Select Works:
Volume 4:
Luther’s Works:
This is therefore a new prophecy never heard of any one before. For here, the one Christ alone casts away the general punishment of the whole human race, contained in Gen. 3 “And unto dust shalt thou return:” nor does the scripture, which consigns all men to dust, ever say any such thing of any one but Christ. He alone, by a new and glorious MICHTAM, bears this sweet and all-gladdening news,—that his flesh should not return to dust, but should, in peace, die with the fullest expectation.Martin Luther, Select Works of Martin Luther: An Offering to the Church of God in “The Last Days,” trans. Henry Cole, vol. IV (London: T. Bensley, 1826), 142; Psalm 16:9.
Thus does the Holy Spirit [in Psalm 2:12] include in this one expression the whole world with all its wisdom, righteousness, merits, worship, adoration, and affliction, and makes all to consist in kissing the Son. If, says he, ye kiss the Son, well! but if not, ye shall perish under wrath. For the Son will at length be angry. He now offers you an opportunity of kissing him. He has a singular love for the human race, for he came down and took our flesh upon him, not that he might judge or condemn us, but that he might kiss us, and shew us the love with which he embraces us: if, therefore, ye do not kiss him, no religion, no righteousness, no wisdom shall save you: but ye shall surely remain under wrath and there perish. But the world regards not these threats; they think that the reverse will be the case; they hope in the mercy of God through their own works and righteousness: but in vain, for the whole is settled, “He that believeth not shall be damned.”Martin Luther, Select Works of Martin Luther: An Offering to the Church of God in “The Last Days,” trans. Henry Cole, vol. IV (London: T. Bensley, 1826), 550.
All men being condemned by the law, it was necessary that an atonement should be made, in order that we might be justified; and therefore God, through his infinite mercy and goodness, sent his Son Jesus Christ, to suffer and die for us; that the justice of the Father being satisfied, we might obtain salvation through his merits. He, having fulfilled the whole law, suffered the ignominious death of crucifixion; after which he rose and ascended up to heaven, where he still remaineth, making continual intercession for us, as for those that cannot obtain salvation by their own righteousness.Martin Luther, “Sermon XI: 1 Timothy, Chap. 1 Verses 5, 6, and 7,” in A Selection of the Most Celebrated Sermons of Martin Luther (New York: S. & D. A. Forbes, 1830), 161–162.
Luther’s Works:
Volume 12:
For what is there in Christ that is not full of consolation, lovable, and delightful? When you see Him hanging on the cross, dripping with blood, and when you refer these things, according to His own words, to the will of God, will not this make the name of God sweet instead of horrible? Not only will you fear no evil from God, who sends His own Son for this purpose; but will you not also be filled with a sure hope of His mercy and love toward you and the whole human race?Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 12: Selected Psalms I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 12 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 50.
In this way the Holy Spirit with one word [in Psalm 2:12] gathers up the whole world with all its wisdom, righteousness, merits, services, adorations, and chastisements, and transposes it all into the Sons kiss. “If you kiss the Son, good. If not, you will perish in the way. For it will come to pass,” He says, “that the Son will at last be angry. Now He offers you a kiss so that He may receive your kiss in turn. Truly He embraces the whole human race with extraordinary love. For He comes in our flesh not to judge or condemn, but in order to kiss us and show us the love with which He surrounds us. If, then, you will not kiss Him in return, no religion, no righteousness, no wisdom will save you. You will simply remain under His wrath and perish in His anger.” But the world is not concerned with these threats. It imagines that things will turn out quite differently. It hopes for God’s grace through its own works and righteousness. Certainly the judgment is definite: “He who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 12: Selected Psalms I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 12 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 89–90; Psalm 2:12. And keep in mind that Luther said these types of things knowing full well that “counterfeit saints claim God’s love [of complacency] though they are under [His] hate [of abomination].” See Luther’s Works, Vol. 12: Selected Psalms I (Saint Louis: CPH, 1999), 355; Psalm 51:6.
Volume 22:
It is true, the evangelist might have said: “The Word became man.” However, he adapts himself to Scriptural parlance and says: “He became flesh.” He does so to point out its weakness and its mortality. For Christ took on the human nature, which was mortal and subject to the terrible wrath and judgment of God because of the sins of the human race. And this anger was felt by the weak and mortal flesh of Christ.Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 22: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 1–4, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 22 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 111.
