CHAPTER I.

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THE EPISTLES OF ST. PETER AND ST. JUDE PREACHED AND EXPLAINED

BY

MARTIN LUTHER.

Wittemberg, 1523-4.

TRANSLATED, WITH PREFACE AND NOTES,

BY

E. H. GILLETT.

NEW YORK:

ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH,

No. 683 BROADWAY.

1859.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by

E. H. GILLETT,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District

of New York.

EDWARD O. JENKINS,

Printer & Stereotyper,

No. 26 FRANKFORT STREET.

PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

Several years ago, among the dusty piles of old pamphlets stored away

upon the upper shelves of the Union Theological Seminary library, I

met with several works of Luther, in the original editions, as they

were issued during his lifetime from his press at Wittemberg. Among

them were his Commentaries, or rather Lectures, on the Epistles of

Peter and Jude.[1] The forbidding aspect of the page, with the

obsolete spelling of its words, and its somewhat coarse typography,

was rather an incitement to master it; for here was Luther,

presenting himself to the eye of the reader just as, more than three

hundred years ago, he presented himself to the eyes of thousands of

his countrymen. Upon a partial perusal of the Commentary, I became

satisfied that it would repay a more attentive study; and finding,

upon investigation, that it had never been translated into English, I

set myself to the task which had been so long neglected. The pleasing

labor was accomplished, and the manuscript laid aside for several

years. The conviction, confirmed by a re-perusal of it, that others

besides myself would be interested in the work, has led me to

determine on its publication.

[Footnote 1: Another copy of this same edition of Luther on Peter,

belonging to a clergyman's library which was sold at auction in this

city, four or five years since, brought an almost fabulous price.]

Luther's Commentary on the Galatians, excellent as it is, is too

voluminous and expensive to be very extensively circulated, while the

phraseology of the early translation, which has not been modified,

prevents its proper appreciation by modern readers. And yet any one

that would truly know the man, and the secret of his power, must

study these in his writings. The Commentary on the Epistles of Peter

and Jude, presented in a literal but more modern style to the English

reader, is not liable to these objections; and yet, in the variety of

its themes, the clearness of its exposition, the stinging force of

its rebukes, the simplicity and directness of its language, it is

scarcely surpassed by any of Luther's other writings. On the great

subject of justification by faith alone, he is here, as in his

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, full and emphatic. The

relation of faith to works is clearly and carefully defined, while

the subjects presented in the text afford full opportunity for

discussing the great questions that concern the relative duties of

civil and social life. The volume thus becomes at once a manual of

doctrine and of duty. On the foundation of faith is reared the

superstructure of a Christian life. Luther is seen to have fully

apprehended the force of all the objections that could be urged

against his teachings, and with convincing ability he vindicates them

from every charge. Throughout the volume we have ever before us the

earnest, devout spirit of the Reformer, for the most part unfolding

in the simplest manner the great doctrines of the Gospel, but

occasionally indulging in volcanic outbursts of indignation against

the hierarchical corruptions of his day, and pouring out upon them

the lava-tides of withering rebuke.

It may seem strange that this work of Luther's has never before been

translated. But, unlike his Commentary on the Epistle to the

Galatians, which he himself translated into Latin, that it might have

a wider circulation among the learned of Europe, this was published

by him only in the German language, which was little known in

England, and hence it was deprived of that notoriety which would have

drawn special attention to it, as well as of that Latin dress which

would have facilitated an English translation. It is well known,

moreover, that Luther formed a most humble estimate of his own

writings, and was uniformly reluctant to collect his works in

volumes, or bestow upon them any editorial care. He seemed perfectly

willing to have them sink to oblivion, and could not be persuaded by

the most urgent representations to do anything which might rescue

them from such a fate. Besides, it is to be noted that a perusal of

this volume especially would soon satisfy the reader, that after the

accession of Queen Elizabeth to the throne, it stood little chance of

securing the necessary approval or _imprimatur_ of an English bishop.

Yet the work is one of no little historical as well as antiquarian

interest. It has done its part in one of the greatest intellectual

and religious conflicts of the world. It is the sword that a giant

wielded, and that has done execution on a broad field. In the great

armory of the Reformation-writings, scarcely another deserves a more

conspicuous place. It presents those views of the relative spheres of

Divine and human authority which became prevalent wherever the cause

of Reform advanced. It unmasked popular errors, rebuked

ecclesiastical corruption, and vindicated most effectively the simple

doctrines of faith. Here, moreover, we see Luther clad in the armor

with which he boldly challenged the Papacy to a lifelong combat. The

man is before us, girded for the battle, and we see the weapons upon

which he relies. If one of those cannon balls with which English

valor won the battle of Cressy,--the first in which the efficiency of

the new invention was tested,--could be picked up there now, and it

could be ascertained that it did service in that famous battle, it

would be an object of no small interest, at least to the antiquary;

but in regard to this treatise of Luther, we know full well that Rome

felt its visitation as something more terrible than a bombshell

exploding beneath the dome of St. Peter's. Under the authority of

Peter himself it demolished the very foundations of the throne upon

which his pretended successors were seated, and gave a most effective

impulse to the onward movement of reform.

Nor is this all. It is still capable of doing effective service.

After all the rust and tarnish of three centuries, these words of

Luther are remarkably fresh, and seem almost like a living utterance

of to-day. Their critical value is not indeed great, although by no

means contemptible, for the quick sagacity of the Reformer in

detecting the meaning and the force of the Scriptural argument, is

evident on every page, and is rarely at fault; but his clear views of

the Gospel, his untrammeled freedom of thought, his strong good

sense, and his most effective energy of application are everywhere

conspicuous. His language is uniformly simple and direct. The

exposition contained in this volume was first delivered from the

pulpit. According to the title-page, it is Scripture "preached and

explained," and in addressing it to the people, Luther did not fail

to keep in view the object upon which he set so high an estimate,

when he said, "I preach as simply as possible. I want the common

people, and children, and servants, to understand me."

The care with which he fortifies his positions with Scriptural

citations is likewise obvious. He rarely presents views upon any

theme from which one who acknowledges the authority of Scripture will

feel forced to dissent, unless, with some, the subject of baptism

should an exception. In regard to this, he speaks like one who as yet

sees "men as trees walking."

Considerable space is given up to an exposure of the errors and

abuses of the Papacy, but the exposure is made uniformly by the light

of Scripture. Vehement as are Luther's occasional bursts of

indignation, he never wanders from the subject, and never ventures

beyond where he is sustained by the clear warrant of the word of God.

In the purpose of presenting this translation to English readers, I

have been encouraged by the prospect of affording to others the same

opportunity of acquaintance with Luther's modes of thought and

feeling which I have myself enjoyed. I believe, moreover, that his

exposition has a high value, apart from the interest which attaches

to it as the production of the great hero of the Reformation.

Occasionally, the views presented have seemed to be such as required

some explanatory note or correction, and in a few instances this has

been appended, but the necessity has rarely occurred, and Luther is

left throughout to speak for himself. The translation is strictly

literal, and almost the only variations from the original are so

marked, by being inclosed in parentheses. These will readily be

distinguished from the passages or words included in parentheses of

the original text, by their explanatory character.

It would have been a far easier task to have given a more liberal and

polished rendering of Luther's language. But I think most readers

would prefer to have me give them Luther, rather than--the

translator. There are occasional roughnesses of expression, and some

sentences which were evidently not very lucidly reported, but they

are features of the book which presents Luther to us, and even the

wart on the face must appear in the faithful portrait.

For assistance in the labor of revising some of the more difficult

passages, I am indebted to Prof. ROBINSON, of the Union Theological

Seminary, and to Rev. M. BUSHE, pastor of a German church in this

city. By their aid, which I take this occasion gratefully to

acknowledge, I feel confident that nearly every passage, in which the

text of the original is not in fault, has been correctly rendered.

I had hoped, in this connection, to present an estimate of Luther's

writings, from the pen of one of the most eminent German scholars

which our country can boast. The permission to do so was kindly

granted, but the limited space allowed for prefatory remark forbids

it. I will only add the expression of my own conviction, that from

the exceedingly voluminous works of Luther, other selections of high

merit might be made, the translation and publication of which would

be welcomed with grateful acknowledgment by a large class of American

and English readers. I should be highly gratified if the

encouragement afforded by my words or example should induce any one

more competent than myself, or who can command more leisure for it,

to prosecute the work which I have only just begun.

E. H. GILLETT.

HARLEM, March 8th, 1859.

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF ST. PETER

INTRODUCTION.

Before we enter upon this Epistle of St. Peter, it is necessary to

present a brief Introduction,[1] that it may be understood how this

Epistle is to be ranked, and in order that a right apprehension of it

may be attained.

[Footnote 1: Literally, _instruction_.]

In the first place, it must be understood that all the Apostles

present one and the same doctrine; and it is not correct to speak

of[2] four Evangelists and four Gospels for all which the Apostles

wrote is one Gospel. But _Gospel_ means nothing but a proclamation

and heralding of the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ,

merited and procured through his death. And it is not properly that

which is contained in books, and is comprehended in the letter, but

rather an oral proclamation and living word, and a voice which echoes

through the whole world, and is publicly uttered that it may

universally be heard. Neither is it a book of laws, containing in

itself many excellent doctrines, as has hitherto been held. For it

does not bid us do works whereby we may become righteous, but

proclaims to us the grace of God, bestowed freely, and apart from any

merit of our own; and it tells how Christ has taken our place, and

rendered satisfaction for our sins, and canceled them, and by His own

works justifies and saves us.

[Footnote 2: Count.]

Whoever sets forth this, by preaching or writing, _he_ teaches the

true Gospel, as all the Apostles did, especially St. Paul and St.

Peter, in their Epistles. So that all, whatever it be, that sets

forth Christ, is one and the same Gospel, although one may use a

different method, and speak of it in different language from another,

for it may perhaps be a brief or extended address, or a brief or

extended writing. But yet, if it tends to this point, that Christ is

our Saviour, and we through faith on Him, apart from works of our

own, are justified and saved, it is still the same Word, and but one

Gospel, just as there is also but one faith and one baptism in the

whole Christian world.

So, also, one Apostle has written the same [Gospel] that is contained

in another's writings; but they who insist most largely and

emphatically on this, that faith on Christ alone justifies, are the

best Evangelists. Therefore St. Paul's Epistles are more a Gospel

than Matthew, Mark and Luke, for the latter give little more than the

history of the works and miracles of Christ; but of the grace which

we have through Christ, none write so emphatically as St. Paul,

especially in his Epistle to the Romans. And yet, since more

importance by far belongs to the word than to the works and deeds of

Christ, and where we are to be deprived of one it were better that we

should want the works and the history than the word and the doctrine;

those books are to be most highly esteemed which most largely treat

of the doctrine and words of the Lord Christ; for though the miracles

of Christ had never been, and we had no knowledge of them, we should

yet have had enough in the _word_, without which we could not have

had life.

