Not all proclamation is real proclamation. Proclamation (church
preaching and sacrament) cannot ever claim to "be" the Word of
God. It cannot contain the Word of God, hold it, grasp it, claim
it as its own. No, according to Barth, "Proclamation must ever
and again become proclamation." (CD I.1 §4.1 p. 88). How does
proclamation "become" the Word of God. Barth gives four factors,
which he calls concentric spheres. 1) In the outermost sphere,
the Word of God is a "given commission." The givenness is
important here. This is not a human word. It is given from God
and cannot be created through human means, through human
motivations. God's word remains free. 2) God's Word is the theme
of proclamation. God's word cannot be reduced to objects of
human perception, either external perception (the five senses)
or internal perception (thought, perception of the mind). 3)
Proclamation is judged not by human standards of judgment, but
by the Word of God itself. God's Word judges whether
proclamation is or is not the Word o