Volume 24:
Who can define with words what the world is, or who can conceive of it with his thoughts? What else can we say about the world than that it is a mass of people possessed of a hundred thousand devils, since it hates not only us poor sinners, who really serve it gratis with life and limb, but hates the Lord Himself still more, who died and shed His blood for its redemption? What are we compared with Him? For even though we preach to the world and do for it all that is good, we are not the ones who died for it; we are only the ones who proclaim, and glory in, the fact that Christ did this. Therefore it is an unspeakable and diabolical blasphemy to hate, and be enemies of, Christ. Yet we see this daily. Otherwise no human heart would believe that it goes on.Martin Luther, “Dr. Martin Luther’s Exposition of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Chapters of the Gospel of St. John (Sermons delivered in the years 1537 and 1538),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, 55 vols. (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 24:269; John 15:17–18.
Therefore Christ had good reason to say to His apostles and preachers when He sent them out to preach (Matt. 10:14): “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.” Undoubtedly He spoke these words in great anger. Not only should the disciples not take as much as a heller from these people, but they should not even leave a speck of dust on their shoes and not give it back to them, just as they should not be worthy of having Him take anything from them. And then (v. 15) Christ adds words of terrible judgment: “Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” But is it not an altogether fair judgment when one lets the dear Man offer all His grace and kindness absolutely free and bring it to the door, and then mocks, reviles, and reproaches Him so blasphemously and shows Him only hatred and hostility?
These words are spoken for the purpose of comforting the apostles and all who preach Christ and should be of help to the world, lest they be taken aback by this treatment, become angry, and say in their hearts, as Christ says here: “If they had not hated Christ first, then they would not hate me either; but since they hate Him who died for them, it is not surprising that they hate me. What am I compared with this Lord? There is a twofold reason why I must expect to encounter this: first, I have surely merited this for my person as a sinner; secondly, because I am a servant of the Lord, to whom the world is hostile. And since He Himself has to endure such hostility, I cannot expect to fare any better.” Still the world shall not have the satisfaction of seeing us take so much as a fleck of dust from it. Let the world scorn and sneer today. The day will come when it discovers what its fate and what ours will be. No one owes us an accounting, but on that day the world will hear an unbearable sentence.
Here not only the unbelief implanted in human nature since Adam is meant; but it is clear that the refusal to believe in Christ is spoken of, namely, the refusal to acknowledge our sin and to seek and obtain grace through Christ when the Gospel of Christ is preached. For when Christ appeared, His suffering and death did away before God with the sin of Adam and of the whole human race—namely, the former unbelief and disobedience—and He erected a new heaven of grace and forgiveness, so that this sin inherited from Adam will no longer keep us under the wrath and condemnation of God if we believe in this Savior. From now on, therefore, he who is damned dare no longer complain about Adam and his sin inherited from Adam; for this Seed of a woman, who was to crush the serpent’s head according to God’s promise (Gen. 3:15), has now come, paid for this sin, and removed the condemnation. But such a person must accuse himself, because he did not accept and believe in this Christ, who crushed the devil’s head and destroyed sin.Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 24: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 14–16, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 24 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 343–44.
Volume 26:
All these things happen, not through the Law or works but through Christ the crucified, on whose shoulders lie all the evils of the human race—the Law, sin, death, the devil, and hell—all of which die in Him, because by His death He kills them. But we must accept this blessing of Christ with a firm faith. For just as what is offered to us is neither the Law nor any of its works but Christ alone, so what is required of us is nothing but faith, which takes hold of Christ and believes that my sin and death are damned and abolished in the sin and death of Christ.Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 26: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1–4, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 26 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 160.
Volume 27:
Another interpretation is an affirmative one, namely, that he who receives circumcision is also obligated to keep the whole Law. For he who accepts Moses in one point is obliged to accept him in all points. He who observes one part of the Law as a matter of necessity must observe all the other parts of it. Nor does it help if you want to say that circumcision is necessary, but that the remaining laws of Moses are not. The same principle by which you are obliged to receive circumcision obliges you to accept the whole Law. Now to observe the whole Law is tantamount to pointing out in fact that the Christ has not yet come. If this is true, then all the Jewish ceremonies and laws about foods, places, and seasons must be observed; and we must still look for the Christ, who is to make the kingdom and priesthood of the Jews obsolete and is to establish a new kingdom throughout the world. But all Scripture testifies, and the facts themselves show, that Christ has already come, has redeemed the human race by His death, has abrogated the Law and has fulfilled what all the prophets predicted about Him. Therefore He abolished the Law and granted grace and truth (John 1:17). Accordingly, the Law does not justify; neither do its works. It is faith in the Christ who has already come that justifies.Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 27: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 5-6; 1519, Chapters 1–6, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 27 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 15.
Volume 33:
It is characteristic of this apostle [John] to use this word “world” to mean precisely the whole race of men. … John too speaks of the world antithetically, so that “world” means everything that has not been taken out of the world into the Spirit…Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 33: Career of the Reformer III, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 33 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 277.