Thus this Epistle of St. Peter is one of the noblest books in the New

Testament, and contains indeed the pure Gospel; for he takes the same

course as St. Paul and all the Evangelists, in inculcating the true

doctrine of faith,--as that Christ has been given us, who takes away

our sin and saves us, as we shall hear.

Hence you may judge of all books and doctrines, what is Gospel or

not; for what is not set forth or written of in this manner, you may

safely decide to be false, however excellent in appearance. This

power to decide is one that all Christians possess,--not the Pope or

Councils, who boast that they only have the power to determine.--This

is sufficient introduction and preface. Let us now listen to the

Epistle.

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF ST. PETER.

CHAPTER I.

V. 1, 2. _Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers

scattered abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Capadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through

sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the

blood of Jesus Christ._

That is the superscription and subscription. Here you quickly

perceive that it is the Gospel. He calls himself an Apostle--that is,

one sent to declare a message; therefore it is correctly rendered in

Dutch, a messenger, or a twelfth-messenger,[1] because they were

twelve. But since it is generally understood what Apostle (the Greek

word) means, I have not rendered it in Dutch. But its peculiar

meaning is, one who bears a message by word of mouth; not one who

carries letters, but a capable man who presents a matter orally, and

advocates it,--of the class that in the Latin are called _Oratores_.

So he would now say, I am an Apostle of Jesus Christ,--that is, I

have a command from Jesus Christ that I, from Christ, am to proclaim.

[Footnote 1: _Tswolffbott_ in the original, for which we have no

equivalent English word.]

Observe, here, how promptly all those who teach human doctrine are

excluded. For _he_ is a messenger of Jesus Christ who presents that

which Christ has commanded; should he preach otherwise, he is not a

messenger of Christ, and therefore should not be listened to. But if

he does this, it is just as important as though you heard Christ

himself present.

_To the strangers scattered abroad._ This epistle was written to

lands which were formerly Christian but are now subject to the Turk,

yet it is possible some Christians might be found there even at this

day. Pontus is a large, broad region, lying on the sea. Capadocia is

in the same neighborhood, and borders on it. Galatia lies back of

them. Asia and Bithynia border on the sea--extending eastward--and

are extensive regions. Paul also preached in Galatia, and in Asia;

whether in Bithynia also, I do not know. In the other two he did not

preach. _Strangers_ are such as we call foreigners. He names them so

because they were Gentiles; and it is a thing to surprise us, that

St. Peter, inasmuch as he was an Apostle to the Jews, should still

write to the Gentiles. The Jews called these (of whom we speak)

Proselytes,--that is, associated Jews, such as adopted their law, but

were not of a Jewish family or the blood of Abraham. Thus he writes

to those who had previously been heathen (of the Gentiles), but were

now converted to the faith, and had joined the believing Jews, and he

calls them _elect strangers_, who certainly are Christians, to whom

alone he writes. This is a point worthy of observation, as we shall

hear.

_According to the foreknowledge of God the Father._ They are elect,

he says. How? Not of themselves, but according to God's purpose: for

we should be unable to raise ourselves to heaven, or create faith

within ourselves. God will not permit all men to enter heaven; those

who are his own he will receive with all readiness. The human

doctrine of free-will, and of our own ability, is futile. The matter

does not lie in our wills, but in the will and election of God.

_Through sanctification of the Spirit._ God has predestinated us that

we should be holy, and, moreover, that we should be spiritually holy.

Those precious words, Holy and Spiritual, have been perverted for us

through the greed of the preachers, in that they have denominated the

state of priests and monks holy and spiritual, and have thus

scandalously robbed us of these noble, precious words, as also of the

word Church, since with _them_ the Pope and Bishops are the Church,

while they do according to their own pleasure whatever they choose,

in virtue of the declaration, "The Church has forbidden it." Holiness

is not that which consists in the estate of monks, priests and

nuns,--the wearing of the tonsure and cowl; it is a spiritual word,

meaning that there is an inward holiness in the spirit before God.

And this is the reason specially why he said this, in order to show

that there is nothing holy but that holiness which God produces

within us.

For although the Jews had much outward or ceremonial holiness, there

was yet in this no genuine holiness. Peter would say here, God has

predestinated you to this end, that ye should be truly holy; as Paul

also says, in Eph. iv., "In righteousness and true holiness"--that

is, in a genuine and well-founded holiness,--for outward holiness,

such as the Jews had, is of no value before God.

Thus the Scripture calls us holy, while we yet live on earth, if we

believe. But the Papists have taken the name from us, and say, we are

not to be holy; the saints in Heaven alone are holy. Thus we are

compelled to reclaim the noble name. You must be holy, but you must

also beware against imagining that you are holy through yourself or

by your own merit, but only that you have God's word, that Heaven is

yours, that you are truly pious and made holy by Christ.

This you must confess if you would be a Christian. For it would be

the greatest affront and reviling of the name of Christ, if we took

from the honor due to Christ's blood, in that it is this that washes

away our sins, or from the faith that this blood sanctifies us.

Therefore, you must believe and confess if you would be holy; but by

this blood, not by your own excellence must it be, insomuch that for

it you would be willing to give up life and all that you possess, and

endure whatever might come upon you.

_To obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ._ Hereby, he

says, are we made holy, if we are obedient, and believe the word of

Christ, and are sprinkled with his blood. And here St. Peter speaks

in a somewhat different manner from St. Paul. But it is in substance

the same as when Paul says that we are saved through faith in Christ;

for faith makes us obedient and submissive to Christ and his word.

For to obey the word of God and the word of Christ is the same thing,

and to be sprinkled by his blood is the same as to believe. For it is

difficult to nature, hostile to it, and exceedingly humbling, to

submit to Christ, give up all its own possessions, and account them

contemptible and sinful. But yet it must be brought into subjection.

Of sprinkling, the Psalm _Miserere Domine_ (li.) also speaks:

"Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be clean." It refers to the law

of Moses, from which St. Peter has derived it, and he discloses Moses

to our view, while he brings in the Scripture. When Moses had built

the tabernacle, he took the blood of bullocks and sprinkled it over

all the people.

But _this_ sprinkling sanctifies not in the spirit, but only

outwardly. Therefore there must be a spiritual purification, since an

outward holiness, and one that pertains to the flesh, is of no avail

before God. And so God, by this sprinkling, has typified the

spiritual sprinkling. As though Peter had said, the Jews who were in

that holiness which was outward were held as righteous, and persons

of a pure life. But you are reputed base, yet you have a better

sprinkling; you are sprinkled in the Spirit, that you may be pure

from within. The Jews were sprinkled outwardly with the blood of

bullocks, but we are sprinkled inwardly in the conscience, so that

the heart is made pure and joyful.

Thus the Gentiles are Gentiles no longer. The righteous Jews, with

their sprinkling, are no more righteous, but all is reversed. There

must be a sprinkling which converts us and makes us spiritually

minded.

To preach sprinkling is to preach that Christ has shed his blood, and

for us has ascended to his Father, and intercedes, saying, "Beloved

Father! behold my blood which I have shed for these sinners." If you

believe this, you are sprinkled. Thus you see the right method of

preaching. If all the popes, monks and priests were to fuse all the

matter of their preaching into one mass, they would not even then

teach and present as much as St. Peter here does in these few words.

Thus you have the subscription of the Epistle, wherein he manifests

his office and what he preaches, as you have now heard. For this

alone is the Gospel, and all else that does not accord with it is to

be trodden under foot, and all other books are to be avoided in which

you find some fine pretence of works and prayers and indulgence that

does not teach similar doctrine, and is not confessedly grounded

thereon. All Papal books have not a letter of this obedience, of this

blood and sprinkling. Now follows the greeting to those to whom he

writes.

_Grace and peace be multiplied._ Here St. Peter adopts the Apostle

Paul's mode of greeting, although not to the same extent, and it is

as much as though he had said, ye have now peace and grace, but yet

not in perfection; therefore must ye continue to increase in them

till the old Adam die. Grace is God's favor, which now begins in us,

but which must continue to advance and grow even till death. Whoever

confesses and believes that he has a gracious God, possesses it,

while his heart gains peace also, and he is afraid neither of the

world nor of the devil; for he knows that God, who controls all

things, is his friend, and will deliver him from death, hell and all

evil,--therefore his conscience has peace and joy. Such is the desire

of St. Peter for those that believed, and it is a true Christian

greeting with which all Christians might well greet one another.

Thus we have the superscription, with the greeting; now he begins the

Epistle, and says:

V. 3-9. _Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who,

according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a lively

hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an

inheritance imperishable, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,

reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through

faith to salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, wherein ye

greatly rejoice, though now for a little time (if need be) ye are sad

through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith might be

found more precious than the perishable gold (that is tried by fire),

to praise, honor, and glory, when Jesus Christ shall be revealed,

whom ye have not seen and yet love, in whom through ye believe and

see him not, yet for your faith's sake ye rejoice with joy

unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even

the salvation of your soul._

In this preface you perceive a truly Apostolic address and

introduction to the matters in hand, and as I have said already, this

is the model of a noble Epistle. For he has already exhibited and

made manifest what Christ is, and what we have attained through him,

when he says, that God hath begotten us again to a lively hope

through the resurrection of Christ.

Thus all good things are bestowed upon us by the Father, not for any

desert of ours, but of pure mercy. These are true Gospel words which

are to be preached, but how little--God save us--of this kind of

preaching is to be met with in all sorts of books, even those that

must be considered the best; how little agreement is there, as St.

Jerome and St. Augustine have written, in this position,--that Jesus

Christ is to be preached, that he died and rose again, and that he

died and rose again that through such preaching men might believe on

him and be saved. That is preaching the true Gospel. Whatever is not

preached in this wise is not the Gospel, do it who will.

This is now the _summa summarum_ of these words. Christ, through his

resurrection, has brought us to the Father; and so, too, St. Peter

would bring us to the Father by the Lord Christ, and he sets him

forth as Mediator between God and us. Hitherto we have been taught

that we should call upon the saints; that they are our intercessors

with God, while, moreover, we have had recourse to our dear Virgin,

and have set her up as Mediatress, and have let Christ go as an angry

judge. This the Scripture does not do; it goes further, and exalts

Christ; teaching that he is our Mediator, by whom we come to the

Father. Oh! it is a blessing infinitely vast that is bestowed upon us

through Christ, that we may go into the presence of the Father and

claim the inheritance of which St. Peter here speaks.

These words also well exhibit the feelings which the Apostle had, as

with the deepest reverence he begins to praise the Father, and would

have us adore and bless Him for the sake of the infinite riches which

He has bestowed upon us, in that He has begotten us again, and this,

too, before we had desired or sought it; so that nothing is to be

praised but pure mercy, in order that we may not make our boast of

any works, but confess that we hold all that we have of God's

compassion.

