V. 1. 2. Paul, an apostle (not of men, nor by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead), and all the brethren that are with me: the commoners of Galatia.
Now that we have stated what the epistle to the Galatians is about, and the brief epitome of it, let us now, before we come to the matter itself, say what prompted Paul to write this epistle. He had planted the pure doctrine of the gospel and the righteousness of faith among the Galatians, but immediately after his departure false teachers crept in who overturned everything he had planted and taught well.
(2) For the devil cannot do otherwise, he must fiercely contest this doctrine with violence and cunning, and he will not rest until he suppresses it, or corrupts it by tyrants, or at least by swarming spirits, and at last, for the sake of the same, but under the appearance of godliness, imposes an ungodly doctrine on the safe and snoring people. And for the sake of this one cause, that we present the teaching of the gospel purely, we have the devil for an enemy today, who arouses against us the raving of the world and the bitterest hatred of the heretics.
But the gospel is such a doctrine, which teaches something far more sublime than the world's wisdom, righteousness, and worship, namely, the forgiveness of sins, free of charge, through Christ. The gospel lets those things in their position be what they are, and praises them as good creatures of God, but the world prefers these creatures to the Creator and even wants to redeem sins through them, to be freed from death and to earn eternal life. This is condemned by the gospel.
4 On the other hand, the world cannot stand that the best it has should be condemned. Therefore, it attaches this stain to the gospel as if it were a rebellious and erroneous doctrine,
which overthrows states, countries, principalities, kingdoms and empire and therefore sins against God and against the emperor, deviates from the laws, corrupts good morals, and allows anyone the freedom to do whatever he wants with impunity. Therefore, the world pursues this doctrine with quite just zeal and, as it can be seen, with the highest desire to render service to God, and detests the teachers and followers of it as the most pernicious plague that could exist on earth.
Then, through the teaching of the gospel, the devil will be trampled underfoot, his kingdom will be destroyed, and the law, sin, and death (through which he, as the most powerful and insurmountable tyrant, has subjugated the entire human race to his rule) will be snatched away from him. At last his prisoners are transferred from the kingdom of darkness and bondage to the kingdom of light and freedom. Should the devil suffer this? Shouldn't the father of lies use all his powers and artifices to darken, corrupt and completely eradicate this doctrine of blessedness and eternal life? At least Paul complains in this letter and in all his other epistles that Satan had done this in a very special way through his apostles while Paul was still alive.
6 We lament and weep for the same thing today, that Satan has done more harm to our gospel through his servants, the spirits of the swarms, than through all the kings, princes and bishops who have violently persecuted it and are still persecuting it. And if we here in Wittenberg had not watched and worked so diligently and carefully in planting and teaching this doctrine of the faith, we would not have remained in harmony so long, but sects would already have arisen even among ourselves. But because we remain steadfast in this doctrine and diligently practice it, it keeps us in the greatest unity and peace. Others, who either
30 Lri. 6ai. 1, 26-28. interpretations on the epistle to the Galatians. W. VIII, 1568-1571. 31
neglect, or, as they make themselves believe, want to teach something higher, fall into various and pernicious errors and sects, of which there is no end, and are lost. Here we have only wanted to indicate in passing that the gospel is such a doctrine, which condemns all righteousness and preaches only the righteousness of Christ, and brings peace of conscience and all goods to those who embrace it, and that nevertheless the world hates and persecutes it most bitterly etc.
7 I have said that Paul had this reason to write this epistle, that soon after his departure false teachers tore down among the Galatians what he had built up with great labor and in a long time. But the false teachers or false apostles were people who were held in great esteem, who came from the circumcision and the Pharisees and boasted to the people that they were from the holy and chosen people of the Jews: they were Israelites from the seed of Abraham, they had the promises, the fathers etc.; finally, they were servants of Christ and disciples of the apostles, with whom they had had contact, and had seen their miracles. Perhaps they themselves also performed signs, for Christ testifies Matth. 7, 22 that even the wicked perform signs.
8 Then they also diminished Paul's reputation with all the artifices at their command, saying, "Why do you exalt Paul so high and honor him so much? Surely he was the last of all to be converted to Christ. We are disciples and intimate friends of the apostles; we have seen Christ perform miracles and have heard him preach. Paul is later and lesser than us, and it is also not possible that God would let us err, who are of the holy people, and servants of Christ, and have received the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, we are a whole number, but Paul is alone, who did not associate with the apostles, nor did he see Christ; indeed, he persecuted the Church of Christ for a long time. Should God have let so many churches err for the sake of one Paul?
(9) Where people of such great renown come to a city or country.
one immediately looks up to them with admiration, and with this appearance of godliness they deceive not only the simple-minded, but also scholars and people who are well established in the faith, especially if they, as those did, boast of their descent from the patriarchs, likewise that they are servants of Christ and disciples of the apostles etc. In this way, the pope today, because he has no Scripture with which to defend himself, uses for and against us this one reason: Church, Church! Do you think that God is so angry that He should reject His whole Church for the sake of a few heretical Lutherans? Do you think that He has let His Church err for so many centuries? This is what he insists on most, that the church cannot be overthrown. Just as many people are moved by this reason today, so the false apostles in Paul's time captured the minds of the Galatians by the astonishing preaching of their own praise, so that Paul lost his reputation among them and his teaching was made suspect.
(10) Against this empty boasting of the false apostles, Paul raises his apostolic reputation with great firmness and unshakable confidence and gloriously praises his profession and defends his apostleship (ministerium), and, which he does nowhere else, does not want to yield to anyone, not even the apostles, much less their disciples. And in order to break their Pharisaic arrogance and hard forehead, he tells the incident that happened in Antioch, where he had resisted Peter himself. Moreover, he does not shy away from the great astonishment, and clearly states in the text that he had taken upon himself to accuse and punish even Peter, the chief of the apostles, who had seen Christ and had had the most intimate intercourse with him. I am an apostle, he says, and one who cares nothing about what others are, and in such a way that I have not been afraid to punish even the pillar of the other apostles.
In short, in the first two chapters he does almost nothing else than praising his profession, his apostleship and his gospel, which is not human and which he did not receive from any man,
but by the revelation of Jesus Christ; likewise, if he himself, or even an angel from heaven, should preach any other gospel than the one he preached, let him be accursed.
The certainty of the profession..
(12) But what is the purpose of Paul's boasting? I answer: This main part of Christian doctrine (locus communis) serves that every minister of the divine word may be sure of his calling, so that he may confidently boast before God and men that he preaches the gospel as one who is called and sent, just as the messenger of a king boasts and flaunts that he does not come as a private person, but as the king's messenger. And because of this dignity, that he is the messenger of the king, honor is given to him, that he has the precedence and sits on top, which would not happen to him if he were there as a private person.
(13) Therefore a preacher of the gospel should be certain that he has a divine calling, and it is of great benefit that, following the example of Paul, he magnifies and boasts of his calling before the people, so that he may gain prestige among his hearers, just as a royal envoy boasts of his legation. This is not a vain boast, but a necessary boast, because he does not boast because of his own person, but for the sake of the king who sent him. He desires that the king's reputation be held in honor and inviolable. And when he expresses the will in the name of the king that something should be carried out by the subjects, he does not say: We ask, but: We command, we will that this be done etc. But as a private person he says: We ask etc.
14 Thus also, when Paul gloriously exalts his profession, he does not exalt himself in a presumptuous manner, as many think, but he praises his apostleship with a necessary and holy pride, as he says in the Epistle to the Romans Cap. 11, v. 13: "As long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I will praise my ministry," that is, I want people to receive me, not as Paul of Tarsus, but as Paul of Tarsus.
as Paul, the messenger or apostle of Jesus Christ. And this he does, of necessity, in order to gain prestige, so that the listeners, who hear this, become attentive, inclined and willing to be taught. For they do not hear the man who is only Paul, but in the person of Paul Christ Himself, and God the Father who deputizes him. Just as people owe a sacred reverence to God's prestige and majesty, they must also receive and listen to His messengers, who bring His word, with the highest reverence.
15 Now this is a strange passage, since Paul is so proud of his profession and boasts of it that he despises all others. If someone would humanly despise all others against himself and arrogate everything to himself, he would commit an extraordinary folly and would thereby also sin gravely. But here this boasting is necessary and it is not intended for the honor of Paul or our honor, but for the honor of God, to whom a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving is offered. For through this praise the name, or the grace and mercy of God is made known to the world. The epistle to the Galatians now begins with these words:
V. 1. Paul, an apostle, not of men etc.
16 Right at the beginning he attacks the false teachers, who boasted that they were disciples of the apostles and sent by them. But they despised Paul because he was neither a disciple of the apostles nor sent by anyone to preach the gospel, but had come from somewhere else and had entered this ministry on his own authority. Against these Paul defends his calling by saying: "My calling seems to be contemptible to your preachers, but whoever they may be that have come to you, they have been sent either by men or through a man, that is, either they have come of themselves without a calling, or called by others. My profession, however, is neither from men nor through a man, but it is above all profession, which is according to
could happen to the apostles. For he is "through Jesus Christ and God the Father" etc.
I understand the word "of men" as follows: those who call and invade themselves, while neither God nor men call or send them, but walk and talk of themselves, like the swarming spirits nowadays, who either creep through the corners and look for space where they want to pour out their poison (they do not come to the public churches), or come where the gospel is planted before. This is what I call: "by men." But: "by a man" who have a divine calling, but by a man.
18 It is therefore a twofold divine calling, one indirect, the other direct. God calls us all today to the ministry of preaching through the indirect calling, that is, through a calling that happens through a means, that is, through a man. The apostles, however, were called without means by Christ Himself, just as the prophets in the Old Testament were called by God Himself. Afterwards the apostles called their disciples, like Paul called Timothy, Titus etc., who then called bishops, as Titus 1, 5. is written; the bishops called their successors. This profession has remained until our times and will remain until the end of the world. It is an indirect profession, because it happens through a human being, and yet a divine profession.
(19) If in this way the prince or the authorities, or I, call someone, he has a calling through a man; and this, according to the apostles, is the general way of calling in the whole world. And this is not to be changed, but held in high esteem for the sake of the deceivers, who despise it and boast of another better calling, since, as they say, the Spirit impels them to teach. But the deceivers lie. They are indeed driven by a spirit, but not by a good spirit, but by the evil spirit. It is not for me to go from my appointed place (sortem) to another city, where I am not called as a minister of the Word, and to preach there (that is, if I am a preacher; but if I am a doctor, I could preach throughout the whole papacy, if only they would let me), even if I heard that they were teaching falsely there, that the souls of the people of the world were not being taught.
I am to command the matter to God, who in his time will find opportunity to call preachers in a proper way and to give his word. For he is the Lord of the harvest, who will also send laborers into his harvest; it is ours to ask, Matth. 9, 38.
20 Therefore, it is not necessary to take hold of someone else's harvest, as the devil tends to incite his servants to run without a profession, and to use this fervent zeal as a pretext: they are sorry that people are so miserably deceived; they want to teach the truth and snatch the deceived out of the devil's snares. Yes, even if someone, out of godly zeal and in good opinion, wanted to help the deceived out of error through right teaching, this would still set an evil example, creating an opportunity for godless teachers to intrude, through which Satan would then take the preaching chair and do great harm.
(21) But if the prince or another person in authority calls me, then I can certainly and confidently boast against the devil and the enemies of the gospel that I am called by God's command through the voice of a man. For there is God's command through the mouth of the prince, which makes me certain that my calling is a right and divine calling. Therefore, we too are called by divine authority, not directly by Christ, as the apostles were, but through a man.
(22) This teaching of the certainty of the calling is very necessary against the corrupt and devilish spirits, who boast of the Spirit and the heavenly calling beyond measure and deceive many by this pretense; and yet they lie quite brazenly. Therefore, the certainty that we are called serves that each one may boast with John the Baptist [Luc. 3:2]: "The command of God has gone out to me." That I now teach the word, baptize and administer the sacraments, I do so because I have the command and am called to do so, for God's voice has spoken to me, not in the corner,
as the enthusiasts boast, but by the mouth of a man who is in a rightful office.
But if one or two citizens ask me to preach, I should not obey such a private call, because it would open the door to the servants of the devil, who would then invoke this example and do harm, as we said above. But if I am required by those who hold a public office, then I shall obey.
(24) Saying then, "Paul, an apostle not of men, nor by men," he meets and overcomes (reprimands) the false apostles with these words, as if to say, "However highly they may boast, what more can these vipers boast than that they have come, either from men, that is, of themselves, no one having called them, or by men, that is, sent by others? I have no interest in all this, nor do you need to ask anything about it. But I am neither called nor sent by men, but directly, that is, by Jesus Christ, and my calling is in all respects like the calling of the [other] apostles, and I am certainly an apostle.
Therefore Paul treats the doctrine of the calling of the apostles very diligently, and elsewhere separates the apostleship from the other [spiritual offices), as 1 Cor. 12, 28. and Eph. 4, 11.: "He has appointed some to be apostles, but some to be prophets" etc., by putting the apostles first [to indicate] that actually only those are apostles who are sent directly by God Himself, without an intermediary. Thus also Matthias was called straight from God. For since the other apostles raised two, they did not dare to choose one or the other, but cast lots and prayed that God would indicate which of these two He Himself had chosen [Apost. 1, 23. f.]. For he had to be called by God, since he was to be an apostle. In the same way Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, was called [Apost. 9, 15]. Therefore, the apostles are also called holy, because they are certain of their calling and their teaching, and have remained faithful in their office,
and none of them has fallen away except Judas, for their profession is holy.
This is the first strike that Paul makes against the false apostles who were running when no one had sent them. Therefore one must not despise the profession. For it is not enough that one has the word and pure doctrine, but there must also be a certain profession; if someone intrudes without such a profession, he only comes "to choke and kill" [John 10:10]. For God never gives proper prosperity to the work of those who are not called. And even though they sometimes bring forward some wholesome things, they build nothing. Thus, nowadays our enthusiasts have the words of faith in their mouths, but they do not produce any fruit, but mainly go about persuading people with their erroneous opinions etc.
(27) Those who have a certain and holy profession must endure many and very difficult struggles; likewise, those whose doctrine is pure and wholesome must struggle hard to remain in their wholesome ministry against the incessant and countless attempts of the devil and the ravages of the world. What can such a one do whose profession is uncertain and whose teaching is not pure?
28 Our consolation then, who are in the service of the word, is this, that we have a holy and heavenly office, to which we are ordinarily (rite) called, as we boast against all the gates of hell. On the other hand, it is something frightening when the conscience says: You have done this without a calling. In such a case, such a great terror tends to crush the heart that the uncalled preacher wishes he had never heard the word he teaches, because disobedience makes all works evil, however good they may be, so that even the greatest works and labors become the greatest sins.
29 Therefore you see how good and how necessary this boasting and praising of our ministry is. In former times, when I was still a novice in theology and a young doctor, it seemed to me that Paul was acting foolishly, that he boasted so often about his profession in all his letters. I did not understand what he had in mind, for I was
I did not know that the service of the word was something so great. I knew nothing of the doctrine of faith, nor what a right conscience was, because nothing certain was taught, neither in the schools nor in the churches, but everything was full of sophistical confusion and useless chatter of the teachers of papal law (canonistarum) and of those who recited the sentences (sententiariorum). Therefore, no one could recognize the value and meaning of this sacred and spiritual praise of the profession. This serves first of all for God's glory, then for the praise of our office, finally for our blessedness and that of those who are commanded to us (populi). For by this boasting we do not seek to be something in the world, we do not seek honor among men, not money, not prosperity, not the favor of the world etc. But because we are in a divine calling and in the work of God, and because the certainty of our calling is most necessary for people to know that our word is the word of God, we boast of this calling with pride. Therefore, it is not a vain, but an exceedingly holy pride against the devil and the world, but a right humility before God.
And by God the Father, who raised him from the dead.
(30) Paul is so fiercely passionate that he cannot wait until he gets to the matter at hand, but immediately goes into the superscription and says what is in his heart. In this letter, he wants to deal with the righteousness of faith and defend it, and overthrow the law and the righteousness of works. These thoughts fill him completely, and his mouth speaks out of this wonderful and inexhaustible abundance of the most glorious wisdom and knowledge of Christ in his heart. This flame, this immense conflagration in his heart cannot remain hidden, nor does it allow him to remain silent. Therefore he does not content himself with saying that he is an apostle sent by Jesus Christ, but he also adds: "By God the Father, who raised him from the dead.
