Table Of ContentKARL BARTH
CHURCH DOGMATICS
VOLUME I
THE DOCTRINE
OF THE WORD OF GOD
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE CHURCH
EDITED BY
G. W. BROMILEY
T. F.TORRANCE
.\\
t&t clark
Translated byG.W. Bromiley, G.T.Thomson, Harold Knight
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Copyright @ T&T Clark, 2009
Authorised translation of Karl Barth, DieKirchlicheDogmatik I
Copyright @Theologischer ~erlag Zurich, 1932-1938
All revisions to the original English translation and all translations of Greek, Latin and French
@Princeton Theological Seminary, 2009
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CONTENTS
S22-24
S
22.THE MISSION OFTHE CHURCH
1. The Word of God and the Word of Man in Christian Preaching 1
2. Pure Doctrine asthe Problem of Dogmatics . 16
3. Dogmatics asEthics 39
S 23. DOGMATICS ASAFUNCTION OFTHE HEARING CHURCH
1. The Formal Task of Dogmatics 54
2. The Dogmatic Norm 70
S 24. DOGMATICS ASAFUNCTION OFTHE TEACHING CHURCH
1. The Material Task of Dogmatics 101
2. The Dogmatic Method . 109
v
S [743]
22
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
The Word of God is God Himself in the proclamation of the Church of
Jesus Christ. In so far as God givesthe Church the commission to speak about
Him, and the Church discharges this commission, it is God Himself who
declares His revelation in His witnesses. The proclamation of the Church is
pure doctrine when the human word spoken in it in confirmation of the bib-
lical witness to revelation offers and creates obedience to the Word of God.
Because this is its essential character, function and duty, the word of the
Church preacher isthe special and immediate object of dogmatic activity.
1. THE WORD OF GOD AND THE WORD OF MAN IN CHRISTIAN
PREACHING
We have reached the final and really critical point in the doctrine of the
Word ofGod, that which isboth itsstarting-point and itsend: the Word ofGod
asthe preaching of the Church. Must the same serious meaning be attributed
to this as to the first two aspects, "The Word as God's revelation" and "The
Word asHoly Scripture"? Must this third aspect, the preaching of the Church
in the whole sphere of humanity in which it is actualised here and now, be
included in the indirect identity between revelation and Scripture? Is the
Church's preaching also God's Word, and to what extent? IsGod's Word also
the preaching of the Church, and if so to what extent? The task of theology
and of dogmatics in particular consists in the attempt to answer this question.
For the sake ofthis question, sovitalfor the lifeofthe Church, itwasnecessary
first to ask about the Word of God asrevelation and the Word of God asHoly
Scripture. In face of these questions, wenow have to establish conclusively the
taskand limitation ofdogmatics. Again, wemust begin bystating the problem
involved.
What we have to say should first be related to the results attained in the
previous chapter on Holy Scripture. The existence of Holy Scripture means
that asthe Word ofGod has been spoken once for allin His revelation inJesus
Christ through the Holy Ghost, it isnot only distant from, but also near the [744]
Church, in the witness of the prophets and apostles. It does not only confront
it,but isgiven toit;and itisgiven toit,not onlyassomething perpetually alien,
but asits own commission and authority. In the form of Holy Scripture it has
and retains itsown incomparable authority and freedom, which isassuperior
to allhuman authority and freedom asthe heavens are higher than the earth.