There is no more the law and vengeance before us, as heretofore, when

He affrighted the Jews so that they were forced to flee, but dared

not go toward the mount. He vexes and chastises us no more, but shows

us the greatest friendship, creates us anew, and appoints us, not to

do some work or works, but produces within us an entirely new birth

and new being, that we should be something different from what we

were before, when we were Adam's children,--namely, such as are

transplanted from Adam's heritage into the heritage of God; so that

God is our Father, we are His children, and thus also heirs of all

the good which He possesses. Observe with what emphasis the

scriptures present this matter; it is all a living, not a vain,

matter in which we are concerned. Since we are thus begotten again

the children and heirs of God, we are equal in honor and dignity with

St. Paul, St. Peter, our blessed Virgin, and all the Saints. For we

have the treasure and all good things from God just as richly as

they; for it is just as necessary for them to be begotten again as

for us,--therefore they have nothing more than all other Christians.

_To a living hope._ That we continue to live on earth is mainly to

this end, that we should be of service to others. Otherwise, it were

better that God should have taken away our breath and let us die as

soon as we were baptized and had begun to believe. But He suffers us

to live here in order that we may bring others also to believe, doing

to them as He has done toward us. But while we remain on earth, we

must live in hope; for although we are assured that through faith we

have all the good things of God, (for faith brings along with it

assuredly the new birth, the adoption, the inheritance, and makes

them yours,) still you do not as yet behold them; but the matter

exists in hope, while it is of but small importance that we may not

see it with our eyes. This he calls _the hope of life_; that is, by a

Hebrew phrase, as though for sinful man we should say, a man of sin.

We call it a living hope; that is, one in which we certainly expect,

and may be assured of, eternal life. But it is concealed, and a veil

is drawn over it, that we see it not. It can only be apprehended in

the heart and by faith, as St. John writes in his Epistle, 1 John v.:

"We are now the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we

shall be; but we know that when it shall appear that we are like Him,

we shall behold Him as He is." For _this_ life, and _that_, cannot be

commingled, cannot consist with one another, so that we should eat,

drink, sleep, watch, and do other works of the flesh which this life

renders necessary, and at the same time have our full salvation.

Therefore we can never arrive at eternal life unless we die, and this

present life passes away. Thus, as long as we are here we must stand

in hope, until it be God's pleasure that we should behold the

blessings that are ours.

But how do we attain to this living hope? By the resurrection of

Christ from the dead, he says. I have often asserted that no one can

believe on God except through a mediation, since we can none of us

treat for ourselves before God, inasmuch as we are all children of

wrath; but we must have another by whom we may come before God, who

shall intercede for us and reconcile us to God. But there is no other

mediator than the Lord Christ, who is the Son of God. Therefore that

is not a true faith which is held by the Turks and Jews,--I believe

that God has created heaven and earth. Just so does the devil, too,

believe, but it does not help him. They venture to present themselves

before God without having Christ as mediator. So St. Paul speaks in

the fifth of Romans, "We have access to God by faith, not through

ourselves, but through Christ." Therefore we must bring Christ with

us, must come with Him, must satisfy God by Him, and do all that we

have to transact with God through Him, and in His name. That is the

thought implied here by St. Peter, and he would also say, we surely

expect this life, although we are still on earth. But all comes in no

other way than through the resurrection of Christ, since He has

arisen and ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of

God. For on this account He ascended, in order to bestow upon us His

Spirit, that we might be born again, and now through Him might come

to the Father and say, "Behold, I come before thee and pray, not

because I rely on my own request, but because my Lord Christ has gone

before me and is become my intercessor." These are all glowing words

wherever there is a heart that believes; where there is not, all is

cold and unimpressive.

Hence we may determine what genuine Christian doctrine or preaching

is. If the Gospel is to be preached, it must concern the resurrection

of Christ. Whoever does not preach this is no Apostle; for it is the

head article of our faith. And those books are truly the noblest

which teach and enforce such doctrine, as was said above. So that we

may easily discover that the Epistle of James is no true Apostolic

Epistle[2] for it contains scarcely a letter of these things in it,

while the greatest importance belongs to this article of faith. For

were there no such thing as the resurrection, we should have neither

comfort nor hope, and all beside that Christ has endured or suffered

would have been in vain.

[Footnote 2: The well-known views of Luther in regard to the Epistle

of James, and the grounds upon which he rejected it from the canon of

the New Testament, are presented in this passage. He was too

impatient of the _seeming_ contradiction between Paul and James upon

the subject of faith, and too hastily concluded that they were

irreconcilable. A careful consideration of the scope of the argument

in the Epistle of James, removes the difficulty, as may be seen at

large in later commentators. There is no historical reason for

casting discredit upon the Epistle of James. The early Christian

writers furnish very decided testimony in its favor. Clement of Rome

has alluded to it twice. Hermas has not less than seven allusions to

it, according to Lardner fully sufficient to prove its antiquity.

Origen, Jerome, Athanasius, and most of the subsequent ecclesiastical

writers quote from it, and it is found in all the catalogues of

canonical books published by the general and provincial Councils. But

an argument of still greater weight is, the fact that it is inserted

in the Syriac version of the New Testament, executed at the close of

the first, or early in the second century. None certainly would

question that the Jewish believers to whom it was addressed would be

the best judges of its genuineness and authenticity, and by them it

was unhesitatingly accepted.]

Therefore one should teach after this manner: You perceive that

Christ has died for you, has taken upon Himself sin, death, and hell,

and bowed Himself under them. But in no respect were they able to

crush Him, for He was too strong for them; but He has risen up from

beneath them, and has vanquished all, and brought them in subjection

to Himself; and to this end, that you might be relieved from them,

and made to triumph over them. If you believe, you possess this. All

these things, by our own power, we could not effect; hence it was

necessary that Christ should do it, otherwise He had never needed to

come down from heaven. We can only conclude that if one preaches of

our own works, _that_ preaching does not agree and cannot consist

with this. Oh, so thoroughly as we Christians should know this! so

clear should the Epistle be to us!

V. 4. _To an imperishable and undefiled and unfading inheritance._

That is, we hope not for a blessing or an inheritance that is far

off. But we live in the hope of an inheritance that is just at hand,

and that is imperishable as well as undefiled and unfading. This

blessing is ours henceforth and forever, although we do not now

behold it. These are powerful and excellent words; into whosesoever

mind they enter, he will, I imagine, not be greatly anxious after

worldly good and pleasure. How can it be possible that one who

assuredly believes this, should yet cleave to perishable possessions

and lusts?

If worldly good is presented in contrast with this, it is at once

seen how it all passes away and endures but for a time; but this

alone lasts forever and will never consume away. Besides, _that_ is

all impure, and defiles us, for there is no man so devoted that

worldly prosperity will not soil his purity. But _this_ inheritance

alone is pure; whoever has it is ever undefiled; it will not fade; it

endures and does not corrupt. All that is on earth, however hard it

be, is yet changeable and has no permanence. Man, as soon as he grows

old, becomes deformed: but this does not change, but abides forever,

fresh and green. On earth there is no pleasure that will not at

length become irksome, as we see that men grow weary of all things;

but with this blessing such is not the case. This do we possess only

in Christ, through the mercy of God, if we believe, and it is freely

bestowed upon us. For how is it possible that we poor wretches should

be able to deserve such good through our own works as no human reason

or sense can conceive?

_That is reserved in heaven._ Certain it is that our inheritance is

imperishable, undefiled and unfading. It is only for a little while

concealed from us, until we close our eyes and are buried, when, if

we believe, we shall surely find and behold it.

V. 5. _Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto

salvation._ We wait for this priceless inheritance, he says, in the

hope to which we have attained through faith; for this is their order

of succession: From the word follows faith, from faith is the new

birth, from the new birth we pass to hope, so that we certainly

expect and are assured of the blessing. So that Peter has here

asserted, in a truly christian manner, that it must take place by

faith, not by our own works.

But St. Peter says here, more particularly, _ye are kept by the power

of God--to salvation_. But there are many people who, if they hear

the Gospel,--namely, that faith alone, irrespective of works,

justifies,--break in at once and say, "Yes! I believe too!" To think

their thoughts which they themselves conceive, is faith. Yet we have

also been taught from Scripture that we cannot do the least work

without God's Spirit; how then by our own power should we be able to

do the highest work,--namely, believe? Wherefore such thoughts are

nothing else but a dream and a fiction. God's power must be present

and work within us, in order that we may believe; as Paul also says,

Eph. i., "God grant you the spirit of wisdom that ye may know what is

the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who have believed,

according to the working of His mighty power," &c. Not only is it

God's will, but a power of God that is far from unimportant. For if

God produces faith in men, it is certainly as great a work as though

He recreated heaven and earth.

Therefore those fools know not what they say, who ask, How can faith

alone answer, while many an one believes who yet performs no good

work? For they imagine their own vain dream is faith, and that faith

may exist without good works. But we say, just as Peter says, that

faith is a divine power; when God produces faith, man must be born

again and become a new creature; good works, flowing from a purified

nature, must follow faith. So that we must not say to a Christian who

has faith, Do this or that work,--for he performs of himself and

unbidden, mere good works.

But this must be said to him, that he is not to deceive himself with

a false, imaginary faith. Wherefore let those rude babblers go, who

can say a great deal on the subject that is nothing after all but

mere scum and vain prating. Of whom Paul also speaks, 1 Cor. iv., "I

will come to you and will seek out not the speech of those that are

puffed up, but the power; for the kingdom of God does not stand in

word, but in power." Wherever this power of God is wanting, there is

neither genuine faith nor good works. So that they are mere liars,

who pride themselves on their Christian name and faith and yet lead a

wicked life. For if it were of God's power, they would certainly be

otherwise.

But what does St. Peter mean when he says, _ye are kept by the power

of God to salvation_? This is his meaning: So tender and precious a

matter is that which pertains to the faith which the power of God

(that is with us and with which we are filled) produces in us, that

He gives us a correct, clear understanding of all things that respect

salvation, so that we may judge all that is on earth, and say, this

doctrine is true, that is false; this conduct is right, that is not;

this work is good and acceptable, that is evil. And whatever such a

man determines is just and true, for he cannot be deceived; but he

will be kept, and preserved, and remains, a judge of all doctrines.

On the other hand, wherever faith and this power of God are wanting,

there is nothing but error and blindness; there reason suffers itself

to be led hither and thither, from one work to another, for it would

gladly reach heaven by its own works, and is ever imagining after

this sort, "Yes! this work will bring you to heaven: do it and you

shall be saved." Hence there are so many chapters, cloisters, altars,

popes, monks and nuns in the world. Into such blindness does God

permit the unbelieving to fall. But he keeps us, who believe, in a

just apprehension, so that we may not fall into condemnation, but

attain to salvation.

_Which is ready to be revealed in the last time._ That is, the

inheritance that is appointed for them was long ago acquired, and

prepared from the foundation of the world, but now is hidden, as yet

covered up, reserved and sealed. But this is only for a little while,

when in a moment it shall be opened and revealed, so that we shall

behold it.

