on the saying of the 68th Psalm, v. 19: Thou art ascended on high 2c., attracted and explained by St. Paulum Eph. 4, 8. Preached by D. Atari. Luth. Anno 1527.*)
The day after the Ascension, May 31, 1527.
Eph. 4, 8. ff.
He ascended up on high, and led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. But that he ascended, what is it but that he went down first into the lowest parts of the earth? He that descended is he that ascended above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
1. on this day the feast of the Ascension of the Lord Christ is celebrated, on which it is customary to preach the article of our holy Christian faith: "Ascended to heaven", which is a high article, and is so incomprehensible to human reason that the more it contemplates and thinks about it, the more it seems that it is not true. For human reason cannot comprehend that a
*This revision of the sermon reported in the previous number (compare our Me note on the same) is found in the collective editions: in the Wittenberg (1553), vol. IV, AI. 5256; in the Eisleben, vol. I, p. 407; in the Altenburg, vol. Ill, p. 749; in the Leipzig, vol. XII, p. 491; in the Erlanger (I. Anfl.), vol. 18, p. 169 and in the second edition, vol. 17, p. 302. We give the text according to the Wittenberg.
Man, who has flesh and blood, has ascended to heaven, has become a lord over all creatures, and has equal authority with God; if they hardly believe such things of God Himself, let alone of a human being. Therefore, in matters of faith that concern the divine essence and will and our salvation, we should close our eyes, ears and all our senses, listen only and pay diligent attention to what and how the Scriptures speak of it, and wrap ourselves badly in God's word, and judge ourselves according to it, and not fall into it and want to judge with our reason. Otherwise we will certainly be like someone who looks straight into the bright sun with stupid eyes; the more and longer he looks, the greater the damage to his face. In the same way, the more one wants to investigate, establish and judge this and other articles of our faith with reason and human wisdom, the more erroneous and deluded he becomes about it. As can be seen in our time with all the red spirits, both Sacramentans and Anabaptists; therefore they can neither be advised nor helped.
Whoever wants to know the use and power of this article: "Ascended into heaven" 2c., let him look carefully at the sayings of the Holy Scriptures in which this article is set forth, as the Holy Spirit has long before in the 68th Psalm, v. 19, set forth and established with clear and distinct words: "Thou hast ascended on high, and hast caught the prison, and hast received gifts for men."
(3) The fathers and prophets spoke of these and other articles of our Christian faith with such certainty and without doubt that they believed them without question, even though they were not fulfilled and put into practice until long afterward. Again, we who know and daily confess in our faith that all things have come to pass and are finished, and who daily hear the prophets, apostles, and evangelists interpret their writings, put ourselves to it as if we thought it were a lie, or hear it no differently than if it were a story or a fairy tale, and so let it go in one ear and out the other. So also, the apostles and believers in the beginning of Christianity, with great diligence and attention to the holy prophets, have read sayings of
the articles of faith with sharp eyes, drawn out, and clearly explained. It can be seen in Eph. 4, 8.ff., that St. Paul refers to this saying from the 68th Psalm: "You have ascended on high" 2c., and consolingly describes the fruit and power of the ascension of Christ.
(4) The same words of the prophet, as St. Paul declared, were read by many of the noble people in the papacy before that time, but they were not understood, except by very few. And even though it was preached yearly that Christ had gone to heaven, it still came to nothing. For no one knew, much less believed, that Christ had ascended to heaven for our good, comfort and salvation, that through his ascension we should be freed, released and set free from our prison, which held us all captive 2c. Now this is a mighty saying, therefore let us see what it contains.
First, David says: "You have ascended on high" 2c. The prophet often calls our Lord Christ, who ascended on high, "God" in the same Psalm. But how does it rhyme that God should ascend on high, who is so high that nothing is or can be higher than he, so that everything is subject to him? Therefore the Scripture also calls Him the Most High [Acts 7:48]. How then did he ascend on high? With these short words: "You ascended on high" 2c. the prophet indicates that the person, Christ, is true God and man. For if He ascended, He must have descended before; as St. Paul very finely indicates from the words of the prophet, and concludes Eph. 4:8 ff. when he says: "But that He ascended, what is it but that He descended before into the lowest parts of the earth? He who descended is the same who ascended above all the heavens to fill them all." He descended before, that is, he was the most wicked and despised of men to behold, as it is written in Isa. 53:2, 3: "He had no form nor beauty" 2c. "He was the most despised and unworthy, full of pain and sickness. He was so despised that people hid their faces from him; therefore we esteemed him nothing" 2c. Therefore
If he could not descend any lower, there is no man on earth who has been so deeply humbled and descended as he, so that St. Paul's words, "He descended," would stand firm and remain true. For he let himself down into the lowest depth, under the law, under the devil, death, sin and hell; that is, I think, the last and lowest depth. Therefore this saying demands that this person, who ascended on high, descended beforehand, and therefore was not only true, eternal God, from eternity of the Father, but also true, natural man, born of Mary the Virgin, when the time was fulfilled.
