All that is born of GOD overcomes the world 2c.
Suspended for the provost at Leitzkau.*)
Translated from Latin.
Since the holy apostle John wants to preach a sermon to us today to heal our infirmities and to set our feet on the path of peace, he calls down from heaven in this way and begins [1 John 5:4, 5]:
Everything that is born of God overcomes the world; and our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. But who is he that overcometh the world, except he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
It is quite common for this apostle St. John to speak of the birth from God by which we are born in Christ. He attributes this to faith, as he also says in the Gospel [John 1:12 ff]: "To those he gave power to become children of God who believe in his name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of GOD." Since it is
But all doctrine is such that those who do not know the letters and words of it are incomprehensible to those who speak, and again, those who speak "do not understand what they say or what they say," as the apostle writes to Timothy [1 Ep. 1:7]: so it is also necessary for us to first learn the language of the apostle and what it expresses (signum ejus). Therefore it must be said what this birth is, what the world is, and what the victory is.
The birth of God is the begetting by which we are born of God. For the same John says in the 5th chapter [v. 18, Vulg.]: "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin, but the begetting of God preserves him, and the wicked will not touch him." But this begetting happens by nothing else than by the word of God, as Jacobus Cap. 1, 18. says: "According to His will", he says,
*It was nothing unusual in Luther's time that higher clergymen had their speeches, professors their lectures (cf. Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. VII, p. I. Note) made by especially qualified people. So Luther, as the title says, made this sermon for the provost of Leitzkau, Georg Maskov, so that he could make use of it at an upcoming synod. Because this writing lacks a date, some scholars have assumed that the synod in question was the one in Pisa in the year I5II, others (because the sermon already shows a high degree of recognition) that it was the Lateran Council in Rome in 1516. However, the Weimar edition (Vol. I, p. 8) has rightly pointed out that the expression used in this writing (?7): "this church" indicates a district synod and excludes the reference to a general church assembly. The same is confirmed by another expression in ?22 of this sermon, "so that in the clergy of a good bishop the light may shine" 2c. Leitzkau (also called "Kloster Liezke" from a Premonstratensian monastery formerly located there; lat^kau bei Vuriiaker, lom. I, col. 28; I^eit^ksn ii)i<1., lom. II, lol. I and 2; in the original Latin of our writing: Utriku) is located in the so-called Mittelmark between Dessau and Magdeburg and belonged to the bishopric of Brandenburg, Hieronymus Scultetus. In the bishop's castle at Ziesar (four miles east of Burg) a synod was held on June 22, 1512, and at the opening of it the bishop had an "exhortation" addressed to the assembled clergy concerning the improvement of life and correction of deficiencies (ckokoetuuru) that had been brought to him. This "exhortation", we assume with the Weimar edition, was our sermon. Maskov was present at the meeting. - In print, this sermon did not appear until 1708 in Albert Meno Verpoortens "8uoru superiori" novi unaleotu, p. 198. Verpoorten, pastor in Sonnenberg, took it from a codex he claims was written in 1553. "Its publication," says the Weimar edition, "gives the impression of a faithful work. From it it is reprinted, but dissolutely, in Löscher's Reformation Acta, p. 221; after Löscher with all its errors in the Erlangen edition, opp. var. arA, I'oln. I, p. 29." Furthermore, this sermon is found in the Weimar edition, Vol. I, p. 8. We have retranslated according to this latter edition; from it we also take the incidental remark that the friendship which had formed between Luther and Maskov was lasting, and "that after the beginning of the Reformation Georg Maskov remained Luther's 'greatest benefactor' and furthered his cause among 'the brothers'.