V. 6. _In which ye rejoice greatly, though now for a season (if need

be), ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation._ Are you a

Christian, and do you look for this inheritance or this salvation?

then must you cleave to this alone, and despise all that is upon

earth, and confess that all worldly reason, wisdom and glory are

nothing--a thing the world will not be able to bear; wherefore you

are to expect that men shall condemn you and persecute you. Thus St.

Peter joins faith, hope, and the holy cross together, for one follows

upon the other.

And here he gives us a source of consolation if we suffer and are

persecuted. This sadness shall last a little while; afterward ye

shall be exceeding glad, for this salvation is already prepared for

you; wherefore be patient under your sufferings.

This is moreover a truly christian consolation,--not such comfort as

human doctrines give, which attempt nothing more than to find relief

from outward ill. I speak not of bodily comfort (he seems to say); it

is no real injury that ye have to endure outward ill, only go onward

vigorously and be steadfast; inquire not how you may be free from the

trouble, but think with yourself, My inheritance is prepared and held

out to me; it is only a short time before my suffering must cease.

Thus we should lay aside temporal consolations, and over against them

place that eternal consolation which we have in God.

Besides, it is here to be observed that the Apostle continues and

tells us in what circumstances all this will be, as he will hereafter

say in the third chapter, _if it be God's will_.

There are many people who would storm heaven and enter it at once,

wherefore they impose a cross upon themselves for their own fancied

good; for reason will do nothing but propose for ever its own works,

that God will reject. They should not be our own works which we

select, but we should wait for whatever God imposes upon us and

ordains for us, that we may go on and follow wherever He leads us; so

that you are not to run after your own pleasure, in case it should be

(that is, by God's appointment) that you are to suffer, but accept it

and comfort yourself with the salvation which is not temporal but

eternal.

V. 7, 8. _That the trial of your faith (or that your tried faith) be

found much more precious than the perishable gold, (that is tried in

the fire), to praise, honor, and glory, when Jesus Christ shall be

revealed, whom ye have not seen, yet love, in whom ye also believe

though ye see him not._ This should be the end of the cross and all

kinds of reverses,--to enable us to distinguish between false and

real faith. God lays his hand upon us, therefore, to try our faith

and reveal it to the world, so that others may be induced to believe,

and we also be praised and honored. For just as we exalt God, so will

He in return exalt, esteem and honor us, insomuch that the false

hypocrites, who do not walk in the right way, shall be put to shame.

Scripture throughout likens temptation to fire. Thus St. Peter here

compares the gold that is tried by fire to the trial of faith by

temptation and suffering. The fire does not take away from the gold,

but it makes it pure and bright, so that all dross is removed. So God

has imposed the cross upon all Christians, that they might thereby be

purified. And it has been well said, let faith remain pure as the

word is pure, so that we shall depend on the word alone, and trust to

nothing else: for we need such fire and cross as this daily, because

of the old corrupt Adam.

Thus, it is characteristic of a christian life that it should

continually grow and become more holy; for if we are led to faith

through the preaching of the Gospel, then shall we be justified and

grow in holiness; but while we remain in the flesh we can never be

fully purified. Therefore God throws us into the midst of the

fire,--that is, into suffering, shame and calamity,--so that we may

become more and more purified, until we die--a point we can attain by

no works of our own. For how can an outward work make the heart

inwardly clean? Moreover, if faith is to be tried (purified), all

that is additional and false must be separated and removed. Thence

will result a noble reward,--praise and glory when Christ shall be

revealed. On this it follows:

V. 8, 9. _But because of your faith, rejoice with joy unspeakable and

glorious, and attain also the end of your faith, even the salvation

of your souls._ An unspeakably glorious joy shall that be, says St.

Peter, whereof we have honor and praise. The world has such a joy

that we receive nothing from it but shame, and of which we are

compelled to be ashamed. Here St. Peter has evidently spoken of

future joy,--and there is scarcely so clear a passage on the subject

of the future joy as the one in this place,--and still he finds

himself unable to express it.

This is one point of the introduction, in which the Apostle has shown

what faith in Christ is, and how we must be tried and purified by

reverse and suffering when God appoints it for us.--Now follows

further how this faith is in Scripture constituted and denominated.

V. 10, 11, 12. _Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and

searched diligently, who have prophesied of the grace that should

come unto you; searching what or as to what time, the spirit of

Christ which was in them, designated and testified beforehand the

sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow; to whom it was

revealed, that not for their own sake, but for ours, did they

minister that which is now preached to you, by those who have

preached the Gospel, through the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;

into which also the angels desired to look._

Here St. Peter directs us back to the Holy Scriptures, that we may

therein see that God keeps whomsoever He has called of us, for no

merit of ours, but of mere grace; for the whole of Scripture is

directed to this end, that it may draw us away from our own works and

bring us to faith. And it is necessary that we should study the

Scriptures carefully that we may be well assured of our faith. Paul

also teaches us the same thing in the Epistle to the Romans, chap.

i., where he says that God promised the Gospel before by His prophets

in the Holy Scriptures. So Rom. iii.: that the faith whereby we are

justified, is testified of through the law and the prophets.

So we read also in Acts xvii. how Paul preached faith to the

Thessalonians, leading them to the Scripture and explaining it to

them, and how day by day they had recourse to the Scripture, and

examined whether those things which Paul had taught them were so. So

likewise ought we to do, going back, and from the Old Testament

learning on what to base the New. Besides, we shall there discover

the promise of Christ, as Christ himself also says, John v.: "Search

the Scriptures, for it is they that testify of me." And "if ye

believe Moses, ye must also believe me, for he wrote of me."

Therefore we should let vain babblers go who despise the Old

Testament, and say it is of no further use,--since from thence alone

must we derive the ground of our faith; for God sent the Prophets to

the Jews to this end, that they should bear witness of the Christ

that was to come. Therefore it is that the Apostles throughout

convicted and convinced the Jews out of their own Scriptures that

this was the Christ.

Thus the books of Moses and the prophets are the Gospel, since they

have first preached and written of Christ that which the Apostles

afterward preached and wrote. Yet there is a distinction between

them. For although both, as to the letter, have been written out on

paper, yet the Gospel, or the New Testament, cannot be said so

properly to be written, but to have consisted in the living voice

which published it, and was heard generally throughout the world. But

that it should also have been written, is an extraneous matter. But

the Old Testament was composed only in writing, and is therefore

called the letter; and the Apostles give Scripture this same name

also, as it only pointed to the Christ that was to come. But the

Gospel is a living proclamation of Christ who has already come.

Besides, there is also a distinction among the books of the Old

Testament. In the first place, there are the five books of Moses, the

foundation of the Scriptures, and which are especially called the Old

Testament. Then come both histories and books of narration, wherein

examples of all kinds are recorded, whether of those who held or

rejected the law of Moses. In the third place, there are the prophets

that are based on Moses, and what he has written they have in clear

language more fully explained and elucidated. But the bearing of all

the prophets and of Moses is one and the same.

But you ought to understand also about that which men say, that the

Old Testament is given up and laid by. In the first place, there is

that distinction between the Old and New Testament, as we have said

above, that the Old prefigured Christ, but that the New gives us that

which was promised first in the Old, and pointed out to us by types.

But these types have now ceased, because the end which they were to

subserve has been answered and attained, and that which was

prefigured by them has been fulfilled. So that now there should be no

further distinctions of food, clothing, place and time. All are alike

in Christ, in whom all has been fulfilled. The Jews have not been

saved by this, for it was not given them to this end that it should

make them holy, but to foreshadow to them the Christ who was to come.

Besides, in the Old Testament God introduced a twofold

government,--an external and an internal. There He undertook to rule

His people, both inwardly in the heart, and outwardly in person and

in property. Therefore He gave them such a variety of laws,

commingled one kind with the other. So it was under the government

that pertained to the person, that a man might give his wife a bill

of divorce and put her away.

But to the spiritual government pertained the command, Thou shalt

love thy neighbor as thyself. But now He rules in us only

spiritually, by Christ; while the government that pertains to the

body and the outward state, he exercises through the instrumentality

of civil magistracy. So that when Christ came the external ceased,

and God gives us direction no more as to the _outward_ person, time

and place. But He rules us only spiritually through the word, so that

we may direct as to all that is outward, and be bound in nothing that

pertains to the body.

But what pertains to His spiritual government has not been abandoned,

but stands forever, now as then,--the law of love to God and our

neighbor, contained in the books of Moses, which God will still have

sustained, and by which He will condemn all the unbelieving.

Besides, the figures, as to their _spiritual_ import, remain; that

is, whatever is signified by the outward figures, although the

outward part has been done away. Thus that a man should separate from

his wife and send her away, because of adultery, is a figure and type

which even now is spiritually fulfilled; for thus also has God

rejected the Jews when they would not believe on Christ, and has

chosen out the Gentiles. So, also, He does still; if any one will not

walk in the faith, He suffers him to be excluded from the Christian

Church, that he may be led to reform.

Of a similar import also is this, that a woman after her husband's

death must take her husband's brother, and bear him children, and he

must suffer himself to be called by his name, and must enter on his

possessions. This, although it has now ceased, or rather become

invalid, so that it may be done or neglected without sin, is a figure

which even now has a significance in respect to Christ. For He is our

brother, for us has died and ascended to heaven, and has commanded us

that we, through the Gospel, should plant the seed in our souls and

make them fruitful, be named after him, and enter on his possessions.

Therefore I must not boast that I convert men, but it must all be

ascribed to the Lord Christ. It is the same also with all the other

figures of the Old Testament, which it would be too tedious to

specify.

But all in the Old Testament which is not external, is still in

force, as all those passages in the prophets concerning faith and

love. Wherefore Christ also confirms it in Mat. vii.: "All things

whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to

them; for this is the law and the prophets." Besides, Moses and the

prophets testify of the Christ that was to come. As, when I preach of

Christ that He is the only Saviour by whom all must be saved, I may

quote to sustain me the passage in Gen. xxii.: "In thy seed shall all

nations be blessed." Thence I draw a living voice and language.

Through Christ, who is Abraham's seed, must all men be blessed. From

that it follows, that we were all cursed and condemned in Adam;

wherefore it is necessary that we should believe on the Seed, if we

would escape condemnation. Out of such passages may we lay down the

ground of our faith, and let it remain, that we may therein see how

they bear witness of Christ, so that our faith may be strengthened

thereby. That is what St. Peter intends now by these words, in which

he says:

V. 10. _Of which Salvation the Prophets have searched and inquired

diligently, who have prophesied of the grace that should come to

you._ In this same manner Paul also speaks, toward the close of the

Epistle to the Romans, of the revelation of the mystery which was

hidden from all ages of the world, but is now revealed and made known

through the writings of the prophets. And so you find in the New

Testament many passages quoted from the prophets, by which the

Apostles show that all has been fulfilled just as the prophets

foretold.

This Christ Himself proves from the prophet Isaiah, Mat. xi.: "The

blind see, the lame walk," &c. As though He had said, just as it was

written there it is taking place now; so also we read in Acts ix., of

Paul, and in the xviii., of Apollos, how they confounded the Jews,

and convinced them out of Scripture that this was the Christ. For

whatever the prophets had foretold, all had now come to pass in

Christ. So (Acts xv.) the Apostles show how the Gospel must be

preached to the heathen that they might believe. This has also come

to pass, and been put in train, so that the Jews might be convinced

and compelled to confess, that all had taken place just as Scripture

had foretold.