[St. John: Free Choice Is of “the World,” “the Flesh”; Grace Is of Christ, by Faith. The Two Are Opposites]22Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 33: Career of the Reformer III, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 33 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 277–78.
Let us now come to John, who is also an eloquent and powerful devastator of free choice. At the very outset, he represents free choice as so blind that it cannot even see the truth, let alone be able to strive toward it. For he says: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not comprehend it” [John 1:5]; and shortly afterward: “He was in the world, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not” [vv. 10 f.]. What do you think he means by “world”? Will you exempt any man from this description unless he has been recreated by the Holy Spirit? It is characteristic of this apostle to use this word “world” to mean precisely the whole race of men. Hence, whatever he says about the world applies also to free choice as the most excellent thing in man. Thus according to this apostle, the world does not know the light of truth [v. 10], the world hates Christ and those who are his [John 15:18 f.], the world neither knows nor sees the Holy Spirit [John 14:17], the whole world is in the power of the evil one [1 John 5:19], all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life [1 John 2:16]. “You,” he says, “are of the world” [John 8:23]. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil” [John 7:7]. All these and many similar passages proclaim the glories of free choice, that principal part of the world and that which governs it under the overlordship of Satan.
For John too speaks of the world antithetically, so that “world” means everything that has not been taken out of the world into the Spirit, as Christ says to the apostles: “I took you out of the world and appointed you,” etc. [John 15:16, 19]. If now there were any in the world who by the powers of free choice were endeavoring toward the good (which should be the case if free choice were able to do anything), John ought surely to have limited the word out of respect for these people, so as not to implicate them, by using a general term, in all the evils of which he accuses the world. As he does not do this, it is evident that he makes free choice guilty of all the charges brought against the world, since whatever the world does, it does by the power of free choice, or in other words, by means of reason and will, which are its most notable components.
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22 WA 18, 776–783.
Volume 42:
Our Lord and Savior Jesus has left us a commandment which applies equally to all Christians, namely, that we are to render humanitarian services, or rather (as the Scriptures call them), the works of mercy [Luke 6:36], to those who are afflicted and in a state of calamity, and that we are to visit the sick, try to free the captives, and do similar things for our neighbor so that the evils of the present may be somewhat lessened. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself gave us the brightest example of this commandment when, because of his infinite love for the race of men, he descended from the bosom of the Father into our misery and our prison, that is, into our flesh and our most wretched life, and took upon himself the penalty for our sins so that we might be saved, as he says in Isaiah 43 [:24], “You have burdened me with your sins, and you have wearied me with your iniquities.”Martin Luther, “Fourteen Consolations,” in Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, 55 vols. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 42:121–22.
Volume 46:
This is how the children of God look at things, for God himself spares the whole human race for the sake of one man, whose name is Jesus Christ; if he were to look at men alone, he would have nothing but wrath. The preaching office and temporal authority of course cannot do this; they cannot ignore or shut their eyes to evil. For they must punish the bad, one with the word, the other with the sword. In saying all this I am speaking to individual Christians. I am saying that they should learn to distinguish between God’s work and men’s wickedness. In all of God’s offices and estates there are many wicked men; but the estate itself is good and remains good no matter how much men misuse it. You find many bad women, many false servants, many unfaithful maids, many despicable officials and counselors; nevertheless, the estates themselves—wife, servant, maid, and all the offices—are God’s institution, work, and ordinance. The sun remains good, even though everyone misuses it, one to rob and another to kill, one to do this kind of evil and another that. And who could do any evil at all if he did not have the sun to light his way, the earth to hold him up and nourish him, and the air to keep him alive—in short, God himself to sustain him? The saying remains true, “The whole creation was subjected to futility, but not of its own will” (Romans 8 [:20]).Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 46: The Christian in Society III, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 46 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 248.
Volume 51:
A question. If it is true that Lazarus and the other dead persons must be understood as signifying sin, how does this accord with the Gospel when the evangelist says in the speech of Martha, “Lord, he whom you love is ill” and “See how he loved him”? [John 11:3, 36]. Is it not true that Christ does not love the sinner but rather the truth, as the Scriptures says, “You love righteousness and hate wickedness” [Ps. 45:7] and “In my sight the sinner is scorned”? [cf. Ps. 5:5]. The answer is this: My dear man, [comfort yourself with this saying,] “I came not for the sake of the righteous, but to make righteous what is unrighteous and sinful and to lead the sinners to repentance” [cf. Matt. 9:13].Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Sermons I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 51 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 45–47.