S 22. The Mission ofthe Church
But in the same form, itbecomes the foundation in the Church of the human
authority and freedom that islegitimate and necessary. In the human author-
ity and freedom thus founded by it and in it, it becomes the object of the
Church's preaching, and men, who as such are identical neither with jesus
Christ nor with the prophets and apostles, become indirectly and by faith
(upon the sole ground that they are baptised members of the Church and
therefore participants in its commission and its authority) the hearers and
speakers ofthe Word ofGod asitbecomes aword spoken bythem in the form
of their human word. Weknow that in Holy Scripture the Word of God isthe
Word of God in a different but no less real sense than it isin revelation. The
same istrue of the witness of the prophets and apostles ascompared with the
original witness of the Son of God Himself. However sharply the difference
between the Lord and the servants must be stressed, the very solemnity of this
relationship, founded and formed asit isbythe resurrection ofjesus, forbids
us to entertain the notion that, with the transference ofthe Word ofGod to its
biblical witnesses and the self-communication ofjesus Christ to His followers,
anything in the nature of a weakening or dilution, or even a disturbance or
distortion of the Word of God has taken place. The same thing isfundamen-
tally true of the relationship of Holy Scripture with revelation on the one
hand, and with the preaching of the Church on the other. Once again in a
different form, but here too neither diminished nor weakened, wehave to do
really and truly with the one integral Word of God, with God Himself, with
jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost,just ascertainly asHoly Scripture, and in
and through it God's self-revelation, isgiven to the Church. In this case the
Word of God ispreached only indirectly, formally and relativelyin the author-
ityand freedom ofjesus Christ Himself and the authority and freedom of the
prophets and apostles, that is,in the authority and freedom accorded to the
Church as instituted under the Word and assembled by the Word. But this
does not alter in the veryleast the fact that in this case, too, itisreally and truly
the one integral Word of God to be believed assuch bythose who speak and
those who hear it.The Church exists asthe earthly body of the heavenly Lord
and asthe community built upon the foundation ofthe apostles and prophets;
and the connexion between these twothings isnot torn bythe subordination
ofthe firstwitnesses to Him ofwhom they bear witness, nor again bythe subor-
dination of those who receive this witness to those from whom they receive it.
[745] On the contrary, .in the veryfact of this hierarchy consists the strength of the
connecting link bywhich the Church isheld together asa single whole, from
jesus Christ at theright hand ofthe Father down to the humblest ofthose who
bythe word ofRis witnesses have been called to faith. But this connecting link
consists in the one Word ofGod, which in these three different forms, in none
of them less than in the others, in none of them diminished and weakened,
but in allthree remaining the selfsame Word, constitutes the lifeand the foun-
dation of the Church. Otherwise how can it be true that inJesus Christ this
Word became incarnate once and for all?How can itbe true that the prophets
2
1. The Word of God and the Word ofMan in Christian Preaching
and apostles appointed and equipped byHim have spoken byHis Spirit and
stillspeak? Ifitistrue that the Son ofGod has come in the flesh and has risen
in the flesh and that Holy Scripture asthe witness of God's revelation isGod's
Word for the Church, the Church certainly has to be reminded ofthe fact that
the Word isconveyed and given to itonly byrevelation and itsbiblical witness.
But in this reminder there must be no reduction in the validity or complete-
nessofthis mediation and gift;nor must wethrow anydoubt on the obligation
and comfort ofrealising that in the preaching ofthe Church aswellwehave to
do with the Word of God in an undiminished meaning of the term and there-
fore with God Himself. The real problem of God's Word as the preaching of
the Church or the preaching of the Church asGod's Word can be raised only
within the limits ofthe question put to usbythe answer which God has already
provided. When we are confronted by the Word of God addressed to the
Church asrevelation and asHoly Scripture, and therefore giving ititscommis-
sion and authority, wemaywellbe astonished and terrified, and askourselves:
Isthis so, and how far isit so, and what isgoing to happen in consequence of
the fact that the Church has received this task, and that in and with its fulfil-
mentof this task, God Himself in HisWord isinvolved, and God Himself pro-
claims His revelation through His witnesses? But if this question is to be
meaningful and practical, we can address it only to ourselves. We cannot
address itto God, asthough He had not spoken to usin His revelation and His
witnesses. Again, asa question addressed to ourselves, wecan answer it mean-
ingfully and practically only by listening to God's Word, and not out of the
resources ofour own insights. The real problem raised bythis question cannot
burst the framework within which the Church exists;nor can itgoback behind
the decision already made in the glory of the Word of God concerning the
Church, and concerning the presence and action of the Word of God in the
Church. This decision cannot be disputed. It cannot be treated as the goal of
our inquiry. It necessarily has to be treated asitspresupposition.
