14. The Christian has indeed inestimable treasure. In the first place
he has the testimony of the Word of God, which is the word of eternal
grace and comfort, that he has a right and true conception of
baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Ten Commandments and the Creed. In
addition he has the sure refuge of God's promise to deliver us from
every trouble in which we shall call upon him, and to give us, as he
promised by the prophet Zechariah (12, 10), the Spirit of grace and
of prayer. And the Christian, by virtue of his enlightened
understanding, can wisely discern what are good works and what
callings are pleasing to God; on the other hand, his judgment is
equally true as to unprofitable and vain works and false services.
Before, we had not this wholesome knowledge. We knew not what we
believed, or how we prayed and lived. We sought comfort and salvation
in self-devised trivialities, in penances, confessions and
satisfactions, in self-righteous works of monkery and in obedience to
the commands of the Pope. We believed such works to be fully
satisfactory and, indeed, the only things that were holy; the
pursuits of common Christians we considered worldly and dangerous.
15. In illustration of this idea, a picture was exhibited--with the
sanction of the Pope--representing a great ship in the wild, wide
sea, containing only the holy monks and the super-holy popes,
cardinals, bishops, etc., who were throwing their merits to those in
peril struggling in the water, or extending a hand, or by means of
ropes and their stoles drawing the drowning to safety in the boat.
16. In contrast to this darkness, consider the priceless and
to-be-cherished blessing of knowing with certainty wherein the heart
is to take comfort, how to seek help in distress and how to conduct
one's self in one's own station. If, though provided with spiritual
riches on all sides, you are not sufficient of yourself at all times
to grasp them, you can, nevertheless, always reach and appropriate
them by means of the ordinary ministry and office of the Church, yes,
by the aid of your fellow-Christians. Again, it is productive of the
greatest happiness to know that when living aright in the ordinary
walks of life established by God, you are more acceptable and
pleasing to him than you would be to purchase the works and merits of
all the monks and hermits.
17. What Paul terms being "enriched," first, "in all utterance," or
knowledge--which, in the exalted spiritual meaning of the words,
bears on life everlasting--is having the comfort of faith in Christ
and of invocation and prayer. And enriched in "all knowledge," means
having true conception and right judgment in all things of our
physical life and in all our earthly relations. All things that a
Christian should know and should possess are comprehended in these
two terms. These blessings are gifts and treasures indescribably
great. He who will contrast them with the destitution of our former
condition cannot but be joyful and thankful. I remember the time when
I, engaged in earnest study of Holy Writ, would have given a great
deal for the right exposition of a psalm; and when had I but begun to
understand a verse aright, I would have been as rejoiced as if born
to life anew.
18. Truly, then, we should now render to God heartfelt thanks for the
great favor and blessing of restored light and understanding in
Scripture, and the right conception of doctrinal matters. But, alas!
it is likely to be with us as with the Corinthians, who had received
most abundantly from Paul but by way of return had made ill use of it
and proved shamefully unthankful. And they met with retribution, the
worst of it being false doctrine and seductions, until at last that
grand congregation was wholly ruined and destroyed. A similar
retribution threatens us, yes, is before the door with appalling
knock, in the instance of the Turks and in other distress and
calamity. For this reason we should, with a thankful heart and
serious mind, pray, as Paul here does for his Corinthians, that God
would keep us steadfast in the possession of his gifts and blameless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
19. Paul admonishes us to continue in this knowledge and appreciation
of the grace and gifts of God. Since by these blessings we have
received riches and happiness to the satisfying of all our need, the
apostle further admonishes us to look only for the Lord to reveal to
us publicly by his coming that which he has promised and through
faith already granted us.
20. In the past, much has been written and ingeniously devised on the
topic of preparing for death and the final judgment. But it has only
served to further confuse timid consciences. For these comforters
were not able to show anything of the comfort to be found in the
riches of grace and bliss in Christ. They directed the people to
oppose with their own works and good life, death and God's judgment.
In place of this delusion is now evident the precious truth; he who
knows the Gospel doctrines, goes on and performs his own work and
duty in his respective calling. He takes comfort in the fact that
through baptism he is engrafted into Christ; he receives absolution
and partakes of the holy supper for the strengthening of his faith,
commending his soul and body to Christ. Why should such a one fear
death? Though it come at any time, in form of pestilence or accident,
it will always find the Christian ready and well prepared, be he
awake or asleep; for he is in Christ Jesus.
21. For all these things the Christian may well thank and bless God,
realizing that he has no further need, nor can he gain anything
better than he already has in the remission of sins, the gift of the
Holy Spirit and the faithful prosecution of his calling; however, he
should remain in, and daily grow in, faith and supplication. But he
cannot hope to attain to another and better doctrine, faith, Spirit,
prayer, sacrament, reward, etc., than had all the saints, John the
Baptist, Peter, Paul, or in fact than has now every Christian that is
baptized. Therefore I need not idly spend time in trying to prepare
people for death and inspire them with courage by such commonplaces
as recalling and relating the innumerable daily accidents, ills and
dangers of this life. This method will not answer; death will not
thereby be frightened away, nor will the fear of death be removed.
