Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Universalism from the Glende/Ski WELS Theologians



Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Watch the Tim Glende Videos":

Part 8 Good Friday in the WhoDunnit? series

Presented by Pastor Dustin Sievert
St. Peter Lutheran Church

7:22 - "He (the bad thief) doesn't realize that what Jesus is actually doing is saving him, and the entire world and all of you..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysPcG01Ppj0&feature=g-user-u

If you're wondering if that was all of it - that statement couldn't be the sum total of what was taught - wrong - that was it. Watch it for yourself.


Guess who grabs the Thrivent, synod, and foundation loot for themselves?



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GJ - That would bring them in. 

We need a Thrivent grant - Ten large rattle-snakes. De-fanged.

Appleton Update



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Trevor has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pharisees Trying To Stop Organ Concert At Th...":

How is this any different than when the handbell choir from Westminster Choir College performed a concert at Grace in Waukesha, WI in 1998?

Obviously there's something missing from the story because Thomas Trotter performed a concert at MLC on April 17 of this year.

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GJ - Ask the Appleton Pharisees circuit. They strain out a fly but swallow a camel.

BoC Bonded Leather Edition Giveaway IL Conference June 1« Light from Light



BoC Bonded Leather Edition Giveaway IL Conference « Light from Light:

"I have some extra copies of the Christian Book of Concord bonded-leather-cover edition from Concordia Publishing House, and thought I’d try to give away one of them here on Light from Light in conjunction with my participation at the upcoming Intrepid Lutherans 2012 conference: Church and Continuity.  This is similar to the regular hard-cover second edition, except it has a bonded-leather-cover with gold trim on the page edges and it comes in a gift box.  The condition is new, never used.

If you would like to enter the drawing for a free copy, please fill out the form below.  However, you must be at least 18 years old, may enter the drawing only once, and you must be able to find me at the Intrepid Lutherans conference in Oshkosh, WI on June 1 or June 2, 2012 A.D. to receive the book in person."

'via Blog this'

WELS Pharisees Trying To Stop Organ Concert
At Their Mother Church:
Historic St. John Lutheran in Milwaukee



WELS is trying to keep someone from playing an organ concert at the Wisconsin Synod mother church, Historic St. John Lutheran Church in Milwaukee.

Remember Dave Peters? - Union Grove - Issues in WELS. He has threatened the organist. Before, SP Mark Schroeder did the same thing.

"They are not in fellowship with us. You will kill your career in WELS."

WELS kicked Pastor Kevin Hastings out because he tagged (spray painted on the sidewalk) a WELS church that was violating the Sixth Commandment. Kevin apologized and paid for the damages - immediately.

The Church and Change DP pushed him off the ministerial list, then kicked out St. John for being loyal to their pastor.

Therefore, WELS created their own problem.

Do they threaten Professor Tiefel for bringing a group of students to tour St. John? Oh no! I just thought of this - I hope Tiefel was not driving!

Do they threaten Mark Jeske for working with ELCA and Missouri, for funding them through Thrivent?

Do they threaten Glende, Ski, Parlow, and Buske for worshiping with Andy Stanley, the Babtist gay activist?

Do they threaten the Mequon faculty for making Calvinist and CG books required reading while warning their students against justification by faith?

The same synod took busloads of supporters to Al Just murder trial. The father of the First VP of WELS testified as a character witness for Al Just, who was found guilty.

Was DP Ed Werner excommunicated for abusing little girls in his congregation for decades?

Why was Joel Hochmuth publicly absolved by SP Schroeder?

WELS is an abusive cult.







Trevor has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pharisees Trying To Stop Organ Concert At Th...":

How is this any different than when the handbell choir from Westminster Choir College performed a concert at Grace in Waukesha, WI in 1998?

Obviously there's something missing from the story because Thomas Trotter performed a concert at MLC on April 17 of this year. 

Intrepid Lutherans - Drucker, CGM, and Fascism

The non-Lutherans have been much better than the Lutherans
in discerning what is wrong with Church Growth.
Wayne Mueller, WELS, denied any CGM in his sect.
Meanwhile, CG Enthusiasts were promoted and CG critics
were given the Left Foot of Fellowship, sent behind The Ice Curtain.


Intrepid Lutherans:


Mr. Chris Rosebrough, Cap’n of the Pirate Christian Radio network and host of the daily show “Fighting for the Faith,” has been doing yeoman’s work identifying the tendril root of fascism in the post-modern church leadership movement. Understandably, readers may recoil at the word fascism, since it is misused in modern discourse. However, Rosebrough’s context is deliberate and accurate, highlighting America's founding on the Enlightenment ("we are endowed by our Creator") and contrasting with the subsequent Anti-Enlightenment (e.g. Kant: reality is unknowable; Hegel: truth is synthetic; Rousseau: individuals don’t exit, only society; Nietzsche: morals determined by community.)

Social engineer and management guru Peter Drucker, explains Rosebrough, adopted the former worldview at weekly dinner parties held by his father for Vienna intellectuals between the World Wars. (To put it in the Martin Luther College vernacular, that was Drucker’s “ministry crockpot.”) Drucker’s 1933 essay, “The Unfashionable Kierkegaard,” — to be read only after three cups of coffee — identifies social responsibility as man’s path between the hopelessness of mortal life and the hope of eternity. Drucker presses forward in the 2nd half of the 20th Century by shaping social organizations to fill the duality (eternal & mortal) of man.   In this 1989 interview, Drucker explains that people desire communities, and that churches should deliver what the market demands, but without worrying about doctrine or theology.

So where does the Church Growth Movement fit in here? There’s a thick black thread beginning from Drucker’s mentorship of Bob Buford’s Leadership Network, Bill Hybel’s Willow Creek, and Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven trainwreck. From that hydra, prominent names developed: Modalist TD Jakes, homosexual-affirming Andy Stanley,  Craig Groeschel, Mark Driscoll and others in the post-modern Emergent Church.  It isn't merely the adoption of management, marketing, and endless consulting and conferences which Drucker fostered into the megachurch movement. It is the abandonment of Sola Scriptura.