31. but it seems as if this addition: "and by God the Father" etc. is not necessary, but, as I have said, knows
his heart is full, his mouth overflows. His mind burns and longs to bring to light immediately, even in the superscription, the unfathomable riches of Christ and to preach the righteousness of God, which is called the resurrection of the dead. The Christ who lives and is raised from the dead speaks from him and drives him. Therefore he adds, not without reason, that he is also an apostle through God the Father, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, as if he wanted to say: I am dealing here with Satan and with those vipers, the instruments of Satan, who want to overthrow for me the righteousness of Christ, whom God the Father raised from the dead, by whom alone we are justified, by whom also we shall be raised from the dead to eternal life on the last (illo) day. But by thus overthrowing the righteousness of Christ, they resist the Father and the Son and their works.
32 Thus, at the very first word, the whole matter of which he speaks in this epistle is revealed to him. As I said, he is talking about the resurrection of Christ, "who was raised for our righteousness", Rom. 4:15, and thereby overcame the law, sin, death and all evil. Therefore, Christ's victory is the victory over the law, over sin, over our flesh, the world, the devil, death, hell and all evil, and he has given us this victory. Therefore, although these tyrants and our enemies may accuse and terrify us, they cannot plunge us into despair and condemn us, for Christ, who was raised from the dead by God the Father, is our righteousness and our victory. Thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
But consider how clearly Paul speaks. He does not say: by God, who created heaven and earth, who is the Lord of angels, who commanded Abraham to go out of his country, who sent Moses to Pharaoh, who led Israel out of Egypt; as the false apostles did, who boasted that he was the God of their fathers, who creates, sustains and works all things, and performs miracles among their people. But Paul had something
But he had something else in his heart, namely the righteousness of Christ, which he taught and defended as an apostle of Christ. Therefore he speaks words that serve this cause, saying, "I am an apostle, neither of men nor by men, but by JESUS Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." So you see how great fervor and zeal he is inflamed in the spirit in this cause, which he wants to plant and protect against the whole kingdom of hell, against all the mighty and wise men of the whole world, against the devil and his apostles.
V. 2. And all the brothers who are with me.
34 This also serves to repel the false teachers. For all his reasons are directed to praise and exalt his ministry, and to make that of the false teachers suspect, as if he spoke thus: Although it is sufficient that I am sent by divine appointment as an apostle through JESUS Christ and God the Father, etc., yet, that [you may see that] I am not alone, I add to the abundance all the brethren who are not apostles, but my fellow-workers (commilitones). They write this epistle with me and testify that my teaching is right and divine. Therefore we are sure that Christ is present with us, teaching and speaking in our midst and in our church. If they are anything, they are only sent by men or through men. But I am sent by God the Father and Christ, who is the life and our resurrection. The others, my brothers, are sent by God through a man, namely through me. So that they may not say that I, as a single man, exalt myself against so many, I have my brothers with me, who are of one mind with me, as faithful witnesses, who believe (sentiunt), write and teach the same things with me. So much for the superscription; now follows to whom the letter is addressed. 1)
1) In antiquity, the name of the writer was placed first in a letter, then the name of the addressee. Luther called the former sudseriptio, the latter supruseriptio. We have rendered the former by "Ueberschrift", the latter by the words: "to whom the letter is addressed".
To the commoners in Galatia.
35 Paul had preached everywhere in Galatia; although he had not completely converted it to Christ, he had many churches there, into which all the devil's servants, the false apostles, had crept.
(36) Even nowadays, the zealots do not come to the places where the opponents of the gospel rule, but where there are Christians and good people who love the gospel. They also go to such places in the principalities of the tyrants who persecute the gospel. There they secretly enter the houses, turn them inside out and pour out their poison.
Why do they not rather go to the cities, countries and principalities of the papists and confess and defend their doctrine there in the face of the godless princes, bishops and teachers at the high schools, as we have done by God's grace? The tender martyrs do not want to put themselves in danger, but go where the place is already prepared by the gospel, where they can be active without danger in utmost peace and quiet. So the false apostles did not come at their own risk to Jerusalem to Caiphas, or to Rome to the emperor, or to other places where no one had preached before, as Paul and the other apostles had done, but to Galatia, which was already won and prepared for Christ through Paul's work and with his danger; to Asia, Corinth etc., where there were good people and Christians who persecuted no one, but suffered everything. There the enemies of the cross of Christ could play their game in greatest safety and without all persecution.
Learn here that this is the fate of godly preachers, that in addition to suffering persecution from the ungodly and ungrateful world, and founding churches with great labor and danger, they must also suffer that what they have built with right doctrine over a long period of time is soon overthrown by the zealots, who still rule afterwards and are preferred to them. This plague hurts the godly servants of the Word more than any persecution inflicted on them by tyrants.
(39) Therefore, whoever does not want to be despised and to endure this unseemly treatment, do not become a minister of the gospel, or if he is already one, let him command his ministry to another. We experience the same today: we are utterly despised and tormented from without by tyrants, but from within by the very people whom we have set free through the gospel; likewise by false brethren. But this is our comfort and glory, that we, called by God, have the promise of eternal life, and await the reward which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into any man's heart [1 Cor. 2:9]. For when He Himself, the Arch Shepherd Jesus Christ, shall appear, we shall receive the unfading crown of glory [1 Pet. 5:4], and He will not let us die of hunger or thirst here either.
Of the church. 1)
40 St. Jerome raises a big question here: why Paul calls them churches, since they are not churches? because, he says, Paul writes to the apostate Galatians, who have turned from Christ and grace back to Moses and the law. To this I reply: Paul calls them "churches in Galatia" according to the figure of the synecdoche, 2) which is used very frequently in Scripture. Thus, when he writes to the Corinthians, he wishes them happiness [1 Ep. 1, 4. f.] that the grace of God in Christ has been given to them, namely, because through Him they were made rich in all doctrine and knowledge. And yet many of them were deceived by the false apostles, and did not believe that the dead rise again etc. So also today we call the Roman church holy and all bishoprics holy, although they are apostates and the bishops and their servants are godless, because God rules in the midst of his enemies [Ps. 110, 2]. Likewise, the Antichrist sits in the temple of God [2 Thess. 2, 4], and Satan is in the midst of God's children [Job 1, 6].
1) This superscription is only in the Latin Wittenberg edition.
2) Synecdoche: a part for the whole or the whole for a part.
41 Therefore, even though the church is in the midst of the impious and perverse generation, as Paul says in his letter to the Philippians [2:15], even though it is in the midst of wolves and robbers, that is, spiritual tyrants, it is nevertheless the church. In the city of Rome, although it is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, there remains baptism, the Lord's Supper, the word and text of the Gospel, the Holy Scriptures, the ministry of preaching, the name of Christ and the name of God. Whoever has it has it, whoever does not have it is not excused, because the treasure is there. Therefore the Roman church is holy, because it has the holy name of God, it has the gospel, baptism etc. When these things are with a people, it is called holy. Thus our city of Wittenberg is holy, and we are truly holy, for we are baptized, taught and called by God, and partakers of the table of the Lord. We have with us God's works, namely the Word and the Sacraments; through these we are sanctified.
I say this for the sake of distinguishing Christian holiness from any other with all diligence. The monks have called their orders holy (but dared not call themselves holy), but they are not holy, for, as we have said above [§ 12 f.], Christian holiness is not an active but a suffering holiness. Therefore, no one may say that he is holy for the sake of his state (vitae genus) or his works when he fasts, prays, mortifies his body, gives alms to the poor etc. Otherwise the Pharisee in Lucas [Cap. 18, 11. f.] would also be a saint. The works that God has commanded are indeed good, and God requires them of us most strictly, but they do not make us holy before God; but I and you, we are holy, the congregation, the city, the people are holy, not through their own holiness, but through a foreign holiness, because they have divine and holy things, namely the calling to the preaching ministry, the gospel, baptism etc., by which they are sanctified.
(43) Therefore, even though the Galatians had fallen away, baptism, the word, and the name of Christ remained with them. etc. There were also some good people among them who had not fallen away from Paul's teaching. These had from the Word and the Sacraments the
They had the right divine mind and used it in the right way. Furthermore, the Word and Sacraments could not be considered unclean for the sake of the deceived. For baptism, the gospel etc. is not unholy because many are defiled and unholy, and have ungodly opinions of it, but they remain holy and unchangeable (eadem), whether they be with the godly or with the ungodly, for these can neither desecrate them nor make them holy. They are indeed desanctified and sanctified before the unchristians (gentibus) by our evil or good behavior, by our evil or good life, but not before God.
Therefore, the church is holy, even where the spirits of the swarm reign, if only they do not deny God's word and the sacraments. For if these are denied, there can be no church. Therefore, a holy church is everywhere where the Word and the Sacraments remain according to their essence (substantialiter), despite the fact that the Antichrist reigns there, who, as Scripture testifies [2 Thess. 2, 4.], sits, not in a devil's stable, not in a pigpen, or among a bunch of unbelievers, but in the noblest and holiest place, namely in the temple of God. Thus, the temple of God must also be where the spiritual tyrants reign and be preserved among them. Therefore, we briefly answer the question that the Church is in the whole world. The Church is everywhere in the world where the Gospel and the Sacraments are. Jews, Turks, and enthusiasts are not the Church, because they attack and deny it. Now comes the greeting.
V. 3. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I hope that you know well what grace and peace are, because these words occur frequently in Paul and are not hidden now. But since we are dealing with this epistle, not out of necessity or because of its difficulty, but to fortify our consciences against future heresies, it will not be vexatious for us to repeat here what we also teach, preach, paint, sing, and write elsewhere. For if the article of justification lies down, so lies everything.
Therefore it is most necessary that we constantly impress and sharpen it, as Moses [Deut. 6:7] says of his law. For it cannot be impressed and insisted upon enough or too much. Yea, though we learn it righteously, and hold it fast, yet there is none who grasps it perfectly, or believes it with entire devotion and with all his heart. So slippery is our flesh, and contrary to the obedience of the spirit.
But this apostolic greeting, before the preaching of the Gospel began, was new to the world and something quite unheard of. And these two words "grace" and "peace" comprehend the whole of Christianity in themselves. Grace forgives sin, peace makes the conscience calm. Our two devils that plague us are sin and the [evil] conscience. But these two monsters Christ has overcome and trodden under his feet, both in this world and in the world to come. This the world does not know. Therefore, it cannot teach anything certain about how to overcome sin, evil conscience, and death. But the Christians have the right way of teaching (hoc doctrinae genus), are trained and armed by it, so that they can win against sin, against despair and against eternal death. And this kind of teaching is given by God, not found by free will, by human reason or human wisdom.
(47) As I have said, these two words, grace and peace, comprehend the whole of Christianity; grace the forgiveness of sins, peace a calm and joyful conscience. Furthermore, one can never have peace of conscience unless sin is forgiven. However, it is not forgiven for the sake of fulfilling the law, because no one satisfies the law, but rather the law reveals sin, accuses and frightens the conscience, proclaims the wrath of God and drives to despair. Much less is sin taken away by works and efforts devised by men, such as ungodly worship, religiones, vows, pilgrimages: in short, it is not taken away by any works, but much more by the law.
more increased by the same. For the more the saints of works strive and make themselves sore to take away sin, the worse it becomes with them. But it is taken away by grace alone, and by no other means. Therefore, Paul opposes grace and peace etc. to sin and evil conscience every time in the greeting in all his epistles. One must pay very diligent attention to this. The words are easy, but in temptation it is very difficult to hold firmly in the heart that we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God through grace alone, and all other means that exist in heaven and on earth are excluded.
The world does not understand this teaching. Therefore, it not only does not want to and cannot tolerate it, but also condemns it as heretical and godless. It praises free will, the light of reason, the uninjured state of the natural powers (naturalium), and good works by which it can earn and obtain grace and peace, that is, forgiveness of sins and a happy conscience. But it is impossible for the conscience to be satisfied and cheerful unless it has peace through this grace, that is, through the forgiveness of sin promised in Christ.
(49) It is true that many have anxiously labored and invented various orders and exercises to calm their consciences. But in doing so, they have only sunk themselves into more and greater evil. For all these efforts serve only to increase doubt and despair. Therefore, there can be "no peace in my bones" and yours [Ps. 38:4] unless we hear the word of grace and lean on it constantly and faithfully; then the conscience will surely attain peace.
50. but the apostle clearly distinguishes this grace and peace from all other grace and peace, because he does not call upon the emperor, kings and princes for grace and peace for the Galatians, for these commonly persecute the godly and "rebel against the Lord and His anointed," Ps. 2:2; nor the world, for "in the world," says Christ [Jn. 16:33], "you are afraid," but God our Father etc., the
means, he wishes them the divine peace. So also Christ says [Joh. 14, 27.]: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives."
The peace of the world can grant nothing else than peace in body and goods, so that we can live happily and calmly in the flesh. Thus the grace of the world lets us enjoy our goods, does not throw us out of what we possess etc. But in tribulation and in the hour of death, the grace and peace of the world cannot help us, cannot snatch us out of tribulation, despair or death.
But when the grace and peace of God is in the heart, then man is strong, so that he is neither bowed down by adversities nor made arrogant by prosperity, but he walks the right middle road. For he receives the necessary strength (efficaciam) from Christ's victory over death, and in the certain confidence in it he begins to rule in his conscience over sin and death, for through him he has certain forgiveness of sins. Having received this, his conscience is quieted and straightened by the word of grace. Thus man, comforted and revived by the grace of God, that is, by the forgiveness of sins and this peace of conscience, can bravely endure and overcome all tribulations, yes, even death. This peace of God is not given to the world, because it neither desires it nor understands it, but to the believers, it is not obtained in any other way than by the grace of God alone.
A rule that must be observed: one should abstain from musings on the divine
* Majesty included.
But why does the apostle add, "And of our Lord Jesus Christ"? Was it not enough to say: "From God, our Father"? Why then does he connect JEsum Christum with the Father? You have often heard us say that this rule in the Scriptures must be observed very carefully, that we should abstain from speculation about the divine majesty, which man cannot bear even in body, much less in his own body.
no spiritual beings (menti), "because", says the scripture [2 Mos. 33, 20.], "no man shall live who beholds me".
(54) The pope, the Turks, the Jews and all saints of works do not follow this rule, therefore they put Christ the Mediator out of sight, speak only of God, pray, live and do everything before God [without Christ]. Thus a monk thinks: These works that I do are pleasing to God; these vows of mine God will look upon and make me blessed for their sake. A Turk thinks: If I do what is commanded in the Alkoran, God will accept me and give me eternal life; a Jew thinks: If I do what the law commands, I have a gracious God and will be blessed. Thus, nowadays, the enthusiasts who boast of the spirit, enlightenment, visions, and I don't know what other strange things, walk in whimsical things that are too high for them. These new monks 1) invent a new cross and new works, and dream that for their sake they please God. In short, as many as there are who do not know the article of justification, they take Christ, the Reconciler, out of the means, want to seize God in His majesty through the power of judgment of human reason, and want to please Him through works.
But Christian and true theology does not hold God up to us in His majesty, as Moses and other teachings do, does not command us to investigate the nature of God, but that we should know His will, which He has presented to us in Christ. God willed that Christ should take on human nature (carnem), be born and die for our sins, and that this should be preached among all nations. For since God knew "that the world by its wisdom did not know God in His wisdom, it pleased God well to make blessed by foolish preaching those who believe in it" [1 Cor. 1:21]. Therefore, nothing is more dangerous when we have to deal with God in the struggle against the Law, against sin and against death, than to wander about in heaven with our musings and contemplate God Himself in His
1) About the "new monks", the Anabaptists, compare Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. VII, 636, § IS0 f.
incomprehensible power, wisdom and majesty, how he created and rules the world. 2) If you want to take hold of God in such a way and make Him merciful without Christ the Atonement, and put yourself in the middle with your works, fasting, cap and plate, it cannot come otherwise than that you fall like Lucifer, and in terrible despair lose God and everything. For as God is immeasurable, incomprehensible and infinite in His essence, so He is unbearable to human nature.
(56) Therefore, if you want to be secure and without danger of conscience and salvation, resist this tendency to inquire (sensum speculativum), and take hold of God, as Paul teaches you to take hold of Him, 1 Cor. 1:23 f.: "We preach Christ crucified, an offense to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, we preach Christ, divine power and divine wisdom." Therefore begin where Christ Himself began, namely [as He lies] in the Virgin's womb, in the manger, at the breasts of the Mother etc. For to this end he came down [from heaven], was born, walked among men, suffered, was crucified, and died, that he might in every way set himself before us, and direct the eyes of our hearts toward himself, thereby preventing the ascension to heaven and the enquiry into the majesty.