The Gospel teaching is: Believe in Christ, pray and live in
accordance with God's Word, and then, when death overtakes and
attacks you, you will know that you are Christ the Lord's. Paul says
(Rom 14, 8): "Whether we live ... or die, we are the Lord's." Indeed,
we Christians live upon this earth to the very end that we may have
assured comfort, salvation and victory over death and hell.
22. Of this Paul here reminds us, and dwells on it more fully later
in this Epistle; he would have us duly thankful for this great grace
and living among ourselves in a Christian and brotherly manner, in
doctrine and practice, ignoring and avoiding that wild, disorderly
conduct of the contentious and disorderly. He who recognizes such
grace and blessing cannot but love and thank God and conduct himself
aright toward his neighbor; and when he finds himself falling short
in this he will, by admonition and the Word of God, make amends.
23. Here you might put the question: Why does Paul speak in such a
commendatory way of the Corinthians, saying that they were enriched
in everything and came behind in no gift, when he himself confesses
later on that they had contentions and schisms--in regard to baptism,
to the sacrament, to the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and
in regard to abuse of liberty, and some lived as they pleased. Would
you not call these things faults and shortcomings? How, then, is he
in a position to say that they were abundantly supplied with all
things spiritual, lacking not one thing?
24. Well, you should recall what I have repeatedly stated:
Christendom is never so spotless that there are not some spurious and
wicked admixed, just as you will always find weeds, darnel, tares, or
wild mustard together with pure grain. And he who will examine the
Church with only a view of finding faults and frailties among those
called Christians, will miss the Church, yes, the Gospel and Christ,
and never discover a Church at all.
25. But we have the consolation of knowing that if we have the Gospel
pure, we have the treasure God gives his Church and we cannot go
astray nor want. But as yet we have not reached that degree of
perfection where all hearers of the Gospel will grasp it fully and
wholly or are faultless in faith and life; at all times there will be
some who do not believe and some who are weak and imperfect. However,
that great treasure and rich blessing of doctrine and knowledge is
present. There is no defect in this, and it is effective and
fruitful. The fact that some do not believe, does not weaken baptism
or the Gospel or the Church; they only harm themselves. To sum up,
where the Word remains, there most assuredly is also the Church. For
wherever the doctrine is pure, there you can also keep purity in
baptism, the sacrament, absolution, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's
Prayer, good works and all callings; and wherever you find a defect
or an irregularity, you can admonish, amend and rectify by means of
the Word.
26. Some there must be who have the Word and sacraments pure and
unadulterated, who have faith, pray aright, keep God's commandments
and do other things, as, thank God, we have with us. Then we may
firmly conclude: If the true Church were not here, these
characteristics would be lacking; therefore we must have among
ourselves true members of the Church and true saints. Now even though
children of the world intermingle (as will be the case always and in
all places), who show neither faith nor a godly life, it would
corrupt neither faith, nor baptism, nor doctrine, nor would the
Church perish on that account--the treasure remains in its integrity
and efficacy, and God may graciously cause some to turn from their
unbelief and wicked life and be added to the faithful and to mend
their ways.
27. Again, they with whom this treasure--the Word or doctrine and its
knowledge--is not found, cannot be the Christian Church nor members
of it, and for that reason they cannot pray or believe aright or do
good works pleasing to God. It follows that their whole lives are in
God's sight lost and condemned, though they may assiduously extol God
and the Church and before the world may have the appearance and
reputation of leading particularly holy lives and excelling even the
upright Christians in virtues and honor. It is a settled fact that
outside the Church of Christ there is no God, no grace, no bliss; as
Paul says (Eph 4, 5): "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all," etc. And Acts 4, 12 says: "And in none other is there
salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is
given among men, wherein we must be saved."
28. And so Paul, when here extolling the Corinthians, has not an eye
to the contentious, the Epicureans, or to those who give public
offense, as the man that "had his father's wife;" but the apostle
looks to the fact that a few remain who have the pure Word of God,
faith, baptism and the sacrament, though some hypocrites be among
them. Because of these few--and few indeed there may be--we recognize
the presence of that inestimable treasure of which the apostle
speaks. It is found as well where two or three are gathered together
as with thousands. Neither the Gospel nor the ministers nor the
Church is to be blamed that the multitude miss this treasure; the
multitude have but themselves to blame, for they close their ears and
eyes.
29. Now behold how loftily Paul has extolled and how beautifully
portrayed the Christian Church--where she is to be found on earth and
what inestimable blessings and gifts she has received of Christ, for
which she is in duty bound to thank and praise him in her confession
and in her life. This subject the apostle concludes with the words:
"God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
30. The good work which Christ has begun in you and already assured
to you, he will without fail establish in you until the end and for
ever, if you but do not fall away through unbelief, or cast grace
from you. For his Word or promise given to you, and his work begun in
you, are not changeable as is man's word and work, but are firm,
certain, divine, immovable truth. Since you are in possession of this
your divine calling, draw comfort therefrom and rely on it without
wavering. Amen.
_Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity_
Text: Ephesians 4, 22-28.
22 That ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the
old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit; 23 and that
ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man,
that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of
truth. 25 Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye truth each one
with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry,
and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 neither give
place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather
let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he
may have whereof to give to him that hath need.