The following links are to outside sources for background reading. Proper Christian discernment is encouraged.  Below is the podcast of the presentation by Mr. Rosebrough, and the second link includes additional source material.

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GJ - I suggest going to their site to find all the material linked.


'via Blog this'

Watch the Tim Glende Videos

What Would Katy Say?

Let's turn that stinky old bar into a rival church,
so we can oink more members out of WELS.
We are passionate about sheep-stealing,
just like Jeff Gunn.


The CORE's WhoDunnit series is on video for your nausea and despair. I would have embedded each one, but they did not enable that. I wonder why.

From 7 to 64 views right now. Let's make it soar - like Party in the MLC.

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Watch the Tim Glende Videos":

I've never seen so many awkward gestures! My faith is not convinced nor do I feel that it has grown. They need more practice and catchy sermon/Bible study (Not sure which it is; probably neither) series.

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GJ - The graphic for the series makes me think it was a package deal, bought from somewhere. I have seen plenty of that among the Church and Changers. They love every denomination except their own. The series, starting out with a lame definition from Wikipedia, reeks of Decision Theology thinking.

Explaining the meaning of "whodunnit" suggests an assumption of low IQ in the audience. The awkward delivery also suggests that it is not their own message but a packaged one, the same way Obama sounds when he reads from the teleprompter.

Craig Groeschel and others of his tribe have cutesy titles for their sermons - seldom Biblical titles. They harmonize with the ministers who imagine that a variation on a Madison Avenue ad or a movie/TV theme will make people say, "Ah! I want to go there."

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Watch the Tim Glende Videos":

In the first few minutes of Video 6 Pastor Ski states that he and Pastor Tim wrote the Whodunnit series.

Looks like April was their "Weird" series.

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GJ - If they actually wrote the words, they followed the CGM template (not very well). Glende swore he was not plagiarizing Groeschel, then kicked out his own member for proving otherwise. Glende even got rid of the Circuit Pastor who tried to deal with the dishonesty. Therefore, Glende's claims are roughly as credible as Wayne Mueller's, David Valleskey's, and Mark Schroeder's.

Plagiarism is against the law, by the way. That may be why Paul McCain has stopped stealing his content from the Roman Catholics and the Lutheran bloggers.

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Watch the Tim Glende Videos":

I don't get it. The guy in the Good Friday video is wearing a judge's gown. Isn't he supposed to be playing the role of an attorney?

It seems to me he did not pass the "real" category of the trifold "real, relevant, and relational" litmus test of today's successful pastor.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Watch the Tim Glende Videos":

I listened to Sermon 6 (Ski) and Sermon 1 (Glende) while driving into work this morning. Niether qualify as a sermon as their titles suggest but then their chief article of confession, the false doctrine of UOJ, also procludes their activities as being Christian so I'm not surprised. The two "sermons" do present a common theme with apostates in the Lutheran churches - a complete lack of honor and respect due the Triune God. In Tim Glende's video he identifies God as the first suspect and even refers to a Wanted poster with God indicted as the criminal who 'crushed' Christ. In Ski's video he states that God as one of the previous five identified in the series was an Accomplice in the murder of Christ. He even states that all five, including the Triune God, had in common was that they "did not want to get their hands dirty".

This is the same was spoken by Joe Krohn as he has recently returned to confessing and teaching the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification where he has claimed that God acted with MALICE (evil intent) when He crucified Christ as the perfect Atonement for the world's sins. And that God was guilty of loving the world - a statement indicting God.

I'm not sure I can stomach more of the apostate Core and St. Peter's sermon series but these two so far were wretched and classic abuse condoned and financed by the (W)ELS leadership.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Watch the Tim Glende Videos":

More of the glory of the (W)ELS - imputation of Christ's righteousness without faith.

Pastor Sievert
WhoDunnit? Part 4

17:10 1 Peter 2:23-24, “…by his wounds you have been healed.” Oh, that Herod would know that message. What a joy it is though that you and I have the privilege to join here on a weekly basis, and hear that our God has healed us. That we are washed clean in the blood of the lamb. Your sins are forgiven. God does not treat us as our sins deserve. And to close our section on ….


18:30 As we see the words of Jesus and we see how our Savior acted, tonight as we leave we remember that our God is not silent with us. Our God is not silent with us, instead we open up His Word, we see what He has done for us. He tells you I love you, He tells you I forgive you and he tells you I have a place in Heaven for you. You are healed, you are at peace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_D5gEknkFA&list=PLD97A04C5D30E8F8A&index=5&feature=plpp_video  

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Hebrews Is the Most Colorful Book in the New Testament




Someone asked today, "Are you going to keep publishing so many posts?" One thing leads to another. Creating graphics for books, hymns, and Biblical passages is fun.

One FB friend just posted this comment: "Gregory, you are a rare gem to cite the artist! My art background has nourished my dislike for people using art without citation. Also, your graphics are nice confessions!"

Naturally, the UOJ/Shrinker crowd complains that I have made so many resources available from the same page. How cruel of me! They are not going to read anything, so why be so bitter?

I know - they do not want easy access for laity who ask pointed questions. Some laity shot down UOJ in a group meeting. All of them had read Thy Strong Word. DP Buchholz, who considers himself an expert on UOJ, had not read the free copy he received from Brett Meyer.

People would have to spend a lot of time finding all of the same works on the Net.

A full professor at the famous, conservative Hillsdale College thanked me for posting Galatians - with graphics. He takes students to England to study religion and literature.

Long ago I published quite a few UOJ essays, so people could peak inside the Holy of Holies, the WELS Essay Files. For many it was like picking up a rotten log and finding all those disgusting creatures of rot wiggling around. Like the UOJ Enthusiasts, the arthropods of rot do not like the light of day and quickly burrow into the soil.