The whole human race was worthy of hatred, and yet Christ loved us. For if he had not loved us, he would not have descended from heaven. For the prophet says in the psalm: “There is none that does good,” except one; “they have all become corrupt and sinners” [cf. Ps. 14:3] except Christ alone. So Christ loves the sinner at the command of the Father, who sent Him for our comfort. So the Father wills that we should look to Christ’s humanity and love him in return, but yet in such a way as to remember that he did all this at the bidding of Father’s supreme good pleasure. Otherwise it is terrifying to think of Christ. For to the Father is ascribed power, to the Son, wisdom, and to the Holy Spirit goodness, which we can never attain and of which we must despair.
But when we know and consider that Christ came down from heaven and loved sinners in obedience to the Father, then there springs up in us a bold approach to and firm hope in Christ. We learn that Christ is the real epistle, the golden book, in which we read and learn how he always kept before him the will of the Father. So Christ is the “access to the Father” [Eph. 2:18] as St. Paul says. And John too bears witness that Christ said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” [John 14:6]. “I am also the door” [John 10:7] and “no one comes to the Father, but by me” [John 14:6]. Now we see that there is no shorter way to the Father except that we love Christ, hope and trust in him, boldly look to him for everything good, learn to know and praise him. For then it will be impossible that we should have a miserable, frightened, dejected conscience; in Christ it will be heartened and refreshed. But the Scriptures say concerning the sinners: “The wicked shall perish and be driven away like dust” [cf. Ps. 1:4, 6]. Therefore the sinners flee and know not where to go; for when the conscience does not hope and trust in God it cowers and trembles before the purity and righteousness of God. It can have no sweet assurance; it flees and still has nowhere to go unless it finds and catches hold of Christ, the true door and anchor. Yes, this is the way that all Christians should learn. But we go plunging on, taking hold in our own name, with our understanding and reason, and do not see or ever take to heart how kindly, sweetly, and lovingly Christ has dealt with people. For the Father commanded him to do so. This tastes sweet to the faithful soul and it gives all the glory, praise, and honor to the Father through the Son, Christ Jesus. So God has nothing but the best and he offers it to us, weeds us, sustains us, and cares for us through his Son. That’s the way our hearts are changed to follow Christ.
Sermon on Cross and Suffering, Preached at Coburg the Saturday before Easter, Based on the Passion History, April 16, 1530Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Sermons I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 51 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 197–98.
A Harmony of Matthew 27; Luke 23, and John 19
This sermon was preached on the day after Luther’s arrival at Feste Coburg where he stayed during the Diet of Augsburg at which the Augsburg Confession was presented. Among the congregation in the chapel of the castle were the Elector John, Count Albrecht of Mansfeld, Melanchthon, Justus Jonas, Veit Dietrich, John Agricola, and some thirty retainers of the Elector. Notes for the sermon were taken down by Veit Dietrich, who prepared the printed version of 1530, but the notes themselves were incorporated in Georg Rörer’s collection. Another transcript by Stoltz is also extant.
Text in German; WA 32, 28–39.
Dear friends, you know that it is customary in this season to preach on the Passion, so I have no doubt that you have heard many times what kind of passion and suffering it was. You have also heard why it was that God the Father ordained it, namely, that through it he wanted to help, not the person for Christ, for Christ had no need at all for this suffering; but we and the whole human race needed this suffering. Thus it was a gift which was given and presented to us out of pure grace and mercy. But we shall not deal with these points now, for I have often spoken of them on other occasions.
WA D. Martin Luthers Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe (Weimar, 1883– ).
Volume 54:
No. 5071: “He Hardens the Heart of Whomever He Wills”Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 54: Table Talk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 54 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 385–86. On Luther’s view, God permitted Adam to all in order that He might display His goodness toward the human race in giving His Son for the whole human race’s salvation.
Between June 11 and 19, 1540
Somebody asked [Martin Luther], “Is the hardening of the heart in the Scriptures88 to be taken literally or figuratively?”
The doctor replied, “Literally, but not actively, because God doesn’t do anything that’s bad. Yet his omnipotence does everything, and as he finds man, so he acts on him. Pharaoh was by nature wicked; God acted on him, and Pharaoh continued to be wicked.89 His heart was hardened because God didn’t hinder Pharaoh’s ungodly plans by his Spirit and grace. Why God didn’t hinder them is not for us to ask. This ‘why’ destroys many souls when they search after that which is too high for us. God says, ‘Why I am doing this you do not know, but ponder my Word, believe in Christ, pray, and I will make everything turn out well.’ If God should be asked at the last judgment, ‘Why did you permit Adam to fall?’ and he answered, ‘In order that my goodness toward the human race might be understood when I gave my Son for man’s salvation,’ we would say, ‘Let the whole human race fall again in order that thy glory may become known! Because thou hast accomplished so much through Adam’s fall we do not understand thy ways.’ “There is a threefold light: that of reason, that of grace, and that of glory.”
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88 Cf. Rom. 9:18.
