February 2008, Volume 2

LUTHER’S
WORKS

VOLUME 2

LECTURES ON GENESIS

Chapters 6–14

We all live in the Third World

For before the flood, Enoch, "walked with God,"(Gen. 5:24) And...

AELW1:350-351

"Later on in the second world, which had the Law, God gave the example of Elijah, who was taken away by the Lord even as his servant Elisha was looking on.

We in the New Testament are in the third world, as it were; and we have a more outstanding example—Christ Himself, our Deliverer, ascending to heaven with many other saints. In every age God wanted to have at hand proofs of the resurrection of the dead in order to draw our hearts away from this detestable and troubled life, in which, as long as it seems good to God, we nevertheless serve Him by performing our governmental and civic duties and also, above all else, by leading others to godliness and the knowledge of God. But here we have no continuing place (Heb. 13:14). For Christ went away to the Father to prepare for us eternal dwelling places (John 14:3)."

Preach You the Word

Lutheran Service Book, Hymn #586, "Preach you the Word", Martin Franzmann
Verse 1

"Preach you the Word and plant it home
To men who like or like it not
The Word that shall endure and stand
When flow'rs and men shall be forgot"


And Luther...AELW1:347

"If I were to die within six months, I would hardly have enough time to draw up a testament. For I would remind men of the sum and substance of my preaching; I would exhort and urge them to persevere in it; and, to the extent that I were able to foresee, I would admonish them to be on guard against offense in doctrine. This task could not be completed in one day or in one month."

Eternal Comfort

AELW1:345

"At last, through God’s revelation by an angel, they learned that Enoch had been taken away by God Himself and had been given a place in Paradise. This, however, they did not learn on the first day or on the second, but perhaps after an interval of many months or years. Meanwhile they loudly lamented the holy man’s wretched lot as though he had been slain by the hypocritical Cainites. This is the rule, that cross and affliction always precede comfort. God does not comfort any unless they are sad, just as He also does not give life to any unless they are dead and does not declare any righteous unless they are sinners. For He creates everything out of nothing."

A blessed reunion

Actually I have seen this printed out on a chart. But, I have set the whole linage up on an Excel spreadsheet just to see who was alive at the same time. It is quite an amazing thought...

AELW1:342

"If you take the trouble to make the calculation, it is a most entertaining sight to behold how in that age of the primitive world so many venerable patriarchs lived at the same time. If you carefully compute the years of Adam, our first parent, you will observe that he lived more than fifty years together with Lamech, Noah’s father. Therefore Adam saw all his descendants down to the ninth generation, and he had an almost countless multitude of sons and daughters whom Moses does not enumerate, since he was content to enumerate the main line of descent and its closest branches down to Noah."

Live longer, eat like Adam...

NOT! Rather, eat the true body and drink the true blood of Christ and receive the gift of eternal life...

AELW1:340
"But the question is raised: What was the reason and cause for this length of life? I am not averse to what some maintain: that at that time men’s constitutions were better and that everything they used as food was more healthful. Added to this was also extreme moderation in food, which, needless to state, itself contributes a great deal toward health."

We who wear smug mugs....

AELW1:336

"But the smug and ungrateful world, the despiser of all the promises and threats of God, abounds with every kind of iniquity and daily becomes more and more corrupt. Now that the rule of the popes, who have ruled the world solely through the fear of punishment, is over, men, through their contempt of the sound doctrine, all but degenerate into brutes and beasts. The number of holy and godly preachers is on the decline. All men yield to their desires. But what will happen is that the Last Day will come upon the world like a thief (1 Thess. 5:2) and will overtake men who in their smugness give free reign to their ambitious desire, tyranny, lusts, greed, and all sorts of vices."

And of the life of the world to come

AELW1:333

"Therefore we should not despair when we see that death has been transmitted from Adam to the entire human race. We must undergo this death because we are sinners, but we shall not remain in death. We have the hope concerning the divine plan and providence that God plans to do away with this death, just as He has begun to do through the promise of the blessed Seed; and the examples of Abel and Enoch point in the same direction. Thus through hope we are in possession of the first fruits of immortality, as Paul says (Rom. 8:23): “We are saved by hope,” until its fullness appears on the Last Day, when we shall experience and see the life in which we believed and for which we hoped."