The idea behind research is to show both sides. I have already found it easier to write sermons because of Luther at my fingertips, and I can cite the opposition as well.

When I need to wait during a doctor's visit, I bring along Luther's Sermons, (Lenke Edition), to study ahead. Today I found the great passage about John 3:16-21, which I posted with a graphic today.










Virtue Online -- Using the Money Power of Headquarters

Bishop Budde, Washington DC, is busy quoting her favorite atheist author
and wrecking what is left of the diocese.


VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - The Episcopal Church's Persuasive Monetary Power:


The Episcopal Church's Persuasive Monetary Power
Church of England takes cue from The Episcopal Church in Culture Wars

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
May 25, 2012

The Episcopal Church is doing its best to export the church's Culture Wars around the world. Its best hope for total success is the Mother Church - The Church of England.

TEC is also driving wedges, as best it can, into Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Africa, the Anglican Province of Southern Africa has been TEC's biggest and best success story to date with everything from the acceptance and push for pansexual behavior to TEC's new gospel of inclusion and diversity and socio-political salvation. Archbishop Thabo Magkoba is little more than a clone of TEC's Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. TEC has staff appointments, in orthodox provinces like the Congo and Sudan, who are working as "missionaries."

The Covenant might be dead, but making alliances and friends has not abated one bit. TEC's Presiding Bishop is making sure that all Global South doors remain open in her attempt to persuade, cajole and get poor African provinces to buy into Western panAnglican liberalism with a little help from TEC's Bank of Bottomless Financial Persuasion. (TECBBFP)

A good example of TEC's power of positive financial inducement is the much-ballyhooed "Listening Process" designed to "listen" to the voices of a small but aggrieved group of gays, lesbians and transgendered types. The Listening Process had its genesis in the person of former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and is funded wholly by The Episcopal Church. The few voices of ex-gays are politely "listened" to, but not seriously taken into account. If they were, funding for the office for "listening" would quickly dry up.

One need only think historically what the enormous persuasive power of the almighty TEC dollar has done over the years to the Anglican Church of Mexico, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, (ACSA) the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, a number of Central American dioceses still under TEC's grip, The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, The Anglican Church of Canada, the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Consultative Council. TEC has poured millions of dollars over the years into these provinces and organizations, along with significant help from Trinity Wall Street, the richest church in the world, to persuade them that TEC's "gospel" will enlighten them and get them a free ride to glory.

Only a few short years ago, the Episcopal Archbishop of Mexico and a fellow Mexican bishop absconded with $1.5 million dollars of TEC's "mission" dollars. TEC did nothing about it. It is not without significance that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and The Rev. James Cooper, rector of Trinity Wall Street, New York, where Beauvoir once worked were present at the recent ordination of the Rev. Ogé Beauvoir who became Haiti's newest bishop suffragan at Ascension Church in Carrefour, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. Reportedly, a high-ranking Voodoo priestess was also present, which should also tell you a lot.

The new truth emerging is that the gravy train might be over. The largess once distributed so liberally to simpatico provinces and to leverage simpatico provinces might be coming to an end or at the least seriously diminished. Bishop Stacy Sauls, the Episcopal Church's new CEO, talks of TEC being in a state of "crisis".

There are broad hints coming from him that the largess pot will no longer be filled to overflowing with greenbacks for these provinces. He talks openly about the church's very survival. "I find myself wondering if the basic survival instinct that the Gospel threatens is the survival of power structures as they are," he recently said. In short, no structure, no money. Consider the latest budget figures put out by the Episcopal Church, which are sure to be argued over at the next General Convention.

Totals for the Anglican Communion show a serious reduction in grants from TEC to the Anglican Communion Office. In 2011-2012 TEC gave some $3.2 million, but in 2013-2015 it will drop to $2.15 million, down over $1 million. That's not small change. TEC Diocesan Grants (offshore) to non-US mainland dioceses - these are TEC controlled dioceses - got $4,931,269 in 2013-2015. In 2013-2015 they will get a boost to $5,952,229, an increase of over $1 million. Haiti alone will get over $1 million. (See above) Common sense demands that you cover your own bases before trying to help (read manipulate) others.

The Inter-Anglican Budget/Secretariat of $1,160,000 will drop to $850,000, a loss of $310,000. This represents approximately 50% of asking from the Anglican Communion Office. Does this indicate displeasure with the leadership of Rowan Williams or Kenneth Kearon of the Anglican Consultative Council? Not necessarily, but Rowan failed to deliver the goods and he is out the door. ACC leader Canon Kearon is still a player. Whoever sits next on Canterbury's throne will need to play ball with TEC if the Anglican Communion Office and the Lambeth Conference are to continue to receive TEC's largesse. For the moment, it does indicate that less money flowing to the Secretariat means less influence.

TEC budgeted nearly half a million ($487,753) in 2010-2012 for Africa with the Middle East getting a paltry $11,817. Giving much-needed dollars to the riot-torn but thoroughly orthodox diocese of Egypt was not on TEC's horizon. For 2013-2015 there is a cryptic line saying, "Amounts in this section not allocated."

(Ironically TEC spent $18 million on property litigation in 2010-2012, but expects to spend only $15.2 million in 2013-2015. This will depend, of course, if a property dispute doesn't make its way up the ladder to the US Supreme Count. Don't count out that possibility if the Diocese of Ft. Worth, with millions of dollars worth of properties at stake, doesn't do just that. If so, that would push that budget figure considerably higher. Furthermore, there is no saying when or where litigation will end.)

CULTURE WARS

The cultural and ecclesiastical wars currently on fire in the Church of England simply replicate what took place in The Episcopal Church 30 years ago and continue to this day. TEC liberals can rightly claim victory on two hot button issues - women's ordination and pansexuality.

The issue of women bishops will shortly be answered in the Church of England. In a meeting behind closed doors in York, the Church's House of Bishops gave its approval to legislation to admit women to the episcopacy and rejected a series of attempts to significantly water down the powers of future female bishops.