(6) But what is the cause that he has gone down so low? Isaiah the prophet shows it in Cap. 53, 5. where he says: "He is wounded for our iniquity, and broken for our sin." Read the same whole chapter. And John 1:29: "Behold, this is the Lamb of God, which taketh upon Himself the sin of the world, and beareth it. "2c. There you hear that the world is in sin and condemnation, from which no creature in heaven or on earth has been able to help it. But if it should be helped, God Himself must provide counsel and help, namely in this way: He has, says Isaiah in the place mentioned above, cast all our sins on Him, on Christ, His only Son. The same sins of all of us (and all misfortunes and miseries that follow sin) lie on the neck of this Lamb of God; He redeems them by His blood, as Isaiah says: "By His wounds we are healed" 2c.
7 Therefore, because the whole world was guilty of death because of sin (for death, says St. Paul Rom. 5, 12, came into the world through sin), he let death reign over him, so that he devoured it, like all other men on earth, died, was buried, and also went down to hell among the devils, the like of which no man can go so deep. But because it was impossible that his soul (as St. Peter says Apost. 2, 27.) should be left in hell, and his flesh should see decay, he had to go up again from this depth and death, that is, to the right hand of God. He could not descend any lower, nor could he ascend any higher. For nothing
is lower than hell; nothing higher than the right hand of God. He has tried both; we will also have to learn and try both. But we have the advantage that he, "the breaker", Mich. 2, 13, has gone up for us, broken the way and made it right, so that we can happily follow him, if we believe in him otherwise. He has gone through it all, so that he may take it all in, and as St. Paul says [Eph. 4:10], fulfill it all. He wants and has to be in all places.
It certainly follows that this God, who is described in the 68th Psalm as having ascended on high, must also be truly human, so that in this short verse: "You have ascended on high" 2c., that God has taken on human nature, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of Mary the Virgin, died, rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God 2c. For, should he ascend, he had to descend first, that is, he had to become true, natural man, take upon himself the sin of all the world, suffer death 2c. But if he should ascend again, capture the prison (that holds us captive), distribute gifts among men, and rule mightily over sin, death, the devil, hell, and all creatures, then he must not only be man, but also true, eternal, natural God. For these are not works of a creature, but of the Creator Himself 2c. So St. Paul looked at this saying with almost sharp eyes, when he says [Eph. 4, 10.]: "He who descended into the lowest parts of the earth is the same who ascended above all heavens, that he might fill all things." And thus concludes briefly that in these words, "Thou hast ascended on high," 2c., is comprehended the birth, death, resurrection, and everlasting kingdom of Christ.
(9) Now that he has gone out, what is he doing? What is his office? Does he sit on a golden chair above, and let the angels play and court before him; or is he idle? No. Listen to what the prophet and St. Paul say: He not only went up, but also led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. There you hear what he did for
has an office. He is doing two things: He has caught the prison, he does not stop yet, he keeps it caught without interruption; that is one. The other: He has given gifts to men, still gives them without ceasing until the end of the world, and distributes them 1) among his Christians.
Now this is spoken very sweetly and comfortingly, when he says that he has caught the prison. The Scriptures often speak in the same way in other places, as Gal. 2, 19: "I died to the law through the law" 2c. Rom. 8, 2: "The law of the Spirit, which quickeneth in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Item, v. 3.: "God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemning sin in the flesh through sin." And 2 Cor. 5, 21.: "GOD made Him who knew of no sin to be sin for us, that we might become in Him the righteousness that is before GOD." So also Hosea 13, 14: "I will deliver them 'out of hell, and save them from death. Death, I will be your death; covering, I will be your poison." Item, Luc. 11, 22.: The stronger (Christ) overcomes the strong (the devil). So here also: "He has led the prison captive," does not mean: He has taken away the prison; otherwise it might return for many years; but: He has captured it, so that no one may capture it from now on.
