12. Now, we know ourselves to be of the same clay whereof they are
made; indeed, we perhaps have the greater call from God: yet we
cannot boast of being capable of ourselves to advise or aid men. We
cannot even originate an idea calculated to give help. And when it
comes to the knowledge of how one may stand before God and attain to
eternal life, that is truly not to be achieved by our work or power,
nor to originate in our brain. In other things, those pertaining to
this temporal life, you may glory in what you know, you may advance
the teachings of reason, you may invent ideas of your own; for
example: how to make shoes or clothes, how to govern a household, how
to manage a herd. In such things exercise your mind to the best of
your ability. Cloth or leather of this sort will permit itself to be
stretched and cut according to the good pleasure of the tailor or
shoemaker. But in spiritual matters, human reasoning certainly is not
in order; other intelligence, other skill and power, are requisite
here--something to be granted by God himself and revealed through his
Word.
13. What mortal has ever discovered or fathomed the truth that the
three persons in the eternal divine essence are one God; that the
second person, the Son of God, was obliged to become man, born of a
virgin; and that no way of life could be opened for us, save through
his crucifixion? Such truth never would have been heard nor preached,
would never in all eternity have been published, learned and
believed, had not God himself revealed it.
14. For this season they are blind fools of first magnitude and
dangerous characters who would boast of their grand performances, and
think that the people are served when they preach their own fancies
and inventions. It has been the practice in the Church for anyone to
introduce any teaching he saw fit; for example, the monks and priests
have daily produced new saints, pilgrimages, special prayers, works
and sacrifices in the effort to blot out sin, redeem souls from
purgatory, and so on. They who make up things of this kind are not
such as put their trust in God through Christ, but rather such as
defy God and Christ. Into the hearts of men, where Christ alone
should be, they shove the filth and write the lies of the devil. Yet
they think themselves, and themselves only, qualified for all
essential teaching and work, self-grown doctors that they are, saints
all-powerful without the help of God and Christ.
"But our sufficiency is from God."
15. Of ourselves--in our own wisdom and strength--we cannot effect,
discover nor teach any counsel or help for man, whether for ourselves
or others. Any good work we perform among you, any doctrine we write
upon your heart--that is God's own work. He puts into our heart and
mouth what we should say, and impresses it upon your heart through
the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we cannot ascribe to ourselves any honor
therein, cannot seek our own glory as the self-instructed and proud
spirits do; we must give to God alone the honor, and must glory in
the fact that by his grace and power he works in you unto salvation,
through the office committed unto us.
16. Now, Paul's thought here is that nothing should be taught and
practiced in the Church but what is unquestionably God's Word. It
will not do to introduce or perform anything whatever upon the
strength of man's judgment. Man's achievements, man's reasoning and
power, are of no avail save in so far as they come from God. As Peter
says in his first epistle (ch. 4, 11): "If any man speaketh, speaking
as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of
the strength which God supplieth." In short, let him who would be
wise, who would boast of great skill, talents and power, confine
himself to things other than spiritual; with respect to spiritual
matters, let him keep his place and refrain from boasting and
pretense. For it is of no moment that men observe your greatness and
ability; the important thing is that poor souls may rest assured of
being presented with God's Word and works, whereby they may be saved.
"Who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of
the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit
giveth life."