Therefore, to state the problem, wemust begin with the affirmation that, by
the grace of revelation and itswitness, God commits Himself with His eternal
Word to the preaching of the Christian Church in such awaythat this preach- [746]
ing isnot merely aproclamation ofhuman ideas and convictions, but, like the
existence ofJesus Christ Himself, like the testimony of the prophets and apos-
tles on which it isfounded and bywhich itlives,itisGod's own proclamation.
That it is men who speak here, men who are not themselves Jesus Christ or
even prophets and apostles, does not in any waypermit them, in an affirm-
ation and assertion oftheir humanity, arrogantly to try to saysomething other
than the Word ofGod. On the other hand, itdoes not permit them tobe faint-
hearted, asthough in their humanity they were not able to speak the Word of
God, but only their own human words. Again, it does not permit those who
hear them, because of the humanity of those who speak, to adhere to their
human word assuch, to rejoice or not to rejoice in it,to accept itor to reject it,
as though the word spoken was only this human word and not the Word of
3
S 22. The Mission ofthe Church
God. That it ismen who speak must, of course, be taken into account with all
itsconsequences. Nothing that this fact implies maybe supp~essed. Butwecan
think meaningfully and practically about itonlywhen webear in mind first the
prime consideration that these men speak and must be heard asmembers of
the body of Christ and in the name of the Church, and that the Church isthe
assembly of those to whom, in all their humanity, the Word of God is
entrusted. Above all criticism, even above self-criticism, the proclamation of
this insight belongs to the Church's proclamation. It is only in the light of it
that we can exercise the necessary criticism and self-criticism. This is what
decides whether we do it in faith or lack of faith, and therefore profitably or
otherwise. Ifaman has to sayNo to himself atthis point for the sake ofthe Yes,
the No must not try to stand arrogantly or regretfully upon itself-as though
the Lawprecedes the Gospel. It cannot, therefore, be the starting-point ofour
deliberations. On the contrary, it must derive from the fundamental and ori-
ginal Yesof the grace ofGod, ifit isto be spoken in itsright place for the sake
of this Yes.In this connexion the authoritative Yesofdivine grace isthe reality
ofthe divine commission laid upon the Church, and in itand with itthe reality
of the presence and action of the Word of God in the proclamation of the
Church.
Calvindescribed the proclamation of the Church in thisway:Nous nepouvons point estre
prescheurs pour forger etbastir cequebon nous semblera etpour abruver lepeuple denosfantasies, mais
laparole deverite nous tient obligez, etceluy qui parle etceluy qui escoute. CarDieu veut dominer sur
nous, jesus Christ, luy seul veut avoir toute maistriseEN1 (Serm. on 2 Tim. 214f., C.R. 54. 151). And:
Puis qu'ainsi estdonc que nostre Seigneur jesus Christ s'estacquis une telleauthorite, quand il a este
eslevelahaut au cieletqu'ilatoute superiorite sur toutes creatures: que nous apprenions denous ranger
sous luy etque celasoitpour nous tenir en bride, quesaParole soit receuedenous etque nous sachions
qu'il nous gouverne, etfaut que nous souffrions d'estreenseignez enson nom, etquesaParole qui nous
estpreschee, combien qu'elleprocede delabou,chedeshommes, siest-ceque c'esten l'authorite deDieu, et
que nostre salut doit estrefonde la dessus aitssi Men que si leciels'ouvroit cent millefois pour nous
[747] manifester lagloire deDieuEN2 (Serm. on. Gal. 1If., C.R. 50, 286).Andatthispoint wemayrecall
anoteworthy remark ofLuther's. Atone time Iused to think (Prol., 1927,415 f.) that its
