Church Dogmatics IV/3

Summary: As true God-man, Jesus Christ is the reconciliation between God and humanity: he is the self-communicating witness who triumphantly reveals himself to us, so that we are awakened to the truth and called into fellowship with him in his work as witness.

Quote: “Jesus Christ does actually speak. He does so in the promise of the Spirit as the Crucified. And as such He does not merely murmur or whisper, but through the centuries, and therefore here and now among us, He speaks with a voice ‘as the sound of many waters’ (Rev. 1:15). He speaks so clearly and powerfully that when His Word goes forth all the non-Christian and Christian clamour of the world is reduced to a dying murmur.... He speaks where all others think they do, but in reality only lisp and stutter.... In Him the truth is present, indeed, He is the truth, which, as He speaks, speaks by itself, about itself and for itself with its incomparable force, clarity and distinctness” (p. 409).

Notable section: §73—Barth’s beautiful account of the Holy Spirit and Christian hope.