Sorry, no "40 Days of Family" either

AELW1:245

"The same thing happens in the family. The purpose for which God gives us good health, wife, children, and property is not that we might offend Him by means of these gifts, but that we might recognize His mercy and give thanks to Him."

The Gospel of the future Seed

AELW 1:220

"Moreover, he (Adam) wanted to give an outward indication of this faith of his and lend distinction to it by means of his wife’s name. He gave it to no other creature. By this designation of his wife he gave support to the hope in the future Seed, strengthened his own faith, and comforted himself with the thought that he believed in life even when all nature had already been made subject to death."

The Law of the Golden Age

AELW1:216
"Thus the fall of Adam was from life into death, from health into sickness. And yet it was, thus far, truly a golden age, if you consider ours. Gradually everything deteriorated, as the image described in the Book of Daniel shows (Dan. 2:32). The closer the world is to its end, the worse human beings become."

"Bert and I" meet Carlstadt

Most anyone who has lived in New England for awhile know of the adventures of the fictitious characters, "Bert and I." These characters were created by Marshall Dodge.

The following is a story of “Down East Socialism” as would be told in a thick Maine down East accent...

"Eben Robey went down to the Tremont Temple in Boston to hear Norman Thomas speak. When he come back he was out preachin’ socialism ‘cross the back fence to Enoch Turner.

“You know, Enoch,” Eben was sayin’, “under socialism everybody shares everythin’”.
AAAA“Is that so?”
“Ayuup.”
AAAA“You mean to tell me, Eben, that if you had 2 fahms and I
AAAAhad none, you’d give me one of ‘em?”
“Ayup. Under socialism I’d give you one of ‘em.”
AAAA“And if you had 2 hay rigs?”
“Under socialism, if I had 2 hay rigs and you had none, I’d give you one of ‘em.”
AAAA“Well, Eben, suppose you had 2 hogs?”
“D@## you, Enoch! You know I got 2 hogs.”

Okay, now your asking how does this tie into Luther?
Well, heah is a story of Carlstadt and vocation, which can only end in, "D@## you Carlstadt, you know I already have a vocation"

AELW1:211

"But here the question arises whether we all ought to be farmers or at least work with our hands, as some foolishly maintained when the Gospel was first proclaimed. They misused this passage, as well as others which command the work of the hands, to make young men give up their studies and follow occupations requiring manual labor. Thus their leader Carlstadt gave up his position, bought a country place, and dug and tended it himself. But surely, if it were right to abandon one’s calling, it would be far easier and more pleasant for me to be in the garden, to dig with a hoe, and to turn the ground with a spade than it is to carry on the work which I am now doing. For work on the farm does not compare with this strenuous exertion of ours."

And most certainly the pesky nature of mosquitoes too!

AELW1:206

"Furthermore, frosts, lightning bolts, injurious dews, storms, overflowing rivers, settling of the ground, earthquakes-all do damage....Therefore I am fully of the opinion that because of the increase of sins the punishments were also increased and that these troubles were added to the curse of the earth."

and AELW 1:208

"And what of thorns, thistles, water, fire, caterpillars, flies, fleas, and bedbugs? Collectively and individually, are not all of them messengers who preach to us concerning sin and God's wrath, since they did not exist before sin or at lest were not harmful and troublesome?"

Adam is responsible for global warming!

Yeah, surprised me too...

AELW1:204

"I have no doubt that before sin the air was purer and more healthful, and the water more prolific, yes, even the sun's light was more beautiful and clearer. Now the entire creation in all its parts reminds us of the curse that was inflicted because of sin.'

"Media vita in morte sumus" or "Mitten in dem Leben" or "In the Midst of Life"

If you read enough Luther it is amazing to see how much this thought/theme comes up...