content should be rejected asan exaggeration which leads inevitably to the Catholic doc-
trine of the infallibility of the Church's teaching office. But a closer examination of the
context has convinced me that ifLuther wasexpressing himself forcibly-we might almost
sayon therazor'.sedgebetween truth and error-he wasonlystatingthe truth when he said:
"Itiscertainlytrue, tospeakrealistically,that holyChurch isnotwithout sin,asitconfessesin
the Lord's Prayer:Forgiveusour trespasses. SotooJohn: Ifwesaythat wehaveno sin,we
EN1We cannot be preachers to forge and build that which seems good to us, and shower the
people with our fantasie.s,but the word oftru,th holds usobliged, whoever speaks and whoever
listens. For God wants tobe Lord over us;Jesus Christ alone wants tohave allmajesty
EN2 Since itisthe case that our LordJesus Christ acquired such an authority when he wasraised
into the heavens on high, since he hasallsuperiority overeverycreature: therefore welearn to
order ourselves under him and that that should hold usin restraint; that hisWord should be
received byusand that weknow that he governs us,and that wemust suf~ertobe taught inhis
name; such that his Word which ispreached to us, although itproceeds from the mouth of
men, ison the authority ofGod, and our salvation must be established there on high asmuch
asifheaven opened ahundred thousand times tomanifest tousthe glory ofGod
4
1. The Word of God and the Word ofMan in Christian Preaching
deceiveourselves,and make Godaliarwhoalwaysdescribes usassinners. Or,again,Rom. 3
and Ps. 14 and S1. But doctrine isnot sinful or culpable; nor does itbelong to the Lord's
Prayerwhen wesay:Forgiveusour trespasses;for doctrine isnot our doing, but God's own
Wordwhich can neither sin, nor dowrong. For apreacher must not saythe Lord's Prayer,
nor askforgivenessofsins,when hehaspreached (ifhe isatrue preacher), but mustconfess
and exult withjeremiah: Lord, thou knowest that what has gone forth from mymouth is
rightand pleasing tothee. HemustboldlysaywithSt.Pauland alltheapostlesand prophets:
Haecdixit dominusEN3• Thus saith God Himself; or,again: In this sermon, Iam aconfessed
apostle and prophet ofjesus Christ. Itisneither necessary nor good toaskhere forforgive-
nessofsins,asthough the teaching were false.For itisnot myword but God's, which He
neither willnor canforgiveme,and forwhichHe mustalwayspraise and reward me, saying:
Youhave taught rightly for I have spoken through you and the Word is mine. Whoever
cannot boast thus ofhispreaching repudiates preaching; for he expresslydenies and slan-
ders God" (WiderHans Worst,IS41, WA. SI, S16, IS). Wewilladduce later apassagewhich
followsshortlyafterand whichclarifiesthe ambiguity ofthesewords.Buteveninthemselves
theyarenot open tomisunderstanding solongasweremember thatLuther isspeaking here
of the grace of God in the Church's commission, which necessarily precedes allcriticism,
and even more necessarily,allself-criticism.In sofar ashe speaksinfulfilment ofthiscom-
mission,asa"true preacher," i.e.,insofarashe stands inindirect identity withjesus Christ
and the biblicalwitnesses,the preacher certainly does not need anyforgiveness ofsins,just
ascertainly ashedoesneed itinsofarasheisthe onewhodischarges thiscommission inhis
ownwords, concerning the doubtfulness ofwhich Luther alsorealised the essential facts.
The threatened "dangers" ought not to be our first concern, but the recognition of the
greatness of the divine gift and institution assuch. Only asmeasured against this can we
reallyseethe "dangers" assuch, and legitimately take the appropriate precautions.
The divine simplicity precedes every man-made complication. Above allthe
misery ofthe Church isthe glory ofthe commission withwhich itisentrusted.