"he hath begotten us by the word of truth." "According to his will," he says, that is, according to his free pleasure, freely, not because of our merit or worthiness. For not by our seeking, asking, and knocking, but since his mercy wills it, by this begetting are all begotten that are begotten; and certainly much more than a child is begotten according to the flesh, and himself adds, asks, earns nothing, but either by the lust of the flesh, or by the will of a man. For how could he be formed into the spirit, which shall live forever, who could not by his own powers be formed into the base sinful flesh, which must soon die? Therefore, much more of the heavenly Father is needed for the procreation of life in righteousness and truth. For on both sides he who is born is nothing; only that he cannot be born by his work and by his merit: rather he is wholly, in all his being (qui est), in the will of the Father, by whom he is begotten according to his will and with the good pleasure of the begetter.
3. But as the begetting is different, one of the flesh, the other of the spirit, as the Father is different, one heavenly and one earthly, as the child is different, one immortal and one mortal, one righteous and one sinner, one holy and one unclean: so also the seed is diverse; the one a heavenly, which is the word of God ("for by the word of truth," saith he, "he hath begotten us"), the other a carnal, not the word of truth, but a froth of blood, a poison of old sin.
(4) Therefore children of truth are begotten there, who have the power and nature of their seed in them; here children of vanity, who also have the power and nature of their seed in them, so even that every man is called vanity and a lie. For just as from the seed of wheat comes forth a stalk of wheat, after that also the same fruit, wheat: so from the word of truth comes forth nothing but a truthful man, from the seed of sin nothing but a sinful man; then the fruit of both, truth or lie in the word
or work of each according to his kind and sex.
(5) But from these words of the apostle James something else shines forth. For when he says, "He begat us by the word," he clearly distinguishes this heavenly birth from every common earthly birth, since the former is through the word, the latter through a work and a thing, the seed (re seminali). But that he adds "by the word of truth", by this he draws our attention to the fact that we should also be careful that there is another birth, which is indeed by the word, but not by the word of truth, but rather by the word of falsehood and vanity: this is indeed by a word, and is extraordinarily similar to that heavenly birth, and deceives very many, but because it is by the word of falsehood, it corrupts all in a terrible way. For we see that neither the prophets, nor the apostles, nor even other teachers had any greater concern, trouble, and sorrow than to resist these counterfeiters (adulteris), the false apostles and false prophets. For since these (as it says in 2 Cor. 4, 2) counterfeit the word of God (adulterantur), they put on the appearance of the word of truth, but under the word of God they instill the deadly poison of their error, and beget nothing but children of wickedness, children of the devil, whose apostles they also are. Thus in Ezekiel [Cap. 16, 15. ff. 23, 2. ff.] and in Hosea [Cap. 1, 2.] the synagogue is accused of having loved adulterers (adulteros) and of having been senseless in unchastity, that is (as the apostle [2 Tim. 4, 3.] interprets it), teachers after whom their ears itch: by their teaching and procreation it is fertilized, and children of falsehood and wickedness are born.
(6) This is indeed the most terrible begetting, even worse than that which comes from the sinful flesh, because although the flesh begets a sinner in the spirit to eternal death, the sinner begotten by the flesh can be helped to the nature of the spirit: but the one begotten by the adulterous spirit remains irretrievably such a one, who must perish. However, he has his origin from the
Birth of the flesh. For since through the flesh a vain and wholly lying man is born, it happens that he is also carnally minded, not unfrequently under a great appearance of the spirit. Now if he follows after that and teaches others, his spirit and the spirit of those [who hear him] are also begotten by the word of ungodliness to a life of ungodliness, or rather to death. And yet they live ungodly, are ungodly minded, teach ungodly, as it is said in the first Psalm [Ps. 1:1], "Blessed is he that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly." These are they who, being carnally minded, go about with the same mind in the spirit, and now in a carnal manner spiritually, that is, perish in a frightful semblance of the spirit.
