Order Gerhard's Commentary on Romans 1-6

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

Published: Gerhard's Commentary on Romans 1-6

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It has been almost two years since I began translating and posting excerpts here on Intrepid Lutherans from Johann Gerhard's much-quoted (and oft misquoted) commentary on Romans. The entire work has finally been translated and edited, and is now available from Amazon, published byRepristination Press.

Annotations on the First Six Chapters of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans

Amazon's summary:

Romans 1:16—For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (KJV)

“The ‘power of God’ is the divine and efficacious means which God uses to save men, (1) because in it the benefits obtained by the suffering and death of Christ are offered, among which are also life and eternal salvation; (2) because through the preaching of the Gospel, God works the faith in hearts through which they embrace the good things offered in the Gospel and apply them to themselves; (3) because through the Gospel faith is preserved and increased, so that we are thus ‘guarded for salvation by the power of God, through faith’ (1 Pet. 1:5); (4) because, in all adversities and temptations, it furnishes a life-giving consolation, so that we may be preserved to eternal life under the weight of the cross.”

Gerhard's Annotations were incomplete at the time of his death; his son, Johann Ernst Gerhard, published them several years after his death. However, the Annotations are of enduring value and significance to the Church because in these first six chapters, Gerhard gives a clear treatment of the doctrine of Justification, and a model of Lutheran exegesis. Modern students of Holy Scripture will benefit from Gerhard's scholarship.

Honestly, the book is full of memorable quotations. In this one Gerhard summarizes the main theme that runs through the entire Epistle to the Romans:

“[Romans 1:17] explains the principal proposition of the entire Epistle, as a favorable opportunity presents itself at the end of the introduction. This principal proposition is that there is no other way to be justified before God except by faith in Christ, whom the Gospel sets before us, as confirmed by the prophetic testimony.”

Something Absurd - Says Johann Gerhard - UOJ

LPC said...

Gerhard said something was absurd - what is this absurdity?

It is this...
Likewise, one could infer that the righteousness of Christ is propagated to all men together, without any regard for faith or unbelief, since the sin of Adam is propagated to all through carnal generation. 

But this is UOJ. Hunnius said the same thing. The theory that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the whole world by virtue of Jesus resurrection from the dead, without any regard for faith is absurd.

Here we now have Gerhard and Hunnius saying the same thing, that is now on top of Scripture, two additional witnesses countering the Huberian opinion.

LPC

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A. Berean said...

If one is familiar with historical, confessional lutheranism (The Book of Concord, Luther, Chemnitz) he will realize that this interpretation by Gerhard is very consistent with how Romans 5:19 is understood. The Formula of Concord only uses Romans 5:19 to demonstrate the meritorious cause of justification, not the extent. Luther addresses it in his Commentary on Romans and his Works, Lectures on Romans. Chemnitz addresses it in his Loci Theologici and Ministry, Word, and Sacraments. Historically, there is a change in the use of this passage.

This is a very fine work by Rev. Rydecki and he should be thanked for all of his hard work. I hope that these translations will one day be published for public consumption. I would add it to my shelf.

NOVEMBER 12, 2012 8:53 AM

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Mr. Douglas Lindee said...

Following on from A.Berean's comment (what's your name again Mr. Berean?), I took up Luther's Commentary on Romans (tr. J. Theodore Muellor, 1954, Zondervan) a couple weeks ago, after Rev. Rydecki started publishing these excerpts from Gerhard's commentary on Romans, and have found myself delighted by it. He explains these scriptures in ways that I've not heard contemporary Lutherans speak. For example, in Ch. 3, he compares justification with its opposite, judgment. Those who face judgment are the opposite of justified. In Luther's comparison, he was explaining how it is that God could be "justified in His sayings" (v.4), when unrighteous man is in no position to either judge or justify a perfectly righteous God. He explains:

"But God is justified in His sayings when His Word is recognized and accepted by us as just and truthful. This takes place when we believe His Word. Conversely, God is judged in His sayings if men regard His Word as false and fallacious... If God is justified in His sayings, it is really we (the believers) who are justified; if He is judged and condemned, it is they (the unbelievers) who are judged and condemned according to Mark 16:16: 'He that believeth not shall be damned'" (pg. 51).

It is illuminating to consider the impact of justification in terms of its opposite, judgment or condemnation. The Scriptures tell us that the wicked are "judged already": He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18).