They also agreed to two ambiguous amendments to the proposed legislation as a sop for conservative evangelicals and Anglo Catholics who object to women bishops on theological grounds. Whether in the long run this will satisfy either party remains to be seen. The vote does clear the way for the church's General Synod to have a final vote on the issue in July.

A second Culture Wars issue will be if the CofE officially recognizes homosexuality as a legitimate behavior for clergy (and not just for laity). The Church of England has not formally debated the issue of homosexuality through its governing body, the General Synod, since 1987, when it voted by a large majority to declare that it considered "homosexual genital acts" to be sinful:

"That Synod affirms that the biblical and traditional teaching on chastity and fidelity in personal relationships in a response to, and expression of, God's love for each one of us, and in particular affirms:

that sexual intercourse is an act of total commitment that belongs properly within a permanent married relationship;
that fornication and adultery are sins against this ideal, and are to be met by a call to repentance and the exercise of compassion;

that homosexual genital acts also fall short of this ideal, and are likewise to be met by a call to repentance and the exercise of compassion;

and that all Christians are called to be exemplary in all spheres of morality, including sexual morality; and that holiness of life is particularly required of Christian leaders."

Since then, there have been a number of discussions within the Synod on the issue, which have not been permitted to conclude with any decisions. The House of Bishops has issued several statements in response to the growing clamor from liberal Anglicans within the Church of England to adopt a more gay-friendly approach to teaching and discipline, particularly in relation to the clergy.

No evidence has emerged of any bishop attempting to enforce discipline of any kind, even in the few cases where such interviews have actually taken place. The Bishops have been told to "mind their own business" and have largely done so. What is more, any further attempt to hold to a biblical discipline among the clergy has been greatly undermined by the decision of the General Synod to allow the civil partners of clergy full access to the clergy pension funds as if they were the spouses in marriage of such clerics.

Should TEC's worldview on women and sexuality prevail in the Mother Church, it is hard to imagine how the Global South will have anything more to do with Lambeth Palace especially if a "moderate", affirming catholic type should prevail as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. There would be no more Lambeth Conferences. Who would turn up apart from panAnglican liberals and revisionists? The treachery of doctrinal abandonment is all too plain to see. The Global South will take its Jerusalem Declaration and its own offshore holdings like CANA and the ACNA and quietly slink off into the Anglican night leaving the West to continue its gadarene slide into oblivion.



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Luther - On the Great, Sublime and Divine Power and Work - Faith



34. However great and unutterable all this is, that is still greater and more wonderful in comparison, that the human heart has been enabled to believe it all. That must indeed be a great heart which can embrace more than heaven and earth can hold. Hence it must be evident what a great, sublime and divine power and work faith is, which can do that which it is impossible for nature and all the world to do, and it is therefore no less a wonder than all the other miracles and works of God. It is even more wonderful than that God became man, born of a virgin, as St. Bernhard says. These things, as we have heard, namely the love of the Giver and of him who was given, and the unworthiness of the recipient, placed side by side, are incomparable as to greatness. On the one hand everything is so great, and on the other, man’s heart is so small and narrow and weak that the in-finiteness of difference is startling and amazing.

Luther's Sermons, Lenker Edition, Pentecost Monday, Second Sermon, #34. John 3:16-21.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/04/luthers-sermons-john-316-21-pentecost.html

Feel Free To Use the Biblical Graphics.
I Created Them for Everyone To Use





































A Calvinist Read This on Facebook,
Said More Calvinists Should Read Luther


I wrote on Facebook, using this graphic:

People tip their hats to Luther on Reformation Sunday, but do they read Luther? This should be posted everywhere, especially at Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, Mars Hill, Granger, and Time of Grace.

A Calvinist wrote back immediately:

Many Calvinists would also do well to pay more attention to him.

Justification by Faith.
Worth Reading



We substitute that love with faith. And while they say that faith is the mere monogram (= ornamental letters), but love is its living colors and fullness itself, we say in opposition that faith takes hold of Christ and that He is the form that adorns and informs faith as color does the wall. Therefore Christian faith is not an idle quality or an empty husk in the heart, which may exist in a state of mortal sin until love comes along to make it alive. But if it is true faith, it is a sure trust of the heart and firm assent through which Christ is taken hold of. Christ is the object of faith, or rather not the object but, so to speak, in the faith itself Christ is present. Thus faith is a sort of knowledge or darkness that nothing can see. Yet the Christ of whom faith takes hold is sitting in this darkness as God sat in the midst of darkness on Sinai and in the temple. Therefore our formal (= real) righteousness is not love that informs faith; but it is faith itself and the cloud of our hearts, that is, trust in a thing we do not see, in Christ, who cannot in any way be seen (ut maxime non videatur), but, nevertheless, is present.Therefore, faith justifies because it takes hold of and possesses this treasure, the present Christ. But the mode in which He is present cannot be thought, for there is darkness, as I have said. Therefore, where true confidence of the heart is present, there Christ is present, in that very cloud and faith. This is the formal (= real) righteousness on account of which a man is justified; it is not on account of love, as the sophists say. In short, just as the sophists say that love forms and makes faith perfect, so we say that it is Christ who forms and fulfils faith or who is the form (=reality) of faith (formam esse fidei).

Therefore the Christ who is grasped by faith and who lives in the heart is the Christian righteousness, on account of which God counts us righteous and gives us eternal life as gift. Here there is no work of the Law, no love; but there is an entirely different kind of righteousness, a new world above and beyond the Law. For Christ or faith is neither the Law nor the work of the Law.