From the Lutheran Service Book, No. 755, verse 3

"In the midst of utter woe
AAAAWhen our sins oppress us,
Where shall we for refuge go,
AAAAWhere for grace to bless us?
To Thee, Lord Jesus, only!
Thy precious blood was shed to win
AAAAFull atonement for our sin.
Holy and righteous God!
Holy and mighty God!
Holy and all merciful Savior!
Eternal Lord God!
Lord, preserve and keep us
AAAAIn the peace that faith can give.
Have mercy, O Lord!" (LSB 755:3)

And in this volume too, AELW 1:197

"Meanwhile our life is a life in the midst of death. And yet, even in the midst of death, the hope of life is kept, since the Word so teaches, directs, and promises."

Here grace and mercy begin...

Genesis 3:15
"I shall put enmity between you and the woman and your seed"

AELW1:188

"These words are spoken for the sake of Adam and Eve that they may hear this judgment and be comforted by the realization that God is the enemy of that being which inflicted so severe a wound on man. Here grace and mercy begin to shine forth from the midst of the wrath which sin and disobedience aroused. Here in the midst of most serious threats the Father reveals His heart; this is not a father who is so angry that he would turn out his son because of his sin, but one who points to a deliverance, indeed one who promises victory against the enemy that deceived and conquered human nature."

The Law and the Gospel

AELW1:180-181

"However, just as the end of this affair shows the very great kindness and mercy of God toward man (inasmuch as He calls him back for the remission of his sins and for eternal life through the Seed who was to come), so also the beginnings of this affair, if we evaluate them properly, are more lenient than what Adam deserved. There is not that terrible sight as on Mt. Sinai, where trumpet blasts were mingled with flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. But God comes in a very soft breeze to indicate that the reprimand will be fatherly. He does not drive Adam away from Himself because of his sin, but He calls him and calls him back from his sin. Yet Adam does not understand or see this fatherly concern, since he is overwhelmed by his sin and terror. He does not notice that God deals far differently with the serpent. He does not call the serpent. Nor—in order in this way to call it to repentance—does he ask the serpent about the sin that has been committed. But He condemns it immediately."

"This shows that even then Christ, our Deliverer, had placed Himself between God and man as a Mediator. It is a very great measure of grace that after Adam’s sin God does not remain silent but speaks, and in many words indeed, in order to show signs of His fatherly disposition. With the serpent everything is done differently. And so, although the promise concerning Christ is not yet there, it is already noticeable in the thought and counsel of God."

Looking for a Fall guy...

AELW1:174

"Just as Adam stupidly began to flee, so he answers most stupidly; so thoroughly had sin deprived him of all discernment and good sense.

...It follows, therefore, that Adam is no longer the same that he was, but that he has undergone a change and has become a different person, one who is looking for a fictitious reason as his excuse. How can it be true that the reason for his fear is the voice, when previously he did not fear the voice but heard God with delight?

Let us learn, then, that this perversion and stupidity always accompany sin and that sinners accuse themselves by their excuses and betray themselves by their defense, especially before God."

The flight from sin....

So it was with Adam, and so it is with us. It takes up our entire lifetime, but it is a flight which can only be cancelled for us by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ...

"Genesis 3:9 "And the Lord God called Adam and said to him: Where are you?"

AELW1:172-73

"This is the description of the trial. After Adam has become terrified through the awareness of his sin, he avoids the sight of God and realizes that not only Paradise but the entire world is too narrow to be a safe hiding place. And now, in that mental agony, he reveals his stupidity by seeking relief from sin through flight from God. But he had already fled too far from God. Sin itself is the real withdrawal from God, and it would not have been necessary to add any further flight. Thus it happens—and this is the nature of sin—that the farther man withdraws from God, the farther he still desires to withdraw; and he who has once fled and apostatized keeps on fleeing forever. And so some also maintain concerning the punishments of hell that this will be the most terrible thing: that the ungodly will desire to flee and yet will realize that they cannot escape. So it was with Adam here; although he was caught, nevertheless he does not stop fleeing."

"If we say we have no sin..."

We need to start making bigger fig leaves for ourselves!

AELW1:169
"Only after the Law has come, does it become clear what we have done. But when sin has been brought to light it appears to carry with it such great disgrace that the minds cannot bear having looked at. Therefore it tries to cover it. No one wants to appear as what he is, even though he is a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer. The heretics, too, refuse to acknowledge their error but defend it most obstinately and wish to appear as true Catholics.(sic) In order to attain this they sew together very wide leaves of the fig tree; that is, they try every device they can find to gloss over and mitigate their error."