89 Cf. Exod. 7:13.
Volume 58:
So, then, John was sent to bring people to the Baptism of repentance. But his office was appointed chiefly and especially to testify to Christ and to baptize Him. [John]’s proper and true title, therefore, is “the baptizer of the Lord Christ.” For if Christ had not been baptized with us, indeed, for our sakes, then we are lost. But now because the Lord God has laid the sins of all men upon Him, so that He must bear them and make satisfaction for them, He comes to John and has Himself baptized by him for the benefit of you, of me, and of all the world, in order to cleanse us from sins and to make us righteous and blessed.Martin Luther, “First Sermon at the Baptism of Bernard of Anhalt Matthew 3:1–17,” in Luther’s Works: Sermons V, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown, trans. Jon Steffen Bruss, vol. 58 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 45–46.
Thus He also sacrifices Himself on the cross, becoming a sinner and a curse [Gal. 3:13]. And yet He alone is the blessed Seed [Gen. 3:15] through whom the whole world is blessed [Gen. 22:18], that is, through whom it must be redeemed from sin and death. But He hangs on the cross between two evildoers, is reckoned as their equal, and there dies a shameful death. He does that for the benefit of the whole human race, to redeem it from the eternal curse. Therefore, He is both the greatest and only sinner on earth, for He bears the sins of the whole world, and also the only righteous and holy One, since no one is made righteous and holy before God except through Him.
John himself testifies concerning Him: “Behold, the Lamb of God” [John 1:29]—who must be holy, pure, and innocent indeed. But what else does he say about Him? “Who bears the sin of the world” [John 1:29]. If He bears the world’s sin, He must of course be a sinner, indeed, a sinner alone, because the Holy Spirit is not joking when He says through the prophet: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” [Isa. 53:6], and through John: “Behold, the Lamb of God who bears the sins of the world” [John 1:29]. Now, whoever believes that his own sins and the sins of all the world are laid on our dear Lord and that it was on account of this that He was baptized, was nailed to the cross, and there poured out His precious blood for us so that He, as the sole bearer of sins and the propitiator, might cleanse us from our sins and justify and save us—[whoever believes that] has the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and Christ’s Baptism, cross, and blood become his own. For inasmuch as He is pure and innocent in Himself, He could have easily been spared it and been neither baptized nor crucified. But He did so to serve the whole human race. Whoever believes this possesses it.
[Paul] says that we are already saved. For since sin and death have been taken away, God is kind and loving toward humanity and reveals Himself out of pure mercy; thus death is already gone and the Savior of the human race is present in kindness and says, “I give you everything out of pure mercy, not because of your works of righteousness.” We do not yet see these divine blessings; rather, we possess them in hope. If we receive this Savior with our hearts and believe in Him, then sin and death are gone, and heaven is opened. What has He gotten in return? How has He saved me? He is my Savior, not because of my works but because of His mercy.Martin Luther, “Afternoon Sermon for the First Sunday after Epiphany, Titus 3:4–8,” in Luther’s Works: Sermons V, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown, trans. James Langebartels, vol. 58 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 394.
For there it was made known and revealed by God Himself that a woman should bear a son, who would be called her own (the woman’s) Seed, so that the woman therefore would be a natural human being and the child her natural son, except that He would be the offspring of the woman alone, that is, not begotten from or through a man. He would have power and authority to trample the head (that is, the power) of the serpent (the devil, who through Adam and Eve brought the whole human race under his power, into death and eternal damnation) and thereby redeem the human race from sin, the wrath of God, and eternal death. That would certainly have to be a special person: not simply someone greater than an ordinary human being born of man and woman but also someone greater than an angel, because the devil, whose head He is supposed to trample, is himself of the highest angelic nature.Martin Luther, “Sermon on the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 8 [:23–27],” in Luther’s Works: Sermons V, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown, trans. Adam Francisco, vol. 58 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 416–17.
It is as if God were with these words clearly saying: “I will make Him be a natural man, born of a woman, yet not conceived from a man in the natural or common human manner. He will not only have a human nature like you, Adam and Eve”—for then He could not have authority to trample the serpent underfoot, just as they, even before the fall, though they were created without sin, did not have power and authority to do so—“but He shall be both natural man and true God, as the one who is the Lord over the devil and all his power, and He Himself shall accomplish the work of obliterating the devil, death, sin, and hell, which is a work that lies in the power of the divine Majesty alone.” Nevertheless, He must be a different person from the one who speaks these things and makes the promise of a person who will be the woman’s Seed and trample the serpent, and yet He must be of the same divine essence and of the same eternal God, since there is no more than one God. Therefore, He must be the eternal Son of God.