Lectures on Galatians, 1535,
American Edition, 26: 29-130 (sic).
Cited in “Should Baptized Infants
Be Communed?” by Father Patrick
Fodor. Retrived from:

http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4731298128368779466#editor/target=post;postID=4346703546382830017


Monday, May 28, 2012

Project Wittenberg - Luther's Commentary on Galatians.
Table of Contents



Translated by Theodore Graebner
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1949)
Table of Contents


To: Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg
Contents

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
__________

  Preface (pp. iii-v)

Chapter 1:
  Galatians 1:1-3 (pp. 9-18)
  Galatians 1:4-6 (pp. 18-29)
  Galatians 1:7-24 (pp. 29-43)


Chapter 2:
  Galatians 2:1-3 (pp. 44-48)
  Galatians 2:4-13 (pp. 48-60)
  Galatians 2:14-16 (pp. 60-68)
  Galatians 2:17-21 (pp. 68-85)

Chapter 3:
  Galatians 3:1-9 (pp. 86-106)
  Galatians 3:10-19 (pp. 106-135)
  Galatians 3:20-29 (pp. 135-149)

Chapter 4:
  Galatians 4:1-9 (pp. 150-172)
  Galatians 4:10-31 (pp. 172-193)

Chapter 5:
  Galatians 5:1-13 (pp. 194-216)
  Galatians 5:14-26 (pp. 216-236)

Chapter 6:
  Galatians 6:1-18 (pp. 237-251)


This text was prepared by Laura J. Hoelter for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. Smith and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to:

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-3149 - Fax: (260) 452-2126

Luther's Galatians Commentary.
Preface


PROJECT WITTENBERG
__________

Commentary on the Epistle
to the Galatians
(1535)
by Martin Luther

Translated by Theodore Graebner
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1949)
pp. iii-v

To: Contents Galatians - Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg
Preface
__________

THE preparation of this edition of Luther's Commentary on Galatians was first suggested to me by Mr. P. J. Zondervan, of the firm of publishers, in March, 1937. The consultation had the twofold merit of definiteness and brevity.

"Luther is still the greatest name in Protestantism. We want you to help us publish some leading work of Luther's for the general American market. Will you do it?"

"I will, on one condition."

"And what is that?"

"The condition is that I will be permitted to make Luther talk American, 'streamline' him, so to speak--because you will never get people, whether in or outside the Lutheran Church, actually to read Luther unless we make him talk as he would talk today to Americans."

I illustrated the point by reading to Mr. Zondervan a few sentences from an English translation lately reprinted by an American publisher, of one of Luther's outstanding reformatory essays.

The demonstration seemed to prove convincing for it was agreed that one may as well offer Luther in the original German or Latin as expect the American church-member to read any translations that would adhere to Luther's German or Latin constructions and employ the Mid-Victorian type of English characteristic of the translations now on the market.

"And what book would be your choice?"

"There is one book that Luther himself like better than any other. Let us begin with that: his Commentary on Galatians ..."

The undertaking, which seemed so attractive when viewed as a literary task, proved a most difficult one, and at times became oppressive. The Letter to the Galatians consists of six short chapters. Luther's commentary fills seven hundred and thirty-three octavo pages in the Weidman Edition of his works. It was written in Latin. We were resolved not to present this entire mass of exegesis. It would have run to more than fifteen hundred pages, ordinary octavo (like this), since it is impossible to use the compressed structure of sentences which is characteristic of Latin, and particularly of Luther's Latin. The work had to be condensed. German and English translations are available, but the most acceptable English version, besides laboring under the handicaps of an archaic style, had to be condensed into half its volume in order to accomplish the "streamlining" of the book. Whatever merit the translation now presented to the reader may possess should be written to the credit of Rev. Gerhardt Mahler of Geneva, N.Y., who came to my assistance in a very busy season by making a rough draft of the translation and later preparing a revision of it, which forms the basis of the final draft submitted to the printer. A word should now be said about the origin of Luther's Commentary on Galatians.

The Reformer had lectured on this Epistle of St. Paul's in 1519 and again in 1523. It was his favorite among all the Biblical books. In his table talks the saying is recorded: "The Epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Katherine." Much later when a friend of his was preparing an edition of all his Latin works, he remarked to his home circle: "If I had my way about it they would republish only those of my books which have doctrine. My Galatians, for instance. "The lectures which are preserved in the works herewith submitted to the American public were delivered in 1531. They were taken down by George Roerer, who held something of a deanship at Wittenberg University and who was one of Luther's aids in the translation of the Bible. Roerer took down Luther's lectures and this manuscript has been preserved to the present day, in a copy which contains also additions by Veit Dietrich and by Cruciger, friends of Roerer's, who with him attended Luther's lectures. In other words, these three men took down the lectures which Luther addressed to his students in the course of Galatians, and Roerer prepared the manuscript for the printer. A German translation by Justus Menius appeared in the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's writings, published in 1539.

The importance of this Commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents like no other of Luther's writings the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone. We have permitted in the final revision of the manuscript many a passage to stand which seemed weak and ineffectual when compared with the trumpet tones of the Latin original. But the essence of Luther's lectures is there. May the reader accept with indulgence where in this translation we have gone too far in modernizing Luther's expression--making him "talk American."

At the end of his lectures in 1531, Luther uttered a brief prayer and then dictated two Scriptural texts, which we shall inscribe at the end of these introductory remarks:

"The Lord who has given us power to teach and to hear, let Him also give us the power to serve and to do."

LUKE 2
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace,
Good will to men.
ISAIAH 40
The Word of our God
shall stand forever.
THEODORE GRAEBNER
St. Louis, Missouri



FROM LUTHER'S INTRODUCTION, 1538
In my heart reigns this one article, faith in my dear Lord Christ, the beginning, middle and end of whatever spiritual and divine thoughts I may have, whether by day or by night.

This text was prepared by Laura J. Hoelter for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. Smith and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to:

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-3149 - Fax: (260) 452-2126
To: Next Page - Contents Galatians - Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg
PROJECT WITTENBERG
__________

Commentary on the Epistle
to the Galatians
(1535)
by Martin Luther

Translated by Theodore Graebner
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1949)
pp. iii-v

To: Contents Galatians - Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg
Preface 
__________
THE preparation of this edition of Luther's Commentary on Galatians was first suggested to me by Mr. P. J. Zondervan, of the firm of publishers, in March, 1937. The consultation had the twofold merit of definiteness and brevity.