V. 11. _And have investigated what or at what time the Spirit of

Christ which was in them;_ St. Peter would say, although the prophets

have not particularly known of a set and definite time, yet have they

in general testified to all the circumstances of time and place;--as,

that Christ should suffer, and what death he should die, and that the

Gentiles should believe on him: so that one might certainly know by

these signs when the time had come. The prophet Daniel has approached

still nearer, but yet speaks somewhat darkly thereof, as to when

Christ should suffer and die--when that or this should take place.

So, also, they had a sure prophecy that the kingdom of the Jews

should cease before Christ came. But the day and exact time when this

should come to pass was not fixed. For it was enough when this time

came, that they should thereby know for a surety that Christ was not

far off. The prophet Joel also prophesied of the time when the Holy

Spirit should come, where he says, "I will in the last days pour out

my spirit upon all flesh," &c., which passage St. Peter quotes in

Acts ii., and shows that he speaks of that very time and of the

particular persons.

From all which you perceive how, with great diligence, the Apostles

exhibit throughout the ground and confirmation of their preaching and

doctrine. The Councils and the Popes now reverse this course, and

would deal with us apart from Scripture, commanding us, by obedience

to the church and the terrors of excommunication, that we should

believe on them. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and

were certain that they were sent by Christ, and preached the true

Gospel; yet they did not exalt themselves, and did not ask men to

believe them, unless they conclusively proved from Scripture that it

was just as they said, so that the mouth of the unbelieving was

stopped, insomuch that they could object nothing further. And shall

we believe those grossly unlearned heads who do not preach God's word

at all, and can do nothing else but cry out continually, "Surely the

fathers cannot have been in error, and this has been decided now for

a long time, so that it must no more be a question?" But this we can

clearly prove from the Scriptures, that no one can be saved but he

who believes on Christ, so that against this they can say nothing.

But on their side they will never be able to prove to us from

Scripture that he is to be condemned who does not fast on this or

that day. Therefore we ought not and shall not believe them.

Now St. Peter says further:

V. 11. _Which spirit testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ,

and the glory that should thereafter be revealed._ This may be

understood of both kinds of suffering,--that which Christ, and we

also, suffer. St. Paul calls the sufferings of all Christians the

suffering of Christ. For just as the faith, the name, the word and

work of Christ are mine, inasmuch as I believe on Him, so His

suffering is also mine, since I suffer also for His sake. Thus will

the sufferings of Christ be daily fulfilled in Christians, until the

end of the world.

This is then our consolation in all the sufferings that we

experience, that all that we suffer Christ shares with us, that He

accounts it all as His own suffering. And of this we are assured,

that speedily after suffering glory shall follow. But this we must

also understand, that Christ was not glorified before He suffered, so

that we are to bear our cross with Him first, that afterward we may

share His joy.

All that we now preach, he says, the prophets previously foretold and

described in the most explicit manner, just as the Holy Spirit

revealed it to them. That we so imperfectly understand the prophets

is, because we do not understand their language, since they have

spoken clearly enough. Therefore they that are acquainted with the

language, and have the Spirit of God, which all believers have, to

them it is not difficult of apprehension since they know the scope of

all Scripture. But if any one does not understand their language, and

has not the spirit, or a christian apprehension, it might seem to him

as though the prophets were drunken and full of new wine; although

where we must want one, the spirit without the language is better

than the language without the spirit. The prophets have a peculiar

phraseology, but the sentiment is the same which the Apostles preach,

for both have spoken largely of the suffering and of the glory of

Christ, as well as of those things that relate to faith. As when

David speaks of Christ (Ps. xxi.), "I am a worm and no man," whereby

he shows how deeply he is cast down and despondent in his suffering.

Likewise, also, he writes of his people and of the affliction of

Christians, in Psalm xlv.: "We are despised, and accounted as sheep

for the slaughter."

V. 12. _That not for their own sakes but for ours did they minister

that which is now preached unto you, by those who have preached the

Gospel to you, through the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;_ that

is, the prophets possessed enough thereof to know the fact. But that

they should have left it behind them (on record) calls for our

gratitude; they have become our servants, and have so ministered to

us, that we, through them, might go to school and learn the same

lesson. There we have an argument to show that our faith should grow

stronger, and we be enabled to arm and sustain ourselves against all

false doctrine.

_Into which also the angels desired to look._ So great things have

the Apostles declared to us, through the Holy Spirit, which descended

upon them from heaven, as even the angels would gladly look into.

When this Spirit opens our eyes and makes us see what the Gospel is,

we shall have an appetite for it and a joy in it, although we cannot

behold it with bodily eyes, but must believe that we are partakers

and fellow-heirs of the righteousness, truth, salvation and all the

blessings which God has to bestow. For since He has given us His only

Son, that highest good, He will also, through Him, give us all good

things, riches and treasures, whereof the angels in heaven have all

their joy, and of which they are most desirous. All this is offered

to us through the Gospel, and if we believe we shall also have a like

desire for them. But our desire for them cannot be as perfect as that

of the angels, so long as we live on earth; but it is a good

beginning in us, if we experience, through faith, something of it.

But in heaven it is so great that no human heart can conceive it; but

if we reach that place we shall ourselves feel it.

Thus you see how St. Peter teaches us to arm and equip ourselves with

Scripture. For hitherto he has described what it is to preach the

Gospel, and shown that as it heretofore has been preached by the

prophets, so it should still be, and should be preached in like

manner. Now he proceeds farther, and admonishes us in this chapter

that we should cleave to the same preaching of the Gospel by faith,

and follow after it by love, and therefore says,--

V. 13-16. _Gird up therefore the loins of your mind; be sober, and

fix your hope firmly on the grace which is offered you through the

revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not conformable to

the previous lusts of your ignorance; but as He who has called you is

Holy, be ye also holy in all your conduct, as it is written, Be ye

holy for I am Holy._

This is an admonition to faith, and the sense is this: while such

things are preached to you and bestowed upon you through the Gospel

as the angels would rejoice and be desirous to behold, rely on them,

and fix your confidence thereon with all firmness, so that it shall

be a real faith, and not a painted or fictitious fancy or dream.

_Gird up the loins of your mind._ Here Peter speaks of a spiritual

girding of the mind, just as one girds his sword to the loins of his

body. This girding has Christ also enforced, Luke xii., where he

says, "Let your loins be girt about." In some places the Scriptures

speak of the loins with reference to bodily lust; but here St. Peter

speaks of the loins of the spirit. As to the body, Scripture speaks

of the loins with reference to natural generation from the father; as

we read, Genesis xlix., that from the loins of Judah Christ should

come. Likewise the bodily girding of the loins is the same with

chastity, as Isaiah says, chapter xi., "Righteousness shall be the

girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his reins." That is,

only by faith is wicked lust subdued and restrained.

But this spiritual girding, whereof the Apostle speaks, means more.

As a virgin is pure and inviolate in body, so is the soul spiritually

inviolate through faith, by which it becomes Christ's bride. But if

it falls from faith into false doctrine, it must be brought to shame.

Hence Scripture uniformly calls impiety and unbelief, adultery and

whoredom,--that is, when the soul relies on human doctrines, and thus

lets go its hold on faith and Christ. This St. Peter here forbids,

when he calls on us to gird up the loins of our mind; as though he

would say, ye have now heard the Gospel and have come to believe,

therefore see to it that ye abide therein, and do not suffer

yourselves to be drawn away with false doctrine, so that ye shall not

waver and run hither and thither with works.

And here he adopts a peculiar mode of speech, not after the manner of

St. Paul, where he speaks of "the loins of your mind." He calls

_that_ mind here which we speak of as disposition; as when I say,

"This seems to me right and as Paul speaks, so we understand it, so

we are _disposed_." In this he refers especially to faith, and would

say: ye have attained a correct apprehension that we must be

justified through faith; abide in that mind; gird it up well, hold

fast thereon, and suffer not yourselves to be torn from it; then

shall ye stand well. For many false teachers shall come in and set up

human doctrines that they may pervert your understanding and loose

the girdle of your faith; wherefore be admonished, and bind it well

to your mind.

The hypocrites who rest on their own works, and hence pass a

carefully abstemious life, are thus minded, that God must bring them

to heaven for their works' sake; they are puffed up, become proud,

abiding in their own opinion and blindness, like the Pharisees, Luke

xviii. Of whom also Mary speaks, in the _Magnificat_, where she uses

the same word that stands here in Peter, He hath scattered the proud

in the disposition of their hearts,--that is, in their own minds.

_Be sober._ To be sober is of service outwardly to the body, and is

the chief work of faith. For though a man has been justified, he

still is not secured from evil lusts; faith has indeed begun to

subdue the flesh, but this is ever bestirring itself, and likewise

running riot in all sorts of lusts, which would gladly break forth

again and act after their own will. Therefore the spirit must daily

work to restrain and subdue it, and must charge itself therewith,

without intermission, and have a care of the flesh that it do not

destroy faith. Therefore those persons deceive themselves, who indeed

say they have faith, and imagining that this is enough, live

thenceforth according to their own caprice. Where the faith is

genuine it must control the body and hold it in check, so that it

shall not do what it lusts after. Therefore St. Peter says that we

should be sober.

Yet he would not have us destroy the body or weaken it too much, as

we find many do who have fasted and tortured themselves to death. St.

Bernard, even, continued for a long time in this folly, although he

was truly a holy man, for he mortified his body to such an extent

that his breath was offensive and could not be endured. Yet he

afterwards forsook it, and charged his brethren that they should not

inflict injury upon the body; for he saw very well that he had

rendered himself unfit to be of service to his brethren. Therefore

St. Peter requires nothing more than that we should be sober,--that

is, mortify the body to such an extent as to prevent its being in our

apprehension too wanton; for he fixes no definite time how long we

should fast, as the Pope has done, but leaves it to each,

individually, to fast so that he remain sober and do not burden the

body with gluttony, to the end that he remain in possession of reason

and reflection, and consider how far it is necessary for him to hold

the body in check. For it is utterly idle to impose one and the same

command upon a whole congregation and church, since we are so unlike

one to the other; one strong, another weak in body,--so that one must

mortify it more, another less, provided the body is to remain sound

and in the best state for exertion.

