and assumption is a prime example of such a teaching implied, but not explicitly spelled out in the Scripture. Meditation upon the inspired Scriptures eventually led the Magisterium to conclude that Mary was born without sin and taken bodily up to heaven as was Elijah in the Old Testament times. Read How to Argue for Mary's Assumption to get a better understanding of how Catholics think about this. 


Today Catholics both of the Western and Eastern branches of the Church believe in the bodily, corporeal Assumption of Mary, the Blessed Virgin. Her feast is celebrated on August 15 and at various other times in many places. Mary is venerated and adored as the prime example of motherhood. Women around the world pray to her. Family life is enriched and celebrated in the light of her example and God's revelation. 


Why do Lutherans and protestants in general not follow this example? What's our problem with accepting and honoring tradition "with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence"? And is there something to learn from tradition? I'll pursue this in later blogs.