This deepest mystery of the kingdom of God is what concerns us, the way it is revealed in the heart of the believer and in the soul of the loving disciple of Jesus in following him, and the way it is revealed in the church in her complete community and in the persecution she has to suffer, and further, the way the whole earth, which more and more falls a prey to the sovereignty of Satan, must be conquered by God so that the future of the harvest will come.
- Eberhard Arnold
- Eberhard Arnold, January 1920 From an EssayJustice and love demand that everyone take part in simple practical work with a spade, hatchet, or rake. Everyone should be ready to devote a few hours every day to this practical work; those who have done purely mental work till now will feel its humanizing effect especially. In this way it will be possible for each person’s unique gifts to be kindled. The light that flickers within each heart will then exhibit its once-hidden glow in scholarly research or in music, in expressive words, or in the craftsman’s art in wood, stone, or paint…such work will reveal the joy in life that is in each person. Only death knows idleness and tedium. Where there is life, the mind’s creative will remains alert and comes to expression in the service of the whole.
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We experience that unity is at the same time agreement with the apostolic testimony of the New Testament, and agreement with the testimony of the future of the kingdom of God. Thus we experience unity not simply in the small circle of our community life, but as a unity that embraces all millennia; the spirit of inspired men and prophets; perfect unity with all original movements that were a spiritual uprising, with all movements, which sprang from the source, borne by the Holy Spirit and led by the inner light. We can testify that we have experienced that we become completely unanimous, when in the quiet hour the Spirit gives witness, and the light of Christ bursts into flame in our hearts, when in this silent concentrated attention the voice of Jesus speaks within us.
- Eberhard Arnold
The church must be gathered from the masses of the poorest and most oppressed people, for Jesus stands on the side of those who are deprived of their rights, despised, degraded and oppressed. Here the call for gathering will find a response in the greatest number of people, who are really ready to be directed decisively towards the future of the kingdom of God. It is just the poorest and most underprivileged people who will welcome the spontaneity and unconditional character of the miracle of Pentecost with the greatest trust and joy.
- Eberhard Arnold