All kinds of theoretical and practical difficulties are connected with the fact
that the Church's preaching isthe Word ofGod. In relation to them wecannot
pause too firmly to survey them from this vantage-point, in undisputed recog-
nition that the Church does have this commission, and that therefore itsproc-
lamation is the Word of God. Bythis is meant that this fact is of the same
nature as the resurrection ofJesus Christ, in whIch we have to recognise in
conjunction God's revelation and the divine appointment and authorisation
ofHiswitnesses. There ismore to it than that, for asafact which rests only on
the power of the revelation and the testimony, it must be understood as
included in the resurrection ofJesus Christ. The reason whyit isso necessary
tounderstand itin this sense isthat wewillthen value itasan appointment and [748]
gift which precedes, transcends and surpasses every human accomplishment
or failure. It isonly from this point ofviewthat wewillacquire the right rela-
tion to the subordinate fact of human accomplishment or failure. That the
proclamation of the Church is the Word of God implies for the members of
the Church both alawand aduty,and itisparticularly from this point ofview
that weshall have toweigh the identification in relation to the work ofdogmat-
ics. But it isnot the case that this identification gains truth and validity only
EN:~ Thus saysthe Lord
5
S 22. The Mission ofthe Church
when in the Church man achieves the fulfilment of this law,or only when he
masters the task of preaching the Word of God. It isnot, therefore, the case
that wehave first to'look around us and seewhat isbeing actually attained and
performed in the Church in the matter ofproclamation, and then, ifthe result
turns out to be to some extent satisfactory, we can recognise the truth of this
identification and admit itsvalidity.It isclear that bythis method, asisalways
the case when we insist on beginning with lawand our own fulfilment of the
law,we could only end in levityor despair. Ifwe consider what men are doing
in the Church, ourselves or others, it isonly bya crude self-deception that we
can come to the conclusion that the Word of God is really being preached
there. And when wehave grown tired ofthis self-deception, ifwestillconsider
men. in the Church, we shall arrive at.the diametrically opposite but no less
arbitrary conclusion, that the Word of God is not being preached in the
Church. The first thing isthat this identification ofthe Church's proclamation
with God's Word isvalid; and then assuch itbecomes alawand duty for those
who are in the Church. The first thing isthat it must be believed asit stands;
and itisonly then that wecan and must giveourselves to the humility, care and
exertions which are appropriate to those who are in the Church. In this
respect, too, ifit isto be taken seriously and held in honour, the Lawmust be
believed and understood asfirst and foremost the Lawfulfilled inJesus Christ.
What has to happen in order that the proclamation of the Church maybe the
Word of God, and that men in the Church may really proclaim the Word of
God, has already happened, as,generally speaking, everything that has to hap-
pen in order that the Church may liveasthe Church of God has already hap-
pened. Provision has been made that in the Church men may again and again
believe and hope and love, that in it the name of God may be constantly
invoked in thankful prayer, that in it the disciples ofJesus may ever and again
suffer, and that in itbrother mayfind brother and receive his help. Allthat has
been provided. No presupposition isrequired from us.Weare not even asked
whether wesee it allperformed and fulfilled byourselves or others. Our busi-
ness can only be that of accepting as something which has happened for us
and to us that which has already been performed and fulfilled inJesus Christ
[749] in respect of the whole life of the Church. It isalwaysin this acceptance that
the Church livesitslifeascreated byJesus Christ and rooted in Him. The same
istrue iJ;lrelation to the proclamat~on ofthe Word ofGod, which isonly one of
the functions of the life of the Church. It can be only a question of accepting
what has already been created and founded inJesus Christ. It is not we who
have to care for the truth and validity of the identification ofproclamation in
the Church with the Word ofGod. Wehave to accept that itissoand allowitto
be true. Because Jesus Christ has risen, because God's revelation and testi-
monies are, therefore, given to the Church, it receives and holds His commis-
sion, which means that it has Himself in its midst as the Lord of its speaking,
the Lord who in and through its speaking bears witness to Himself. Humanly
speaking, it isa stark impossibility which here stares us in the face-that men
6