(11) What then is the prison that Christ has caught? Some have drawn and interpreted it to mean that Christ, when he ascended to heaven, delivered the holy ancients from the outer castle of hell. But that this is not the opinion is shown by the words themselves, which hold out to us another prison, which imprisons me and you, and all men, namely a spiritual one, by which the soul is imprisoned, and is held captive to eternal death, if it is not redeemed by him who ascended on high, as a thief or murderer is to bodily death.
(12) This prison, then, which takes us captive and holds us, is the law, sin, death, the devil and hell. For there stands the
1) In the original: theilets.
The law commands and urges us to be pious, to love God with all our heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do not do this, and it is impossible for us to do it. But because we do not, it takes us captive, that is, it accuses us and passes judgment on us that we are guilty of eternal death and damnation. For this is the sentence of Moses 27:26: "Cursed be he that fulfilleth not all the words of this law, to do them." Or, as St. Paul repeats this saying and explains Gal. 3, 10: "Cursed be every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." Oh God! What a horrible, terrible judgment this is! So I hear that if a man kept the whole law, and lacked only one thing, he would still be cursed? Yes, indeed, because Moses clearly says [Deut. 27:26]: "Cursed be he who does not fulfill all the words" 2c. This is also what St. James means when he says [Jac. 2, 10.]: "If anyone keeps the whole law and sins against one person, he is completely guilty." Yes, you cannot keep the least of the law, be you outwardly so pious as you will; how then would you keep it altogether? Nor was it given by God to be kept by human power, so that it should or could make man blessed. For if it could do so, Christ would be of no use to us at all, Gal. 2:21, but for this reason it was given, that man should recognize his sin, inability and condemnation from it, and thus despair of himself through learning the law, and seek counsel and help elsewhere, namely from Christ.
Therefore do as you will, the law takes you captive. If you do not feel it now, the hour will come when the world will make it too tight for you. Then you say: How can I get out of this prison? Despair of yourself and all your strength, and hold on to the person called Christ, who has gone up and caught the prison. If thou lackest the man, thou shalt be eternally shut up and imprisoned in this prison; no creature, no saint, nor angel shall be able to help thee out. But if thou holdest fast to him, thou shalt be saved. For Christ has imprisoned the law, not for his own sake.
Person, but to us to good, that if we believe in him, it must give us up, and can not see further.
14 How then did it come to pass that Christ caught the law? This is what St. Paul teaches when he says Gal. 4:4 ff: "When the time was fulfilled, God sent his Son, born of a woman, who was under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption. Item, Cap. 3, 11: "By the law no man is justified in the sight of God," indeed, it only makes transgression and sin more powerful, Rom. 5, 20. [Gal. 3, 13. f.:] "But Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on wood), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus."
(15) Here you hear that Christ has crawled into the prison where we all lie locked up and imprisoned. How did this happen? He was a man full of all grace, righteousness, life, yes, he was life itself; and yet he put himself under the law. Then the law comes, addresses him, wants to have a promise to him and to deal with him as with all Adam's children. Christ is silent about it, lets the law (the cruel tyrant, who passes a sentence of death on the whole human race, and says: "Cursed be everyone" 2c.) rule over him, and without any guilt accuses and condemns himself by the law as a cursed sinner; yes, he bears the title and shame that he himself is a curse, and perishes, dies and is buried. Now won! cried the law. But it did not know that it had so shamefully transgressed, condemned God's Son and so miserably executed, and as a blasphemer and rebel murdered by death on the cross. Because it has now condemned and damned the one who was innocent and to whom it had no right, yes, the one who was the lord of the law and creator of all creatures, it must again take the blame, be captured and nailed to the cross and condemned, and lose all its power, and lie under the feet of the one it condemned for eternity.
16. do you want to be a happy, good, safe person?
If you want to know and be free from the prison of the law, hold on to Christ, who has become the master of the law and has caught it. If thou believest in him, thou shalt have safe, free conduct. For Christ has caught it for you, that you should not only be free from the law, but also rule over it, through and in him. This is what St. Paul means when 1) he says Gal. 3, 13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law when he became a curse for us." And Col. 2, 13. 14.: "He gave us all our sin, and blotted out the handwriting that was against us, which came into being by statute and was against us, and took it out of the remedy, and nailed it to the cross" 2c.
