Note 3 — Chapter V

[Footnote 3: When God gave the commandments to Israel, He forbade them to make any graven images or likenesses. God being a Spirit, the making of an image of God would at that period necessarily have resulted in idolatry. But since Christ has come in the flesh and was visible among men, we are permitted to make pictures and images of Him. Luther preached very forcibly against those persons who, during his absence from Wittenberg, destroyed the pictures and images in the churches. He said that we make a picture of Christ in our heart whenever we think of Him, and put pictures of Him in the Bible and other books; and that therefore it is not wrong to place pictures or images of Him in our churches, so long as we do not worship them.]