And so this article concerning Christ has been preached and believed, from the beginning of the world on, by all the holy patriarchs and prophets: that Christ would be both true man, as the promised Seed of the woman, and also true God and Lord over all creatures, over sin, the devil, and death, as the one who would accomplish the work of atonement and redemption of the human race from the eternal wrath and condemnation of God that came over us according to the righteous judgment of God, and who would destroy the work of the devil. As St. John says, the Son of God Himself had to appear in order to destroy the work of the devil [1 John 3:8], that is, to free us from our eternal bonds under God’s wrath and from hell.
Volume 61:
Fourth, he [Luther] spoke about which one is the true Christian Church, for which Christ had died, shed His blood, redeemed, and purchased them, namely, that it was not the desperate evildoers, the bishops and clerics in the papacy, who are burdened with arrogance, greed, tyranny, gluttony, and ⟨all⟩ other vices, and who consorted with whores; Christ did not purchase such people with His precious, worthy blood, etc.Martin Luther, “Against Johann Agricola of Eisleben (1540/1549),” in Luther’s Works: Theological and Polemical Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes and Christopher Boyd Brown, trans. Gerhard P. Maag, vol. 61 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2021), 383–84; Report on [Martin] Luther’s Sermon at the Consecration of Nicolaus Von Amsdorf as Bishop of Naumburg, January 20, 1542. I am listing this quote as potential evidence for a limited view. Calvin’s comment to Heshusius sound similar. However, I think Luther is speaking to application. In other words, such wicked people show that they are not effectually redeemed or purchased by Christ.
Volume 73:
[Response of Theodor] Fabricius: What is contained in the psalm—“You have forsaken Me” [Ps. 22:1]—is, in the Hebrew: “You have made Him lack divinity for a little while” [Ps. 8:5]. It does not mean that Christ stopped being true God, but that in the agony of death He did not sense His divinity [WA 39/2:281–82] on account of the mass of sins which He bore for the human race.Martin Luther, “Disputation on the Invocation of God and on Repentance (Doctoral Disputation for Theodor Fabricius and Stanislaus Rapagelanus) Theses by Philip Melanchthon (May 23, 1544),” in Luther’s Works: Disputations II, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown and Benjamin T. G. Mayes, trans. Eric G. Phillips and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 73 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2020), 450.
WA D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe. 73 volumes in 85. Weimar: H. Böhlau, 1883–.
[Response of Georg] Major:91 He could [have done otherwise], but He did not will it, nor did it please [Him to do so]. Consequently, because man had fallen, He willed to redeem the human race through a man also, that the righteousness of God might be satisfied.Martin Luther, “Disputation on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of the Son, and on the Law (Doctoral Disputation for Georg Major and Johann Faber) (December 12, 1544),” in Luther’s Works: Disputations II, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown and Benjamin T. G. Mayes, trans. Eric G. Phillips, vol. 73 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2020), 486.
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91 The attribution may be in error since the argument seems to be directed against Faber’s theses. It may, however, take Major’s Thesis 3 (see the following argument) as its point of departure.
Argument 24Martin Luther, “Disputation on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of the Son, and on the Law (Doctoral Disputation for Georg Major and Johann Faber) (December 12, 1544),” in Luther’s Works: Disputations II, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown and Benjamin T. G. Mayes, trans. Eric G. Phillips, vol. 73, Luther’s Works (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2020), 490.
Against the Same [Thesis 8 of Georg Major]
8. Nevertheless, at the same time, this Unity is a Trinity, or the Divinity of three distinct persons.
[The expression] “God with us” is often used. Therefore, [Christ] is God only nominally,122 and not essentially.
I prove the consequent: Because Christ is called “Lord” everywhere in the prophets, as when it is said, “Immanuel has been born to us” [cf. Isa. 7:14].123
[Response of Georg] Major: I respond that when [Isaiah] says, “God with us,” he does not understand it nominally, but essentially. For he is saying that it will come to pass that Christ shall in our midst be made the sacrifice for the human race. And as Christ was at that time, so He is, and He shall be for eternity.
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122 nuncupative
123 “Immanuel” means “God with us” (see Matt. 1:23). The argument seems to be that if Christ is called by a name (as in Isa. 7:14: “You will call His name Immanuel”), then it is only a name rather than a description of essence.
[WA 39/2:308–9][Response of Georg] Major: I respond that He is subjected according to the human nature, in order that He might make satisfaction for the sins of the human race. According to the divine essence, however, He is not subjected, for by it He is equal to the Father. For whatever [attributes] are in the essence of the Father are understood to be in the Son as well, and they differ only in this: that the Son has been begotten, and the Father has not been begotten.Martin Luther, “Disputation on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of the Son, and on the Law (Doctoral Disputation for Georg Major and Johann Faber) (December 12, 1544),” in Luther’s Works: Disputations II, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown and Benjamin T. G. Mayes, trans. Eric G. Phillips, vol. 73 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2020), 493.