Therefore, if you have to do with the doctrine of justification and debate how to find God who justifies or accepts sinners, where and how he must be sought, then you must know of no other God except this man Jesus Christ. Take hold of him and cling to him with all your heart, and let the brooding of the majesty stand still, for he who wants to explore the majesty will be crushed by its glory. I know it and have experienced what I say. But the gushing people, who deal with God without the mediator Christ, do not believe me. Chri-
2) The following, from here on until the end of §60, is used by Aurifaber for the Table Talks. In the old editions of the Tischreden, it forms Cap. I, § 36 and Cap. 7, N126. 127. These sections are omitted in our edition of the Table Talks.
Jesus himself says, John 14:6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Therefore, apart from this way, Christ, you will find no other way to the Father, but error; not truth, but hypocrisy and lies; not life, but eternal death. Therefore, be well aware that in the matter of justification, where we all have to deal with the law, sin, death, the devil, and the overcoming of all evil, no other God is to be known than the incarnate and human God.
If you have to dispute with Jews, Turks or heretics about the wisdom and power of God outside of this doctrine of justification, then use all your art and be as sharp and subtle a disputant as you can, for there it is about something else. But in the matter of conscience, righteousness, life (I want to emphasize this with special emphasis), against the law, sin, death and the devil, or in this matter, since it is about satisfaction, about the forgiveness of sins, about reconciliation, about eternal bliss, turn your mind completely away from all thoughts and musings of the majesty, and look solely at this man, who presents himself to us as mediator and says [Matth. 11:28], "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. "etc. If you do this, then you will see the love, the goodness, the kindness of God, you will see God's wisdom, power and majesty sweetly presented and adapted to your understanding, and you will find everything in this beautiful image according to the words of Paul to the Colossians, Cap. 2, 3: "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ," likewise [v. 9]: "In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." This the world does not know. Therefore, without the promise of Christ, it searches for the will of God, which can only be to its greatest harm. For "no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wills to reveal it" [Matth. 11, 27].
59. and this is why Paul so frequently
He commands us to step out of the ladder of Jacob, from which God Himself stands on top, whose lower end (pedes) touches the earth next to the head of Jacob. He commands us to step out of the ladder of Jacob, from which God Himself stands above, whose lower end (pedes) touches the earth next to the head of Jacob [Gen. 28, 12. f.].
60. Therefore, if you want to think and do something in regard to your blessedness, then leave all musings about the majesty, renounce all thoughts of works, statutes, leave philosophy and even the divine law aside, Run to the manger and to the womb of the mother and take hold of this child, the son of the Virgin, look at him as he is born, sucks [his mother's breast], grows, walks among men, teaches, dies, rises again, is exalted above all heavens, and has power over all things. In this way you can cause the clouds to be driven away from the sun, you can avoid all fear and also all error. And if you look at this, it will keep you on the right track, so that you will be able to follow where Christ himself has gone. Thus, by desiring grace and peace, not only from the Father, but also from Jesus Christ, Paul teaches us first of all that we should refrain from meditating on the Godhead, for no one knows God; but that we should hear Christ, who is in the Father's bosom and reveals his will to us, who has also been appointed by the Father to be our teacher in this, so that we may all hear him.
Christ is God by nature.
The second thing that Paul teaches here serves to confirm our faith that Christ is true God. And such sayings about the deity of Christ should be collected diligently and good care should be taken, not only against the heretics, the Arians and others who have been or may yet come, but also to fortify ourselves, because Satan will not refrain from challenging all articles of faith in us before we die. He is the bitterest enemy of faith, because he knows "that faith is the victory that will win the
world overcomes". Therefore, we must make an effort that our faith may be sure, grow and be strengthened through diligent and unceasing handling of the Word and prayer, so that we may be able to resist Satan.
1) 62. But that Christ is true God is clearly proven by the fact that Paul ascribes the same things to Him as to the Father, namely divine power, that He can give grace, forgiveness of sins, peace of conscience, life, victory over sin, death, the devil and hell. This Paul should not do at all, yes, it would be a theft of God, if Christ was not true God, as it is written [Is. 42, 8.]: "I will not give my glory to another." Then, no one gives to others what he does not have himself. But since Christ gives grace, peace, the Holy Spirit, delivers from the power of the devil, from sin and death, it is certain that he has infinite and divine power, equal in all things to the power of the Father. Christ also does not give grace and peace as the apostles bring grace and peace through the preaching of the Gospel, but He gives them as the Author and Creator. The Father creates and gives life, grace, peace etc. And this is what the Son creates and gives.
(63) But such works as grace, peace, giving eternal life, remission of sins, justification, making alive, deliverance from death and the devil, are not works of any creature, but unique and only of the divine Majesty; even the angels can neither create nor bestow these. Therefore, these works belong only to the glory of the supreme Majesty, the Creator of all things. But since Paul ascribes to Christ the same and equal power with the Father to create and bestow all these things, it follows that he is truly and by nature God.
64 There are many such reasons in John, where from the works that are attributed to the Son in the same way as to the Father, it is proven and irrefutably established that the Father is the Son.
1) This and the next following paragraph is used by Aurifaber for Cap. 7, §2 of the Table Talks. In our edition of the Table Talks, this section has been omitted. Aurifaber uses here, as almost everywhere in his quotations from this explanation of the Brie to the Galatians, the translation of Justus Menius, but the same is often somewhat changed.
that the Father and the Son have the same divine essence (divinitas). Therefore, we receive nothing different or no other gift from the Father than from the Son, but one and the same proceeds from the Father and from the Son. Otherwise Paul would have spoken differently, namely: grace from God the Father and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ; but he connects both and attributes it in the same way to both the Father and the Son.
I remind you of this so diligently, because there is a danger that, with so many errors and so many different and so horrible heresies, heretics, Arians, Eunomians, Macedonians, might follow, who by their sophistry might harm the church. The Arians were indeed astute people; they admitted that Christ had two natures, that he was called God from the true God, but only in a supposed way (nuncupative) or in name. Christ is (they said) the noblest and most perfect creature, higher than the angels, through whom God created heaven and earth and all things. Mahomet also speaks gloriously of Christ. But these are nothing but thoughts that have a beautiful appearance, and words that are pleasant to human reason and find its applause, by which the gushing spirits beguile the people who are not on their guard.
But Paul speaks differently of Christ. You are, he says, well founded and established in this knowledge, that Christ is not the most perfect creature, but true God, because he does the same things that God does; he has divine works, not of a creature, but of the Creator, because he gives grace and peace. But since he gives these, he thereby condemns sin, destroys death, tramples the devil under his feet. No angel can give such things. But since this is attributed to Christ, he must necessarily be God by nature.
V. 4. who gave himself for our sins.
67 Almost in every single word Paul has to do with what the whole letter is about; he lets nothing else be heard than that he speaks of Christ. Therefore, in each one
The words of the Spirit and the life. But be careful how clearly he speaks of it. He does not say, He who received from us our works; 1) not, He who received from us the sacrifices of the Mosaic law, worship, masses, vows, pilgrimages etc., but, "He gave." What? Not gold, not silver, not oxen, not Passover lambs, not an angel, but Himself. For whom? Not for a crown, not for a kingdom, not for our holiness or righteousness, but for our sins. These words are nothing but thunderbolts from heaven against all righteousness, just as this saying John 1:29: "Behold, this is God's Lamb, which bears the sin of the world." Therefore, every single word is to be regarded with the greatest care, not just looked at coldly and carelessly passed over; for they wonderfully comfort and fortify the fearful mind.
2) 68. Here the question arises, how can we obtain forgiveness of sins, both the sins that other people have and those that we ourselves have upon us? Paul answers that the man who is called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave himself for them. These are glorious and comforting words, which are also promised in the old covenant, that our sins will not be taken away in any other way than through the Son of God, who passed away into death. With such crude weapons, tools of war and battering rams, the papacy must be destroyed, and all religions of all pagans, all false worship of God, all works and merits. For if our sins could be atoned for by our works, atonements and merits, what need would there have been for the Son of God to be given for them? But since he was given for them, we will certainly not erase them by our works.
69 Furthermore, this statement also
1) Here we have adopted rsesxit with the Jena and Erlangen, instead of reeipit in the Wittenberg,
2) Aurifaber introduced the three following paragraphs as Luther's table speeches (in Cap, 9, U 7-9) with the words: "When someone asked how he should be treated for his sins, ... said D. Martin." In our edition of the Table Talks, these three paragraphs are omitted.
that our sins are so great, immeasurable and insurmountable that it is impossible for the whole world to do enough for just one. And surely the greatness of the price, namely Christ, the Son of God, "who gave Himself for our sins," shows sufficiently that we cannot do enough for sin nor rule over it. The power and authority of sin is made very great by these words: "Who gave Himself for our sins". Therefore, one must consider the greatness and (that I say so) the infinity of the price that was paid for it. Then it will become perfectly clear that the power and violence of sin was so great that it could not be erased by any work, but that the Son of God had to be given for it. Whoever considers this well understands that the word "sin" comprehends in itself the eternal wrath of God and the whole kingdom of Satan, and that sin is something more terrifying than can be expressed in words. This should certainly go to our hearts and frighten us so much that it would go through our marrow. But we take little notice of it; indeed, we despise sin as something trivial that has no significance. And even if we feel remorse, we think that the sin is not so great; we would like to be able to eradicate it by a small work or a merit.
(70) So this saying testifies that all men are captives and slaves of sin, and as Paul says elsewhere [Rom. 7:14.Likewise, that sin is the most cruel and powerful tyrant over all men in the whole world, which cannot be overcome nor cast out by any power of all creatures, whether they be angels or men, but only by the infinite and superior power of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave Himself for sin.
(71) Furthermore, this text offers immeasurable comfort to all consciences that are terrified by the greatness of sin. For however insurmountable the tyrant, sin, may be, it cannot harm those who believe in Christ, because he has overcome it by his death. Then, when we, armed with this faith, are able to face this
When we hear that the tyrant, sin, has power over all men and that the whole world is subject to him, we immediately conclude, and no one can escape this conclusion: The tyrant, sin, has power over all men and that the whole world is subject to him. For when we hear that the tyrant, sin, has power over all men, and that the whole world is subject to him, we immediately conclude, and no one can escape this conclusion: What then do the papists, monks, nuns, priests, Mahometists, Anabaptists, and all the works-saints, who with their statutes, preparations, amends, etc. want to eradicate and overcome sin? Then we immediately judge that all these sects are ungodly and corrupt, since through them God's and Christ's honor is not only obscured, but completely annulled, while our honor is glorified and established.
But consider carefully every single word of Paul, and especially notice and insist with all your might on this little word: "for ours. For this is the whole point of using the pronouns, which occur very frequently in the Scriptures, correctly and well, for there is always a great emphasis on them, and by them is indicated what is to be especially remembered. You can easily say and believe that Christ, the Son of God, was given for the sins of Peter, Paul and other saints whom we judge to be worthy of this grace. But it is very difficult for you, who must deny yourself this grace and say that you are unworthy of it, to say and believe from your heart that Christ was given for your insurmountable, infinite and immeasurable sins.
(73) Therefore, it is easy to praise and extol Christ's good deeds in general and without the pronoun, in splendid and high words, that he was given for sins, but for the sins of others who were worthy of him; but when the pronoun "our" is to be added, our weak nature and reason will not accept it. Then it does not dare to approach GOtte, nor even to refer to itself this promise that so great a treasure should be given to it in vain. That is why she does not want to talk to God.
She has nothing to do with us, unless she is pure and without sins beforehand. Therefore, when she reads and hears this text: "Who gave himself for our sins", or the like, she does not apply the pronoun "our" from herself, but refers it to others who are worthy and holy. But she herself wants to wait until she becomes worthy by her works.
(1) (74) This is nothing other than that human reason would like the power of sin to be neither greater nor more powerful than it can dream. Hence it is that hypocrites who do not know Christ, even when they feel remorse over sin, still think they can easily do away with it by their works and merits. And though they do not say it, yet they cherish the wish that these words, "Who gave himself for our sins," should be words spoken with great humility, and that their sins should not be serious and true sins, but unfounded and fictitious.
In short, human reason would like to present to God only a fictitious and pretended sinner, who would not be frightened at all, who would not feel the sin. It would like to bring to him a healthy person who does not need a doctor, and then, not feeling the sin, it would like to believe that Christ was given for our sins.
The whole world is like this, and especially those people who want to be more godly and holy than others in the world, as they dream, namely the monks and all the saints of works. They confess with their mouths that they are sinners, they also confess that they commit sins every day, but not so tremendously great and many that they should not be able to redeem them with their works. Yes, beyond that they still want righteousness and merit before the judges.
1) The following, a very long section, from s 74 to K 89 (except for § 80 alone), has been used by Aurifaber for the table speeches; that contained in § 88 even twice. It is found in the old Table Speeches Cap. 9, ZK wund 11; Cap. 7, § 128; Cap. 24, §§ 31 to 35; Cap. 7, U 129. 130 and (duplicate in the Table Speeches) Cap. 24, A 35. In "our" edition of the Table Talks, these pieces are Weggelasien.
They will bring their sins to the throne of Christ and demand eternal life from the judge as retribution for them. But in the meantime, as they are humble brothers, so as not to be completely pure, they invent some sins, so that they can pray for their forgiveness with the tax collector out of great devotion: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner! [Luc. 18, 13.] For these, Paul's words "for our sins" are quite devoid of content and empty talk. Therefore, they do not understand them, and when they feel their sin seriously, they cannot take comfort from them, but have to despair.
This, therefore, is the highest knowledge (scientia) and the right Christian wisdom, that these words of Paul should be considered serious and quite true, namely, that Christ was given into death, not for the sake of our righteousness or holiness, but for the sake of our sins, which are real, great, many, even infinite and insurmountable sins. Therefore, do not imagine that they are trifling, so that they can be blotted out by your works. But do not despair because of their greatness if you feel them seriously, whether in life or in death, but learn here from Paul that you believe that Christ was given, not for imaginary or painted sins, but for real sins, not for small sins, but for the very greatest ones, not for one or the other, but for all of them, not for the sins that have been overcome (for no man, not even an angel, can overcome even the very smallest sin), but for the sins that are insurmountable. And if you are not found in the number of those of whom it is said: "ours", that is, who have this doctrine of faith, teach it, hear it, learn it, love it and believe it, then your blessedness is over.
78. Therefore, make every effort that not only in times of temptation, but also in danger and in the battle of death, when the conscience is frightened by the memory of past sins, and the devil attacks you with great impetuosity, and wants to overwhelm you with the force, the flood, yes, the flood of sins, so that he frightens you, pulls you away from Christ and plunges you into despair, that you, I say, can then confidently say: Christ, Son of God,
is not given for the holy and righteous, but for the unrighteous and sinners. If I were righteous and had no sin, I would have no need of the Atonement, Christ. Why then, O most perverse Satan, do you want to make me a saint and require righteousness from me, when I have nothing but sins, and sins that are real and exceedingly grave, not fictitious or trivial? Such are the sins against the first tablet, namely the greatest unbelief, doubt, despair, contempt of God, hatred of God, lack of right knowledge, blasphemy, ingratitude, misuse of the name of God, carelessness, overindulgence and contempt of the word of God etc.
79) Then I have also committed the sins against the second table, such as not honoring parents, not obeying the authorities, coveting the goods of another than his wife etc. (although these are minor compared to the above-mentioned), and even if I have not committed a death, adultery, theft and other such sins against the second table by deed, I have nevertheless committed them in my heart. Therefore, I am a transgressor of all the commandments of God, and the multitude of my sins is so great that the skin of an ox could not contain them; indeed, there is no number of them, for I have sinned more, and the number of my sins is greater "than the sand of the sea" [Prayer of Manasseh, v. 9]. Above this, the devil is such a cunning thousand-artist that he can make the greatest sin even out of my good works and out of my righteousness. Since my sins are so serious, real, great, infinite, terrifying and insurmountable, and my righteousness does not benefit me before God, but rather harms me, therefore Christ, the Son of God, was given up to death for them, so that he might eradicate them and make me and all who believe this blessed.