But another multitude mistake here, determined that they will not

fast, and that they may eat flesh, and herein are wrong. For these

persons reject the Gospel also, and are unprofitable as well as the

others; doing no more than contemn the Pope's command, unwilling to

gird up their mind and spirit, as Peter says, leaving the body to its

own caprice, that it may become corrupt and wanton. It is well to

fast; but that only can be called true fasting, when we give the body

no more food than is needful for it that it may retain its health and

endure labor and watchfulness--that the old ass do not become too

obstinate, and going on the ice to dance, break a bone; but go on

subject to control, and following the spirit; not after the manner of

those who, whenever they fast, fill themselves so full of fish and

the best wine, that their bellies are puffed out. Thus St. Peter

directs us to be sober, and now says further:

_And fix your hope firmly (or with all deliberation) on the grace

which is offered you._ The christian faith is of such a nature that

it plants itself freely on the word of God with entire confidence,

ventures freely thereupon, and goes joyfully onward. Therefore Peter

would say: The loins of your mind are girt about, and your faith is

genuine, when you venture it thus on that Word, let it cost what it

will,--property, honor, limb, or life.

Thus has he with these words in truth well described a genuine and

unfeigned faith. It must not be a corrupt and sleepy faith, becoming

thus only a dream, but a living and active reality, that we may with

all deliberation devote ourselves to it and cleave to the Word, so

that, let God permit it to go with us as it will, we will yet press

onward through good and ill. Thus when I come to die I must venture

promptly on Christ, lift my head boldly, and rely upon the word of

God which cannot deceive me. Thus must faith go straight forward, in

nothing permit itself to be led astray, and subject to scrutiny all

that it sees, hears and feels. Such faith St. Peter requires as

consists, not in thought or word, but in such power as this.

Again, St. Peter says: Set your hope on the grace which is offered

you. That is, ye have not deserved this great grace, but yet it is

freely offered you; for the Gospel, which reveals this grace, is no

invention or discovery of our own, but the Holy Spirit has sent it

down from heaven into the world. But what is it that is offered to

us? This, that we have already heard, that whosoever believes on

Christ and cleaves to the Word possesses _Him_, with all the

blessings He has to give, so that He is Lord over sin, death, the

devil and hell, and is assured of eternal life. This treasure is

brought to our doors and laid in our bosom without our help or

desert, yes, beyond our expectation and without our knowledge or

thought. Therefore the Apostle would have us venture thereon

cheerfully, for God, who offers us such grace, will surely not

deceive us.

_Through the revelation of Jesus Christ._ God permits none to make

the offer of His grace except through Christ. Therefore no man should

attempt to approach Him apart from this Mediator, as we have already

above heard sufficiently. For He will hear no one but him who brings

His dear Son with him, whom He alone regards, and for His sake those

that depend upon Him. Therefore He would have us confess the Son,

that we are reconciled through His blood to the Father, so that we

may approach before Him. For to this end did Christ come into the

world, assume flesh and blood, and joined Himself to us, that He

might obtain such grace for us with the Father. So, too, all the

prophets and patriarchs have been kept and saved, through such faith

on Christ. For they all have exercised faith in the promise which God

made to Abraham, "Through thy seed shall all nations be blest."

Therefore, as we have said, to the Jews and to the Turks, faith is of

no avail, neither to any that rest upon their own works and would

thereby reach heaven. So Peter says, this grace is offered you, but

it is through the revelation of Jesus Christ (or to render it more

clearly into our language), because that Jesus Christ has been

revealed to you.

Through the Gospel it is made known to us what Christ is, that we may

learn of Him, moreover, that He is our Saviour. He rescues us from

sin and death, and helps us out of every evil, reconciles us to the

Father, and, apart from our own works, justifies and saves us.

Whoever then does not thus confess Christ must be lost; for although

you may know that He is the Son of God, that He died and has risen,

and sits at the right hand of the Father,--still you have not yet

truly known Christ, it is all of no avail to you; but you must know

and believe that He has done it all for your sake, if your faith is

to help you. Therefore that is a vain, senseless doctrine that has

been hitherto preached and taught in the great schools, which have

had no experience of this knowledge, and have only attained to

imagine how the curse afflicted Christ our Lord, and how He sits

above in heaven unemployed, and possesses a joy with Himself; and

thus their hearts remain barren, so that faith cannot live in them.

But Christ does not stand there for Himself, but He is to be preached

that He is ours. For what necessity could there then have been that

He should have come down to earth and have shed His blood? But since

He has been sent into the world, as He says, John iii., "that the

world through Him might be saved." He certainly must have fulfilled

this mission, because He was sent from the Father. For this sending

forth and proceeding from the Father is to be understood not only of

the divine nature, but also of the human nature and of His ministry.

As soon as He was baptized this began, and He has fulfilled it, for

which end He was sent and came into the world, to wit, that He might

preach the truth and obtain it for us, that all who believe on Him

shall be saved. Thus has He revealed Himself, and presented Himself

to our knowledge, and offered us grace.

V. 14. _As obedient children._ That is, conduct yourselves as

obedient children. Obedience in Scripture means faith. But the Pope,

with his high schools and cloisters, has even wrested the word from

us, and falsely rendered what is recorded in Scripture concerning

this obedience, as the passage in I. Kings xv.: "Obedience is better

than sacrifice." For while they perceive that obedience is highly

praised in Scripture, they have usurped the claim of it to

themselves, so that they might blind the people, and that men should

think it was obedience to their stuff of which the Scripture speaks.

Thus they would bring us away from God's word to their lies, and to

the obedience of the devil. Whoever hears the word of God and

believes thereon, is an obedient child of God. Therefore, whatever is

not the word of God, tread it under your feet and pay no attention to

it.

_Not conformed to the former lusts of your ignorance._ That is, that

you should not exhibit such ostentation and lead such a course of

life as before, and that you be not found in the same condition in

which you formerly were. Once you were godless, and lived in

lewdness, gluttony, drunkenness, avarice, pride, anger, envy and

hate, which was an evil, heathen-like state, and one of unbelief, and

when you had gone into such a state like the blind, you have not

known what you have done. Avoid now those same evil lusts. Here you

perceive how he makes the charge against ignorance, that all evil

proceeds therefrom. For where faith and the knowledge of Christ are

wanting, there remains mere error and blindness, so that men are

ignorant of what is right and wrong, insomuch that the people fall

into every kind of vice.

Thus has it been hitherto: where Christ has been kept out of sight

and eclipsed, there error has begun to prevail; and throughout the

world the question has torn its way, how man may be saved. This is at

once a sign of blindness or ignorance, that the true apprehension of

faith is lost, and no one knows anything more about it. Hence the

world is so full of such various sects, and all are divided, for

every one will devise for himself a way to heaven of his own. In our

misfortune we must be continually falling deeper in our blindness,

since we cannot help ourselves. Therefore St. Peter would say: Ye

have already befooled yourselves enough; now desist therefrom, since

ye have been instructed and have attained to a correct understanding.

V. 15, 16. _But according as He that hath called you is holy, so be

ye also holy in all your conduct, as it is written, Be ye holy for I

am holy._ Here St. Peter quotes a passage from the Old Testament,

Lev. xix., where God says: "Be ye holy for I am holy;" that is, since

I am your Lord and God, and ye are my people, ye too must be as I am.

For a faithful master secures that his people shall be like him, and

walk in obedience, and be conformed to the master's will. As then God

our Master is holy, so are His people holy also, and we are all holy

if we walk in faith. Scripture says not much of the saints that have

died, but of those who live on the earth. So David puts forth his

claim in Ps. lxxxv.: "Lord, preserve my soul, for I am holy."

But here our learned men have for once perverted the passage, and

they say: the prophet had a particular revelation, in that he called

himself holy; whereby they themselves confess that they do violence

to faith, and have not the revelation of Jesus Christ, otherwise they

would surely be sensible of it. For whoever is a Christian

experiences within himself such a revelation; but they who do not

experience it are not Christians. For whoever is a Christian enters

into a participation with Christ our Lord, of all his good things.

Since, then, Christ is holy, he must also be holy, or deny that

Christ is holy. Hast thou been baptized? then thou hast put on the

holy garment, which is Christ, as Paul says.

The word Holy means that which is God's own, and which belongs to Him

alone, or as we render it in Dutch (_geweiht_), consecrated. Thus,

Peter here says: you are merely required to give God His own;

therefore beware that ye do not suffer yourselves to be led back

again to worldly lusts, but let God alone rule, live and work within

you; then shall ye be holy, even as He is holy.

Thus he has hitherto described the grace which is extended to us

through the Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, and has taught

us how we should therefore conduct ourselves, namely: that we abide

in a pure, inviolate mind of faith, since we know that no work that

we can do or imagine, can at all help us: when such doctrine as this

is preached, reason objects, and says, Ah! if that is true, I need

not do any good work. And then the great heads fall foul of it, and

from a christian condition, educe a freedom of the flesh, imagining

they may do what they will. These St. Peter here meets, and

anticipates them, and teaches how we are to use our christian freedom

only towards God. For nothing more is needed but faith, to the end

that I should give God the honor due Him, and embrace Him as my God,

confessing that He is just, true and merciful; such faith sets us

free from sin and all evil. If now I have made such a return to God,

whatever time I yet live I am to live for my neighbor, so as to serve

and help him. The greatest work that follows from faith is this: that

with my mouth I should confess Christ, sealing that confession with

my blood, and laying down my life for it, if so it be. Yet God does

not need this work; only I am to perform it, that my faith may

thereby be tried and known, so that others also may be brought to

believe. Thereafter follow also other works, which must all be

directed to this end, that I may thereby serve my neighbor,--all of

which God must work in us; for it profits not that we should lead a

carnal life and do whatever we please. Therefore St. Peter now says:

V. 17-21. _And since ye call on the Father, who judgeth without

respect of persons, according to every man's work, pass the time of

your sojourning here in fear; and be aware that ye are not redeemed

with corruptible silver or gold, from your vain conduct in the

traditions of your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as

of an innocent and unspotted Lamb, who indeed was provided previously

before the world began, but is revealed in these last times for you,

who through Him believe on God, who raised Him from the dead, and

hath given Him dominion, that your faith and hope might be in God._

So says St. Peter: Ye have through faith hereunto attained, that ye

are the children of God, and He is your Father. And ye have obtained

an incorruptible inheritance in heaven, (as has been already said.)

Thus nothing more now remains, except that the veil be taken away,

and that be uncovered which is now concealed, for which ye are still

to wait until ye shall behold it. Though ye are now arrived at that

state in which ye may joyfully call God your Father, yet is He so

righteous that he will reward every man according to his works, and

respect not persons. Wherefore thou art not to imagine, although thou

hast that great name so that thou art called a Christian or a child

of God, that He will therefore continue thine if thou livest without

fear, and thinkest that it is enough that thou dost glory in such a

name. The world indeed judges by the person, since it does not punish

all alike, and respects those who are friendly, rich, reputable,

learned, wise, and powerful. But God regards nothing of this kind; it

is all alike to him, be the person as great as he may. Thus in Egypt

he struck the son of King Pharaoh dead, as well as the son of the

poor miller.

Therefore the Apostle would have us expect such judgment from God,

and stand in fear, so that we do not glory in our title that we are

Christian, and thereupon become negligent, as though he would for

this reason pass us over more readily than others. For in this the

Jews were formerly deceived, who boasted that they were Abraham's

seed and God's people. Scripture makes no difference in respect to

the flesh, but in respect to the spirit. It is true that Christ was

to be born of Abraham's seed and that a holy people should spring

from him, but it does not therefore follow that all who are born of

Abraham are the children of God. He also promised that the Gentiles

should be saved, but he has not said that he would save _all_ the

Gentiles.

