The apostolic spirit is the prophetic spirit: his word brings his kingdom. The apostolic mission is a matter of the prophetic embassy of God, which brings the future kingdom to everyone here and now. As prophecy, the apostleship of the church embraces the whole truth of Jesus and his future.
- Eberhard Arnold
August 21,2025
- Eberhard ArnoldWhen we are no longer able to be there for all men, when we can no longer concern ourselves with the need and suffering of the whole world, our life has no longer any right to exist. As long as I live, I shall protest if people who are fighting for any ideal whatsoever no longer find an understanding among us. People who are fighting with a free and generous spirit for purity, for national unity, for pacifism, for a renewal of national characteristics, who are fighting for any political ideal, for any renewal of society cannot do it just in their own strength. If we were to have an understanding only for Anabaptist thinking, I shall not go along with it. I shall protest against it as long as I live.
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Perhaps the kind of mission we should ask for is a mission to the homeless, to those who live in terrible conditions, close to starvation. That would be preaching the Gospel to the poor in a special way. I believe it is our duty to give every Samaritan service asked of us. But I also believe we need special guidance to seek out the destitute, knowing that they may not be called as yet. It needs to be a mission of mercy and compassion.
- Eberhard Arnold, July 1935
This is the root of grace: the dismantling of our own power. Only to the degree that our own power is dismantled will God give us his Spirit. If a little power of our own rises up amongst us, the Spirit and authority of God retreats in the same moment and to the corresponding degree. This is the single most important insight regarding the kingdom of God...
- Eberhard Arnold