(17) But as the law takes us captive, so sin also takes us captive, making us afraid, despondent, and stupid in conscience, so that we are afraid of a rustling leaf. How then do we do it, that we may be loosed from the prison of sins? Look at Christ, who has caught the prison, and has condemned and taken away sin in the flesh by sin. How so? He became a sinner, yes, sin itself, and thus by his sin he canceled and took away the sin of the world. Of this St. Paul says, as reported above [§ 10], Rom. 8, 3.: "God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemning sin in the flesh through 2) sin, that righteousness, required by the law, might be fulfilled in us." And 2 Cor. 5:21: "God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become in him the righteousness that is before God."
18 Here you hear that Christ takes away sin and condemns sin through sin of the world. But a strange, whimsical speech it is, that sin takes away sin, sin condemns sin. Would it not be finer to say, righteousness taketh away sin, or, Christ by his righteousness took away sin from the world and condemned it? No. Why? Because the sin and punishment of the whole world is on Christ's neck, Joh. 1, 29. "Behold,
1) Thus in the first relation and in the Eisleben edition. Wittenberger: that.
2) Thus in the first relation and in the Eisleben edition. Wittenberg: by the.
This is God's Lamb, who takes upon Himself the sin of the world and bears it," and is rewarded for it by His suffering and death. Therefore he is under sin, counted by the law of Moses as a cursed man, and considered the worst of sinners, hanging between two murderers as an arch-villain, and there the saying of the 69th Psalm, v. 10, is fulfilled: "The reproach of them that reproach thee is fallen upon me"; and Ps. 41, 5: "I said, Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. Christ speaks these and similar words, and speaks them as a sinner. If Christ has committed no sin, neither is any deceit found in his mouth; how then is he a sinner? Because of his person he is not a sinner, but pure, holy, righteous, even righteousness itself 2c. But he is the Lamb of God, who took upon himself my sin, and thine, and the sin of all the world; and for the same he shed his own blood. So Christ by his sin (for he became a sin and a curse for us) has torn, cast out and condemned all the sin of the world. If you believe in him, his sin is so powerful that it tears away and condemns your sin and the sin of all believers.
19. then see to it that when your sin weighs you down and makes you fearful, that you do no work to quench and purge it, or you labor in vain; but hold fast to Christ, through whom sin is sung and has already received its judgment, just as a murderer who receives his judgment because of his iniquity sees certain death before his eyes, for the judgment has already been passed upon him. What kind of life can he have, which is nothing else than a walk to death?
20 Thus sin is still stirring in us, but it has already passed its judgment, is now completely weak and powerless, and can never condemn us, for it is smitten and imprisoned by Christ. And the more fiercely she looks at the Christians, the less she accomplishes, yes, only gives her the greater cause through such her condemnation to call to her Lord Christ for help. So Christ is there and says: "You damned and now powerless sin, you may well afflict my Christians, and you may not be able to help them.
But thou shalt not gain anything by them; yea, thou shalt be damned, and shalt not accuse them before me. What sin does to the Christian's conscience has no power, because Christ, who was made sin for us, overcame sin and condemned it. That is to say, sin with sin expelled. From this we see that Christ does not sit idly up in heaven, but without ceasing strikes at our enemies and takes them captive, so that they cannot harm us who believe in him and comfort us with his victory.
(21) Death, even of our enemies, is one at which all the world is terrified and terrified. Nor is there any king, emperor or empress so strong and powerful who could resist him; they all have to serve him, be they great or small, young or old, rich or poor, noble or ignoble, and let themselves be strangled and devoured by him; against this there is no remedy, advice or help. How then shall we escape from him, and remain unswallowed by him? If you want to be released from his prison and become free, let your good works and strict life go, because you will and can do nothing with them (the giant is too strong, he cannot be beaten with human laws and commandments of caps, plates and what is more), but turn around and see what work Christ has done; he is the right man, who overcame and devoured our death by his death, Hos. 13:4. How did this happen? Death attacked Christ, wanted to swallow a little bite, opened his mouth wide, and ate him up like all other men. Christ did not resist him, but let himself be swallowed by death and remained stuck in his throat until the third day. But the cute little bite did not like death, could not digest it, because it was too strong for him; therefore he must give it up again and strangle it.