(7) But these things concern us, venerable and dear priests of Christ. For since this meeting (conventus), as is known (nimirum), was organized for this reason, so that the priests come together, and these who preside over the people (populis) are also ministers of this spiritual and divine birth, since they are messengers of the word of truth, as it is said in Malachi 1) [Cap. 2, 7.It is said that the priest is an angel of the LORD of hosts, and we are to seek the law of God from his mouth, and his lips are to keep the doctrine of God (but the priests come together in general to deliberate on the affairs of this whole church, and they work, as it is said, towards a reformation of both estates (spiritual and secular)): so this must be our very greatest and first concern, - and yet grant GOD that I may thunder this into your hearts with burning and fervent words, and, as the prophet says [Ps. 18, 14. 9. 127, 4.]: "Hail and lightnings, devouring fire and sharp arrows of a strong man"! This is the most necessary thing today, so that the priests may be rich in all words of truth. The whole world today is full, even flooded, with many and various shameful doctrines: with so many laws, so many opinions of men, yes, with so many superstitious things, the people are overwhelmed everywhere.
1) In the text erroneously: Laeüarias.
than taught that the word of truth barely glimmers a little, and in many places does not even shine now and then.
(8) And what kind of birth can this be, where the procreation is by the word of man, not by the word of God? As the word is, so is the birth; as the birth, so is the people. We are astonished that in Christ's people there is so much disunity, anger, envy, pride, disobedience, unchastity, gluttony, that love grows cold, faith is extinguished, hope ceases: I beg you, do not be astonished. These things are not marvelous. This is our fault, the fault of the prelates and priests. We must rather marvel at them that they are so blind, so much oblivious of their duty, that, when they should have helped this birth by the word of truth, they have given themselves up to other things, and, being completely occupied (suffocati) by cares for temporal affairs, have left that entirely undone; but the greater part (as I have said) teach fables and human fiddles. And yet we are astonished that by such words such a people is destroyed!
(9) Here someone wants to tell me that fornication and drinking, gambling and such things are great vices and offences and reprehensible to the clergy. I admit these are great things, they must be punished, they must be changed: but this is acknowledged by all, they are gross, bodily things, which one can perceive with the senses, therefore they also move the minds. But oh! this stain and this corruption is incomparably more harmful and horrible, that one does not act the word of truth or falsifies it, and this evil is not recognized, moves no one, does not frighten, because it does not fall grossly on the senses, and yet it alone should be recognized most of all. How many priests are there today who would not say that it is a greater sin if a priest has fallen into carnal sin, if he has not performed his prayers, if he has made a mistake in the canon of the Mass, than if he has let the word of truth stand or if he has not done it right? For these, who are otherwise good and holy people.
are in a very serious error. It is only the word of truth in which they cannot err, as they make themselves believe, while this is almost the only thing in which a priest sins as a priest. In other things, of course, he sins, but as a man; here, on the other hand, when he leaves the word standing or falsifies it, he sins against his office and as a priest, that is, he sins far more terribly than when he sins as a man. Ah, God be lamented! Nowadays, the bishops (pontifices) go about with such hard and unfeeling certainty that they not only keep silent about [the word of truth], but they also talk among the people about everything that comes into their mouths, and yet they say that this is preached and taught, taking no account of it at all, nor do they fear whether this is the word of truth that was given to them at birth from God or not: and yet for this word alone they are what they are, that is, priests and clerics (clerus), for in all other things there is no need of priests. Therefore, if the bishops or priests were otherwise perfectly holy and everything was well with them (beati), but were negligent in this one thing (as almost all of them are), that they did not take care that the word of truth be rightly acted, it is certain that they would be counted among the wolves, not among the shepherds, that they would be considered idols before God, not bishops. Otherwise, one may be chaste, he may be affable, he may be learned, he may increase the income, build houses, increase the episcopal rule (ditionem), yes, even do miracles. He may raise the dead, cast out devils: but he alone is a priest and a shepherd who is an angel of the LORD of hosts, that is, a messenger of God, that is, who presides over the people with the word of truth and is a servant who helps in this birth of God.
(10) So the dangers for the shepherds do not lie in these things, of which so great an importance is commonly made: of the sovereignty of the estate, of the government of consciences, of the account that must be given of the riches and the power; these are trifling things; but the greatest of all dangers is that of the power of the kingdom of God.