That is:

Faith = no condemnation, or no judgment = (justification)
Unbelief = condemnation, or judgment = (no justification)

Is it possible that the condemned are also "justified"? No. Justification and judgment cannot be commingled. They are opposites. As a result:

- It is impossible for those with righteous standing before God to face condemnation: justified and condemnedare opposites.

- It is impossible for one who is justified before God to also be judged by God: justification and judgment are opposites.

This is especially the case for those who stand BEFORE GOD in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ – those so justified cannot also be condemned, unless God Himself, on the basis of His Righteousness, be subject to condemnation along with them (which is also "absurd"). It seems to me, given the mutually exclusive nature of justification and judgment as Luther exposes it, that those who are condemned by God through unbelief, cannot at the same time be justified before Him in any sense.

Regarding Ch. 5:18-19, Luther, writing rather straightforwardly, concurs with Gerhard:

"As by the offense of one judgment cam upon all men to condemnation (v.18). Here the apostle says "all"; first, because as all who are begotten of Adam are born again through (faith in) Christ; and secondly, because as there is no carnal begetting except through Adam, so also there is no spiritual begetting except through Christ.

"As by on man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous(v.19). Here the Apostle speaks of "many" and not of "all," to show that in the preceding verse his emphasis is not on the number of the sinners of the righteous, but upon the power of sin and grace. If sin proved itself so powerful that a single transgression has perverted many, or rather all, then divine grace is much more powerful; for the one act of grace, (Christ's atonement) can save many, all men, of many sins, if they only would desire it ['desire it' through faith, of course, instead of reject it in unbelief -DL]" (pp. 81-82).

Johann Gerhard - Another Justification by Faith Theologian - Worthy of Censure and Rebuke from Jon-Boy Buchholz, MDiv

The art department at Castle Ichabod
commissioned this new Photoshop.

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Pastor Paul Rydecki: Intrepid Lutherans: Johann Ge...":

Johann Gerhard, 3)...Likewise, one could infer that the righteousness of Christ is propagated to all men together, without any regard for faith or unbelief, since the sin of Adam is propagated to all through carnal generation. 

4) But since that is absurd, a distinction must fully be made between the acquisition and the application of the merit of Christ; or between the benefit itself and participation in the benefit. The acquisition of the merit, or the benefit itself obtained by the death of Christ is general. For as Adam, by his disobedience, enveloped all of his posterity in the guilt of sin, so Christ, who suffered and died for the sins of all, also merited and acquired righteousness for all. But this benefit is only applied to those who are grafted into Christ by faith, and only they become participants in this benefit.

No wonder Buchholz, the Lutheran Synods and the Antichrist are not big Gerhard fans.

***

GJ - I found the essay Buchholz was preparing, perhaps with the help of The Sausage Factory instructors. They make sure that every single graduate is a non-thinking robot, sworn to repeat whatever Holy Mother Synod tells him. If not - ZOTT!

Buchholz' essay is so gaseous, at 42 pages, that Blogger went on the blink when I tried to post it as a Word document copy.

Here is the link to Jesus Canceled Your Debt.

http://azcadistrict.com/sites/default/files/papers/Buchholz_2012-10.pdf

I have copied the essay to my hard drive, just in case the original disappears, after being mocked for the rubbish it promotes.

Johann Gerhard on Romans 5:18

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2012/10/johann-gerhard-on-romans-518.html#comment-form

Johann Gerhard on Romans 5:18

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Yesterday I posted a translation of Johann Gerhard on Romans 3 and on Romans 4.  Here's a translation of his interpretation of Romans 5:18.

(Translation copyright 2012 by Paul A. Rydecki.  All emphasis is in the original.)

http://books.google.com/books/download/Adnotationes_ad_priora_capita_epistolae.pdf?id=ivlGAAAAcAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U03HFTTgvCzsSSlCEU0o_J4f0FUnA

 

Johann Gerhard

Adnotationes ad priora capita Epistolae D. Pauli ad Romanos (1645)

Romans 5:18 (page 177)

Ἄρα οὖν ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα, οὕτω καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς·

This verse is a summary of everything that came before.  That I may briefly summarize, he says, what I have said thus far concerning the comparison between Adam and Christ, the matter boils down to this: Just as the guilt that was contracted from one transgression of Adam sentences all men to death, so the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to believers by faith justifies them, so that they are restored again to participate in the eternal life that had been lost in Adam and through Adam.

ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα. Just as through one offense (scil. guilt came) upon all men for condemnation. The Syrian version translated it: Just as through sin condemnation was to all the children of men.  The Apostle contrasts the transgression (τὸ παράπτωμα) of Adam and the righteousness (τὸδικαίωμα) of Christ.  Likewise, [he contrasts] the condemnation (κατάκριμα) that spread to all from Adam’s transgression and the justification of life (δικαίωσιν ζωῆς) that deduces its origin from the righteousness of Christ (ex Christi δικαιώματι)  and flows down to all.

οὕτω καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς. So through one Man’s righteousness (scil. the benefit overflowed) to all men for justification of life, that is, salvific justification.  For it is called “justification of life” because the end and consequence of it is life and eternal salvation.

[You ask,] But how did the righteousness of Christ overflow to all men for justification, since not all men are justified?  We reply: The Apostle is not speaking about the application of the benefit, but of the acquisition of the benefit.  If we wish to descend to the application, that universality must be restricted to those who are grafted into Christ by faith. For as the unrighteousness of Adam is communicated to all those who are descended from him by carnal generation, so the righteousness of Christ is communicated to all those who are grafted into Him through faith and spiritual regeneration.

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Mr. Douglas Lindee said...

Thank you, Rev. Rydecki, for translating these. I hope you have more in the hopper! It is a pleasure to read from the towering figures of the past, who have very evidently mastered the art of language and the history of the Church, and can thus express the meaning of Scripture so succinctly. I think of the thousands of gallons of ink that have been recently spilled trying to explain this verse in terms of justification's universal application, and shake my head. In fact, so much must be written because of the long route necessary to explain it in a way that it clearly doesn't speak. All of that ink. Wasted. Instead, Gerhard writes very simply, dismissing the connection of this verse to itapplication and explains regarding it:

"The Apostle is not speaking about the application of the benefit, but of the acquisition of the benefit. If we wish to descend to the application, that universality must be restricted to those who are grafted into Christ by faith. For as the unrighteousness of Adam is communicated to all those who are descended from him by carnal generation, so the righteousness of Christ is communicated to all those who are grafted into Him through faith and spiritual regeneration."

Frankly, this is what I have always thought regarding the meaning of this verse -- it's only talking about theacquisition of justification (though I admit to having studied it only in the NASB and KJV, along with the help of various concordances and lexicons). Sure, it's going to say all men with regard to the acquisition of justification -- are some men going to acquire it in some other fashion?

But it's application is much different: All men are sinful insofar as they are connected to Adam ("the First Adam") in their nature; likewise, all men are righteous before God only insofar as they are connected to Christ ("the Second Adam") in their nature. I am only connected to Christ in this way through Faith and Regeneration. I think I tried to express this in my now infamous post, Fraternal Dialogue on the Topic of "Objective Justification", but did a comparatively poor job of it, next to Gerhard. In fact, there is no comparison. This was very helpful. Thanks again!

My Opinion,

Mr. Douglas Lindee

Intrepid Lutherans - Romans 4:25 - Johann Gerhard

Intrepid Lutherans:

LPC said...

Thank you, they are a lot of fun to read. Gerhard articulated well this passage, it is a joy to read.

My prayers are with you.

LPC, PhD

OCTOBER 16, 2012 6:38 PM

LPC said...

BTW, I was looking at one famous British NT exegete on this passage arguing for the necessity of Jesu' resurrection. I thought he was right, for really if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then there is nothing for us to believe and thus we could never be justified. This is tied to Romans 10:9.

Scripture is like fresh water to a thirsty soul, I got a lot of my thirst quenched on this.

LPC

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

Johann Gerhard on Romans 4:25

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Earlier today I posted a translation of Johann Gerhard on Romans 3.  Here's a translation of a portion of his interpretation of Romans 4:25.

(Translation copyright 2012 by Paul A. Rydecki.  All emphasis is in the original.)

http://books.google.com/books/download/Adnotationes_ad_priora_capita_epistolae.pdf?id=ivlGAAAAcAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U03HFTTgvCzsSSlCEU0o_J4f0FUnA

 

Johann Gerhard

Adnotationes ad priora capita Epistolae D. Pauli ad Romanos (1645)

Romans 4:25 (portion - pages 154-155)

What if someone further inquires: In what sense and respect, then, is our justification, which consists in the remission of sins, attributed to the resurrection of Christ?