(80) Therein, then, lies the power to eternal blessedness, that these words be taken for earnest and true. I do not say this in vain. For I have often experienced, and still experience daily, how difficult it is to believe, especially in distress of conscience, that Christ was given, not for the saints, but for God.
right. Worthy and friends, but for the ungodly, sinners, unworthy and enemies, who deserve the wrath of God and eternal death.
(81) Therefore, let us fortify our hearts with these and similar sayings of Scripture, so that when the devil accuses us, "You are a sinner, therefore you are condemned," we may be able to answer him: Because thou sayest that I am a sinner, therefore will I be justified and blessed. - Yes, you will be damned! - No; for I take refuge in Christ, "who gave himself for my sins". Therefore you, Satan, will do nothing by trying to frighten me by holding up the greatness of my sin to me, and so bring me into sadness, disbelief, despair, hatred, contempt and blasphemy against God. Yes, just by saying that I am a sinner, you give me the weapons against you in my hand, so that I can strangle and destroy you with your own sword, because Christ died for sinners.
Then you yourself preach the glory of God to me, because you remind me of God's fatherly love for me, a wretched and condemned sinner, who "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" etc. [John 3:16.] Likewise, as often as you reproach me for being a sinner, so often do you call to my remembrance the good deed of Christ my Savior, on whose shoulders, not mine, all my sins rest. For the Lord has laid all our iniquities upon him; likewise, for the iniquities of his people he hath afflicted him, Isa. 53:5, 8. Therefore, when thou reproachest me that I am a sinner, thou dost not terrify me, but comfortest me exceedingly.
Whoever understands this art correctly could easily escape all the cunning attempts of the devil, who, by reminding man of his sin, drives him into despair and tortures him to death, if he does not meet and resist him through this divine art and wisdom, by which alone sin, death and the devil are overcome. But he who does not throw away the memory of sin, but holds on to it and troubles himself with his thoughts, namely, how he can get out of his sin.
If a person wants to find counsel for himself by his own efforts or wait until his conscience has been made peaceful, he falls into Satan's snares, tortures himself miserably and is finally overcome by the persistence and frequency of the temptation. For the devil does not stop accusing the conscience.
Against this temptation, one must use these words of Paul, with which he clearly and actually describes Christ, in this way: Christ is the Son of God and of the Virgin, given and dead for our sins. If the devil should bring another description of Christ here, say: Your description and what you describe are both wrong, therefore I do not accept this description. I do not say this in vain. I know why I urge so diligently that we should learn to describe Christ actually from the words of Paul. For Christ is in truth not a stern driver (exactor), but the propitiator for the sin of the whole world.
85. Therefore, if you are a sinner, as we certainly all always are, do not imagine Christ as a judge sitting on the rainbow, 1) otherwise you will be frightened and despair; but grasp his right description, namely this: That Christ, the Son of God and of the Virgin, is such a person, who does not frighten, does not afflict, does not condemn us sinners, does not demand an account of us because of our shamefully spent life, but who gave Himself for our sins, and by one sacrifice took away the sins of the whole world, crucified them and destroyed them in Himself.
Study this description diligently, and especially make the pronoun "our" your own [so that you know] that these three 2) syllables "our," taken in faith, also take away and blot out your sin completely, that is, that you know for certain that Christ has not only taken away the sins of some people, but also yours and the sins of the whole world. Although all men should not believe this, nevertheless this giving away has been done for the
1) Compare St. Louis edition, vol. VIII, 288, § 50.
2) The word äuas (referring to nostris, hence "two") is missing in the Wittenberg.
62 Lri. "Li. 1, 62-V4. Interpretations on the epistle to the Galatians. W. VIII, 1620-1623. 63
Sins of the whole world. Therefore, your sins should not only be sins, but in truth your sins, that is, you should believe that Christ was not only given for the sins of others, but also for your sins. This hold fast without wavering, and in no way be dissuaded from this exceedingly lovely description of Christ, in which even the angels in heaven delight, namely, that Christ, according to his right, proper description, is not a Moses, not a driver, not an executioner, but the propitiator for our sins, who gives us grace, righteousness, and life, who gave himself, not for our merits, holiness, righteousness, blameless life, but for our sins. Christ does interpret the law, but that is not his real and main office.
As far as the words are concerned, we know this and can speak of it, but in the battle, where the devil tends to darken Christ and to tear the word of grace out of the heart, we find out that we do not yet really know it. Whoever could then really describe Christ and magnify Him and regard Him as the most loving Savior and High Priest, and not as a severe judge, would have overcome all evil and would already be in the kingdom of heaven. But it is the most difficult thing that one can do this in battle.
I speak this from experience. I am well acquainted with the devil's cunning plots, that he not only makes the law excessively great in order to frighten us, likewise that he knows how to make many and great beams out of one splinter, that is, that he can make hell out of what is not sin (for he is a marvelous artist in a thousand ways, to make sin great and to weigh down the conscience even with what is right and well done), but that he even uses the person of the mediator to frighten us. In the guise of the mediator, he suddenly gives our heart a hard blow and makes it completely despondent by citing some scripture or word of Christ, and shows himself to us as if he were the real Christ, and makes us cling to this illusion, so that the conscience is drawn to it.
would swear that he is Christ, since he leads his opinion or word.
Moreover, the slanderer uses this trick, that he holds up only a part of Christ, not the whole Christ, namely, that he is the Son of God, born man of the virgin. Then he suddenly attaches something foreign to it, that is, he holds up some word of Christ to us with which he frightens sinners, as in Luc. 13:3: "If you do not amend your ways, you will all perish. By thus sullying and corrupting the true description of Christ with poison, he brings it about that, although we believe Christ to be our mediator, in fact the troubled conscience feels and judges that he is a tyrant and a judge. If we are deceived by Satan in this way, we easily lose the exceedingly lovely image of Christ the High Priest and Savior; but if that is lost, we are no less terrified of him than of the devil himself.
90 And this is the reason why I insist so strongly that you learn to describe Christ well and truly from these words of Paul: "Who gave himself for our sins. If he gave himself to die for our sins, then he is truly not a tyrant or a judge who will condemn us for our sins; he is not a man who grieves the weary, but who helps up the fallen, who reconciles and comforts the brokenhearted. Otherwise Paul would be lying when he says, "Who gave himself for our sins." When I describe Christ in this way, I describe Him rightly and grasp and have the true Christ. In the same way, I leave aside the musings about the divine majesty and cling to the humanity of Christ, and thus I learn to know the will of God rightly. There is then no terror, but only sweetness, joy etc., and at the same time the light rises, which gives me right knowledge of God, of myself, of all creatures, and of all wickedness in the devil's realm etc.
We do not teach anything new, but old things, and what the apostles and all godly teachers have taught before us, we inculcate and strengthen. And yet, God would that we could imprint it and make it firm,
so that we would like to have it not only in our mouths, but, well understood (bene meditata), deep in our hearts, and could use it especially in deathly distress.
That he saved us from this present evil world.
Also in these words Paul deals in truth with what constitutes the content of this whole epistle. He calls this whole world, as it was, is and will be, "the present world" in contrast to the future and eternal world. Then he calls it a "wicked world" because everything that is in this world is subject to the wickedness of the devil, who rules in the whole world. Therefore, the world is the devil's kingdom. For in it there is nothing but ignorance of God, contempt for God, blasphemy and hatred of God, as well as disobedience to all the words and works of God. In this realm and under its rule we are.
Here you see again that no one can redeem sins by his works or his own powers, because this present world is evil and, as John says, "is in trouble. As many as there are in the world, they are the devil's captives, who must serve him and do everything according to his will. What use was it then that so many orders were instituted to blot out sins, that so many great and exceedingly burdensome works were devised, namely, to wear hard shirts, to beat the body with scourges, that the blood ran after them, to run in full armor 1) to St. James etc.? You may do such things, but nevertheless this explanation remains: You are in this present and evil world, not in Christ's kingdom. If you are not in Christ's kingdom, it is certain that you belong to the devil's kingdom, that is, to the evil world. Therefore, all the gifts you have, spiritual and physical, such as wisdom, righteousness, holiness, eloquence, power, beauty, wealth, are tools and servile weapons of this infernal tyranny, and with all these you must serve the devil and promote and increase his kingdom.
1) Wittenberger wrong: insrmis instead of in Sinais.
First, by your wisdom you obscure the wisdom and knowledge of Christ and deceive people with ungodly teaching so that they cannot come to the grace and knowledge of Christ. You praise and extol your own righteousness and holiness, but the righteousness and holiness of Christ, by which alone we are made righteous and alive, you utterly abhor and condemn as ungodly and devilish. Furthermore, by your power you destroy the kingdom of Christ, misuse it to wipe out the gospel with it, persecute and kill the servants of Christ along with all who hear them etc. Therefore this wisdom of yours, if you are apart from Christ, is twofold foolishness, your righteousness twofold sin and ungodliness, because it does not know the wisdom and righteousness of Christ, and moreover obscures, hinders, blasphemes and persecutes them.
Therefore Paul rightly calls the world a bad world, because it is worst when it is best. In the spiritual, wise and learned etc. the world is at its best, but in fact and truth it is doubly evil. I will not say anything now about the gross offenses against the second table, as there are disobedience against the parents, against the authorities etc., adultery, fornication, avarice, theft, murder, envy, bitter hatred, in which the world is completely drowned. But these are only small sins when compared with the wisdom, righteousness etc. of the wicked, with which they contend against the first table. The white devil, who drives men to spiritual sins, which one should accept for righteousness, is far more harmful than the black devil, who only drives to carnal sins, which the world also recognizes for sins.
96 With these words, "That he might save us," 2c, Paul shows what this whole letter is about, namely, that grace and Christ are necessary, and that no creature, neither man nor angel, can save man from this evil world. For these are works of the divine majesty alone, which are not in the power of man or angel, that Christ hath put away sin, and delivered us out of the tyranny and dominion of the devil, that is, out of the wicked world, which is an abomination.
is an obedient slave and willing imitator of their god, the devil. Everything that this murderer and father of lies does and says, his extremely obedient son, the world, imitates most perfectly and also accomplishes it. Therefore it knows nothing about God, is full of hatred, lies, error, blasphemy and contempt against God; then also full of gross sins, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, robbery, because it follows its father, the devil, who is a liar and murderer [John 8:44]. And the wiser, righteous, and holier people are apart from Christ, the more they harm the gospel. So we also, who were in a spiritual state, before the light of the gospel, were twofold wicked and ungodly in the ministry, but under the name of godliness and holiness.
97. But you must also let these words of Paul be sincere and true words, not take them for made-up or invented ones, namely, that the present world is bad. Do not be misled by the fact that most people have much more glorious virtue, that there is so much apparent holiness among the hypocrites, but rather pay attention to what Paul says, from whose words you can make this statement against the world quite freely and with the utmost certainty, that the world with all its wisdom, righteousness and power is the kingdom of the devil, from which alone God can save us through His only begotten Son.
Therefore, we should praise God the Father and thank Him for His immeasurable mercy in delivering us from the devil's kingdom, in which we were held captive, through His Son, since it was impossible that this could have happened through our powers. And at the same time we want to confess with Paul that all our works and righteousness are only shame and dirt, with all of which we could not even touch a hair of the devil.
We also trample underfoot all the power of free will, all Pharisaic wisdom and righteousness, all religious orders, masses, holy orders, vows, fasting, hard shirts, etc. and spit on them as the most abominable filthy garment and the most pernicious poison of the devil. Against this we want
clearly bring to light and glorify the glory of Christ, who by his death has saved us not merely from the world, but from the wicked world.
100. For by this epithet, that he calls the world a bad one, Paul indicates that the kingdom of the world or of the devil is a kingdom of ungodliness, ignorance, error, sin, death, blasphemy, despair and eternal damnation; On the other hand, it follows from the antithesis (per antithesin) that the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of justice (aequitatis), a kingdom of light, grace, forgiveness of sins, peace, comfort, blessedness and eternal life, into which we have been translated through our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be glory forever and ever, Amen.
According to the will of God and our Father.
Paul arranges all his words in such a way that they argue against the false apostles for the article of justification. Christ, he says, has saved us from this exceedingly wicked realm of the devil and the world, and this he has done according to the will, pleasure and command of the Father. Therefore we are not saved by our will or running, not by our counsel or will, but by God's mercy and good pleasure, as is also written elsewhere [1 John 4:9, 10]: "In this appeared the love of God toward us, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his only begotten Son to be a propitiation for our sins." That we are saved from the wicked world is pure grace, not our merit. Paul is so abundant and fervent in the exaltation of grace that he also sharpens every single word and judges it against the false apostles.
There is another reason why Paul mentions the will of the Father here, which is also indicated everywhere in the Gospel of John, where Christ, praising His ministry, refers us to the will of the Father, that in His words and works we should not regard Him as well as the Father. For Christ came into the world and took upon Himself human nature so that He might
the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the whole world, thus reconciling us to the Father, and he alone revealed to us that this was done by the Father's gracious will, so that, with our eyes fixed on Christ, we might be drawn and led straight to the Father.
For, as I have reminded you above [53 ff.], one must not think that by brooding over the majesty one can know anything salvific about God, unless one takes hold of Christ, who, according to the will of the Father, gave Himself to death for our sins. When you recognize this will of God in Christ, you no longer see any wrath, fear and trembling cease, and there is no other God to be seen but only the merciful God, who out of premeditated counsel wanted His Son to die for us so that we might live through Him. This realization makes the heart glad, so that it certainly believes that God did not intend to be angry, but to love us wretched sinners so much that He gave His only begotten Son for us. Therefore, it is not without reason that Paul inculcates that Christ was given for our sins according to the will of the Father.
On the other hand, the musings about the majesty, about the terrible judgments of God, namely, how he destroyed the whole world through the flood of sin, how he destroyed Sodom etc., are dangerous and finally plunge people into despair and complete ruin, as I have indicated above [§55].
God and our Father.
The word "our" is to be referred to both, so that the opinion is: Our God and our Father. The same is therefore the Father of Christ and our Father. So Christ also says Joh. 20, 17. to Mary Magdalene: "Go to my brothers and tell them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God." So GOtt is our Father and our GOtt, but through Christ. And this is an apostolic and quite Pauline way of speaking, for Paul, though he uses words that have no great appearance, yet speaks in the most appropriate and powerful way.
V. 5. To whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.
The Hebrews have the habit of interspersing expressions of praise and thanksgiving in their writings. This habit is also observed by the apostles, who are also Hebrews, as can often be seen in Paul. For one must hold the name of the Lord in the highest honor and never mention him without praise and thanksgiving. And this custom is a kind of reverence and veneration, as we are wont to do in the secular regiment, where, when we call the names of kings or princes, we accompany it with a reverential gesture, bowing of the head (reverentia) and bending of the knees. Much more, when we speak of God, we must bend the knees of the heart and call the name of God with gratitude and highest reverence.
V. 6. I am surprised.
Here you see Paul's art and subtlety in dealing with his fallen Galatians who were deceived by the false apostles. He does not attack them with fierce and harsh words, but speaks to them in a truly fatherly manner, not only bearing their case patiently, but also almost excusing it. Then he embraces them with motherly love and speaks to them tenderly, but in such a way that he also punishes them at the same time, but with very chosen words that are wisely adapted to this matter. Against this he is fierce and full of indignation against the false apostles. He is full of indignation against the false apostles, their seducers, on whom he puts all the blame. Therefore, in the very beginning of the epistle, he goes out against them with loud thunderbolts and lightnings, saying [v. 9]: "If any man preach the gospel unto you," etc., "let him be accursed." And further on, Cap. 5, 10, he threatens them with judgment: "He that maketh you to err shall bear his judgment, whosoever he will." Furthermore, he curses them [Cap. 5:12] with very frightening words: "Would to God that they also were cut off who disturb you." These are truly terrible flashes against the righteousness of the flesh or the law.
108. He could also have treated the Galatians themselves a little more unkindly and hit them harder, in this way: O, what a
shameful trash! I am ashamed of you. Your ingratitude pains me, I must be angry with you! Or he could have exclaimed, as happens in tragedies: O terrible times! O horrible customs! etc. (0 saecula, o mores!) But because he is concerned with raising up the fallen and bringing them back from their error to the pure gospel, he deals with them as a father does with his children, refraining from such excessive harshness, especially at the beginning, and addressing them with the most tender and gentle words. For since he wanted to heal the wounded, it would not have been beneficial if he had only made the newly inflicted wound worse by applying an unsuitable remedy and thus hurt the wounded more than healed them. Therefore, he could not have chosen a more suitable word from among the gentle words than: "I am surprised," by which he expresses that he is sorry, and yet he is displeased that they have fallen away from him.