This is the only way to be sure, if one does not stand by the word of truth and does not increase the people of Christ, who are increased by this birth alone, are nurtured and promoted by this word alone. For the Lord commands in the prophet Jeremiah [Cap. 29, 6.] that these sons and daughters should be begotten; here he commands that we should grow and multiply. For if this is observed, it is exceedingly well with the government of consciences, with the care of souls, with the elevation of status, and it is without danger.
11. Although you therefore decide many things in this venerable synod, if you order everything well, and do not lay a hand here, that the priests, the teachers of the people, are commanded to abstain from fables, which have no certain proof, and to lay on the pure gospel and the holy interpreters of the gospels, and to direct their attention to it, and to proclaim the word of truth to the people with fear and reverence; finally, to abstain from any human teachings, or to interfere with them only sparingly, indicating their different nature, and thus faithfully cooperate in the birth of God: If you, I say, do not take care of this with the greatest zeal, with godly prayers, with constant earnestness, then I tell you quite frankly that everything else is nothing, that we have come together in vain, that we have accomplished nothing.
For this is the center around which everything revolves, this is the short epitome of a right reformation, this is the very essence of all godliness. For what is this nonsense and exceedingly great folly, that thou art anxious for a good life, and art not rather anxious how those are prepared and come into existence (fiant et sint) to whom thou givest good moral teachings? Surely this is nothing other than building a house to the wind; this is the greatest folly of all.
13. the saying stands firm: the church is not born, nor does it exist in its essence, except through the word of God. It is said [Jac. 1, 18.]: "He begat us by the word of truth."
14 So you don't have to look for, treat, accept another word, if you don't at the same time
also wants to annul the birth of God, to destroy the church and to drown the people of Christ in the rivers of Egypt after the manner of Pharaoh, that is, to corrupt them through the word of men. For as it is true that everything that is born of God and from the word of God does not sin, so it is also true that everything that is born of men and from the word of men sins and is sin, and therefore must necessarily perish for eternity. Oh, if only God would grant that the rulers of the church, us, I say, would finally take this matter to heart and that we would have open eyes for it! For then we would direct our attention not to the wickedness of the people, but to the root of it. The root of this wickedness is that it does not have the word of truth. For how could the people act otherwise than wickedly, since they lack the word by which one born of God does not sin? Therefore, the Scripture rightly holds the shepherds responsible for the people's ruin and demands the people from their hands.
(15) But we excuse ourselves and accuse the people, looking at what they do evil by heart, but what is within we do not give them, nor do we look at it. That is enough of the first part.
16 Now we must see what the world is. He does not speak here of the visible world, which is neither conquered nor overcome by faith in Christ; but neither will we be able to understand it here of men in the world: for who could think that he must overcome men, unless he wanted to be a Turk?
Therefore, the world is actually the evil impulses by which Satan rules: the evil works of anger, pride, unchastity, avarice, vain honor, and the like, as John himself clearly says [1 John 2:16]: "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the life of hope," as if to say that apart from these things there is nothing in the world, and it would not be the world if this were not so. However, it happens that this visible world and men are so called because in the world and in men these evil things (pravitates) are found, just as a vessel is called instead of what is in it, a city instead of what is in it.
Citizens. For shameful and wicked citizens also make their city a shameful name, as [Matth. 23, 37.]: "Jerusalem, whom thou killest that are sent unto thee," and elsewhere: Egypt, 1) weep not. Thus the world is called evil, and that it contends against us, because our impulses, which are in this world, are evil, and contend against us.
It follows that the world is in every man; apart from us there is no world. Every man sins, says Jacob [Cap. 1, 14], in that he is "tempted and enticed by his own lust (not by that of another). So Paul says, Titus 2:12: "We ought to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts (and worldly desires), and to live chastely, righteously, and godly in this world."