But here now a question arises: When we say that God saves us alone

by faith, without regard to works, why does St. Peter say that He

judges not according to the person, but according to works? Answer.

What we have taught as to faith alone justifying before God, is true

beyond doubt, since it is so clear from Scripture that it cannot be

denied. That which the Apostle here says, that God judges according

to the works, is also true; but we must certainly hold, therefore,

that where there is no faith, there can be no good work; and on the

other hand, that there is no faith where there are no good works.

Therefore join together faith and good works, since it is in both

that the sum of the whole christian life consists. As you now live,

so will it be with you, for thereafter God will judge you. Therefore,

although God judges us according to our works, still it remains true

that works are only the fruits of faith, by which we perceive when

there is faith or unbelief; therefore God will sentence you from your

works and convict you, either that you have or have not believed. So

it is that no one can convict and judge a liar, except from his

words. Yet it is evident that he is not made a liar by the word, but

became a liar before he spoke the lie, for the lie must come from the

heart into the mouth. Therefore, understand this passage thus, in the

plainest way: that works are fruits and signs of faith, and that God

judges men according to such fruits which must certainly follow it,

so that it shall be openly seen whether there is faith or unbelief in

the heart. God will not judge by this whether you are _called_ a

Christian, or have been baptized, but will ask you, "_Art_ thou a

Christian? then tell me where are the fruits by which you can

evidence your faith."

Therefore St. Peter goes on to say: Since ye have such a Father, who

judges not after the person, pass the time of your pilgrimage in

fear; that is, stand in fear before the Father, not of pain and

punishment,--as the Christless, and even the devil, is afraid,--but

lest He forsake you and withdraw His hand; just as a dutiful child is

afraid lest he provoke his father, and do something that might not

please him. Such a fear would God have within us, that we guard

ourselves against sin, and serve our neighbor, while we live here

upon the earth.

A Christian, if he truly believes, possesses all the good things of

God, and is God's child, as we have heard. But the time which he yet

lives is only a pilgrimage: for the spirit is already in heaven by

faith, through which he becomes Lord over all things. But to this end

God permits him yet to live in the flesh, and his body to remain on

earth, that he may help others and bring them also to heaven.

Therefore we are to use all things on earth as a guest, who goes on

wearily and arrives at an inn where he must tarry over night, and can

receive nothing from it but food and lodging; yet does not say that

the property of the inn is his. So must we also proceed in regard to

our temporal possessions, as though they were not ours, and we

enjoyed only so much of them as is needful to sustain the body, and

with the rest we are to help our neighbor. Thus the christian life is

only a night's sojourning; for we have here no abiding city, but must

find it, where our Father is, in heaven. Therefore we should not here

live in wantonness, but stand in fear, says St. Peter.

V. 18. _And be aware that ye are not redeemed with corruptible silver

or gold, from your vain conduct in the traditions of your Fathers,

but with the precious blood of Christ._ This should draw you, he

would say, to the fear of God, wherein ye should stand, that ye

should remember how much it has cost that ye might be redeemed.

Before, ye were citizens of the world, and were held in subjection to

the devil, but now, God has rescued you from such a state, and set

you firm in another, so that your citizenship is in heaven; but ye

are strangers and guests upon earth. And see at how great a cost God

has reclaimed you, and how great the treasure is, wherewith ye are

purchased, and brought into this state, to become the children of

God. Wherefore pass your sojourning in fear, and see to it that ye do

not despise such redemption, and lose the noble, precious treasure.

What now is the treasure wherewith ye are ransomed? Not corruptible

gold or silver, but the precious blood of Christ the Son of God: the

treasure is so costly and noble, that no human sense or reason can

conceive it, insomuch that only one drop of this innocent blood were

more than enough for the sin of all the world: yet has the Father

been willing to dispense his grace so richly upon us, and denied

Himself so much as to suffer Christ His Son to shed all His blood for

us, and has bestowed upon us the whole treasure. Therefore He would

not have us disregard such great grace, and count it as a small

matter, but continue on our guard, so as to live in fear, that this

treasure be not taken away from us.

And here it is well to remark, that St. Peter says, ye are ransomed

from your vain conversation in the traditions of your fathers; for he

thereby strikes to the ground all the supports whereon we lean when

we imagine our view must be right because it has thus been preserved

from of old, and our forefathers all of them have so held it, among

whom there were certainly wise and pious people. It is as much as to

say, all which our fathers have ordained and done, was evil; what

from them has been taught you of the worship of God, is also evil;

for it has cost the Son of God His blood to redeem the people

therefrom; whatever, therefore, has not been washed in this blood, is

all poisoned and cursed by reason of the flesh. Thence it follows,

the more a man undertakes to make himself righteous and has not

Christ, the more only he confounds himself, and sinks deeper in

blindness and wickedness, and condemns himself in respect to this

precious blood.

External matters, important in themselves, are even trifling in

comparison with this, that a man should teach how we may be justified

by works, and devise a worship of God according to our reason; for

thereby the innocent blood is most deeply dishonored and reviled.

The heathen have committed many great sins, in that they have prayed

to the sun and moon, which they held for the true worship of God,

though this was joined with other sins. But human justification

(justification by human works) is mere reviling of God, and the

greatest of all sins that a man commits. So, also, that mode of life

wherewith the world is now busied and which it holds as the worship

of God, and piety, is in God's sight more provoking than any other

sin, as is the priestly and monkish order, and which while it appears

fair before the world, is yet without faith. Therefore whoever will

not obtain favor before God through this blood, it were better for

him that he should never come into God's presence, for he thereby

only the more and more dishonors His Majesty.

V. 19. _As of an innocent and unspotted lamb._ But here St. Peter

explains the Scripture,--for this though so short is an exceedingly

rich Epistle,--since as soon as he had spoken of their vain course in

the traditions of the fathers, he finds much instruction for us in

the prophets--as in the prophet Jer. xvi.: "The heathen shall come to

you from the end of the world, and say, our fathers have gone astray

with lies," as though St. Peter had said, there the prophets foretold

that ye should be redeemed from the tradition of your fathers.

So when he says here, ye are redeemed by the blood of Christ, as of

an innocent and unspotted lamb, he would again refer to the

Scripture, and explain that which is contained in the prophets and

Moses--as Is. liii.: "Like a lamb he is led to the slaughter." So as

to the type, Ex. xii., of the Paschal Lamb, all this he here

explains, and says, this lamb is Christ; and as the one of old was to

be unspotted, so must this, also, whose blood is shed for us, be

unspotted and innocent.

V. 20. _Which indeed was provided previously, before the world began,

but is revealed in these last times for you._ That is, we have not

deserved nor even prayed this of God, that the precious blood of

Christ should be shed for us, therefore we can glory in no respect;

the glory belongs to none but God alone. God has promised and

revealed or made known to us, not for any merit of ours, that which

He from all eternity had provided and foreordained, before the world

was made. In the prophets it is indeed promised, yet dimly and not

openly; but now, since Christ's resurrection and the sending of the

Holy Spirit, it is publicly preached and disseminated throughout the

whole world.

This is now the latter age (the last time), as St. Peter says,

wherein we live--now--from the ascension of Christ until the last

day. So the Apostles and prophets, and Christ Himself, also, call it

the last hour; not that the last day was to come immediately after

Christ's ascension, but because after this preaching of the Gospel of

Christ no other should ever come; and there will be no further

revelation or manifestation, except as this is explained and

revealed. One revelation after another has indeed gone forth.

Therefore God says, Ex. vi., "By my name Jehovah was I not known to

them." For the patriarchs, although they knew God, yet at that time

had not so clear a manifestation of Him as was afterwards put forth

through Moses and the prophets; but now there has no more glorious or

clear manifestation of Him come into the world than the Gospel.

Therefore it is the last; all dispensations have run their course,

but the present,--the last,--which is revealed to us.

Besides, the time hereafter is not long to the end of the world, as

St. Peter shows, II. Pet. iii., where he says: "One day is with the

Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." And so he

would lead us by this reckoning of time, to conclude, after God's

method, that it is the last time, and that the end approaches, but

the time which still remains is nothing in the sight of God. The

salvation is already revealed and completed: God permits the world to

stand yet longer, merely that His name may be more widely honored and

praised, although He for Himself is now fully revealed.

V. 21. _For you, who through Him believe on God, who raised Him from

the dead, and hath given Him dominion that your faith and hope might

be in God._ For our sakes, he says, is the Gospel revealed. For God

and the Lord Christ have not needed it, but have done it for our

profit, that we might believe on them; and that, not through

ourselves, but through Christ, who intercedes for us with the Father,

whom He has raised from the dead, that He might be Lord over all

things; so that whoever believes on Him possesses all His good

things, and through Him has access to the Father. Thus we have faith

in God, and a hope through the same faith. Faith alone must save us,

but it must be a faith in God; for if God does not help us, then we

are not holpen; so that it is not enough, although you had all men's

friendship, but you must have the friendship of God, that you may

boast that He is YOUR Father, and that you are His child, and confide

in Him even more than in your beloved father and mother, that He will

help you in all your troubles, and this only through the one Mediator

and Saviour, the Lord Christ. Such faith comes not (he says) from

human power, but God creates it in us, because Christ has merited it

by His blood; to whom He has given glory, and whom He has seated at

His right hand, that He, by God's power, should produce faith in us.

Hitherto we have heard St. Peter admonishing us that we should gird

up the loins of our mind, that we may remain undefiled and live in

faith; then, also, that which meanwhile is so important, that we

should walk in fear and never forget that we are called Christians,

since God is a judge who respects none, but judges one like the

other, without distinction of persons.

V. 22-25. _And purify your souls, through obedience of the truth in

the Spirit, to unfeigned love of the brethren, and have fervent love

toward one another, out of pure hearts, as those who have been born

again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, namely, of the

living word of God, which endures forever. For all flesh is as grass,

and all the glory of man like the flower of grass. The grass

withereth and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the

Lord endureth forever; and this is the word which is preached unto

you._

Paul, in Gal. v., points out the fruits which follow faith. The

fruits of the Spirit, he says, are joy, peace, long-suffering,

kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. So St. Peter speaks

here of the fruit of faith,--to wit, that we should purify our souls,

through obedience to the truth in the Spirit. For where there is real

faith it brings the body in subjection to itself, and controls the

fleshly lust; and although it does not entirely destroy it, yet it

makes it subject and obedient to the Spirit, and holds it in check.

St. Paul implies the same thing when he speaks of the fruits of the

Spirit. It is a great achievement that the Spirit should attain

control over the flesh, and restrain the evil lust which descends to

us from our parents: for it is not possible that we should succeed

without grace in leading a chaste life in the married state, to say

nothing of the unmarried.