"Luther is still the greatest name in Protestantism. We want you to help us publish some leading work of Luther's for the general American market. Will you do it?"

"I will, on one condition."

"And what is that?"

"The condition is that I will be permitted to make Luther talk American, 'streamline' him, so to speak--because you will never get people, whether in or outside the Lutheran Church, actually to read Luther unless we make him talk as he would talk today to Americans."

I illustrated the point by reading to Mr. Zondervan a few sentences from an English translation lately reprinted by an American publisher, of one of Luther's outstanding reformatory essays.

The demonstration seemed to prove convincing for it was agreed that one may as well offer Luther in the original German or Latin as expect the American church-member to read any translations that would adhere to Luther's German or Latin constructions and employ the Mid-Victorian type of English characteristic of the translations now on the market.

"And what book would be your choice?"

"There is one book that Luther himself like better than any other. Let us begin with that: his Commentary on Galatians ..."

The undertaking, which seemed so attractive when viewed as a literary task, proved a most difficult one, and at times became oppressive. The Letter to the Galatians consists of six short chapters. Luther's commentary fills seven hundred and thirty-three octavo pages in the Weidman Edition of his works. It was written in Latin. We were resolved not to present this entire mass of exegesis. It would have run to more than fifteen hundred pages, ordinary octavo (like this), since it is impossible to use the compressed structure of sentences which is characteristic of Latin, and particularly of Luther's Latin. The work had to be condensed. German and English translations are available, but the most acceptable English version, besides laboring under the handicaps of an archaic style, had to be condensed into half its volume in order to accomplish the "streamlining" of the book. Whatever merit the translation now presented to the reader may possess should be written to the credit of Rev. Gerhardt Mahler of Geneva, N.Y., who came to my assistance in a very busy season by making a rough draft of the translation and later preparing a revision of it, which forms the basis of the final draft submitted to the printer. A word should now be said about the origin of Luther's Commentary on Galatians.

The Reformer had lectured on this Epistle of St. Paul's in 1519 and again in 1523. It was his favorite among all the Biblical books. In his table talks the saying is recorded: "The Epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Katherine." Much later when a friend of his was preparing an edition of all his Latin works, he remarked to his home circle: "If I had my way about it they would republish only those of my books which have doctrine. My Galatians, for instance. "The lectures which are preserved in the works herewith submitted to the American public were delivered in 1531. They were taken down by George Roerer, who held something of a deanship at Wittenberg University and who was one of Luther's aids in the translation of the Bible. Roerer took down Luther's lectures and this manuscript has been preserved to the present day, in a copy which contains also additions by Veit Dietrich and by Cruciger, friends of Roerer's, who with him attended Luther's lectures. In other words, these three men took down the lectures which Luther addressed to his students in the course of Galatians, and Roerer prepared the manuscript for the printer. A German translation by Justus Menius appeared in the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's writings, published in 1539.

The importance of this Commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents like no other of Luther's writings the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone. We have permitted in the final revision of the manuscript many a passage to stand which seemed weak and ineffectual when compared with the trumpet tones of the Latin original. But the essence of Luther's lectures is there. May the reader accept with indulgence where in this translation we have gone too far in modernizing Luther's expression--making him "talk American."

At the end of his lectures in 1531, Luther uttered a brief prayer and then dictated two Scriptural texts, which we shall inscribe at the end of these introductory remarks:

"The Lord who has given us power to teach and to hear, let Him also give us the power to serve and to do."

LUKE 2
Glory to God in the highest, 
And on earth peace, 
Good will to men.
ISAIAH 40
The Word of our God 
shall stand forever.
THEODORE GRAEBNER 
St. Louis, Missouri


FROM LUTHER'S INTRODUCTION, 1538
In my heart reigns this one article, faith in my dear Lord Christ, the beginning, middle and end of whatever spiritual and divine thoughts I may have, whether by day or by night.

This text was prepared by Laura J. Hoelter for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. Smith and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to:

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-3149 - Fax: (260) 452-2126
To: Next Page - Contents Galatians - Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg

Galatians 1:1-3.
Luther's Commentary



PROJECT WITTENBERG
__________

Commentary on the Epistle
to the Galatians
(1535)
by Martin Luther

Translated by Theodore Graebner
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1949)
Chapter 1, pp. 9-18

To: Previous Page - Contents Galatians - Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg
Chapter 1, pp. 9-18
Galatians 1:1-3
__________

VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead).

St. Paul wrote this epistle because, after his departure from the Galatian churches, Jewish-Christian fanatics moved in, who perverted Paul's Gospel of man's free justification by faith in Christ Jesus.

The world bears the Gospel a grudge because the Gospel condemns the religious wisdom of the world. Jealous for its own religious views, the world in turn charges the Gospel with being a subversive and licentious doctrine, offensive to God and man, a doctrine to be persecuted as the worst plague on earth.

As a result we have this paradoxical situation: The Gospel supplies the world with the salvation of Jesus Christ, peace of conscience, and every blessing. Just for that the world abhors the Gospel.

These Jewish-Christian fanatics who pushed themselves into the Galatian churches after Paul's departure, boasted that they were the descendants of Abraham, true ministers of Christ, having been trained by the apostles themselves, that they were able to perform miracles.

In every way they sought to undermine the authority of St. Paul. They said to the Galatians: "You have no right to think highly of Paul. He was the last to turn to Christ. But we have seen Christ. We heard Him preach. Paul came later and is beneath us. It is possible for us to be in error--we who have received the Holy Ghost? Paul stands alone. He has not seen Christ, nor has he had much contact with the other apostles. Indeed, he persecuted the Church of Christ for a long time."