(22) Thus Christ, by his innocent death, has overcome our death, which is terrible to all the world. If we now believe in him, we must indeed die in time, be scarred and rot; but we have this advantage, that our temporal death is henceforth an entrance into eternal life.
Moreover, the death we suffer is no longer a real death, that is, a terrible death, but a painted death, yes, a sweet sleep. The death of Christ, who overcame and captured our death, settles all this. This means then, as the Scripture speaks of it, death overcome with death, and poison driven out with poison. Of this miraculous victory and overcoming, one death against the other, Hosea the prophet Cap. 13, 14. says in the person of Christ: "Death, I will be a death to you. As if he wanted to say: You sorrowful death, you kill, tear away and devour the whole human race. Well, you shall not do it forever, yes, soon I will come to you, that you have to hold out to me again, and let yourself be eaten. So that all who believe in me must not only leave you untouched and devoured forever, but also trample you underfoot and be lords over you through me. From this we see how blessed, wholesome and powerful the death of our Lord Christ is, how he lashes out and stabs with all his might and power, grasps the mouth of the death of which we were prisoners, knocks out its teeth, and blunts its spear and thorn, so that we, who believe in him, cannot be bitten, stung or strangled from now on, but are now salvific and worthy in his sight, and in sum, a blessed entrance to eternal life, as the arch-father Simeon looked upon death, and joyfully sang [Luc. 2, 29]: "With peace and joy I go" 2c.
So we see that death is not terrible for us Christians, but comforting. But from where? Because Christ has ascended on high, sits at the right hand of God, and has overcome our enemies, so that even though they make us sad and sorrowful, they cannot harm us. Therefore, we should not be afraid of Christ as of a strict, angry tyrant and judge, as he is presented and imagined to us in the papacy, but we should give ourselves all good things to him as to our faithful Savior, intercessor, shepherd and bishop of our souls, who not only overcame and imprisoned sin, death and all misfortune for our good, but also gave us a good life without any evil.
1) Erlanger Ausgabe, in both the first and second editions, as does Walch: "Luc. 2, 20."
We are not to be harmed by all our enemies from now on in eternity. From this, I say, you see that in Christ we have such a high priest and all-powerful, merciful king [Ps. 110:6], who reconciles and represents both of us before God, and powerfully defends us against the devil's and the evil world's raging and raging, and preserves us without their will. The only thing missing is that we do not believe it, or believe it weakly. For if we believed it to be certain, we would not be so fainthearted and despondent, would not mourn and lament so, but would lift up our heads and take comfort in the unspeakable grace of God that has befallen us in Christ. Much less would we have so shamefully forgotten this great grace and benefit, and have undertaken other ways and means to put away sin, to obtain God's grace and blessedness, than by our own efforts, good works, monasticism, masses, vigils, false worship, pilgrimages, and other innumerable ways 2c.
24 If then our sin, as we have said, is caught and taken away by Christ, the law cannot condemn us, nor has death any further right or power over us; for the law cannot convince us that we are sinners, because Christ crucified and took them away. It follows that even the devil can do nothing against us. For through Christ we are delivered from the power and kingdom of the devil, which is a kingdom of darkness, error, sin and death, because he has transferred us into his kingdom [Eph. 2:4 ff], which is a kingdom of light, right understanding, righteousness and life. So we must not be afraid of hell either, because hell and all other enemies of ours he, the dear Lord, has captured. This is what St. Paul means when he says 1 Cor. 15, 54. 55. 58: "Death is swallowed up in victory! Death, where is your sting? Hell, where is your victory? Thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
25 Let this be said of the first part, that Christ ascended on high and caught the prison, that is, he overcame sin, death, the devil, hell, and all calamities, and gave us who believe that it is ours to suffer.
The way to heaven is opened by the fact that it happened in the first place. These are all unbelievable, yes, impossible words, if we take our reason to counsel. But the prophets and apostles, driven by the Holy Spirit, speak of it as happily and surely as if they saw it before their eyes, felt it in their hearts, and had comfort and joy from it. But we, because we do not see nor grope [Isa. 42, 19.] how sin and death are caught, but feel the contradiction, do not believe it, much less does our heart feel it, will keep silent that it should have comfort and joy from it. For when the time is present that death is to come, it is clear how we believe this. Yes, if we could then hide in a mouse hole, or if it were possible, crawl deep into the earth and hide, and thereby escape death, we would do it. Nevertheless, if you want to remain otherwise unsnared by death, you must believe that Christ has ascended on high, and is sitting at the right hand of God, and has caught death, so that it should and must leave you uncaptured.