WA D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe. 73 volumes in 85. Weimar: H. Böhlau, 1883–.
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What heart would not cheerfully expect all good from Him when He shows such love that He sent His dear Son to the evil, damnable people (that is, the whole world, which is all people), who never did anything good, but every hour acted against His Commandments?Martin Luther, “Gospel for Pentecost Monday (John 3:16–21),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 77 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2014), 371.
The Giver, who is so great and mighty, the Creator of all creatures, not only says, “Good morning,” or kindly smiles at us, but loves us—and loves us so heartily that He gives us not only a beggar’s portion of perishable goods but also His highest, dearest treasure, His Son, who is also Lord of heaven and earth.Martin Luther, “Gospel for Pentecost Monday,” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 77 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2014), 374.
38. “Yes,” you say, “I would gladly believe if I were like St. Peter, Paul, and others who are righteous and holy, but I am too great a sinner. Who knows whether I am elect?” Answer: Look at the words! Look at how and about whom He is speaking: “God so loved the world” and “so that all who believe in Him” [John 3:16]. Now, “the world” does not mean only St. Peter and Paul, but the entire human race together, and here no one is excluded. God’s Son was given for all, all are to believe this, and all who believe will not be lost, etc. Look at yourself in the face,10 or look in your bosom,11 to see whether or not you are also a human being (that is, a part of the world) and in the number which the word “all” includes, as well as others. If I and you do not accept this, then these words must also have been spoken falsely and in vain.Martin Luther, “Gospel for Pentecost Monday,” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 77 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2014), 375–76.
39. This was surely not preached—much less given and granted—to cows and geese. Therefore, beware of excluding yourself by permitting thoughts such as: “Who knows whether it has also been given to me?” That would be calling God a liar in His Word. Rather, make a cross before yourself and repeat these words: “Even if I am not St. Peter or Paul, I am still a part of the world. If He had wanted to give it only to the worthy, then He would have had to send this preaching only to the angels, who are pure and without sin. Yes, He would even have had to withhold it from St. Peter, David, and Paul, for they were sinners as well as I am. No matter who I am, I know that God’s Word is true, and if I do not accept it, then, on top of all other sins, I am also committing this one, that I regard God’s Word and truth as lies and am slandering them.”
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10 Greiff dich doch selbs bey der Nasen, literally, “Get hold of your own nose.” The saying means: “Know yourself” (cf. DWB, s.v. “Nase” I.5.c).
11 Again, the saying means “Know yourself.” It is explained in Wander 1:519, “Busen” no. 7.
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6. “Well,” says St. John, “if the world can hate God Himself for this benefit, dear friends, do not be surprised when the same thing happens to you. What does it mean when I show my love and lay down my body and life in order to confirm this teaching and help my neighbor? It is a poor, beggarly, filthy, and stinking love compared to the fact that Christ dies for me to redeem me from eternal death! If God with His supreme, unfathomable love cannot get the world to be thankful to Him, why be surprised if the world dislikes you for your kindness? Why would you be angry and rant about ingratitude? You yourself are part of the world for whom God’s Son had to die. Even if you die for them, it is still nothing compared to the fact that God did not spare His own Son for their sake, but let Him be executed and killed by their own hands” [Rom. 8:32].Martin Luther, “Epistle for the Second Sunday after Trinity (1 John 3:13–18),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 70. Note that the “world” (i.e., all unbelievers) that hates God and believers, is unthankful, and was even involved in executing and killing God’s own Son, is the same “world” (Luther said) for whom God gave His Son to die. Clearly that includes the non-elect.
25. Now, as the apostles preached according to the command of Christ, so we also must do, saying that all people are conceived and born in sin and are by nature children of wrath and condemned because of it [Eph. 2:3]; they cannot obtain the forgiveness of sins or be saved through themselves nor through any other creature’s help, advice, work, merit, etc. This is what it means to rebuke, judge, and condemn everyone. We do this not of our own arbitrary whim, not because we take pleasure in reprimanding people as sinners and godless, but because of Christ’s order and command. However, we do not leave it there, but cheer and comfort again those we have rebuked, and tell them that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners [1 Tim. 1:15], so that everyone who believes in Him does not perish but is saved [John 3:16].Martin Luther, “Gospel for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Luke 6:36–42),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 179–80.
58. Therefore, we must listen only to God’s Word about this. God’s Word reveals and shows us what God the Father’s will is. First, [His will is] that He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to make peace with God for our sins by His death, and through His blood to cleanse and save us without our merit, etc. He sends this proclamation to everyone through the Gospel and requires you to believe and accept it. Christ also Himself says this with clear words: “The will of Him who sent Me is that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him has eternal life” [John 6:40].Martin Luther, “Gospel for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity (Matthew 7:15–23),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 300.
