The theologian of the cross has knowledge only through suffering and the cross. "God can be found only in suffering and the cross"…For Luther the cross of Christ and the cross of the Christian belong together…in the cross of Christ the relationship between God and man has become evident…To know God "through suffering and cross" means that the knowledge of God comes into being at the cross of Christ, the significance of "which becomes evident only to one who himself stands in cross and suffering.(P.20)
Luther's concept of a theology of the cross. Five aspects emerged as essential.
1.The theology of the cross as a theology of revelation, stands in sharp antithesis to speculation.
2.God's revelation is an indirect, concealed revelation.
3.Hence God's revelation is recognized not in works but in suffering, and the double meaning of these terms is to be noted.
4.This knowledge of God who is hidden in his revelation is a matter of faith.
5.The manner in which God is known is reflected in the prac¬tical thought of suffering.(P.22)
the Bible, too, remains a closed, book, for the cross of Christ is the only key… The cross of Christ is the fountain from which the understanding of Scripture is drawn.(P.23)
God's help remains invisible to man who con¬siders himself most forsaken by God when God's help is nearest.(P.29)
the hidden God is the God whose nature and work can only be recognized "under the opposite form."…God is hidden for the sake of revelation. Revelation is possible only in concealment, the revealed God must as such be hidden…In a sermon of 24 February 1517, the following explanation for the necessity oF God’s concealment is offered: "Man hides his own things in order to deny them, God hides his own things in order to reveal them. ... By his concealment he does nothing else than remove that which obstructs revelation, namely, pride"(P.30)
God confronts us first of all in his word. In his word he is "known to us" and "has dealings with us." In it he has offered himself to us. We are direct¬ed to Gods revelation in the word. God himself could not be grasped by us but would crush and annihilate us in his majesty, for he is a consuming fire. For that reason God wraps himself in his word. He becomes the "clothed" God. With him alone can we have any dealings. God must conceal himself in the word in order to be able to reveal himself. The revealed God is the clothed God.(P.33)
God has indeed revealed himself in his word, but God is greater than his word. God has not confined himself within the limits of the word…we must distinguish between "the word of God and God himself(P.34)
He is not only a hidden God, but a God who has concealed himself…Luther advises us to pay attention to the word, that is, the revealed God, and leave the secrets of the hidden God alone.(P.35)
God cannot be comprehended without a covering.Such coverings are "word" and "works"…God is concealed under the cloak of the word is the other thought that he is hidden in his works. Word and works were mentioned as the two coverings that God uses.(P.39)
Luther can still insist that the "back parts" are basically God's true counte¬nance.(P.41)
This twofold knowledge corresponds to the double relationship in which God stands toward the world—as its creator and its redeemer.(P.46)
The hid¬den God is God in his creator-relationship, while the revealed God is God as the redeemer. The hidden God is God "apart from Christ," while the revealed God is God "in Christ." Concretely stated, with reference to sinful mankind, this means distinguishing between the God of wrath and the God of grace.(P.46)
後記：17-49頁路德在創世紀與以賽亞書講義發展The Hidden God以及路德在The Bondage of the will與依拉斯母對以西結書18：23不同見解的論辯.
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