"In order to reinforce the promise of our salvation, God had this in mind from the very beginning of the world: men were to have signs by means of which they might comfort themselves in their sins and gain courage through their reliance on Divine grace. It is not the worth of the work itself that is of value in the sacrifice; it is the mercy and power of the divine promise, because God prescribes this form of worship and promises that it will be pleasing to Him" (LW 1:250).

After the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, God -- in His mercy -- enveloped Himself in a gentle breeze. He did this, first of all, so that He could reveal Himself to Adam under a cover and secondly, that in His coming in a very soft breeze He would bring a fatherly reprimand (LW 1:180).

It was a great comfort for Adam that, after he had lost Paradise and the tree of life, God gave him another sign of grace, namely, the sacrifices. In this sign Adam could perceive that he had not been cast off by God but that he was still the object of God's concern and regard (LW 1:249).

In the ministry of the Word, God came to His people through the instrumentality of men and angels. When God confronted Adam with his sin, Luther was pleased with the suggestion that God spoke through an angel. Through his chronology of the Old Testament, Luther was always able to find a patriarch alive who could speak for God in His place. Adam confronted Cain with the sin of killing his brother as he spoke for God. Methuselah spoke to Noah to enter the ark. Abraham was called by God through Shem to leave Ur and go to the Promised land (Pelikan 1959:103-105). Thus, throughout the history of the patriarchs God is speaking through human beings His Word.

Later, circumcision was enjoined upon Abraham in order that it might be a sacrament through which his descendants would be made righteous if they believed the promise which the Lord attached to it (LW 3:87). In addition, circumcision itself was a sign to the nations that the promised Savior would be born from this circumcised nation (LW 3:91). In this way, God has always provided some public sign whereby the nations might find the true God.

Therefore circumcision, like the sacrifices, was raised up as a sign to be looked at and be recognized by those sinners who were to be saved (LW 3:107). Circumcision was more than just a unifying rite instituted for political unity and solidarity. It was a sign of eternal salvation for those who believed (LW 3:110). Moreover, in our human weakness and comprehension, we are in need of such signs so that we might find Him but also that we do not seek Him in some other way. The sign indicates that God is present in this way.

It is a great gift of His mercy that He is found, not in some faraway place, but in Baptism, in the words of the Gospel, in the use of the Keys, and with any brother who with me confesses and believes in the Son of God. These are the epiphanies or appearances that are common to all Christians (LW 3:168).

To us in the New Testament, Baptism and the Eucharist are our visible signs of grace. "But just as the previous generation had circumcision added as a distinguishing sign, so the new generation of Christ has other distinguishing signs" (LW 3:115) such as Baptism, which promises eternal life to all who believe.

"Thus God is present in Baptism, in the Lord's Supper, and in the use of the Keys because His own Word is present there. Therefore even though we do not see or hear Him but see and hear the minister, God Himself is nevertheless truly present, baptizes, and absolves. And in the Lord's Supper He is present in such an extraordinary way that the Son of God Himself gives us His body with the bread and His blood with the wine" (LW 3:220).

These signs, along with the Word, are our lightbearers today and wherever these are, there we find Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. As His people worship, Christ is present in and with His gifts of grace. As His Word is preached and Sacraments are administered, Christ imparts the Word through the medium of human tongues and voices. In the pulpit He speaks through the mouth of the preacher, at the font He Himself is the Baptizer, at the altar He imparts the remission of sins through the hands of the minister (LW 6:257). It is God alone who operates but He operates through us.