19. So this means (I say) that God—if we want to look at Him in the works that He does also bodily and temporally—is nothing other than pure, inexpressible love, greater and more than anyone can ever imagine. The most shameful thing is that the world pays no attention to this and does not thank Him for it, even though it sees every hour so many innumerable blessings of God before its eyes. With their ingratitude, every day they honestly deserve that God would not let the sun shine on them for one moment nor let even a straw grow out of the ground nor even grant them life. Just for this reason He does not stop loving without ceasing nor doing good also externally and bodily—not to mention what He does when it comes to spiritual benefits, when He is pouring out not sun and moon nor heaven and earth, but His own heart and His dearest Son, that He even makes Him shed His blood and die the most shameful death of all for us shameful, wicked, unthankful people. How can we say anything but that God is nothing except a fathomless depth of eternal love and, again, that love is nothing else than only God? Therefore, whoever has love must also have God and be full of Him.Martin Luther, “Several Beautiful Sermons on 1 John, on Love (1 John 4:16–21),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 372–73.
66. However, on that day this will become obvious before God and all creatures, when He says to them: “I have given you heaven and earth, sun and moon, and all benefits. Moreover, I have caused my Gospel to be preached to deliver you from your sins and misery, and so offered all grace and eternal life free of charge. But how have you acted toward it? Like desperate, wicked devil’s fruit, you have wanted to recognize and accept no kindness or grace, but have struggled and raged against it most vehemently.” Similarly, all saints will then stand there and also testify and say against them and about them: “We have served you with our body and life and have faithfully and sincerely helped you to blessedness and all benefits. You cannot deny that we have done it out of fully genuine love, just as the genuine love of God is and does.” If it were not genuinely perfect, divine love, then we would certainly act differently toward the matter and say, as the world usually says to each other: “I let you have hellfire and all misfortune so that I could do you more good.” Why would we need to take on ourselves to no purpose all people’s hatred and hostility, contempt, danger, and misfortune? We could certainly have been spared this if we wanted to seek our own and also give the world a dismissal and say to it: “If you are such a precious herb, then may the devil love you!”Martin Luther, “Several Beautiful Sermons on 1 John, on Love (1 John 4:16–21),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 392–93.
Now, it happens that God must suffer from all the world for His inexpressible love, since they give Him nothing but ingratitude for His love, despise His words and works, and in addition slander and persecute them. How many are there who thank Him even once for a benefit or would for His sake give up a halfpenny, when God gives them all kinds of goods most richly? They live as if this were their right and even privilege to use His gifts according to their own caprice. Now, because we see that this is what happens to God Himself and His love in the world, we can resign ourselves to the fact that we will not have it better, and not be surprised or angry if something unusual or extraordinary happens to us, but rather cheerfully be confident and boast all the more boldly when we can boast and be confident. Yet our love and patience and all we can do are still not the same as what divine love and patience must suffer from the world.Martin Luther, “Several Beautiful Sermons on 1 John, on Love (1 John 4:16–21),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 391.
He gives all His creatures into the hands of the evil tyrants and villains and covers them with all good things, and yet He earns from them nothing more than a fine “thank You,” namely, that without ceasing they slander and defame Him for it. In the same way His Son lets Himself be nailed to the cross, carries our sin around His neck, and dies for the whole world, so that they can live and be redeemed and liberated from their sins and the devil’s power. But they do not want to hear or tolerate any such preaching. They slander and persecute His preachers and Christians, and set up all kinds of false worship and their own holiness to spite and grieve Him. That is the way the dear, faithful Savior must be repaid!Martin Luther, “Several Beautiful Sermons on 1 John, on Love (1 John 4:16–21),” in Luther’s Works, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 78 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 394.
All people are under sin and damnation, so that nothing else could help them except that God had to give His Son for the world and establish a different preaching through which grace and reconciliation are proclaimed to us.Martin Luther, “Epistle for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (2 Corinthians 3:4–11),” in Luther’s Works: Church Postil V, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 79 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2016), 24.
Because it is impossible for our nature to keep the Law, Christ came, stepped between the Father and us, and prayed for us: “Dear Father, be gracious to them and forgive their sins. I will take their sins onto Myself and bear them. I love You from My whole heart, and in addition the entire human race, which I demonstrate by shedding My blood for them. In this way I have fulfilled the Law for their advantage, so that they can have the benefit of My fulfilling the Law and through this come to grace.”Martin Luther, “Gospel for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (Matthew 22:34–46),” in Luther’s Works: Church Postil V, ed. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and Christopher Boyd Brown, vol. 79 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2016), 174.
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