19. beauty, riches, fame, honor 2c. are not evil, nor do they lead to sin, but rather, since they are good and beautiful creatures of God, they uplift and lead us, according to their nature, to God. For everything that God has made is very good. Therefore, nothing was created in this world that was not conducive to good. But the wickedness of our desire seeks these things with a perverse inclination. He is in truth the world, who by his guilt is drawn to evil lust by means of beautiful things, by which he should be drawn to chastity; by his guilt he is afflicted with adversities and bears sorrow, while by them he should be inspired to bravery and to strive for the crown of victory, and by all means uses no thing in the world in a right way, but abuses all things and by his evil use makes a shameful name of the world in which he dwells and practices such abuse.
20 Because we have already been born through the word of truth and have been transformed into a new creature, a war with this very world arises for us immediately, as Peter saws [1 Ep. 2, 11.]: "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." Again, we also contend against the same, as
1) In the Vulgate it says Gen. 50, 3: "Egypt wept for him [Jacob] fifty days".-Here there seems to be an error. We cannot see how the quoted word fits here.
Gal. 5, 17: "The flesh is aired against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. The same are against one another," and Job 7:1: "The life of man is a strife."
(21) But here we are especially foolish, because under the word "world" we conceive of I do not know what kind of thing apart from us, but in the meantime we do not pay any attention to our lusts and desires (which are the real world), sleep safely, live in peace and say with the children of Israel [Jer. 6:14]: "Peace, peace", while there is no peace. For we must also let this be impressed upon us with no less concern, namely, that we are in a constant, exceedingly dangerous and very great struggle with these inclinations. So even we have forgotten what we also feel every day. Do we not find here also many who are more careful how they say mass with washed hands, are clothed in splendid vestments, sacrifice with pure vessels and cloths, do not omit a single syllable of prayer, than how they want to resist evil lusts, how they curb unchastity, suppress avarice, trample under their feet the ambition 2c., and do everything, except that 1) which actually belongs to the matter? St. John says: "Everything that is born of God overcomes the world", clearly indicating that we are at war with the world and that we must overcome. But we discuss I don't know what kind of trivial things, these serious things rarely come to our mind.
22. Therefore, it is the other duty of this venerable synod, not only to determine among the clergy (in clero) with special care what should be read, what should be prayed, on what day, what feasts should be celebrated, what ceremonies should be used everywhere, but rather, rather that care be taken that rules and regulations be in place by which evil lusts are kept in check, by which they learn and are reminded that they are in the line of battle, that their enemies are already in their own house, and that they are not safe from them by day or by night.
1) Weimarsche: praeterea instead of: praeter ea.
so that in the clergy (in clero) of a good bishop the light shines before the people in chastity, humility, modesty, and the whole register of virtues which Paul lists Tit. 1, 5. ff. and 1 Tim. 3, 1. ff.
(23) It is of no avail to leave these matters alone, and to take care of some other temporal and spiritual things, which concern legal matters, privileges and dignities, since these things are there for their sake, but not those for their sake. Nor is it fitting for the synod to handle minor matters gloriously, but not to touch the most important things. All other things are outside of us and do not always occupy us, but the evil lusts are in us and take us captive continually, as Paul says Rom. 7:23, yes, hold many as captives: and here should we find no counsel, do nothing, so that these evils may be resisted, the soldiers arrayed and the enemies attacked? Then, indeed, this world of ours will justly laugh at us and at our synod, when it realizes that a synod is assembled against it in name only, in appearance only, in place only, but that war is not declared against it, nor is war thought of. This will be seen in the fruits: 2) It will surely triumph, carry off the plunder and distribute it; it will drag this one under the tyranny of indulgence, that one under the dominion of fornication, it will strike this one in the bonds of avarice, that one in the fetters of hatred, and it will scatter it among the Assyrians and to all the ends of the Babylonian confusion. Then we will see the fruit of a hypocritical and fictitious synod, which the Lord in mercy will prevent.
