Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/5957
5957 The letter kills.... the spirit makes alive....
May 14, 1954: Book 64
The letter kills, only the spirit brings life.... all of you who proclaim to your fellow human beings what is written must take this to heart.... You must know that without My spirit you can give every word many different meanings, that you can interpret everything in many different ways and that you can thereby distance yourselves far from the truth, that you can acquire dead knowledge which is of no value to the soul. Only the spirit brings life, and only the spirit illuminates what was previously dark.... Only My spirit enlightens you as to the meaning of My word, and only enlightened thinking grasps and processes the word such that the interpretation corresponds to the truth. You can read everything from the scriptures.... You can completely change their meaning and also kindle brightest light in you again, depending on your will and your ability to let My spirit work in you. And thus erroneous teachings can also arise and find their way in amongst people, because My adversary intervenes wherever I Myself cannot yet be in spirit, because he is also not afraid to distort My word if only he can work against the truth. You know yourselves that every person's thoughts can take a different direction and that everyone nevertheless wants to represent his thoughts as right and true.... but you also know that different opinions cannot claim to be true, and therefore you must consult the one Who Himself is the truth from eternity.... You must ask Him for enlightenment of your spirit before you start to interpret the scriptures which testify of Me.... You must not only deal with My word intellectually, you must know that every word allows for many different meanings and seek to find the right meaning, yet not without first calling upon My help.... And if your will is good, if you only try to proclaim the pure truth, your thinking will also be enlightened for the sake of truth, for I want truth to find its way in amongst people and I want light to shine in people's hearts, but only pure truth can kindle it.... It is not the word itself, the letter, which is decisive but the meaning which is hidden in the word.... And even though I spoke to you humans so clearly and unmistakably when I walked on earth and also before.... even these words of Mine can be misinterpreted if only the intellect and not the heart deals with them and if My assistance is not requested. And then the letter can 'kill' in the true sense of the word.... it can cause death to the soul which is not addressed and thus falls prey to spiritual death without any nourishment or is offered completely wrong food so that it cannot awaken to life. For only the spirit brings life.... And I truly want to give this to all those who sincerely ask Me for it, who are willing to proclaim Me Myself and the truth in order to serve Me and to help their fellow human beings out of their souls' adversity.... They will receive what they request and then also be good servants to Me in My vineyard, who will only ever do their lord's will and thus are also in truth My representatives on earth, who will speak in My stead.... the same word in the same sense which I taught on earth....
Amen
Translated by Doris Boekers