(26) It will remain that sin will afflict you, death will terrify you, God's judgment will make your conscience fearful as long as you live. But how should you do it here? You certainly do not have to judge yourself according to how you feel; you do not have to say, "Woe is me, death wants to devour me! O reproach, hell opens wide its jaws, and will devour me; but take courage and confidence in Christ, and trample under foot such thoughts, and say, It is not, O woe, death will devour me; but it is, My Lord Christ is gone up on high, and hath caught the prison. The "going up" will probably forbid you, you sorrowful death, that you must leave me undevoured and uneaten. I shall be free, and I am free, for the sake of the man who has gone up.
(27) This is the right, certain way, by which the meek overcome sin, death 2c. For you hear that here no letter of indulgence, caps, plates, intercession of the saints, pilgrimages 2c. are thought of, but that they grasp this (or the like) saying: "You have caught the prison" 2c. with firm faith,
and base themselves on it, and thus penetrate from death into life. But this art cannot be grasped so soon, as many think when they hear it only once, they have learned it. No, brother, not by a long shot, you are far from it. It truly requires a firm, strong faith, not a loose delusion or conceit of the heart, as sure men and hypocrites have, but which stands and rests on it with all deliberation and certain confidence, that Christ has ascended on high 2c. Where this faith is, man cannot despair; indeed, he rejoices with all his heart that Christ has taken the prison captive; therefore he knows well that he will be and remain uncaptured by the devil, death 2c.
28. Such faith, as I said, is not a drowsy, idle thought in the heart, but a gift and work of the Holy Spirit in us, who transforms us and makes us new men, to regard such unspeakable grace of God, acquired and given through Christ, with earnestness, and to thank Him for it from the heart with these or similar words: Ah, merciful God, how kind and blessed a father you are, who acts so fatherly and cordially with us poor, damned sinners, throwing your own Son, Jesus Christ, your highest and best good, into the jaws of death, the devil 2c. into the boat, and decree that he shall go down into the deep 1) that he may go up again, and take captive the prison that imprisoned us all 2c. Where such joy is not felt by the heart, but is straitened and terrified, it is a sure sign that it is without faith. Therefore, this joy, as I said in the beginning, is so high that one cannot preach enough about it; indeed, no human heart can ever grasp it enough here on earth, it must be saved for that life, otherwise a man would die of joy. Now let us go over the other part recently and talk a little about it.
You have received gifts for the people.
29. two kinds of office, I have said [§ 9], Christ has, with which he deals without ceasing to-
1) Thus the first relation and the Eisleben one. Wittenberger: down.
walks and drives. The first, all our enemies and misfortunes, which look upon us men and make us fearful and anxious, he has caught, so that, though they may afflict us as long as we live, yet they cannot harm us. The other thing is that he gives gifts to men and distributes them abundantly, that is, he sends them the Holy Spirit and adorns them with various gifts, as St. Paul indicates in Eph. 4:11, 12: "Christ," he says, "has appointed some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, so that the saints may all be sent to the work of the ministry, building up the body of Christ. This is why he distributes various gifts among his believers, so that the gospel may be preached in various languages throughout the world, so that unbelievers may be converted and many people brought to faith, so that they may grow in grace and knowledge and be saved. For this purpose, one may interpret the Scriptures, another may test the spirits, the third may know many languages and interpret them to others, and so on, 1 Cor. 12:8 ff.
30 Christ once, on the day of Pentecost, visibly gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles, so that they all saw their tongues divided as if they were on fire, speaking with various tongues, casting out devils, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers. Raising the dead 2c. This happened in the beginning of Christianity because the preaching of the gospel was new and previously unheard; but if it was to be accepted and believed, Christ had to confirm it with miraculous signs and various gifts distributed among the believers. But now, until the end of the world, he does not give the Holy Spirit and his gifts in such a way as he did then, but secretly and invisibly to his Christians.
31 But as little as reason believes that Christ has overcome and captured all our enemies, sin, death, 2c. so little does it believe that Christ distributes gifts among men. For when the apostles received the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and spake with new tongues, and stood up in Jerusalem, and preached, and went into all Judea, and Samaria, and afterward into all the world, according to Christ's command, and preached the gospel in all places, they did not believe.