(109) And here Paul is mindful of the precept which he afterwards gives in the sixth chapter, v. 1, where he says: "Beloved brethren, if a man be overtaken in any fault, restore him with a gentle spirit, ye that are spiritual. This example we should also imitate, that we should be to poor and deceived disciples as parents are to their children, that they may recognize our fatherly zeal and motherly affection for them, and see that we seek not their ruin but their blessedness. But against the devil and his servants, the authors of seduction and rottenness, according to the apostle's example, we are not to exercise patience, to be proud, harsh, and unforgiving, and to most sharply traverse, curse, and condemn their deceitfulness and deception. In the same way, parents, when their child is bitten by a dog, only pursue the dog, but they caress the crying child and comfort it with the sweetest words.
Therefore, in Paul there is a spirit that knows wonderfully well how to treat the fallen and afflicted consciences rightly. On the other hand, the pope, being driven by the spirit of wickedness, tyrannically goes through, hurling only thunderbolts and curses against the
Wretched and frightened, as can be seen from his bulls, especially the one on Maundy Thursday (coenae). And the bishops do not direct their office any better, they do not teach the Gospel, they do not care about the salvation of souls, but only seek to rule. Therefore, they speak and do everything only in such a way that they strengthen this dominion and keep it intact. All teachers who seek vain honor are of the same mind etc.
That you so soon.
You see that Paul himself complains about how easy it is to fall in faith. Therefore he admonishes the Christians elsewhere [1 Cor. 10:12], "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall." We also experience daily how difficult it is for the heart to gain and keep a firm faith; likewise, with how great difficulty a prepared people is prepared for the Lord [Luc. 1:17]. It takes ten years of work before a congregation is prepared in a right and Christian way, and when it is prepared, some fool creeps in who knows nothing but to revile those who teach the word pure and true; such a one overthrows everything in a moment. Who would not be outraged by this evil?
By the grace of God, we have established a Christian congregation here in Wittenberg in the right form; the Word is taught purely among us, the sacraments are in the right use, exhortations are going forth, prayers are also being said for all classes, in short, everything is flourishing. This very happy course of the Gospel could soon be hindered by some enthusiastic person, and he would like to overthrow in a moment what we have built up with great labor over many years.
This is what happened to Paul, the chosen instrument of Christ. He had prepared the churches in Galatia with great care and labor; after his departure, the false apostles turned them around in a short time. This is testified by this his present epistle, also by others etc. So weak and miserable it goes in this life, and so even
72 L>-I vai. 1, 73-76. Exec. Explanation of the Epistle to the Galatians 1, 6. W. VIII, 1636-1640. 7Z.
We are walking in the midst of Satan's ropes, that a single swarm spirit can destroy and overthrow in such a short time what many right preachers have built up over a number of years through laborious work day and night. We learn this today from experience to our great heartache, but still cannot remedy this evil.
Because the church is something so soft and delicate and is so easily perverted, one must be on one's guard against these swarming spirits, who, when they have only heard a few sermons or read a few pages in the Holy Scriptures, immediately proclaim themselves masters over all, over disciples and teachers, against all who are in office (contra omnium autoritatem). You can find quite a number of such people today, even among the craftsmen, foolish people who, not having been tested by any temptations, have never learned to fear God, have never tasted grace in the slightest.
Because they are without the spirit [of God], they teach what pleases them, and what is easy for the mob. Then the inexperienced rabble immediately falls to them, who are eager to hear new things. Yes, even many who think that they have grasped the doctrine of faith well, and are to some extent tempted by temptations, are deceived by them.
Since Paul teaches us here from his own experience that the churches, which have been prepared with great labor, are easily and soon perverted, we must watch with the greatest care against the devil who walks about, lest he come while we sleep and sow tares among the wheat. The Christian flock is threatened with danger from Satan, even if the shepherds are still so watchful and brave. For Paul, as I have said, had planted the churches in Galatia with the greatest effort and faithfulness, and no sooner had he (as they say) set foot outside the gate than the false apostles nevertheless perverted some of them, the fall of which later brought about such tremendous devastation in the churches of the Galatians. This sudden and so great harm is no doubt due to the dear apostle.
more bitter than death. Therefore let us watch with all diligence, first of all, each one for himself, and then also the teachers, not only for themselves but also for the whole church, so that we may not fall into temptation.
Let turn away.
Again, he does not use a harsh word, but a gentle one. He does not say: I am surprised that you have fallen away so soon, that you are so disobedient, careless, fickle, ungrateful, but that you "let yourselves be turned away" so soon, as if he wanted to say: You are only suffering, you have not done harm, but have suffered harm. In order to win back the fallen, he accuses the turners rather than the turned away. But at the same time he punishes them, although with great modesty, since he complains that they have turned away, as if he wanted to say: Although I love you dearly, as a father loves his children, and know that you have fallen, not through your fault, but through the fault of the false apostles, yet I might have wished that you had shown a little more firmness in right doctrine. You have not grasped the word sufficiently, you are not firmly enough founded. That is why you let yourselves be turned away so soon by a slight breeze and a small wind.
Jerome is of the opinion that Paul wanted to translate the word "Galatians" by alluding to the Hebrew word XXX he is turned away, as if he wanted to say: You are right Galatians by name and by deed, that is: turned away.
Some think that we Germans are descended from the Galatians, and this assumption is perhaps not without reason. For we Germans have a character not very dissimilar to that of the Galatians, and I must say that I wish our compatriots had a little more firmness and consistency. For in all things we are exceedingly hot-tempered in the first beginning. But as soon as the heat of the first excitement has passed away, we soon become all too casual, and with the same haste (temeritate) with which we begin things, we throw them from us again and leave them pending. At first, when after the great darkness of the human statutes
When the light of the gospel went out, many were engaged in a Christian way of life, listened to the sermons with great eagerness, and held the ministers of the word in honor. But now that the Word has progressed so well, and the Christian doctrine has been so well purified, many become despisers and enemies of the Word, who not only stop studying the Word and neglect the ministers of the Word, but also hate all other good arts and sciences, and become utterly swine and vile servants, who are well worthy to be compared to the "unintelligent" Galatians [Gal. 3:1, 3].
From Him who called you into the grace of Christ.
120 This passage is somewhat ambiguous, for it can be construed in two ways; first, from Christ who called you to grace; second, from him, namely, God, who called you to the grace of Christ. I accept the former version. For it pleases me that Paul, just as he said shortly before about Christ that he is the Redeemer who sets us free from this evil world through his death, likewise that he gives us grace and peace in the same way as God the Father gives us grace and peace, so also here he attributes to him that he calls us to grace. For this is Paul's way of first and foremost impressing upon us the good deed of Christ, through which we come to the Father.
(121) There is also an emphasis and contrast in these words, "From Christ who called you into grace," as if to say: Oh how easily you are torn and turned away from Christ, who called you, not to law, works, sin, wrath, condemnation, like Moses, but to pure grace.
(122) So also we complain today with Paul that the blindness and perversity of men is quite frightening, that no one wants to receive the doctrine of grace and salvation, or, even if a few receive it, they soon fall away from it again, although it brings with it all goods, spiritual and corporal, namely forgiveness of sins, true righteousness, peace of heart and eternal life. Then it brings us light
and gives us a certain judgment on all doctrine and all status, approves and confirms the world regime, the household and all statuses that God has established and ordered. It destroys the doctrines that give rise to error, sedition and confusion etc. In short, it exposes all cunning plots and works of the devil, and reveals God's benevolence and love towards us in Christ. What, O lamentation, is this frenzy that the world so bitterly hates this word, this gospel of eternal comfort, grace, blessedness and eternal life, blasphemes and persecutes it with such devilish fury!
Paul calls the present world evil, that is, the kingdom of the devil; otherwise it would recognize the goodness and mercy of God. But because it is under the power of the devil, it surely despises and persecutes it with hostility, for it loves darkness, error and the devil's kingdom more than the light, truth and kingdom of Christ. And this it does not out of ignorance or error, but out of! devilish malice. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Christ, the Son of God, by giving Himself to death for the sins of all men, can earn nothing else from the perverse and godless world than that it blasphemes Him for this immeasurable good deed, persecutes His saving word and would gladly crucify Him once more, if only it could. Therefore, the world not only walks in darkness, but is also darkness itself, as it is written in John 1:5.
Therefore Paul makes these words great: "Of Christ who called you" etc., and covertly urges the antithesis (anti-thesin) of them, as if he said, "My preaching was not of the hard laws of Moses, neither did I teach you to be servants under the yoke; but pure grace and freedom from the law of sin etc. I preached to you that Christ mercifully called you into grace, that you might be children under Christ, not servants under Moses, whose disciples you have now become again at the instigation of your false apostles, who by the law of sin have been the disciples of Moses.
Law of Moses does not call to grace, but to anger and hatred against God, to sin and death. But Christ's call is a call to grace and blessedness. For those who are called by Him obtain for the sad law the joyful gospel, are transferred from wrath to grace, from sin to righteousness, from death to life. And you let yourselves be swept away from such a living fountain, bubbling and overflowing with grace and life, so quickly and so easily? But if Moses by God's law calls to God's wrath and sin, to what do you think the pope will call us with his statutes of men? - The other understanding, that the Father calls to the grace of Christ, is also good, but the former of Christ is more lovely and more suitable to comfort sorrowful consciences.
To another gospel.
Here we are to learn the cunning tricks and cunning plots of the devil. No heretic comes under the name of error and the devil, and even the devil himself does not come as the devil, especially the white devil. Yes, even the black devil, when he incites to public villainy, makes a blanket for man, that he may diminish the sin he wants to commit or commits. A murderer in his rage does not see that murder is such a great and terrible sin as it really is, because he has the blanket. Adulterers, thieves, misers, drunkards etc. have their euphemisms and covers. So also the black Satan in all his works and attacks has a mask before and is made up.
But in spiritual things, where not the black but the white Satan appears, pretending to be an angel and God, he surpasses himself in the most cunning disguise, in the most marvelous tricks he uses to deceive, and uses to sell his most harmful poison for the doctrine of grace, for God's word, for the gospel of Christ. Therefore Paul calls the teaching of the false apostles, the servants of the devil, also a gospel, saying, "To another gospel," but ironically, as if to say: You Galatians now have other
Evangelists, you have another gospel, mine is now despised among you, no longer valid.
From this it is easy to see that the false apostles condemned Paul's gospel among the Galatians, saying, "Paul began well, but it is not enough to have begun well, for there are still higher things left to be preached. 15, 1. They say: It is not enough to believe in Christ, it is not enough to be baptized, but you must also be circumcised; for "if you are not circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved". But this much is said: Christ is a good carpenter, who began the building, but did not finish it, because Moses must do that.
This is what the Anabaptists and others say nowadays, since they cannot condemn us outright: The Lutherans have the spirit of fear; they dare not freely confess the truth and tear it through. They have laid the foundation, that is, they have taught faith in Christ, but the beginning, the means and the end must be connected. This is not given to them by God, but to us. Thus the perverse and devilish people glorify their ungodly sermons and call them God's word, thereby deceiving many people under God's name. For the devil does not want to be ugly and black in his servants, but pure and white, and, in order to appear so, he presents all his words and works in such a way that he adorns them with the title (praetextu) of truth and the name of God. Hence arose among us Germans the well-known saying: In the name of God all misfortune is lifted up.
Therefore, let us learn that this is the devil's trick, that when he cannot do harm by persecuting and destroying, he does it by making better and building. Thus he persecutes us today with force and sword, in order, when he has destroyed us, not only to darken the gospel, but to wipe it out completely. But so far he has done nothing, for he has killed many who have steadfastly confessed that these our
Doctrine is holy and divine. By the blood of these [martyrs], however, the church is not destroyed but fertilized (rigata). Since he has achieved nothing in this way, the evil spirit instigates ungodly teachers who first approve our doctrine and teach it unanimously with us, but later say that it is our profession to present the first elements of Christian doctrine, but that the true secrets of Scripture have been revealed to them by God and that they are called to make them known to the world.
(130) In this way Satan hinders the course of the gospel on the right and on the left. But on the right, as I said, he does much more harm by building and improving than on the left by persecuting and killing. Therefore, we must pray, read, and cling to Christ and His words without ceasing in order to overcome the cunning plots of the devil with which he attacks us on the right and on the left. "For we do not struggle with flesh and blood" etc. Eph. 6, 12.
V. 7. If there is no other, without some there are that confound you.
Again, he excuses the Galatians and takes the false apostles to task, as if to say: Galatians, you have been persuaded that the gospel which you received from me is not the true and genuine gospel. Therefore, let it seem to you that you would do well to accept the new thing that the false apostles preach, which is supposed to be better than my gospel. I do not blame you for this misstep, nor do I blame those troublemakers who confuse your consciences and snatch you out of my hand.
Here again you see how fierce and vehement the apostle is against those deceivers, and how 1) he goes through them with the harshest words, calling them destroyers of the churches and confounders of consciences, who do nothing but deceive and confuse countless consciences and cause terrible damage in the church. We too must see this great misery today with heavy heartache, and yet we can no more remedy it than Paul was able to do at that time.
1) Wittenberger: quamquam instead of quamque.
This passage gives evidence that the false apostles undoubtedly said of Paul that he was not a perfect apostle and that he was a weak preacher who was still in error. That is why he calls them again destroyers of the churches and transgressors of the gospel of Christ. Thus they condemned each other; the false apostles condemned Paul, and Paul in turn condemned the false apostles.
Such disputes and condemnations have taken place in the church at all times, especially when the teaching of the Gospel is in full bloom, namely, that the godless teachers persecute, condemn, and oppress the godly, and the godly condemn the godless. The papists and the swarm spirits hate us today to the utmost and condemn our teachings as ungodly and erroneous; then they are also after our good and life. We, in turn, hate their godless and blasphemous doctrine with all our heart (perfecto odio) 2) and condemn the same. In the meantime, the poor people remain uncertain and waver and doubt where to turn, whom they can safely follow; for it is not given to anyone to judge such great matters in a Christian way.
But at the end it will be seen which of the two teaches rightly and condemns the other rightly. It is certain that we persecute no one, oppress no one and kill no one. Nor does our teaching confuse the consciences, but frees them from countless errors and snares of the devil. For this we have the testimony of many pious people who thank God that they have drawn a firm comfort of conscience from our teaching. Just as it was not Paul's fault that the churches were confused, but the fault of the false apostles, so it is not our fault today, but the fault of Anabaptists, Sacramentans and other fanatics, that so many and so great disturbances arise in the church.
(136) Note that everyone who teaches works and that righteousness is obtained from the law confuses the churches and the consciences. But who would ever have believed that
2) In the Wittenberg: proksato instead of perteeto.
the pope, cardinals, bishops, monks and their whole school of Satan, especially the founders of the holy orders (some of whom God has miraculously made blessed) are such people who confuse the consciences? Yes, they are even worse than the false apostles. For they taught that in addition to faith in Christ, the works of the divine law were necessary for salvation. But they left out faith altogether and taught only human statutes and works, which God did not command, but which they themselves devised without and against God's word; and these they not only made equal to God's word, but also raised far above it. But the greater semblance of holiness the heretics have, the more harm they do. For if the false apostles had not had excellent gifts, great prestige and a beautiful appearance of holiness, and if they had not claimed to be servants of Christ, disciples of the apostles and righteous preachers of the gospel, they could not have so easily destroyed Paul's prestige and deceived the Galatians in such a way.
But this is why he attacks them so vehemently and calls them people who confuse the churches, because they teach that apart from faith in Christ, circumcision and the observance of the law are necessary for salvation. Paul himself testifies to this later in chapter 5 [v. 1, 2], and Lucas in the Acts of the Apostles, chap. 15, 1, with these words: "that some came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. Therefore the false apostles urged with great vehemence and obstinacy the keeping of the law. 1) They were soon joined by stubborn Jews who firmly insisted that the law must be kept, and then easily persuaded those who were not well established in the faith that Paul was not a righteous teacher because he neglected the law. For it seemed to them to be quite unpleasant that the Law of God should be completely abolished, and that the Jews, who had hitherto been God's people, and to whom the promises had been made, should not be allowed to keep the Law.
1) Wittenberger; "UMmssrvÄnäÄioesse." The last two words are missing in the Jena and Erlangen versions.