The third is the joyful victory, and what this is, John explained. "Our faith," he says, "is the victory that overcomes the world." So also Paul says [1 Cor. 15:57], "But thanks be to GOD, which hath given us the victory, through our Lord JESUS.
2) Here is a gap in the manuscript: tznoä videditur...: 866urus ete. which we have filled by the words 6x truo tibu8. At the end of this paragraph is: Lune vidküntur truetutz repeated. The Weimar edition suggests turpi88iiriiiM as an addition, but this does not seem appropriate to us.
Christ!" He has taught us that we are always fighting against the world; he has taught us what soldiers are worthy of, namely, those who are born of God. But this was still lacking, that we should know how to fight in such a way that we would gain the victory. For to start a war and not to know how to fight and win, that means of course nothing else than to be beaten to death and to make oneself ridiculous, especially in the face of so many, so strong, so clever, so cunning, so well-practiced enemies, namely those who are far away from deep-rooted evil desires.
25 What then is the right way to fight? what is the certain hope of our victory? "Our faith." So also St. Peter teaches [1 Ep. 5:8, 9]: Dear brethren, "Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him firmly in the faith." Behold, firmness in faith resisteth the devil, as also Isaias Cap. 11, 5. saith, "Righteousness shall be the girdle of fine loins, and faith the girdle of his kidneys." Behold, faith girds and restrains (restringit) loins and kidneys, that is, unchastity, but not unchastity alone, but all evil desire in general.
(26) Therefore, it is clear that those who give in to their evil desires and obey lack only faith, which is the right armor and armor of God.
(27) Again, those who presume to overcome their vices with human strength and effort are mistaken; they often begin, but they fall back again. They cannot be overcome other than by faith, and strong faith at that.
How can this be done? In this way: since faith is a certain confidence of things not seen [Heb. 11:1], by which the mind is diverted from all things that are seen, and by which the evil desires are provoked, and directed toward things not seen: if the mind clings to this, it undoubtedly tramples under foot all the desires that are provoked by visible things. That is why firmness of faith is necessary, so that one may be able to keep the
I despise the lusts excited by visible things by looking at invisible things.
29 Since this faith is in the heart, Christ is also present, in whom one believes through this faith; but where Christ is present, everything can be overcome. There is no other way of victory that is more effective and noble, indeed, this alone is the victory, our faith. For then the evil lusts triumph, when by their stirrings they have, as it were, clouded and whirled our eyes of faith, and have diverted us to the perceptible (tuenda), to the visible, so that we forget the invisible, and meanwhile are filled with the stimuli of those.
30 Therefore, although watchfulness, labor, and the other labors of bodily exercise are very useful and necessary, they are not sufficient to overcome evil desire, for though the irritation of the flesh may be overcome by them, yet anger, hatred, pride, and ambition are not extinguished by them; these are overcome by faith alone.
But because this matter is great and includes many things, it is enough to say for this time that faith attains what the law commands, as Augustine says, that is, in every challenge from our world, faith cries out in the heart and calls upon the invisible hand of God, and lifts up fine eyes to the mountains from which help comes to it. Therefore, because it is not in our power to have faith, and therefore not to wage war in a suitable manner, nor even to carry off a glorious triumph, the only thing left for us is to cry out to the Lord when we are distressed, and he will hear us; the victory comes from heaven. Thus it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved [Joel 3:5]. Only he who believes believes; only he who hears the word of truth believes; only he who hears the gospel hears the word of truth; only he who hears the priest, the angel of God, hears the gospel. Therefore, the first and the last thing is that we make it our business with all our diligence to make the gospel as good as possible.
to hold it dear, that we may handle it by night, and have it in our hands by day: thereby shall we come to be born of God, that we, being born of God, may not sin, as not being sinful.
joyful enjoyment of the victory. May this be graciously granted to us by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has given us the word and the victory of faith, blessed forever and ever! Amen.