When men claiming such credentials come along, they deceive not only the naive, but also those who seemingly are well-established in the faith. This same argument is used by the papacy. "Do you suppose that God for the sake of a few Lutheran heretics would disown His entire Church? Or do you suppose that God would have left His Church floundering in error all these centuries?" The Galatians were taken in by such arguments with the result that Paul's authority and doctrine were drawn in question.

Against these boasting, false apostles, Paul boldly defends his apostolic authority and ministry. Humble man that he was, he will not now take a back seat. He reminds them of the time when he opposed Peter to his face and reproved the chief of the apostles.

Paul devotes the first two chapters to a defense of his office and his Gospel, affirming that he received it, not from men, but from the Lord Jesus Christ by special revelation, and that if he or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than the one he had preached, he shall be accursed.

The Certainty of Our Calling
Every minister should make much of his calling and impress upon others the fact that he has been delegated by God to preach the Gospel. As the ambassador of a government is honored for his office and not for his private person, so the minister of Christ should exalt his office in order to gain authority among men. This is not vain glory, but needful glorying.

Paul takes pride in his ministry, not to his own praise but to the praise of God. Writing to the Romans, he declares, "Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office," i.e., I want to be received not as Paul of Tarsus, but as Paul the apostle and ambassador of Jesus Christ, in order that people might be more eager to hear. Paul exalts his ministry out of the desire to make known the name, the grace, and the mercy of God.

VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, etc.)

Paul loses no time in defending himself against the charge that he had thrust himself into the ministry. He says to the Galatians: "My call may seem inferior to you. But those who have come to you are either called of men or by man. My call is the highest possible, for it is by Jesus Christ, and God the Father."

When Paul speaks of those called "by men," I take it he means those whom neither God nor man sent, but who go wherever they like and speak for themselves.

When Paul speaks of those called "by man" I take it he means those who have a divine call extended to them through other persons. God calls in two ways. Either He calls ministers through the agency of men, or He calls them directly as He called the prophets and apostles. Paul declares that the false apostles were called or sent neither by men, nor by man. The most they could claim is that they were sent by others. "But as for me I was called neither of men, nor by man, but directly by Jesus Christ. My call is in every respect like the call of the apostles. In fact I am an apostle."

Elsewhere Paul draws a sharp distinction between an apostleship and lesser functions, as in I Corinthians 12:28: "And God hath set some in the church; first, apostles; secondarily, prophets; thirdly, teachers." He mentions the apostles first because they were appointed directly by God.

Matthias was called in this manner. The apostles chose two candidates and then cast lots, praying that God would indicate which one He would have. To be an apostle he had to have his appointment from God. In the same manner Paul was called as the apostle of the Gentiles.

The call is not to be taken lightly. For a person to possess knowledge is not enough. He must be sure that he is properly called. Those who operate without a proper call seek no good purpose. God does not bless their labors. They may be good preachers, but they do no edify. Many of the fanatics of our day pronounce words of faith, but they bear no good fruit, because their purpose is to turn men to their perverse opinions. On the other hand, those who have a divine call must suffer a good deal of opposition in order that they may become fortified against the running attacks of the devil and the world.

This is our comfort in the ministry, that ours is a divine office to which we have been divinely called. Reversely, what an awful thing it must be for the conscience if one is not properly called. It spoils one's best work. When I was a young man I thought Paul was making too much of his call. I did not understand his purpose. I did not then realize the importance of the ministry. I knew nothing of the doctrine of faith because we were taught sophistry instead of certainty, and nobody understood spiritual boasting. We exalt our calling, not to gain glory among men, or money, or satisfaction, or favor, but because people need to be assured that the words we speak are the words of God. This is no sinful pride. It is holy pride.

VERSE 1. And God the Father, who raised him from the dead.

Paul is so eager to come to the subject matter of his epistle, the righteousness of faith in opposition to the righteousness of works, that already in the title he must speak his mind. He did not think it quite enough to say that he was an apostle "by Jesus Christ"; he adds, "and God the Father, who raised him from the dead."

The clause seems superfluous on first sight. Yet Paul had a good reason for adding it. He had to deal with Satan and his agents who endeavored to deprive him of the righteousness of Christ, who was raised by God the Father from the dead. These perverters of the righteousness of Christ resist the Father and the Son, and the works of them both.

In this whole epistle Paul treats of the resurrection of Christ. By His resurrection Christ won the victory over law, sin, flesh, world, devil, death, hell, and every evil. And this His victory He donated unto us. These many tyrants and enemies of ours may accuse and frighten us, but they dare not condemn us, for Christ, whom God the Father has raised from the dead is our righteousness and our victory.

Do you notice how well suited to his purpose Paul writes? He does not say, "By God who made heaven and earth, who is Lord of the angels," but Paul has in mind the righteousness of Christ, and speaks to the point, saying, "I am an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead."

VERSE 2. And all the brethren which are with me.

This should go far in shutting the mouths of the false apostles. Paul's intention is to exalt his own ministry while discrediting theirs. He adds for good measure the argument that he does not stand alone, but that all the brethren with him attest to the fact that his doctrine is divinely true. "Although the brethren with me are not apostles like myself, yet they are all of one mind with me, think, write, and teach as I do."

VERSE 2. Unto the churches of Galatia.

Paul had preached the Gospel throughout Galatia, founding many churches which after his departure were invaded by the false apostles. The Anabaptists in our time imitate the false apostles. They do not go where the enemies of the Gospel predominate. They go where the Christians are. Why do they not invade the Catholic provinces and preach their doctrine to godless princes, bishops, and doctors, as we have done by the help of God? These soft martyrs take no chances. They go where the Gospel has a hold, so that they may not endanger their lives. The false apostles would not go to Jerusalem of Caiaphas, or to the Rome of the Emperor, or to any other place where no man had preached before as Paul and the other apostles did. But they came to the churches of Galatia, knowing that where men profess the name of Christ they may feel secure.