We reply: This is how it is to be understood.

1. With respect to the manifestation, demonstration and confirmation, because the resurrection of Christ is the clear testimony that full satisfaction has been made for our sins and that perfect righteousness has been achieved. Jerome says in h. 1:Christ rose in order that He might confirm righteousness to believers.  Chrysostom says in hom. 9 ad Rom.: In the resurrection it is demonstrated that Christ died, not for His own sins, but for our sins. For how could He be raised if He was a sinner?  But if He was not a sinner, then He was crucified for others.

2. With respect to the application. If Christ had remained in death, He would not be the conqueror of death, nor could He apply to us the righteousness that was obtained at such a high price (Rom. 5:10, 8:34).  But since He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, from there He also offers to the world, through the Word of the Gospel, the benefits obtained by His suffering and death, and applies the same to believers, and in this way He justifies them.  With respect to this application, Cardinal Toletus (in comm. h.1. and Suarez tom. 2, in part 3, Thom. disp. 44, p.478) acknowledges that our justification is attributed to the resurrection of Christ, writing thus: Christ, by His suffering, sufficiently destroyed sin.  Nevertheless, in order that we might be justified and that sin might be effectively remitted to us, it was necessary for the suffering of Christ to be applied to us through a living faith. Therefore, Christ rose on account of our righteousness, that is, in order that our faith might be confirmed and that we might be effectively justified.  The Apostle notably says that Christ died for our sins and was raised, not for righteousness, which is contrasted with sins in general, but διὰ τὴν δικαίωσιν ἡμῶν, for our justification, which consists in the absolution from sins.

3. With respect to the actual application from sin. Just as the heavenly Father, by delivering Christ into death for our sins, condemned sin in His flesh through sin (Rom. 8:3)—that is, condemned it because it had sinned against Christ by putting an innocent man to death, and so He withdrew from sin its legal right against believers so that it cannot condemn them any longer; or He also condemned it, that is, punished in Christ our sins that were imposed on Him and imputed to Him as a Substitute—so also, by raising Him from the dead, in that very deed absolved Him from our sins that were imputed to Him, and hence also absolves us in Him, so that the resurrection of Christ may be both the cause and the pledge and the complement of our justification.  The following passages pertain to this: 1 Cor. 15:17, 2 Cor. 5:21, Eph. 2:5, Col. 2:12-13, Phil. 3:8-10, 1 Pet. 1:3.

'via Blog this'

Links about Justification by Faith 

and Justification without Faith (UOJ)

Pastor Rydecki's blog

Luther's Galatians endorsed by reader

Luther's Galatians on Gnesio Lutherans

Roman Catholic adjunct Jack Kilcrease as Humpty Dumpty

Calov, quoted by Robert Preus, repudiated the UOJ position of WELS

Kilcrease, the McCain tutor, equivocates.

Buchholz is anti-Luther

Pastor Bickel on Tossing Rydecki Under the Bus

Church and Changer Jeff Gunn and His Mequon Class of Shrinkers

Paul McCain and Jon Buchholz - Bedfellows of Apostasy

Abraham Is the Common Theme in Justification - Justification by Faith

Pastor Rydecki's Account of His Suspension - October 9th

Intrepid Account October 6th- Pastor Rydecki Suspended

LutherQuest (sic) Opposes Justification by Faith

Warming Up the Tar and Feathers on LutherQuest (sic)

Pastor Bickel Answers Jon Buchholz

Kokomo Statements - WELS UOJ - JP Meyer

Jack Kilcrease Showing Signs of Stress

Dr. Lito Cruz and Brett Meyer Dispatch the UOJ Stormtroopers on Extra Nos

Hunnius repudiated an early form of UOJ,
backed by P. Leyser, an editor of the Book of Concord,
a biographer of Chemnitz, and an early expert on justification.

Intrepid Lutherans - Johann Gerhard on Romans 3

Intrepid Lutherans:

Anonymous said...

I would conclude from these words of Johann Gerhard that if he were alive today and a member of the WELS, he too would face prospects of being suspended. It seems like many other "fathers" of the Lutheran church would face a similar fate today.

