of God's Word. Again, Christ says (John 16,
9-14), that the Holy Spirit shall bear witness of him; that is, he
shall publicly fill the ministerial office. This is God's own witness
to his Son. And here John tells us we have the victory over the devil
and the world, through faith, for the sake of Christ the Son of God.

20. This witness Christ himself ordains shall ever go forth, and
remain, in the Church. To this end Christ sent the Holy Spirit; to
this end Christ himself called and gave the Holy Spirit to the
apostles and their successors, ministers, preachers and teachers, as
Paul tells us (Eph 4, 11-13), who are to exercise the Word, that the
Word may resound always and everywhere in the world, reaching to
children's children, and on down to future generations. Were the
witness not in the Church, the pulpit--in fact, the entire outward
administration of the Church--would be useless, for every man could
read the Scriptures for himself. But for the sake of the uninstructed
masses and the constantly rising young who, as yet in ignorance of the
Word, need admonition--for the sake of these, the Spirit must bear
public witness or administer the preaching office that they, too, may
learn to know the grace of God manifest and given to us through
Christ, and that God's wondrous works may be publicly recognized and
extolled by us in opposition to the devil and the world.

21. Wherever such witness is borne, there certainly will be some
fruit. The witness never fails of effect. Some surely will be reached;
some will accept and believe it. Since it is the witness of the Holy
Spirit, and the apostle says here, the Spirit beareth witness, he will
be effective, producing in us that to which John refers when he says
we are children of God, and have the victory and eternal life. So the
Word--or the Gospel message accompanied by the witness of the
Spirit--and faith are vitally related. In the last analysis they are
inseparable. Without faith, preaching will be fruitless; and faith has
origin in the Word alone. Therefore, we should gladly hear and handle
the Word. Where it is, there is also the Holy Spirit; and where the
Spirit is, there must be at least some believers. Even if you have
already heard the Word and obtained faith, it will always continue to
strengthen you as you hear it. One knows not at what hour God may
touch and illumine his or another's heart. It may be in a time when we
least look for it, or in the individual of wh