But why does he say then, purify your souls? He is well aware that

the desires of the flesh remain with us after baptism, even to the

grave. Therefore it is not enough that a person should refrain from

works and remain pure outwardly, while he permits evil lusts to

cleave to his heart, but must thereafter beware that the soul be

pure, as well as whatever proceeds out of the heart, and that the

soul be opposed to these wicked lusts and desires, and continually

contend therewith, until it is free from their power.

And here he adjoins an excellent provision: that we should purify our

souls,[3] _through obedience to the truth in the Spirit_. Much has

been preached on chastity, and many books have been composed on the

subject. They have said, we should fast for so long a time, we should

not eat flesh, we should not drink wine, etc., that we may be free

from temptation. These things may perhaps have aided somewhat to that

end, but it has not been enough, it has not subdued lust.

[Footnote 3: Make them chaste.]

So St. Jerome writes of himself, that he had mortified his body to

such an extent that he had become like a Moor; still it had been of

no avail, and he had dreamed of being at Rome at a revelry among

harlots.

St. Bernard also subjected himself to such austerities, and so

mortified his body that it became offensive, as I said above. They

endured severe temptation, and purposed thus to subdue it by external

methods. But since it is external, it is only an outward plaster,

with no inward application. So that it does not suffice to subdue

lust.

But here St. Peter has prescribed an appropriate remedy,--namely,

obedience to truth in the Spirit, as Scripture also has done in other

places,--as Isaiah xi.: "Faith shall be the girdle of his reins."

This is the true plaster that girds the reins, for it must proceed

from within outward, not from without inward. For it has penetrated

into the flesh and blood, the marrow and other parts of the living

system; it is not outward in the dress or clothing. Therefore it is

not to be expected that we should subdue lust with outward things; we

may weaken the body and destroy it with fastings and labors, but the

evil lusts are not thereby banished; yet faith can subdue them, and

guard them, that they shall be compelled to give the Spirit place.

So likewise speaks the prophet Zachariah, ix., of the wine which

Christ has, whereby the pure grow, and of which he gives them to

drink. Other wine usually invites to wicked lust, but this

wine,--that is, the Gospel,--subdues it, and makes the heart chaste.

This is what St. Peter speaks of when any one heartily embraces the

truth, and is obedient to it in spirit. This is the true help and the

most powerful remedy for it, since you will find none which can still

all evil thoughts like it; for if this enters our hearts, evil

inclinations quickly leave; let whoever will try it, he shall find it

true, and whoever has tried it, knows it well; but the devil lets no

one easily attain it, and comprehend the word of God so as to delight

in it; for he well knows how powerful it is to subdue evil lusts and

thoughts.

St. Peter, therefore, would here say, if you would remain chaste,

then must you render obedience to the truth in the Spirit, that

is,--we must not only read and hear the word of God, but apprehend it

in our hearts. Therefore it is not enough that a man should preach or

hear the Gospel once, but he must ever press after it and persevere;

for such grace does the word possess, that the more we taste it the

more delightful it is; although there is, throughout, one and the

same doctrine of faith, yet it cannot be listened to too much where

the heart is not wanton and untamed.

_To unfeigned love of the brethren._ To what end, then, are we to

live a chastely holy life? In order that we may be saved thereby? No!

but in order that we may be useful to our neighbor. What am I to do

that I may restrain my sin? I am to have obedience to the truth in

the Spirit. But why am I to restrain it? In order that I may be of

service to others, for I must first control my body and the flesh by

the Spirit, and thus I can afterward be of service to others.--It

follows further:

_And have fervent love toward one another out of pure hearts._ The

Apostles Peter and Paul distinguish brotherly love, and love in

general, from one another. Brotherhood is, that Christians should

dwell altogether as brethren, and make no distinctions between

themselves. For since we all have a common Christ, one baptism, one

faith, one treasure, I am no better than thou; that which thou hast,

I have also, and I am just as rich as thou. The treasure is the same,

except that I may have it in a better shape than thou, since I may

have it lying in gold, but thou in a poor garment. Therefore as we

have the grace of Christ and all spiritual blessings in common, so

should we also hold body and life, property and honor, in common,

that one should be of service to another in all things.

Here he speaks plainly: _in unfeigned brotherly love_. The Apostles

love to make use of the word, but have clearly perceived that were we

called Christians and brethren universally one with another, it would

be false, a feigned or imagined thing, and would be only hypocrisy.

We have many brotherhoods set up in the world, but they are vain

deceptions and corruptions, which the devil has devised and brought

into the world, which are only antagonist to the true faith and to

genuine brotherly love. Christ is mine as well as St. Bernard's;

thine as well as St. Francis'; if one therefore should come to you

and say, I shall go to heaven if I belong to this or that

brotherhood, then tell him that he is deceived; for Christ cannot

suffer, and will not allow any other than the common brotherhood,

which we all have one with another; yet you come here, you fool, and

will set up one of your own. This I will readily permit, that they be

set up, not to help the soul, but as some one's endowment, and thus

serve as a fund from which they who need shall be helped.

Thus we all of us, as Christians, have attained a brotherhood in

baptism, whereof no saint possesses more than I or you. For just as

costly as that one was purchased, at the same price was I also

purchased. God has devoted as much toward me as to the greatest

saint, except that _he_ may have employed the treasure better, and

may have a stronger faith than I.

But love is greater than brotherhood, for it extends even to our

enemies, and especially to those who are not worthy of love. For as

faith performs its work where it sees nothing, so also should love

see nothing, and there especially exercise its office where there

appears nothing lovely, but only disaffection and hostility. Where

there is nothing that pleases me I should the more seek to be

pleased. And this spirit should go forth fervently, says St. Peter,

from the whole heart, just as God loved us when we were not worthy of

love.--Now follows further:

_As those who have been born again._ Again we should do this, because

we are not what we were before (he says), but have become new

creatures. This has not come to pass through works, but is a

consequence of the new birth. For thou canst not make the new man,

but he must grow, or be born; as a husbandman cannot make a tree, but

it must grow, itself, out of the earth, and as we certainly do not

become the children of Adam, except as we are born and derive sin

from our parents. So here it cannot come to pass through works that

we should become the children of God, but we must also experience the

new birth. This, therefore, is what the Apostle would say: since ye

then have become new creatures, ye should conduct yourselves

otherwise than ye did, and lead a new life. As ye before lived in

hate, ye are now to walk in love--in all respects the reverse. But

how has the new birth taken place? This, also, follows:

V. 23. _Not of corruptible, but of incorruptible seed, even of the

living word of God which endures for ever._ Through a seed are we

born again, for nothing grows as we see otherwise than through seed.

Did the old birth spring from a seed? then must the new birth also

spring from a seed. But what is this seed? Not flesh and blood! What

then? It is not corruptible, but an eternal word. It is, moreover,

that whereon we live,--food and nourishment. But especially is it the

seed whereby we are born again, as he here says.

But how does this take place? After this manner: God lets the

word--the Gospel--go forth, and the seed falls in the hearts of men,

and wherever it fastens on the heart the Holy Spirit is present, and

makes a new man; then the man becomes another, of other thoughts, of

other words and works. Thus you are entirely changed. All that you

before avoided you now seek out, and what you before sought after

that you fly from. In respect to the birth of the body, it is the

case that when conception takes place the seed is changed, so that it

is seed no longer. But this is a seed which cannot be changed; it

remains for ever; it changes me, so that I am transformed in it, and

whatever is evil in me passes away from my nature. Therefore it is

indeed a wonderful birth, and of extraordinary seed.--Now St. Peter

says, further:

V. 24, 25. _For all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man like the

flower of grass; the grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth

away, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever._ This passage is

taken from the prophet Isaiah, xl., where the prophet speaks in this

manner: "Cry! what shall I cry? Cry thus: all flesh is grass, and all

its glory like a flower of the field; the grass withereth and the

flower falleth away, but the word of God endureth for ever." These

words St. Peter introduces here; for this is, as I have said, a rich

epistle, and well spiced with Scripture.

Thus speaks the Scripture, then: _The word of God endures for ever._

What is flesh and blood is corruptible, like the grass which is yet

green, so that it blooms; so whatever is rich, strong, wise and fair,

and thus is flourishing (which all belongs to the bloom), yet you

observe its bloom wither; what was young and vigorous will become old

and ugly; what is rich will become poor, and the like. And all must

fall by the word of God. But this seed cannot perish.--Now Peter

concludes:

_This is the word which is preached unto you._ As though he would

say, ye are not to look far in order to reach the word of God; ye

have it before your eyes; the word is that which we preach; therewith

may you subdue all evil lusts. You are not to seek it from afar; you

have nothing more to do than fully to apprehend it when it is

preached. For it is so near us that we may hear it, as Moses also

says, in Deut. xxx.: "The word that I command you is not far from

thee, that thou must go therefor far away; ascend into heaven or go

beyond the sea, but it is near thee, even in thy mouth and in thy

heart." It is indeed soon spoken and heard. But if it enters our

hearts it cannot die or perish, and will not suffer you to perish; as

long as you cleave to it, it will cleave to you.

As when I hear that Jesus Christ died to take away my sins, and has

purchased heaven for me, and bestows upon me all that He has, then I

hear the Gospel; the word quickly is gone if some one preaches it,

but if it falls into the heart and is apprehended by faith, it can

never pass away. This truth no creature can overthrow; the clearest

reasoning avails nothing against it; and if I too would strike the

devil while I am in his jaws, and am able to lay hold on this, I must

oppose him from this and abide fast by the word. Therefore he well

says, ye must look for no other Gospel than that which we have

preached to you.

So St. Paul also says, in the first part of the Epistle to the

Romans: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God

which saves all that believe in it." The word is a divine and eternal

power; for although the voice or speech is soon gone, yet the

substance remains,--that is, the sense, the truth, which is conveyed

by the voice. As when I put a cup to my mouth in which wine is

contained, I swallow the wine, although I do not thrust the cup down

my throat.

So likewise is the word which the voice conveys; it falls into our

hearts and lives, while the voice remains without and passes away.

Therefore it is indeed a divine power; yea, it is God Himself. For

thus He speaks to Moses, Exodus iv.: "I will be in thy mouth;" and

Ps. lxxx.: "Open thy mouth wide, proclaim glad tidings; say thou art

hungry, I will satisfy thee, I will presently speak to thee

comfortable things."

So, also, in John xiv., Christ says: "I am the way, the truth, and

the life." Whoever confides in this is born of God; so that this seed

of our Lord is itself divine. All this goes to teach us that we

cannot be helped by works. Although the word is a small matter, and

seems as nothing while it proceeds out of the mouth, yet is there

such an immense power in it that it makes those who confide in it the

children of God. John i. Thus does our salvation raise us to an

exalted blessedness.

This is the first chapter of this Epistle, wherein you perceive in

what a masterly manner St. Peter preaches and treats of faith, whence

we easily see that this Epistle is true Gospel. Now comes the second

chapter, that will instruct us in matter of works, how we should

conduct ourselves toward our neighbor.