Who was aware of the end, and confirmed their preaching with signs and wonders? Who believed that it was right with them? Yes, they heard from their own Jews that they were mad and full of sweet wine; item, that they were possessed and full of devils, and were both executed by Jews and Gentiles as blasphemers, deceivers and seditious evildoers. Therefore the world does not see and recognize the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but despises and blasphemes them as the work of the devil; and indeed everything that our Lord God speaks and does is not and must not be right for the world. Yes, it considers his word to be heresy and the devil's doctrine; in turn, it accepts the devil's doctrine for God's word. God's work must be of no value to it, indeed, it must be devilish; again, the devil's work is highly esteemed by it, and it calls it God's work. But Christians recognize and consider God's word to be the highest treasure on earth, and recognize the dignity and power of his great, divine works; even though they do not sufficiently marvel at them, praise them, and extol them, as they should.
(32) As it happened to the apostles, so it happens to us now; bishops, princes and lords consider us heretics, seducers, rebellious and devilish people. Thus they honor and praise our gifts, which our Lord Christ distributes among us. Neither do the spirits of the Red Men make it any better, they do not see any gifts of the Spirit in us either. What they speak and do is spiritual, yes, the spirit itself; but what we poor sinners teach and do is carnal and devilish, yes, the devil himself. Nevertheless the saying of the prophet stands firm, "Thou hast received gifts for men." Christ also always finds those who accept, hear and believe his word, to whom he gives his Spirit, whom they alone recognize and no one else, what gifts they receive from him, and they thank him for them.
(33) In the papacy, which is the basis of all abominations and heresies, he nevertheless had his own, on whom he poured out his spirit and gifts. They have also seen and understood that the pope is the true end-Christ, and his commandment and human law are the doctrine of the devil.
1370 Erl. (s.) 17, 3Z0-S2S. Interpretations on the Psalms. W. v, ises-isss. 1371
Pabst and his teachings. But what they did, they had to do secretly, were not allowed to protest, or they would have had to be burned to powder as heretics. Nor was it yet time for the right light to shine and expose the abominations and lies of the Pabst. But now, by God's grace, it shines brightly and clearly, and one sees before one's eyes what the Pabstacy is.
34 You have now heard in these words of the prophet that Christ ascended on high and received his kingdom and dominion from God (as the 110th Psalm, v. 1.And that he does not sit idly on high, but has to work here on earth, in his Christianity, without ceasing until the end of the world, namely, that he first takes prison captive, redeems us from sin and death, gives the Holy Spirit, who cleanses our hearts through faith, so that we put off our old Adam together with the lusts and desires, and put on the new man. Secondly, that he does not impute the rest of our sins to us, but forgives and covers them, if we persevere in faith, and does not let sin reign [Rom. 6, v. 12], but kills it through the Spirit. He also gives us his gifts, and strengthens us to preach and confess his word fearlessly, and to fear no one, let God grant, be it tyrants, riffraff, sin, death, devils, or hell. Furthermore, you have heard that the world neither recognizes nor believes such grace and good deeds of Christ, and even condemns them and makes a mockery of them. Only Christians, who judge themselves by the word, know and understand that we are perfect in Christ,
Col. 2, 10, and yet still not pure of all things full of sins. For we are sometimes, yes, often hasty, that we are challenged with doubt, unbelief 2c., grumble against God, are angry with our neighbor, resent him. And that the dear prophets could have spoken much better of Christ, who was to crush the serpent's head and bless all the world, so long before he ever preached it publicly in all the world, that they are far superior to us, who read and also hear the Scriptures preached daily, and believe that everything is arranged through Christ and given to us. Blessed are those who believe it and accept it with thanksgiving.
35 In these short words, the fruit and benefit of Christ's ascension is finely described, that he ascended for our benefit (as in all other things), and therefore sits at the right hand of God, that he might help us and adorn us with his gifts, and comfort us in all our needs. Whoever knows and believes this, will find the Ascension of Christ salutary and comforting, and will come before God in the name of Christ with a happy conscience, saying: I thank thee, thou eternal, merciful God and Father, that thou hast given thy dear, united Son to us poor sinners, who took on human nature, suffered, was crucified and died for us, and rose again from death, ascended into heaven, and has caught our prison which imprisons us, that now through him we are thy dear children, and his brethren, and joint heirs of all his eternal heavenly goods. Give grace and your Holy Spirit to sustain us in this faith to our end, amen.