Vernon

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

Johann Gerhard on Romans 3

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Since many folks across Confessional Lutheranism are discussing the meaning of Romans 3, I thought it would be interesting to hear what Johann Gerhard—one of the most highly respected Lutheran theologians of the Lutheran Age of Orthodoxy—had to say about these verses. So I translated a portion of his commentary from Latin to English, for general consumption.

(Translation copyright 2012 by Paul A. Rydecki.  All emphasis is in the original.)

http://books.google.com/books?id=ivlGAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Adnotationes%2Bad%2Bpriora%2Bcapita%2Bepistolae%2BD.%2BPauli%2Bad%2BRomanos&source=bl&ots=gVVLDnmQDQ&sig=SxPTBRI-iZUnNaDS4lCa_WdvwF0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fft9UOHXMIT9ygGk9oHYBA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA  

Johann Gerhard

Adnotationes ad priora capita Epistolae D. Pauli ad Romanos (1645)

Romans 3:26 (final section, page 118)

In this passage the causes and the object of our justification before God are expressed.

1. The chief efficient cause (causa efficiens principalis) is the grace of God, that is, God’s free favor that takes into account our misery.

2. The meritorious cause (causa meritoria) is Christ in the office of redemption, which the Apostle describes with three very significant words.  First, with the word redemption (ἀπολύτρωσιν), which regards the spiritual captivity in Satan’s kingdom, from which we have been redeemed by the precious ransom (λύτρῳ) of Christ.  Second, with the word mercy seat (ἱλαστήριον), which regards the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament.  Third, with the phrase the blood of Christ (αἷμα τοῦχριστοῦ), which, by way of synecdoche, signifies the entire obedience of Christ, active as well as passive.

3. The instrumental cause (causa instrumentalis) is faith, that receiving (ληπτικόν) medium that embraces the benefits of Christ offered in Word and Sacraments, those giving (δοτικοῖς) means.

4. The formal cause (causa formalis) is forgiveness (πάρεσις), the remission of sins, which is joined by an indivisible connection with the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. (Rom. 4:3).

5. The final cause (causa finalis) with respect to God is the demonstration of His righteousness (ἔνδειξις τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ).  In justification or the remission of sins, God remains just in that He justly punishes our sins in Christ, who took them upon Himself; and He justifies believers, since the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to them.

The object of justification is sinful man, but only such as believe in Christ, that is, those who know their sins from the Law, who seriously  grieve over them, and who by faith apply to themselves the promise of the remission of sins for the sake of Christ.

'via Blog this'

Links about Justification by Faith 

and Justification without Faith (UOJ)

Pastor Rydecki's blog

Luther's Galatians endorsed by reader

Luther's Galatians on Gnesio Lutherans

Roman Catholic adjunct Jack Kilcrease as Humpty Dumpty

Calov, quoted by Robert Preus, repudiated the UOJ position of WELS

Kilcrease, the McCain tutor, equivocates.

Buchholz is anti-Luther

Pastor Bickel on Tossing Rydecki Under the Bus

Church and Changer Jeff Gunn and His Mequon Class of Shrinkers

Paul McCain and Jon Buchholz - Bedfellows of Apostasy

Abraham Is the Common Theme in Justification - Justification by Faith

Pastor Rydecki's Account of His Suspension - October 9th

Intrepid Account October 6th- Pastor Rydecki Suspended

LutherQuest (sic) Opposes Justification by Faith

Warming Up the Tar and Feathers on LutherQuest (sic)

Pastor Bickel Answers Jon Buchholz

Kokomo Statements - WELS UOJ - JP Meyer

Jack Kilcrease Showing Signs of Stress

Dr. Lito Cruz and Brett Meyer Dispatch the UOJ Stormtroopers on Extra Nos

Hunnius repudiated an early form of UOJ,
backed by P. Leyser, an editor of the Book of Concord,
a biographer of Chemnitz, and an early expert on justification.

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A. Berean has left a new comment on your post "Intrepid Lutherans - Johann Gerhard on Romans 3":

Wonderful! Thanks for the post.

In addition to Gerhard, look up Luther's Lectures on Romans (L.W. vol. 25, A.E.). Nothing about apart from faith there...

***

GJ - Humpty Kilcrease is not happy.