God were to be rejected. After that it seemed even more unpleasant to them that the Gentiles, the godless idolaters, without circumcision, without works of the law, only by grace and through faith in Christ should come to this glory and dignity, that they would be God's people etc.
These things the false apostles have highly exaggerated in order to make Paul hated by the Galatians; and in order to make their hearts more bitter against him, they said that he preaches freedom from the law to the Gentiles, against the law of God, against the tradition of the whole Jewish people, against the example of the apostles, yes, against his own exemplum, by which he brings the divine law and the whole Jewish kingdom into contempt and brings it to nothing. Therefore, he must be shunned as a public blasphemer against God and a rebel against the whole Jewish regime; but they must be listened to because, besides teaching the gospel correctly, they were also disciples of the apostles, with whom Paul had never had any contact. In such a cunning way they disparaged Paul among the Galatians and caused the Galatians to fall away from him. So that the truth of the gospel would be preserved among the Galatians, he had to oppose the false apostles with all his might. He calls them, condemning them with the greatest confidence, confounders of the churches and destroyers of the gospel of Christ, as follows:
And want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
139 That is, they are not only to confuse you, but also to destroy and pervert the gospel of Christ from the foundation of the world. For Satan has to deal with these two things. First of all, he is not satisfied with confusing and deceiving many through his ungodly apostles, but then he also seeks through them to completely reverse and take away the gospel, and does not rest until he has accomplished it. However, such destroyers of the gospel can hear nothing less than that they are apostles of the devil, yes, they boast before others of the name of Christ and boast that they are the purest preachers of the gospel.
But because they mix the law with the gospel, they must be destroyers of the gospel. For either Christ will remain and the law will fall, or the law will remain and Christ will fall. For Christ and the law cannot in any way agree with each other, and cannot at the same time rule in the conscience. Where the righteousness of the law prevails, the righteousness of grace cannot prevail, and again, where the righteousness of grace prevails, the righteousness of the law cannot prevail. One must give way to the other. But if you cannot believe that God wants to forgive sins for the sake of Christ, whom He sent into the world to be our High Priest, dear one, how could you believe that He wants to forgive sins for the sake of the works of the Law, which you have never done, or for the sake of your works, which you must confess are such that you cannot possibly hold them up to the judgment of God? Therefore, the doctrine of grace cannot in any way stand with the doctrine of the law. The latter must be denied and rejected, but the former must be established.
But just as the Jews had an abhorrence of the doctrine of faith and grace, so we also have an abhorrence of it. I would like to hold at the same time the righteousness of grace, which justifies, and also the other of the law, for which God should look upon me. But if one wants to mix these with the other, it means, as Paul says here, to pervert the gospel of Christ. And yet, when it comes to a dispute, the greater crowd retains the victory over those who are right. For Christ with His own is weak, and the gospel is a foolish sermon. On the other hand, the kingdom of the world and its prince, the devil, is strong; indeed, the prudence and righteousness of the flesh has an excellent appearance. And so the righteousness of grace and faith is lost, and the other, the righteousness of the law and of works, is destroyed and denied. But this is our consolation, that the devil cannot do what he wills with his members. He can confuse many people, but he cannot overthrow the gospel of Christ. The truth can indeed
in danger, but it cannot perish. It will be stormed, but not stormed, because God's word remains forever.
It seems to be a small thing that the gospel and the law, faith and works, are mixed together, but this does more harm than human reason can understand. For this not only obscures the knowledge of grace, but also removes Christ with all his benefits, and, as Paul says here, perverts the whole gospel. The cause of this great evil is our flesh, which, sunk in sins, sees no other way to free itself from them than by works. Therefore, the natural man (caro) wants to live in the righteousness of the law and confidently rely on his works. He therefore knows nothing of the doctrine of faith and grace, without which it is impossible to have a clear conscience.
From these words of Paul: "And want to pervert the gospel of Christ", it can be clearly seen that the false apostles were very impudent and insolent people, who opposed Paul with such vehemence. Therefore he again confronts them most valiantly, trusting in his Spirit and in full assurance of faith (πληρο- φορω^, and against them powerfully (mirum in modum) exalts his ministry, saying:
V. 8 But if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than the one we preached to you, let him be accursed!
Here Paul speaks with flames and is so inflamed that he begins to curse even the angels. Even we ourselves, he says, I and my brethren, Timothy, Titus, and as many as are theirs, who with me teach Christ purely (for I speak not yet of those who deceive souls), yea, if an angel from heaven etc. [preach otherwise], I would rather that I, my brethren, yea, even an angel from heaven were accursed, than that my gospel should be perverted. This is indeed a burning zeal, that he should presume to curse so confidently not only himself and his brethren, but also an angel from heaven.
145. 'Ανάθεμα 0πεφί|φ, Greek, Hebrew XXX means.
Latin maledictum, cursed, rejected and absolutely excluded from intercourse, society and fellowship with God. Thus Joshua says [Cap. 6, 17. 26.] that the city of Jericho shall be banished forever, so that it shall never be built again. And in the 3rd book of Moses, Cap. 27, 28, 29, it is written that if a man or any animal has been banished, the banished thing shall be put to death, and it shall not be allowed to live. Thus, Amalek and several cities that had been banished by God's judgment had to be completely exterminated.
146 Therefore Paul's opinion is: I would rather that I, others, even an angel were accursed from heaven, than that another gospel be preached, whether by us or by others, than the one we have preached. So Paul banishes and curses himself first. For good workmasters are wont to punish themselves first, that they may afterwards punish others the more freely and severely.
147 Paul concludes that there is no other gospel than the one he preached himself. He did not preach a gospel of his own devising, but the one that God had promised from the beginning through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, Rom. 1:1, 2. Therefore, he states with the utmost certainty that he, others, even an angel from heaven, would be cursed if they preached a gospel different from the former one. For the word of the gospel, which God once sent forth, will not be revoked until the last day.
V. 9 As we have said now, so we say again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
He repeats the same thing, but changes the persons. Above he cursed himself, his brothers, an angel from heaven; here he says: "If there are any others besides us who preach the gospel to you other than what you have received from us, let them also be cursed. Therefore he banishes and curses all teachers, himself, his brothers,
one angel, and after that any others, namely, those who teach contrary to the gospel. The apostle has an exceedingly fierce zeal that he dares to curse all teachers in the whole world and in heaven who pervert his gospel and teach a different one. For all must believe the gospel 1) which Paul preached, or become a curse and be damned. God would that this frightening judgment of the apostle would frighten the disseminators of Paul's gospel, of which, unfortunately, the world is full today.
The change of the persons must be taken into account here. For Paul speaks differently in the first curse than in the second. In the first, he says, "Even as we, or an angel from heaven, preach the gospel to you differently from what we have preached to you," etc. In the second, he says, "differently from what you have received. And this he does on purpose, so that the Galatians would not say: We have not perverted the gospel which thou, Paul, didst preach unto us; but, when thou didst preach it unto us, we understood it not aright: but the teachers which came after thee have opened unto us the right understanding. This, he says, I will not allow in any way. Those shall not add to it nor improve it, but that which you have heard from me, that is the word of God; that alone shall remain. And I do not wish that I should be another teacher of the gospel, nor that you should be other disciples. Therefore, if you hear anyone who brings a different gospel from the one you have heard from me, or who boasts that he will bring something better than what you have received from me, let him be accursed with his disciples.
(150) This is the way of the servants of Satan, that they know how to creep and ingratiate themselves into the hearts of men with this peculiar skill. They admit that those who taught the gospel before them had started well, but this was not enough; but they wanted to present certain things, which they wanted to teach in such a way that this would be of great benefit to the listeners.
1) Wittenberger: ereciere; Menius: "believe". Jenaer and Erlanger: eeüere.
should etc. So today, too, the enthusiasts praise us for having begun the cause of the Gospel in the right way. But because we abhor and condemn their blasphemous doctrine, they call us flatterers and new papists, who are twofold worse than the old ones. By this art the thieves and robbers gain entrance into the sheepfold of the Lord, in order to steal, slaughter and destroy, namely, that they first confirm what is ours, then improve us, and explain more clearly, as they blaspheme, what we would not have understood sufficiently or not quite correctly. In the same way the false apostles prepared the entrance to the Galatians. Paul, they said) has indeed laid the foundation of Christian doctrine, but the right way of justification he does not hold, because he teaches apostasy from the law. Therefore receive from us what he was not able to teach rightly. But Paul does not want anything else to be taught by anyone, nor anything else to be heard and received by the Galatians than what he had taught them before, and what they had heard and received from him. But those, he says, who teach or accept anything else, they shall be accursed.
151 The first two chapters contain almost nothing but denials and refutations. Only at the end of the second chapter does he begin to discuss the doctrine of justification. But this judgment of Paul is to remind us that all those are cursed who hold that the pope is a judge over Scripture, likewise that the church has power over Scripture, which the teachers of papal law and the writers of sentences have ungodly taught and have invoked for this reason: The Church has approved only four Evangelia, therefore there are only four; if she had approved more, there would be more. But since the church could accept and approve as many gospels as it wished, the church is above the gospel.
This conclusion fits like a glove. 1) I approve of the Scripture, thus
1) Ä dsoulo sä ÄQAuIum. Cf. the note to Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. XX, 1640.
I am higher than they. John the Baptist accedes to Christ (approbat) and confesses him, and points him with his finger, so he is more than Christ. The church approves the Christian doctrine and faith, so it is the higher one.
To refute this ungodly and blasphemous doctrine of theirs, you have here a very clear text and a thunderbolt from heaven, that Paul, badly, himself, one, angels from heaven, the teachers on earth, and what other masters there may be, sums up everything and throws it under the holy scripture. This queen must rule, all must obey and be subject to her. Not their masters, judges or arbiters, but only witnesses, disciples and confessors, may it be the pope, or Luther, or Augustine, or Paul, or an angel from heaven, and no other doctrine shall be presented and heard in the church than the pure word of God, that is, the holy Scriptures; otherwise teachers and hearers shall be accursed with their doctrine.
V. 10. Am I preaching to men now, or to God for His service?
This is spoken with the same zeal as the previous, as if he wanted to say: Am I, Paul, who preached publicly in the churches, so unknown? Are not my exceedingly bitter struggles and so many disputes with the Jews in the daylight? From my sermons, from so many and so great tribulations, I think it is sufficiently evident whether I serve men or God. For all see that through this preaching of mine I have everywhere brought upon myself only persecution, the greatest and most terrifying hatred of my people and of all men. Thus I prove sufficiently that I do not seek the favor or applause of men with my sermon, but to make known the good deeds and the honor of God.
We also (I can say this without glorification) do not seek the favor of men with our doctrine. For we teach that all men are by nature ungodly and children of wrath; we condemn free will, human ability, wisdom, justice, and all self-chosen worship; in short,
We say that there is absolutely nothing in us that is suitable to merit grace and forgiveness of sins, but we preach that the same is granted to us solely through the pure mercy of God for the sake of Christ. For this is how the heavens tell the glory of God and His works, so that they condemn all men altogether with their works. This is certainly not preaching to please men and the world.
For the world cannot be enraged more fiercely and bitterly than when its wisdom, righteousness, worship and all that it is capable of are condemned. To condemn these best and highest gifts of the world is truly not to flatter the world, but rather to strive of one's own free will for hatred 1) and all misfortune (as they say), and to get one's hands full of it. For if we condemn men and all their best apparent endeavors, it cannot but come about that we immediately invite their bitterest hatred upon us, that they persecute us, banish us, condemn us and kill us.
157 If then they see the other things, says Paul, why do they not also see this, that I teach divine things, not human things, that is, that I do not seek the favor of men with my teaching, but only glorify God's mercy, which was shown to us in Christ? For if I sought the favor of men, I would not condemn all their works. But just by condemning the works of men, that is, by pronouncing from the word of God (whose servant and apostle I am) the divine judgment against all men, that they are sinners, ungodly, unrighteous, children of wrath, captives of Satan and condemned, and that they are justified, not by works, not by circumcision, but by grace alone and through faith in Christ, I incur the irreconcilable hatred of all men. For they can hear nothing less than that they are such people, yes, they want them to be praised as wise, righteous, holy people etc. Therefore, this testifies sufficiently that I do not teach human things.
1) Wittenberger: otium instead of oäium.
In the same way Christ speaks Joh. 7, 7: "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify of it that its works are evil", and Joh. 3, 19: "But this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their works were evil.
But that I teach divine things, says the apostle, can already be sufficiently recognized from the fact that I preach only God's grace, mercy, good deeds and honor. Then he who speaks (as Christ says [John 13:13]) what his Lord and Master has commanded him, and glorifies not himself but Him whose apostle he is, brings and teaches the certain and divine word. But I teach only what is commanded me by God, glorifying not myself, but Him who sent me. Moreover, I incur the wrath and displeasure of Jews and Gentiles, therefore my teaching is true, pure, certain and divine, and there can be no other (much less a better) than this my teaching. Therefore, any other doctrine that does not teach, like mine, that all men are sinners and are justified by faith in Christ alone, must necessarily be false, uncertain, ungodly, blasphemous, accursed and diabolical. This judgment also applies to all who lead this doctrine and to those who accept it.
(160) Thus we also declare with Paul in the most certain and certain way that any doctrine is accursed which does not agree with ours. For surely we too, with our preaching, do not seek the applause of men or the favor of princes, bishops, etc., but only God's favor, whose grace and mercy we also preach alone, and trample underfoot and condemn everything that is ours. Therefore we confidently say that he who teaches another gospel, or one contrary to ours, is sent by the devil and accursed.
Or do I intend to please people?
That is, do I serve people, or do I serve God? He always takes sides with the false apostles. These, he says, seek to please men and flatter them. For
In this way they seek to gain glory for themselves in their carnal nature. Furthermore, because they do not want to suffer the hatred and persecution of men, they teach circumcision so that they do not have to suffer persecution for the sake of the cross of Christ, as it says later in Cap. 5:11.
You can find many people today who strive to please men, and in order to live their lives in peace and security of the flesh, they preach to men for service, that is, they teach ungodly things, or at least, against their conscience, they approve of the blasphemies of the adversaries and their ungodly judgment against the word of God, in order to keep the favor of princes and bishops and not lose theirs. But we, because we strive to be pleasing to God and not to men, invite devilish and infernal hatred upon ourselves and suffer disgrace and abuse from the world, death and all evil.
Thus Paul says here: I do not intend to please men, I do not desire that they should praise my doctrine and exalt me as the best teacher, but only that God alone may please my doctrine, and thereby I make enemies of men who are indignant about it; and this I experience. For they give me as a reward shame, blasphemy, imprisonment, sword etc. On the other hand, the false apostles teach human things, that is, things that are pleasing to reason and easy for it to accept, so that they may have peace and win the favor and approval of the people. And what they strive for, they also attain. For they are praised and highly exalted by all. So Christ also says Matth. 6, 2. that the hypocrites do everything "so that they will be praised by the people", and Joh. 5, 44. he severely punishes such people and says: "How can you believe, you who take honor from one another? And the honor that is from God alone you do not seek."
What Paul has said up to this point are almost only examples. But he insists everywhere that his teaching is true and the right teaching. Therefore he admonishes the Galatians that they should not despise his teaching and accept no other.
If I were still pleasing men, I would not be Christ's servant.
All this must be related to the whole ministry and service of Paul, so that it forms a kind of contrast to his former walk in Judaism, as if he wanted to say: Do you think that I still seek to please men as I did before? So also in the fifth chapter, v. 11: "If I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution?" as if he wanted to say: "Do you not see and hear my daily hard struggles, the greatest persecutions and tribulations? Since I was converted and called to the apostleship, I have never spoken to please men, I have never sought to please them, but only God, that is, I do not seek the honor and favor of men with my ministry and with my teaching, but God.
This is what Paul says to show how deceitfully and deceitfully the false apostles tried to make him hated by the Galatians. They picked contradictions out of his sermons and writings (as today the adversaries pick contradictions out of our books), and wanted to convict him that he had taught contradictory things, and therefore said that Paul should not be believed, but that circumcision and the law should be kept. For he himself had confirmed this with his own example, since he had circumcised Timothy according to the law [Acts 16:3], had himself cleansed with four men in the temple at Jerusalem [Acts 21:26], had his head shaved in Keuchrea [Acts 18:18] etc. The slanderers claimed that Paul had done this because of necessity, forced by the command and the reputation of the apostles etc., while he had taken it upon himself to serve the weak of his own free will, so that no offense would be given to those who did not yet recognize Christian freedom. To their calumnies he answers thus: How true it is what the false apostles invent against me, in order to disturb my gospel and again to establish the law and the circumcision, the thing itself sufficiently shows. For if I preached the law and circumcision, and the ability and the .