It is the lot of God's ministers not only to suffer opposition at the hand of a wicked world, but also to see the patient indoctrination of many years quickly undone by such religious fanatics. This hurts more than the persecution of tyrants. We are treated shabbily on the outside by tyrants, on the inside by those whom we have restored to the liberty of the Gospel, and also by false brethren. But this is our comfort and our glory, that being called of God we have the promise of everlasting life. We look for that reward which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man."

Jerome raises the question why Paul called them churches that were no churches, inasmuch as the Galatians had forsaken the grace of Christ for the law of Moses. The proper answer is: Although the Galatians had fallen away from the doctrine of Paul, baptism, the Gospel, and the name of Christ continued among them. Not all the Galatians had become perverted. There were some who clung to the right view of the Word and the Sacraments. These means cannot be contaminated. They remain divine regardless of men's opinion. Wherever the means of grace are found, there is the Holy Church, even though Antichrist reigns there. So much for the title of the epistle. Now follows the greeting of the apostle.

VERSE 3. Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The terms of grace and peace are common terms with Paul and are now pretty well understood. But since we are explaining this epistle, you will not mind if we repeat what we have so often explained elsewhere. The article of justification must be sounded in our ears incessantly because the frailty of our flesh will not permit us to take hold of it perfectly and to believe it with all our heart.

The greeting of the Apostle is refreshing. Grace remits sin, and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever. Only Christians possess this victorious knowledge given from above. These two terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity. Grace involves the remission of sins, peace, and a happy conscience. Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the conscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin taken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God. In actual living, however, it is not so easy to persuade oneself that by grace alone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the forgiveness of our sins and peace with God.

The world brands this a pernicious doctrine. The world advances free will, the rational and natural approach of good works, as the means of obtaining the forgiveness of sin. But it is impossible to gain peace of conscience by the methods and means of the world. Experience proves this. Various holy orders have been launched for the purpose of securing peace of conscience through religious exercises, but they proved failures because such devices only increase doubt and despair. We find no rest for our weary bones unless we cling to the word of grace.

The Apostle does not wish the Galatians grace and peace from the emperor, or from kings, or from governors, but from God the Father. He wishes them heavenly peace, the kind of which Jesus spoke when He said, "Peace I leave unto you: my peace I give unto you." Worldly peace provides quiet enjoyment of life and possessions. But in affliction, particularly in the hour of death, the grace and peace of the world will not deliver us. However, the grace and peace of God will. They make a person strong and courageous to bear and to overcome all difficulties, even death itself, because we have the victory of Christ's death and the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins.

Men Should Not Speculate About the Nature of God

The Apostle adds to the salutation the words, "and from our Lord Jesus Christ." Was it not enough to say, "from God the Father"?

It is a principle of the Bible that we are not to inquire curiously into the nature of God. "There shall no man see me, and live," Exodus 33:20. All who trust in their own merits to save them disregard this principle and lose sight of the Mediator, Jesus Christ.

True Christian theology does not inquire into the nature of God, but into God's purpose and will in Christ, whom God incorporated in our flesh to live and to die for our sins. There is nothing more dangerous than to speculate about the incomprehensible power, wisdom, and majesty of God when the conscience is in turmoil over sin. To do so is to lose God altogether because God becomes intolerable when we seek to measure and to comprehend His infinite majesty.

We are to seek God as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:23, 24: "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." Begin with Christ. He came down to earth, lived among men, suffered, was crucified, and then He died, standing clearly before us, so that our hearts and eyes may fasten upon Him. Thus we shall be kept from climbing into heaven in a curious and futile search after the nature of God.

If you ask how God may be found, who justifies sinners, know that there is no other God besides this man Christ Jesus. Embrace Him, and forget about the nature of God. But these fanatics who exclude our Mediator in their dealings with God, do not believe me. Did not Christ Himself say: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"? Without Christ there is no access to the Father, but futile rambling; no truth, but hypocrisy; no life, but eternal death.

When you argue about the nature of God apart from the question of justification, you may be as profound as you like. But when you deal with conscience and with righteousness over against the law, sin, death, and the devil, you must close your mind to all inquiries into the nature of God, and concentrate upon Jesus Christ, who says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Doing this, you will recognize the power, and majesty condescending to your condition according to Paul's statement to the Colossians, "In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," and, "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Paul in wishing grace and peace not alone from God the Father, but also from Jesus Christ, wants to warn us against the curious incursions into the nature of God. We are to hear Christ, who has been appointed by the Father as our divine Teacher.

Christ is God by Nature

At the same time, Paul confirms our creed, "that Christ is very God." We need such frequent confirmation of our faith, for Satan will not fail to attack it. He hates our faith. He knows that it is the victory which overcometh him and the world. That Christ is very God is apparent in that Paul ascribes to Him divine powers equally with the Father, as for instance, the power to dispense grace and peace. This Jesus could not do unless He were God.

To bestow peace and grace lies in the province of God, who alone can create these blessings. The angels cannot. The apostles could only distribute these blessings by the preaching of the Gospel. In attributing to Christ the divine power of creating and giving grace, peace, everlasting life, righteousness, and forgiveness of sins, the conclusion is inevitable that Christ is truly God. Similarly, St. John concludes from the works attributed to the Father and the Son that they are divinely One. Hence, the gifts which we receive from the Father and from the Son are one and the same. Otherwise Paul should have written: "Grace from God the Father, and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ." In combining them he ascribes them equally to the Father and the Son. I stress this on account of the many errors emanating from the sects.

The Arians were sharp fellows. Admitting that Christ had two natures, and that He is called "very God of very God," they were yet able to deny His divinity. The Arians took Christ for a noble and perfect creature, superior even to the angels, because by Him God created heaven and earth. Mohammed also speaks highly of Christ. But all their praise is mere palaver to deceive men. Paul's language is different. To paraphrase him: "You are established in this belief that Christ is very God because He gives grace and peace, gifts which only God can create and bestow."

This text was prepared by Laura J. Hoelter for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. Smith and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to:

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-3149 - Fax: (260) 452-2126
To: Next Page - Contents Galatians - Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg