Epistle Sermons Volume III Part 1

Epistle Sermons.

Vol. III.

by Martin Luther.

_Foreword_

Here comes the English Luther in his twelfth visit to your home. In peasant boots, decorated by no star of worldliness nor even by the cross of churchliness, but by the Book from heaven pressed to his heart in a firm att.i.tude of earnest prayer, he comes as the man of prayer and of the one Book, a familiar friend, to help you to live the simple Christian life.

This volume of twenty-four practical sermons from Trinity Sunday to Advent marks an epoch in that it completes in an unabridged form one branch of Luther's writings, the eight volumes of his Gospel and Epistle Postil. They are bound in uniform size, numbered as in the Erlangen edition from the seventh to the fourteenth volume inclusive, paragraphed for convenient reference according to the Walch edition with summaries of the Gospel sermons by Bugenhagen. The few subheads inserted in the text are a new feature for American readers.

These eight volumes of 175 sermons and 3,110 pages are the cla.s.sic devotional literature of Protestantism. They were preached by its founder to the mother congregation of Evangelical Christendom in the birth-period of the greatest factor in modern civilization. No collection of Evangelical sermons has pa.s.sed through more editions and been printed in more languages, none more loved and praised, none more read and prayed. They will be a valuable addition to the meager sermon literature on the Epistle texts in the English language.

English Protestants will hereafter have no excuse for unacquaintance with Luther's spiritual writings.

What Luther's two Catechisms were in the school room to teach the Christian faith to the youth, that these sermons were in the homes to develop the same faith in adults. They have maintained their good name wherever translated until the present and their contents are above the reach of critics. These Epistle sermons especially apply the Christian truth to everyday life. The order in developing the Christian life with the best help from the prince of the Teutonic church fathers, should be from the Small to the Large Catechism and then to his Epistle sermons. Blessed the pastor and congregation who can lead the youth to "Church Postil Reading"--to read in harmony with their church-going. Blessed is the immigrant or diaspora missionary who finds his people reading them in the new settlements he visits.

Next to the Bible and Catechisms no books did more to awaken and sustain the great Evangelical religious movements under Spener in Germany, Rosenius in Sweden, and Hauge in Norway, than these sermon books devoutly and regularly read in the homes of church members.

The transition of a people and church from a weak language into a stronger, is easy and accompanied by gain; while the opposite course from a strong into a weaker tongue is difficult; and accompanied by loss. While in our land the Germans and Scandinavians lose much in the transition ordeal, all is not lost; they have something to give.

It is a good sign that two-tongued congregations are growing in favor. Familiar thought in a strange language is not so strange as when both language and thought are foreign. A church whose const.i.tuency is many-tongued should avoid becoming one-tongued.

Church divisions are often more ethnological than theological. If exclusively English pastors learned one-tenth as much German and Scandinavian as these people do English, unity would be greatly promoted. As Protestantism is far more divided in the English language than in German or Scandinavian, the enthusiasm over the unifying influence of English is misleading. The hope is rather in the oneness of teaching and of spirit. This treasure, given first in Hebrew, Greek and German, can be translated into all languages. Who equals Luther as a translator? May his followers be inspired by his example and translate the Evangelical cla.s.sics of this prophet of the Gentiles into all their dialects! That these volumes may contribute to this end is our prayer.

The history of the writing of these sermons is found in volumes 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Gospel sermons of the "Standard Edition of Luther's Works in English."

The German text will be readily found in the 12th volume of the Walch and of the St. Louis Walch editions, and in the 9th volume of the Erlangen edition of Luther's works.

Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made for translations to the following: To Pastor H. L. Burry, the first sermon for Trinity Sunday; Pastor W. E. Tressel, Third Sunday after Trinity; Prof. A. G.

Voigt, D. D., the Fifth and Twenty-fourth Sundays; Dr. Joseph Stump, Sixth, Eighth and Thirteenth Sundays; Prof. A. W. Meyer, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Sundays; and to Pastor C. B. Gohdes for revising the Second Sermon for Trinity Sunday and the sermons for the Second, Tenth, Twelfth and Sixteenth Sundays after Trinity.

Next volumes to appear will be Genesis Vol. II, Psalms Vol. II and Galatians.

Heartily do we thank all parts of the church for their complimentary, suggestive and helpful cooperation and earnestly hope our work may be worthy of its continuance.

J. N. LENKER.

Home for Young Women, Minneapolis, Minn., Pentecost, 1909.

_Trinity Sunday_

Text: Romans 11, 33-36.

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of G.o.d! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen.

THE ARTICLE OF FAITH ON THE TRINITY.

1. This epistle is read today because the festival of Holy Trinity, or of the three persons of the G.o.dhead--which is the prime, great, incomprehensible and chief article of faith--is observed on this day.

The object of its observance is that, by the Word of G.o.d, this truth of the G.o.dhead may be preserved among Christians, enabling them to know G.o.d as he would be known. For although Paul does not treat of that article in this epistle, but touches on it only in a few words in the conclusion, nevertheless he would teach that in our attempts to comprehend G.o.d we must not speculate and judge according to human wisdom, but in the light of the Word of G.o.d alone. For these divine truths are too far above the reach of reason ever to be comprehended and explored by the understanding of man.

2. And although I have, on other occasions, taught and written on this article fully and frequently enough, still I must say a few words in general concerning it here. True, it is not choice German, nor has it a pleasing sound, when we designate G.o.d by the word "Dreifaltigkeit" (nor is the Latin, Trinitas, more elegant); but since we have no better term, we must employ these. For, as I have said, this article is so far above the power of the human mind to grasp, or the tongue to express, that G.o.d, as the Father of his children, will pardon us when we stammer and lisp as best we can, if only our faith be pure and right. By this term, however, we would say that we believe the divine majesty to be three distinct persons of one true essence.

3. This is the revelation and knowledge Christians have of G.o.d: they not only know him to be one true G.o.d, who is independent of and over all creatures, and that there can be no more than this one true G.o.d, but they know also what this one true G.o.d in his essential, inscrutable essence is.

4. The reason and wisdom of man may go so far as to reach the conclusion, although feebly, that there must be one eternal divine being, who has created and who preserves and governs all things. Man sees such a beautiful and wonderful creation in the heavens and on the earth, one so wonderfully, regularly and securely preserved and ordered, that he must say: It is impossible that this came into existence by mere chance, or that it originated and controls itself; there must have been a Creator and Lord from whom all these things proceed and by whom they are governed. Thus G.o.d may be known by his creatures, as St. Paul says: "For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity."

Rom 1, 20. This is (a posteriori) the knowledge that we have when we contemplate G.o.d from without, in his works and government; as one, looking upon a castle or house from without, would draw conclusions as to its lord or keeper.

5. But from within (a priori) no human wisdom has been able to conceive what G.o.d is in himself, or in his internal essence. Neither can anyone know or give information of it except it be revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. For no one knoweth, as Paul says (1 Cor 2, 11), the things of man save the spirit of man which is in him; even so the things of G.o.d none knoweth save the Spirit of G.o.d. From without, I may see what you do, but what your intentions are and what you think, I cannot see. Again, neither can you know what I think except I enable you to understand it by word or sign. Much less can we know what G.o.d, in his own inner and secret essence is, until the Holy Spirit, who searcheth and knoweth all things, yea, the deep things of G.o.d--as Paul says above--reveals it to us: as he does in the declaration of this article, in which he teaches us the existence in the divine majesty of the one undivided essence, but in such manner that there is, first, the person which is called the Father; and of him exists the second person called the Son, born from eternity; and proceeding from both these is the third, namely, the Holy Spirit. These three persons are not distinct from each other, as individual brothers or sisters are, but they have being in one and the same eternal, undivided and indivisible essence.

6. This, I say, is not discovered or attained to by human reason. It is revealed from heaven above. Therefore, only Christians can intelligently speak of what the G.o.dhead essentially is, and of his outward manifestation to his creatures, and his will toward men concerning their salvation. For all this is imparted to them by the Holy Spirit, who reveals and proclaims it through the Word.

7. Those who have no such revelation, and who judge according to their own wisdom, such as the Jews, Turks and heathen, must consider the Christian's declaration the greatest error and rankest heresy; they must say that we Christians are mad and foolish in imagining that there are three G.o.ds, when, according to all reason--yea, even according to the Word of G.o.d--there can be but one G.o.d. It would not be reasonable, they will say, that there should be more than one householder over the same house, more than one lord or sovereign over the same government; much less reasonably should more than one G.o.d reign over heaven and earth. They imagine that thus with their wisdom they have completely overthrown our faith and exposed it to the derision and scorn of all the world. As if we were all blockheads and egregious fools and could not see their logic as well as they! But, thank G.o.d, we have understanding equal to theirs, and can argue as convincingly, or more so, than they with their Alkoran and Talmud, that there is but the one G.o.d.

8. Further, we know, from the testimony of Holy Writ, that we cannot expound the mystery of these divine things by the speculations of reason and a pretense of great wisdom. To explain this, as well as all the articles of our faith, we must have a knowledge higher than any to which the understanding of man can attain. That knowledge of G.o.d which the heathen can perceive by reason or deduce from rational premises is but a small part of the knowledge that we should possess.

The heathen Aristotle in his best book concludes from a pa.s.sage in the wisest pagan poet, Homer: There can be no good government in which there is more than one lord; it results as where more than one master or mistress attempts to direct the household servants. So must there be but one lord and regent in every government. This is all rightly true. G.o.d has implanted such light and understanding in human nature for the purpose of giving a conception and an ill.u.s.tration of his divine office, the only Lord and Maker of all creatures. But, even knowing this, we have not yet searched out or fathomed the exalted, eternal, divine G.o.dhead essence. For even though I have learned that there is an only divine majesty, who governs all things, I do not thereby know the inner workings of this divine essence himself; this no one can tell me, except, as we have said, in so far as G.o.d himself reveals it in his Word.

9. Now we Christians have the Scriptures, which we know to be the Word of G.o.d. The Jews also have them, from whose fathers they have descended to us. From these, and from no other source, we have obtained all that is known of G.o.d and divine works, from the beginning of the world. Even among the Turks and the heathen, all their knowledge of G.o.d--excepting what is manifestly fable and fiction--came from the Scriptures. And our knowledge is confirmed and proven by great miracles, even to the present day. These Scriptures declare, concerning this article, that there is no G.o.d or divine being save this one alone. They not only manifest him to us from without, but they lead us into his inner essence, and show us that in him there are three persons; not three G.o.ds or three different kinds of divinity, but the same undivided, divine essence.

10. Such a revelation is radiantly shed forth from the greatest of G.o.d's works, the declaration of his divine counsel and will. In that counsel and will it was decreed from all eternity, and, accordingly, was proclaimed in his promises, that his Son should become man and die to reconcile man to G.o.d. For in our dreadful fall into sin and death eternal, there was no way to save us excepting through an eternal person who had power over sin and death to destroy them, and to give us righteousness and everlasting life instead. This no angel or other creature could do; it must needs be done of G.o.d himself.

Now, it could not be done by the person of the Father, who was to be reconciled, but it must be done by a second person, with whom this counsel was determined and through whom and for whose sake the reconciliation was to be brought about.

11. Here there are, therefore, two distinct persons, one of whom becomes reconciled, and the other is sent to reconcile and becomes man. The former is called the Father, being first in that he did not have his origin in any other; the latter is called the Son, being born of the Father from eternity. To this the Scriptures attest, for they make mention of G.o.d's Son; as, for instance, in Psalm 2, 7: "Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee;" and again, Galatians 4, 4: "But when the fulness of the time came, G.o.d sent forth his Son," etc. From this it necessarily follows that the Son, who is spoken of as a person, must be distinct from the person of the Father.

12. Again, in the same manner, the Spirit of G.o.d is specifically and distinctively mentioned as a person sent or proceeding from G.o.d the Father and the Son: for instance, G.o.d says in Joel 2, 28: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh," etc. Here a spirit is poured out who is G.o.d's, or a divine spirit, and who must be of the same essence, otherwise he could not say, "my Spirit;" and yet he must be a person other than he who sent him or who pours out. Again, because when he was sent he manifested himself, and appeared in his descent in a visible form, like that of a dove or tongues of fire, he must be distinct in person from both the Father and the Son.

13. But in this article of faith, in which we say that the Son of G.o.d became man and that he was of the same nature as we ourselves are, in order that he might redeem us from sin and death and give us eternal life without any merit or worthiness of our own, we give Jews and Turks no less occasion for laughter and mockery than when we speak of the three persons. For this is a more absurd a.s.sertion by far, in the estimation of human reason, which speculates in its Jewish and Turkish--yea, heathenish--teachings, on this wise: G.o.d is an only, almighty Lord of all, who has created all men and given them the law according to which they are to live; accordingly it follows that he will be merciful to the good and obedient, but will condemn and punish the disobedient. Therefore, he who does good works and guards himself against sin, G.o.d will reward. These are nothing but heathenish conclusions drawn from earthly, worldly experience and observation, as if G.o.d's government must be conducted on the same principles as that of a father among his children and domestics; for those are considered good rulers and masters who make a distinction with regard to their own interests.

14. Such heathen ideas of wisdom, holiness and service of G.o.d are taught and practiced by the Pope. And so we believed, myself and others, while we were under him, not knowing any better; otherwise we would have done and taught differently. And, in fact, he who has not this revelation and Word of G.o.d, can neither believe nor teach other than pagan doctrine. With such a faith, how much better were we than the heathen and Turks? Yea, how could we guard ourselves against any deception and lying nonsense that might be offered as good works and as service of G.o.d? Then we had to follow every impostor who came with his cowl and cord, as if Christ were represented in him; and we thought that in the observance of these things we would be saved. So the whole world was filled with naught but false service of G.o.d--which the Scriptures properly call idolatry--the product of human wisdom, which is so easily deceived by that which pretends to be a good work and to be obedience to G.o.d. For human wisdom knows no better; and how could it know better without the revelation? Even when the revelation was proclaimed, human wisdom would not heed it, but despised it and followed its own fancies. Hence it continued to be hidden and incomprehensible to such wisdom, as Saint Paul says: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord?"

15. But to us this counsel and mind of G.o.d in giving his Son to take upon himself our flesh, is revealed and declared. For from the Word of G.o.d we have the knowledge that no man of himself can be righteous before G.o.d; that our whole life and all our deeds are under wrath and condemnation, because we are wholly born in sin and by nature are disobedient to G.o.d; but if we would be delivered from sin and be saved, we must believe on this mediator, the Son of G.o.d, who has taken our sin and death upon himself, by his own blood and death rendering satisfaction, and has by his resurrection, delivered us. In this truth we will abide, regardless of the ridicule heaped upon us because of such faith, by heathen wisdom, which teaches that G.o.d rewards the pious. We understand that quite as well, if not better, than heathenism does. But in these mysteries we need a higher wisdom than our own minds have devised or can devise, a wisdom given to us by grace alone, through divine revelation.

16. For it is not our intention thus to pry into the counsel, thoughts and ways of G.o.d with our understanding and opinions, and to be his counselors, as they do who meddle in the affairs that are the prerogative of the G.o.dhead, and who even dare, in the face of this pa.s.sage of Saint Paul, to refuse to receive or learn of G.o.d, but would impart to him that for which he must recompense again. And thus they make G.o.ds after their own fancy, as many G.o.ds as they have thoughts; so that every shabby monastic cowl or self-appointed work, in their estimation, accomplishes as much and pa.s.ses for as much as G.o.d the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in their eternal divine counsel, determine and accomplish. And they continue to be nothing but wearers of cowls and instructors in works, which works even they can do who know nothing of G.o.d and are manifestly scoundrels. And even though they have long been occupied with these things, they still do not know how matters stand between themselves and G.o.d. And it will ever be true as Saint Paul says: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor?"

17. For your own theories--which are no more than what anyone can arrive at, conjecture or conceive in his own mind, without divine revelation--are not a knowledge of the mind of G.o.d. And what does it avail if you are not able to say more than that G.o.d is merciful to the good and will punish the wicked? Who will a.s.sure you that you are good and that you are pleasing to G.o.d with your papistic, Turkish monkery and holiness? Is it all that is necessary to a.s.sert: G.o.d will reward with heaven such as are faithful to the order? No, dear brother, mere presumption, or an expression of your opinion, will not suffice here. I could do that as well as you. Indeed, each may devise his own peculiar idea; one a black, and another a gray monk's cowl.

But we should hear and know what G.o.d's counsel is, what is his will and mind. This none can tell you by his own understanding, and no book on earth can teach it except the Scriptures. These G.o.d himself has given, and they make known to us that he has sent his Son into the world to redeem us from sin and the wrath of G.o.d, and that whosoever believes in him should have everlasting life.

DIVINE MYSTERIES INEXPLICABLE TO REASON.

18. Behold, Paul's purpose in this epistle is to show Christians that these sublime and divine mysteries--that is, G.o.d's actual divine essence and his will, administration and works--are absolutely beyond all human thought, human understanding or wisdom; in short, that they are and ever will be incomprehensible, inscrutable and altogether hidden to human reason. When reason presumptuously undertakes to solve, to teach and explain these matters, the result is worthless, yea, utter darkness and deception. If anything is to be ascertained, it must be through revelation alone; that is, the Word of G.o.d, which was sent from heaven.

19. We do not apply these words of Paul to the question of divine predestination for every human being--who will be saved and who not.

For into these things G.o.d would not have us curiously inquire. He has not given us any special revelation in regard to them, but refers all men here to the words of the Gospel. By them they are to be guided.

He would have them hear and learn the Gospel, and believing in it they shall be saved. Therein have all the saints found comfort and a.s.surance in regard to their election to eternal life; not in any special revelation in regard to their predestination, but in faith in Christ. Therefore, where Saint Paul treats of election, in the three chapters preceding this text, he would not have any to inquire or search out whether he has been predestinated or not; but he holds forth the Gospel and faith to all men. So he taught before, that we are saved through faith in Christ. He says (Rom 10, 8): "The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart," and he explains himself by saying that this word should be proclaimed to all men, that they may believe what he says in verses 12 and 13: "For the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

20. But he speaks of the marvelous ruling of G.o.d in the Church, according to which they who have the name and honor of being the people of G.o.d, and the Church--the people of Israel--are rejected on account of their unbelief. Others, on the other hand, who formerly were not G.o.d's people, but were unbelieving, are now, since they have received the Gospel and believe in Christ, become the true Church in the sight of G.o.d, and are saved. Consequently it was on account of their own unbelief that the former were rejected. Then the grace and mercy of G.o.d in Christ was offered unto everlasting life, and without any merit of their own, to all such as were formerly in unbelief and sin, if only they would accept and believe it. He declares: "For G.o.d hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all." Rom 11, 32.