If I praised the nobility of men, I would not be hated by men, but would please them.
V. 11. 12. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which is preached by me is not human. For I neither received it nor learned it from any man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This is the main proposition (propositio == the subject) of the present passage, from which the refutation and defense follows to the end of the second chapter, and it is a kind of continuous story that Paul tells here. Jerome writhes anxiously and takes great pains to rhyme it together (concordanda), but he does not touch the matter itself, because he does not consider what Paul wants or what he has in mind.
But the histories in Scripture are often briefly summarized and interwoven, so that they cannot easily be rhymed with one another, as is the case with Peter's denials and the history of the passion of Christ etc. So Paul does not tell the whole story here. I do not bother with it, nor do I care much about rhyming it together, but only look at what Paul's intention is and what he is aiming at.
But this is the main proposition of the present passage: My gospel is not human, neither did I receive it from any man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. He insists on this main sentence, dwells on it for a long time and confirms it with an oath that he did not learn his gospel from any man, but received it through the revelation of Jesus Christ. And he swears out of necessity, so that the Galatians will believe this, not to give ear to the false apostles, whom he punishes as liars, because they had said that Paul had learned and received his gospel from the apostles.
170 But that he says his gospel is not human, this is not to say that his gospel is not of human origin, because this is self-evident, for the false apostles also boasted of it.
that their teaching does not originate from men, but from God; but he wants this to be understood in such a way that he did not learn the gospel through the ministry of any man, nor did he receive it through any human mediation (as we all either learn it through the ministry of men or receive it through some other human mediation, some by hearing, others by reading, writing, painting etc.), but that he received it precisely through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Whoever wants to make a different decision here, may do so for all I care. - The apostle here casually shows that Christ is not only a man, but at the same time true God and man, since he says that he did not receive his gospel through a man.
Now Paul received his gospel on the way to Damascus, where Christ appeared to him and spoke with him. He also talked with him later in the temple at Jerusalem (Apost. 22, 18.], but on the way he received the gospel, as Lucas tells the story in Acts, Cap. 9, 3. ff. "Arise," says Christ to him, "and go into the city; there shall they tell thee what thou shalt do" [v. 6.]. He does not command him to go into the city, that he might learn the gospel of Ananias, but Ananias was to baptize him, lay hands on him, command him the ministry of the word, and commend him to the church; but not to teach the gospel, which, as he here boasts, he had already received before in the way by the revelation of JEsu Christ alone. And Ananias himself confesses this in these words [Cap. 9, 17.], "Dear brother Saul," 1) he says, "the Lord hath sent me (who appeared unto thee by the way), that thou mightest recover thy sight," etc. Therefore he did not receive his teaching from Ananias, but since he was already called, enlightened and instructed by Christ on the way, he was sent to Ananias, so that he would also have the testimony of men that he was called by God to preach the gospel of Christ.
1) In the Latin editions wrong: Cains (Salve) instead of: Pillar. In Menius correct: column.
Paul is forced to tell this in order to prove the slanders of the false apostles null and void, who tried to make him extremely hated by the Galatians, namely in this way [that they said] that Paul was far inferior to the other disciples of the apostles, who had received what they taught and held from the apostles, whose conduct they had also seen for a long time. Paul also received exactly the same from them (the apostles), although he denies it. Why then would they rather follow a lesser man and despise the reputation of the apostles themselves, who were the superiors (majores) and teachers not only of the Galatians, but also of all the churches in the whole world? This was indeed a great and solid proof, based on the prestige of the apostles, which the false apostles used; thus the Galatians were turned away quickly, especially in this matter. I could never have believed it if I did not see it in these examples of the churches in Galatia, Corinth and Asia etc. that also these people, who in the beginning received the word with joy (among whom there were many excellent people), could be turned away so suddenly.
Dear God, how easily a terrible and immeasurable damage is done by a single [apparent] reason, which, when the Lord withdraws His hand of mercy, so strikes down the conscience that one can lose everything in an instant. Therefore, the false apostles easily deceived the Galatians by this pretense, who were not yet established and did not have deep roots, but were still weak in faith.
The matter of justification is also one that is difficult to hold on to, not in itself, for in itself it is extremely firm and certain, but as far as we are concerned; I often experience this myself. For I know how I sometimes have to struggle in hours of darkness. I know how often I suddenly lose the roots of the gospel and of grace, as it were, in some dense clouds. I also know how even those who are well trained and stand firm walk on slippery ground.
(175) We have the right knowledge of this matter, for we can teach it, and this is a certain sign that we have it. For no one can teach others what he does not know himself. The poet says: It is seen that you know it, for you can teach others (Signum scientis est, inquit ille, posse docere). But since in the present struggle we are to avail ourselves of the gospel, which is a word of grace, comfort, and life, the law, which is a word of wrath, sorrow, and death, precedes the gospel and begins to stir up unrest, setting up terror in the conscience no less than that which that awful and terrifying appearance (species) produced on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:16), just as a single threatening sentence from Scripture overwhelms and darkens all consolations, and so completely shatters everything that is in us [our heart and conscience] that we completely forget the cause of justification, grace, Christ and the Gospel. Therefore, this thing, as much as is in us, is on very slippery ground, because we are slippery.
Furthermore, we ourselves are half our adversaries, namely our own reason and the powers of reason stand against us. In addition, the flesh resists the spirit, which cannot hold on to the certainty that God's promises are true. Therefore, it argues and fights against the spirit and, as Paul says, takes the spirit captive so that it cannot believe as firmly as it would like to. That is why we constantly inculcate that the knowledge of Christ and faith is not a human thing or work, but is par excellence a gift of God, who both creates and sustains faith in us.
177. But just as God first gives faith through the word, so He also practices, increases, strengthens and completes it through the word. Therefore, the highest service of God and the most holy Sabbath is to practice godliness, to handle the word and to hear it. On the other hand, there is nothing more dangerous than overindulgence in the word of God. Therefore, anyone who is so cold that he thinks he has grasped it and gradually begins to grow weary of the word, has not grasped Christ and the Word.
He has already lost the gospel, and grasps what he thinks he knows only speculatively, and is like a man, as Jacobus says, who looks at his face in the mirror, but from that moment on walks away and forgets how he was formed [Jac. 1, 23. 24.]. And such people eventually become gushers and fluttering spirits (nugaces spiritus).
For this reason, every godly person should strive and struggle with all his might to learn this doctrine in a very real way and to keep it well, and for this purpose call upon God in humble prayer and study and reflect on it in God's Word without ceasing. And even if we have exerted ourselves to the utmost, it will still take enough effort, for we have not contemptible, but very great, exceedingly strong and quite tireless enemies against us, namely our flesh, all the dangers of the world, likewise the law, sin, death, wrath and judgment of God, and also the devil himself, who never ceases to tempt us, inwardly by his fiery darts, outwardly by false apostles, so that he may bring down, if not all, at least a great number of us.
Therefore, this argument of the false apostles had a beautiful appearance and great power. The same reason moves many people today, namely: The apostles, the holy fathers and their successors have taught so; so the church holds and believes. But it is impossible that Christ should let his church err for so many centuries. You alone are certainly not wiser than so many holy people and the whole church etc. In this way the devil disguises himself as if he were an angel of light and attacks us cunningly today through some poisonous hypocrites who say: "We do not care about the pope and the bishops who despise and persecute God's word to the highest degree; we also abhor the hypocrisy and deceit of the monks etc.; but we desire that the reputation of the holy Catholic Church remain unharmed. It has held and taught this way for so many centuries, and so have all the teachers of the first church, exceedingly holy people, much greater and more learned than you. Who are you
How can you dare to deviate from all of these and impose a different doctrine on us?
180. When Satan does this sharply and uses the flesh and reason, the conscience is frightened and despairs if you do not constantly come to your senses and say: "Even if St. Cyprian, Ambrose and Augustine, or St. Peter, Paul and John, or even an angel from heaven teach differently, I know this for certain, that I do not preach human but divine things, that is, that I ascribe everything to God and nothing to men.
I remember that when my cause came up, D. Staupitz, who was then a very respected man and vicar of the Augustinian Order, said to me: "I like the fact that this doctrine, which you preach, ascribes honor and everything to God alone, but nothing to man. But GOtte (that is clearer than the sun) cannot be ascribed too much honor, goodness etc. This word comforted and fortified me very much at that time. And it is true that the doctrine of the Gospel takes from men all honor, wisdom, righteousness etc., and attributes this only to the Creator, who makes everything out of nothing. But it is much safer to ascribe too much to God than to man. For then we can confidently say: Even if the church, Augustine and other teachers, likewise Peter, Apollo, yes, even an angel from heaven teach otherwise, my teaching is such that it alone proclaims and preaches God's grace and glory, and condemns the wisdom and righteousness of all men (as far as blessedness is concerned). In this I cannot sin, because I ascribe to God and men, to each one, what actually and in truth belongs to them.
But you say: The church is holy, the fathers are holy. That is right. But even if the Church is holy, it must pray, "Forgive us our trespasses." So even the fathers, holy as they were, were blessed only through the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, if we teach anything contrary to the word of God, neither I, nor the church, nor the fathers, nor the apostles, nor even an angel from heaven, should be believed, but the word of the Lord should remain.
in eternity. Otherwise, this reason of the false apostles would have been of exceedingly great probative force against the teaching of Paul, for it was, I say, truly a great, great thing that they should hold the whole church with the whole company of the apostles against the Galatians against the one Paul, who, moreover, had come later and had a lesser reputation. It was therefore a very solid reason and extremely conclusive. For no one likes to say that the church is wrong, and yet one must of necessity say that it is wrong when it teaches something without or even against the word of God.
Peter, the highest among the apostles, did not live and teach according to God's word, so he erred. And Paul did not cover up this error (although it was apparently only a small error), because he saw that this would bring ruin to the whole church, but resisted him under his eyes and punished him for not walking according to the truth of the gospel, as follows in the second chapter [v. 11 ff]. Therefore, neither the church, nor the fathers, 1) nor the apostles, nor even the angels must be heard, unless they bring and teach the pure word of God.
The same reason is extremely burdensome to our cause today. For if we are to believe neither the Pope, nor the Fathers, nor Luther, if they do not teach the pure Word of God, then whom are we to believe? Meanwhile, who can make consciences sure which of the two, we or our adversaries, teach the pure Word of God? For they also boast that they have and teach the pure Word of God. We do not believe the papists, because they do not teach the Word of God, nor can they teach it, and on the other hand they hate us most bitterly and persecute us as the most harmful heretics and seducers. What should we do here? Shall we allow any swarming spirit to teach whatever it wants, since the world neither wants to hear our teaching nor can stand it? For as much as we boast with Paul that we teach the pure gospel of Christ (to which not only the emperor, the pope, and the whole world should yield, but should also accept it with open arms and
1) Wittenberger: kstrus, instead of katrss in the Jena.
But if someone teaches something else, be it the pope, or St. Augustine, or an apostle, or an angel from heaven, let him be accursed with his gospel), then we do not judge anything, but must hear that our boasting is not only proud, presumptuous, and completely null and void, but also blasphemous and devilish. But if we humble ourselves and give way to the raging of the adversaries, then both the papists and the enthusiasts become arrogant. The latter want to bring and teach something new that the world has not heard before, but the latter want to reestablish and confirm their old abominations. Therefore, let each one see to it that he is sure of a fine profession and a fine doctrine, so that he may dare to say with Paul in the most sure and certain way [v. 8]: "So do we, or an angel from heaven" etc.
So much for the main sentence of this passage, which is: I did not receive my gospel from men, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ. He now proves this in detail by many stories and facts.
V.13. 14. For you have heard my conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted and disturbed the congregation of God beyond measure. And increased in Judaism above many of my kindred in my generation.
This passage does not contain any particular teaching, but Paul gives himself as an example by saying: "I have defended Phariseeism and Judaism more strongly and consistently than you and your false teachers. Therefore, if the righteousness of the law were something, I would not have fallen away from it either, since before I recognized Christ, I labored so hard to accomplish it, and in this I also achieved so much that I surpassed many of my peers in my generation. Then, in order to defend it, I was so zealous that I also persecuted the congregation of God most fiercely and disturbed them. For when I received power from the chief priests, I imprisoned many of the saints.
I threw them to the ground and pronounced judgment when they were killed. And through all the synagogues I often tormented them, and compelled them to blaspheme, and was exceedingly senseless against them, persecuting them even unto foreign cities. [Acts 26:10, 11.]
And zealous beyond measure for the paternal law.
187 As Jerome rightly reminds us, Paul does not call the Pharisaic or human statutes the paternal law, because here he is not dealing with Pharisaic statutes, but with a much more important matter. So he calls the holy law of Moses itself the paternal law, that is, which had been received and inherited from the fathers. For this, he says, I have labored beyond measure in Judaism. In the same way he speaks in the letter to the Philippians, Cap. 3, 5. 6. "According to the law," he says, "I have been a Pharisee, according to zeal a persecutor of the congregation of God, according to righteousness in the law blameless," as if to say: I could publicly boast and defy the whole Jewish people, even the best and holiest of the circumcision, so that they would only expel one from all of them who had fought for the law of Moses with greater zeal or more vehemently than I had done in the past. I was, however, before others a special zealot for the paternal law, that is, I strove to the utmost to attain righteousness from the law. This should move you, Galatians, not to believe those deceivers who exalt the righteousness of the law as a thing of the highest importance, since, if it were a matter of boasting, I could boast with more truth of this very righteousness of the law in an outstanding way.
If anyone, I have certainly, before the light of the Gospel went out, held with reverence the papist laws and the paternal statutes (pie sensi) and struggled for them, and with great earnestness insisted on and defended them as sacred, and on their observance as necessary for salvation. Then I myself tried with all diligence to keep them, by toiling the body with more fasting, vigils, prayers and other exercises.
than all those who hate and persecute me so bitterly today, because I now take the honor from these works that they could make righteous. For in their observance I have been so careful and superstitious that I have imposed a greater burden on my body than it could have borne without danger to health. I have held the pope in honor without all self-interest (pure) and have not sought sinecures and high positions of honor etc., but, whatever I have done, I have done it all out of a simple heart, out of pious zeal and for the honor of God etc. "But that which was profitable to me I count," now with Paul [Phil. 3:7, 8], "detrimental to the abundant knowledge of Christ my Lord." But the adversaries, because they are idle people and have not endured any trials, do not believe that I and very many others have experienced and suffered such things, who have made it exceedingly hard for us to attain peace of heart, which, however, could not possibly be found in such great darkness.
V.15-17. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to manifest his Son in me, that I should preach him by the gospel among the Gentiles, immediately I departed, and conferred not with flesh and blood; neither came I to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me, but went into Arabia, and returned to Damascus.
This is the first journey of Paul. Jerome gets angry here and says that Lucas does not write about Paul's journey to Arabia in the Acts of the Apostles, as if it were necessary to describe the deeds and works for each individual day, which is impossible. This should be enough for us, that we have individual parts and a short epitome of the histories, from which we can draw examples and lessons.
190: Paul testifies here that immediately after he was called by the grace of God to preach Christ among the Gentiles, he went to Arabia without consulting anyone, and set about the work to which he had been called.
had been. And this passage testifies from whom he received his teaching, and by what means he came to the knowledge of the Gospel and to the apostleship. "Since it pleased God," he says, as if to say: I did not earn my merit by striving with ignorance for the law of God; indeed, this foolish and ungodly zeal blinded me, so that out of God's approval I fell into a terrible rage and committed the most wicked crimes. I persecuted the church of God, I was an enemy of Christ and blasphemed His gospel, yes, I caused others to shed much innocent blood; that was my merit. In the midst of this rage, I was called to this great grace. Is it because of this raging? Not at all. But the abundant grace of God, who called me and had mercy on me, forgave me and forgave me these blasphemies, and for these terrible sins of mine, which I then considered to be the highest righteousness and a service of God that pleased God exceedingly, he gave me his grace and knowledge of the truth and called me to the apostleship.
Today we come to the knowledge of grace through the same merits. When I was a monk, I crucified Christ daily, and through my false confidence, which was constantly with me at that time, I blasphemed Him. Outwardly I was not like other people, robbers, unrighteous, adulterers, but kept chastity, obedience and poverty, yes, since I was free from care for this present life, I gave myself entirely to fasting, vigil, prayer, Mass reading etc. However, under this [outward] holiness and trust in my own righteousness, I continued to nurture distrust, doubt, fear, hatred and blasphemy against God, and such my righteousness was nothing but a puddle of dung, and a kingdom in which the devil took pleasure. For Satan loves such saints and has his greatest delight in them, since they corrupt their own bodies and souls and deprive themselves of all blessings and gifts of God and rob themselves of them. In such people, however, there is the greatest godlessness, blindness, doubt, contempt for God, ignorance of the gospel, desecration of the sacra
They blaspheme Christ and trample Him underfoot and abuse all the goods of God. In short, such saints are Satan's captive servants, therefore they must think, speak and do what he wants, no matter how much they seem to outwardly surpass others in good works, severity and holiness of life.
192 We were such people under the papacy, truly as great (if not greater) abusers and blasphemers against Christ and his gospel than Paul himself, and especially I. I thought it was a crime worthy of eternal condemnation if anyone deviated from him in the slightest. The pope was held in such high esteem by me that I thought it was a crime worthy of eternal damnation if anyone deviated from him in the slightest, and this ungodly opinion led me to believe that John Hus was such a cursed heretic that it would be nefarious even to denounce him, that it would be nefarious to even think of him, and I myself, in order to defend the reputation of the pope, would have brought sword and fire to burn this heretic, and would have thought that I was doing God a very great favor by doing so.
Therefore, tax collectors and harlots are not even to be considered evil compared to such hypocritical saints. For those have remorse when they sin, and do not seek to justify their ungodly deeds, but these do not recognize their abominations, idolatries and ungodly way of life (cultus) as sin, so much so that they even preach that this is righteousness and a sacrifice quite pleasing to God, and worship it as the greatest holiness, promising other people blessedness through such things and selling them to them for money as wholesome things.
194 This is now our great righteousness, this is our immense merit, by which we come to the knowledge of grace, namely, that we have persecuted, blasphemed, trampled underfoot and condemned God, Christ, the gospel, the faith, the sacraments, all true Christians (pios), the true worship of God so hostilely and devilishly, and have thoroughly taught and established the adversary. And the more holy we were, the more blind we were, and the louder (purius) we worshipped the devil. Every one of us was a bloodhound, if not in deed, yet in heart.
But since it pleased God.
As if he wanted to say: "It is God's great and immeasurable grace that He not only spares me, such a wicked man, a blasphemer, persecutor and robber of God, but also gives me the knowledge of salvation, the Spirit, Christ His Son, the apostleship and eternal life.
Likewise, God has graciously regarded us, who are burdened with such sins, and has not only forgiven our ungodliness and blasphemies out of pure mercy for the sake of Christ, but has also showered us with the greatest benefits and spiritual gifts. But many of us are not only ungrateful to God for this unspeakable grace, and forget, as it says in 2 Petr. 1, 9, the cleansing of our former sins and the grace given, but open the door again to the devil and begin to grow weary of the word; very many also falsify it and cause new errors. With these, the last becomes worse than the first.
Who has separated me from my mother's womb.
This is a Hebrew way of speaking; that is, He sanctified me, He ordained me, He prepared me; that is, while I was still in my mother's womb, God had foreknown that it would happen that I would rage against the church with such great fury, and that afterwards, out of pure grace, He would bring me out of the course of my cruelty and blasphemy, according to His mercy, back into the way of truth and blessedness. In short, before I was born, I was an apostle in the eyes of God, and when the time came, I was also declared an apostle before the world.
Thus Paul completely cuts off all merit, and ascribes glory to God alone, but only shame to himself, as if to say: All the gifts, the smallest and the greatest, spiritual and bodily, which God wanted to give me, and all the good that I would ever do in my whole life, God Himself had already provided before, when I was still in my mother's womb, since I had neither done anything good nor done anything bad.
I could neither think, nor wish, nor do, but was an unformed fruit. Therefore, this gift happened to me only by the grace of God, who provided for me beforehand and had mercy on me even before I was born. After that, when I was born, he carried me, even though I was burdened with innumerable abominations of wickedness and sin; and in order that he might make known the more the unspeakable and immeasurable greatness of his mercy toward me, he remitted my exceedingly great and innumerable sins out of sheer grace. After that he also showered me with such a great abundance of grace that I not only recognized for myself what was given to us in Christ, but I should also preach this to others.
The merits of all people are of the same kind, especially the old fools who have toiled in the muck of human justice before others.
And called by his grace.
See how carefully the apostle chooses his expression (diligentiam). "He has called me," he says. How? Because of my Pharisaism, because of my blameless and holy life, because of my prayers, fasting and works? No, but much less because of my blasphemies, persecutions and acts of violence. How then? Out of pure grace.
V. 16: That he manifested his Son in me.
Here you hear what teaching is given and commanded to Paul, namely the teaching of the Gospel, which is a revelation of the Son of God. This teaching is different from the law, which does not reveal the Son of God, but indicates sin, terrifies the conscience, reveals death, the wrath and judgment of God, and hell. All this is not the Son of GOd. So the gospel is such a doctrine, which does not admit any law. Oh, who could make a good distinction here, so that he would not look for a law in the Gospel, but would separate the two as far from each other as heaven is from earth! This difference is in itself easy, certain and clear, but for us difficult, yes, almost incomprehensible. You may easily say that
The gospel is nothing other than the revelation of the Son of God, than the knowledge of Jesus Christ, it is not the revelation or knowledge of the law, but to hold this immovably in the distress of the conscience, and when one has to put it into practice, is difficult even for the most experienced.
If the gospel is the revelation of the Son of God, as Paul describes it here, then it certainly does not accuse and terrify the conscience, does not threaten death and does not lead to despair, as the law does, but it is the teaching of Christ, who is certainly neither a law nor a work, but our righteousness, wisdom, sanctification and redemption, 1 Cor. 1:30. 1, 30. Although this is brighter than the sun at noon, the nonsense and blindness of the papists has been so great that they have made a law of love out of the gospel and a lawgiver out of Christ, who gave more severe commandments than Moses himself.
The gospel teaches that Christ did not come to give a new law or to teach us how to walk in righteousness (de moribus), but that he came to be the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, to forgive us our sins, and to give us eternal life because of him, not because of the works of the law or our righteousness. Of this abundant treasure, which is given to us freely, the gospel actually preaches. Therefore, it is a doctrine that cannot be learned or attained by any effort, diligence or wisdom of men, nor even by the divine law, but by God Himself. As Paul says here: "It is revealed"; first through the outward word, then inwardly through the Holy Spirit.
The gospel is therefore the word of God, which came down from heaven and is revealed by the Holy Spirit, who was also sent for this purpose, but in such a way that the outward word precedes it. For even Paul himself did not have an inward revelation until he had first heard the outward word from heaven, namely this [Acts 9:4], "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" etc. So first he heard the outward
Only then did the revelations follow, the knowledge of the Word, faith and the gifts of the Spirit.
That I should preach him through the gospel among the Gentiles.
205. Paul arranges his words in a suitable way: "It pleased God well," he says, "to reveal His Son in me." For what purpose ? Not only so that I myself should believe in the Son of God, but also make Him known among the Gentiles. Why not among the Jews? And here you see that Paul is actually the apostle of the Gentiles, although he also preached Christ among the Jews.
Here Paul, as he often does, sums up his theology in the shortest possible way, but it is this: Preach Christ among the Gentiles; as if he wanted to say: I do not want to burden the Gentiles with the law, because I am the apostle and the gospel preacher (evan- gelista) of the Gentiles, not their lawgiver. Thus he directs all words against the false apostles, as if to say: You have not heard, dear Galatians, that I taught the righteousness of the law or of works, for that belongs to Mosi, not to me, Paulo, the apostle of the Gentiles. For I have the ministry and service of the gospel to you (ad vos), that I may preach to you the same revelation which I have. Therefore you do not need to hear a teacher who teaches the law, because among the Gentiles not the law but the gospel is to be preached, not Moses but the Son of God, not the righteousness of works but of faith. This is the real preaching that concerns the Gentiles.
Immediately I went to, and did not discuss it with flesh and blood.
In this passage Jerome harshly attacks Porphyrius and Julianus, who accuse Paul of being presumptuous, because he did not want to discuss his gospel with the other apostles; likewise, that Paul called the apostles flesh and blood.
208 But to say it briefly, Paul is not talking about the apostles here, since he mentions "flesh and blood", because he immediately adds: "Neither came to Jerusalem to those who were
But what he means is that after he received the revelation of the gospel from Christ, he did not consult with anyone in Damascus, much less ask anyone to teach him the gospel, that he did not go to Jerusalem to Peter and the other apostles to learn the gospel from them, but that he immediately preached in Damascus, where he had received baptism from Ananias, and the latter had laid his hands on him (for he had to have an outward sign and testimony of his calling), that Jesus was the Son of God. The same is written by Lucas, Apost. 9, 20.
V.17. Neither came he to Jerusalem unto them that were apostles before me, but went into Arabia, and returned to Damascus.
That is, since I had neither seen nor consulted the apostles, I went to Arabia and immediately began to carry out my ministry of preaching the gospel among the Gentiles, to which I had been called and for which I had received divine revelation. In vain, therefore, does Jerome ask what Paul did in Arabia? For what else could he do but preach Christ? For this, he says, the Son of God was revealed to him, that he should preach him among the Gentiles. Therefore, he immediately went from Damascus, a pagan city, to Arabia, where there were also pagans, and there he carried out his ministry bravely, but did not first learn the gospel from any man or from the apostles, but was content with the heavenly calling and revelation of Christ alone.
Therefore, this whole passage is a kind of refutation of the reason that the false apostles used against Paul. For they said that he was a disciple and listener of the apostles, who lived according to the law; then that Paul himself also lived according to the law; therefore it was necessary that the Gentiles also kept the law and were circumcised. To shut these slanderers up, he tells this long story. Before my conversion,
1) Wittenberger: eontutsrim, instead of: eontulsrit.
he says, I did not learn my gospel from the apostles or other believing brethren, for I persecuted and disturbed not only this doctrine, but also the church of God to the utmost; but not even after my conversion, because immediately at Damascus I preached, not Moses with fine law, but Christ, without consulting anyone or seeing the apostles.
We can also boast that we did not receive our teaching from the pope. We have received from him the Holy Scriptures and the outward creeds (symbola), but not the doctrine which has come to us only through God's gift. After that our studying, reading and researching has come to it. So this is not something that our adversaries want to claim today: Who would believe your teaching, you Lutherans, since you are not in public office? You must receive the teaching from the pope, from the bishops, who are ordained for this and are in the rightful office etc.
V. 19, 20: After three years I came to Jerusalem to see Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles, except Jacobum, the brother of the Lord.
Paul confesses that he was with the apostles, but not with all of them. However, he indicates that he went to them in Jerusalem, not by command, but voluntarily. Further, not to learn anything from them, but only to see Peter. Lucas writes the same in the Acts of the Apostles, Cap. 9, 27, that Barnabas led Paul to the apostles and told them how he had seen the Lord on the road and how he had talked with him and how he had preached the name of Jesus freely in Damascus. Barnabas gave him this testimony.
All his words are directed to deny the claim that he received his gospel from a man. He admits that he saw Peter and Jacob, the brother of the Lord, but no one else except these two, but he did not learn anything from them either etc. So he admits that he was at Jerusalem with the apostles, and the false apostles were right in saying this. He further admits.
110 Dri. 1, 117-120. interpretations on the epistle to the Galatians. W. VIII, 1699-1702. 111
that he had lived according to the Jewish way, but he had only done so with the Jews. For Paul followed the rule: "If you live in Rome, keep to Roman customs. He also testifies to this in his first letter to the Corinthians, Cap. 9, 19-22: "Although I am free from everyone," he says, "I have made myself a servant to everyone, so that I may win many of them. To the Jews I have become as a Jew etc. I have become all things to all men, that I might save some everywhere." So he admits that he was with the apostles at Jerusalem, but he denies that he learned his gospel from them, likewise he denies that he was forced to teach the gospel as the apostles had prescribed. So the emphasis is on the word "see". He says: I went up [to Jerusalem to see Peter, not to learn from him. Therefore neither Peter nor Jacobus became my teacher. But he absolutely denies that he has seen others.
But why does Paul do this in so many words that he almost exaggerates that he did not receive his gospel from a man, nor did he even learn it from the apostles? He wants to make the churches of Galatia, which have already been destroyed by the false apostles, certain that his gospel is the word of God. That is why he insists so strongly on it. And if he had not proved this most firmly, he would not have been able to destroy the false apostles, because they would have opposed him: We are as good as Paul, for we are disciples of the apostles as well as he; then he is only one person and stands alone, but ours are many. We therefore have the advantage over him in reputation and number. So Paul was forced to boast, to claim and swear that he had not learned the gospel from any man, nor had he himself received it from the apostles; and it was the highest necessity to boast in such a way, not vain boasting, as Porphyrius and Julianus blaspheme, who no more recognized than Jerome what Paul was up to here.
215 Here Paul's ministry was in danger, and all the churches were in danger.
The need of the ministry and of all the churches required Paul to boast of his profession with a necessary and holy pride. Therefore, the need of the ministry and all the churches required Paul to boast with a necessary and holy pride about his profession and the revelation of the gospel that he had received from Christ, so that the consciences would be assured that Paul's teaching was the word of God. This was a great and serious matter, namely, that all the churches should be preserved in sound doctrine; in short, it was a matter of eternal life and eternal death. For when the right pure and certain word is taken away, there is no more comfort, no more blessedness, no more life etc. Therefore, he tells this story with the intention of keeping the churches in the right doctrine, but does not argue about defending his honor, as Porphyrius blasphemes. He wanted to prove with this story that he had not received his gospel from any man, and that he had preached the same gospel in Damascus and Arabia from divine revelation for several years, three or four. He preached the same gospel as the apostles before he had seen any of the apostles.
Here Jerome plays with the spiritual interpretation (in mysterio) of the fifteen days. Likewise, he says that Paul was taught by Peter during these fifteen days and instructed in the mystery of the numbers eight and seven (ogdoadis et hebdoadis). But this serves no purpose. For Paul says in clear words that he came to Jerusalem to see Peter and that he stayed with him for fifteen days. If he had had to learn the gospel from Peter, he would have had to stay there for several years; in fifteen days he would not have become such a great apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, to say nothing of the fact that in these fifteen days, as Lucas testifies in Acts Cap. 9, 28. f., he freely preached the name of JEsu and consulted with the Greeks etc.
V. 20. But what I write to you, behold, God knows I am not lying.
Why does he add an oath? Because he tells the story, that is why the
Noth, so that the churches would believe him. To swear that the false apostles could not say: Who knows if Paul is telling the truth?
You see that Paul, the chosen instrument of Christ, was so despised that he had to swear by his Galatians, to whom he had preached Christ, that he was telling the truth. If this happened to the apostles, that they had such powerful opponents that they dared to despise them and accuse them of lying, what wonder if the same happens to us today, who are not worthy to be compared with the apostles? He therefore swears, as it seems, in a minor matter, that he is telling the truth, namely that he stayed with Peter only to see him, but not to learn from him. But if you look at the matter more closely, it is a great and serious matter, as is evident from the above. So we also swear according to Paul's example: God knows that we are not lying etc.
V. 21. After that I came to the countries of Syria and Cilicia.
Syria and Cilicia are neighboring countries. Here, he is constantly concerned with proving that he was, before
He said that he had always been a teacher of the Gospel, which he had received through the revelation of Christ, but he had never been a disciple.
V. 22-24. But I was unknown to the Christian churches in Judea. But they alone had heard that he who once persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once destroyed, and they praised God over me.
220 He adds this to draw the conclusion from the story that he preached in Syria and Cilicia after seeing Peter, and preached there in such a way that he received a testimony from all the churches in Judea, as if he wanted to say: I appeal to the testimony of all the churches in Judea as well. Not only in Damascus, Arabia, Syria and Cilicia, but also in Judea, the churches testify that I have preached the faith which I used to persecute and disturb, and they praise God above me, not because I have taught that one must keep circumcision and the Law of Moses, but because I have preached the faith and edified the churches by my ministry of the gospel. So you have the testimony, not only of the people of Damascus in Arabia etc., but also of the whole Christian church in Judea etc.