It wasn't the apple

it was sin....

AELW1:162
"Therefore one should not listen to those who maintain that it is cruel for this nature to be so pitiably corrupted and plunged into death and the rest of the disasters simply on account of a bite of fruit. When the Epicureans hear this, they laugh at it as a fairy tale. But to the careful reader it readily becomes clear that the bite of the apple is not the reason. The reason is sin..."

Satan's temptation of Eve

Gen 3:1 "Did God really say..?"

AELW1:148
"And so later on the fall is an easy matter. People who are not wary allow themselves to be drawn away from the Word into dangerous discussions. Because they are not satisfied with the Word they ask:"Why and wherefore do these things happen thus?"

The right order...

"So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ." Rom. 10:17

Then....Good works and renewal are the result of faith...

AELW1:145
"When we have been baptized and brought into the kingdom of Christ, God does not want us to be idle. He wants us to use His Word and gifts."

Prophecy of the family

AELW1:138

Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man will leave father and mother and will cling to his wife."

"This statement is also in the nature of a prophecy. There were no fathers and mothers yet, and no children; nevertheless, through the Holy Spirit, Adam prophesies this way about the life of married people, about their own dwelling place, about the division of dominion over the entire world, so that individual families might live in their own little nest."

Did Shakespeare read Luther?

"...What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet..." Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet," 1594.

Boy this is a looooong stretch...;-) Shakespeare could have been talking about a rival theater named "The Rose" which stank of unsanitary conditions, Luther was well aware of how much there is in the Name of Jesus....

Interesting thoughts by Luther though as to how the senses become dull to the miracles that surround us at all times...

AELW1:126
"But why does the creation of Adam and Eve seem so unbelievable and miraculous, while man’s propagation, which all men know and see, does not seem so miraculous? Undoubtedly because, as Augustine says, miracles become commonplace through their continuous recurrence. Thus we do not marvel at the wonderful light of the sun, because it is a daily phenomenon. We do not marvel at the countless other gifts of creation, for we have become deaf toward what Pythagoras aptly terms this wonderful and most lovely music coming from the harmony of the motions that are in the celestial spheres. But because men continually hear this music, they become deaf to it, just as the people who live at the cataracts of the Nile are not affected by the noise and roar of the water which they hear continually, although it is unbearable to others who are not accustomed to it. Without a doubt he took over this very statement from the teaching of the fathers, but they did not want to be understood as though sound were given off by the motion of the celestial bodies. What they wanted to say was that their nature was most lovely and altogether miraculous, but that we ungrateful and insensible people did not notice it or give due thanks to God for the miraculous establishment and preservation of His creation."

The opinion of the Early Church Father's count for?

reading, but the the Word of the Lord in the scriptures is the only authority...
AELW1:122

"Whenever we see that the opinions of the fathers are not in agreement with Scripture, we respectfully bear with them and acknowledge them as our forefathers; but we do not on their account give up the authority of Scripture. Aristotle’s statement in the first book of his Ethics is well put and true: “Better it is to defend the truth than to be too much devoted to those who are our friends and relatives.” And this is, above all, the proper attitude for a philosopher. For although both; truth and friends, are dear to us, preference must be given to truth. If a pagan maintains that this must be the attitude in secular discourses, how much more must it be our attitude in those which involve the clear witness of Scripture that we dare not give preference to the authority of men over that of Scripture! Human beings can err, but the Word of God is the very wisdom of God and the absolutely infallible truth."

Further, Adam establishes the church?

Nope, by the Word of God and assigned to Adam
AELW1:104

"Therefore after the establishment of the church the government of the home is also assigned to Adam in Paradise. But the church was established first because God wants to show by this sign, as it were, that man was created for another purpose than the rest of the living beings. Because the church is established by the Word of God, it is certain that man was created for an immortal and spiritual life, to which he would have been carried off or translated without death after living in Eden and on the rest of the earth without inconvenience as long as he wished."

Adam creates Democracy?

Okay, I admit this is a stretch, but...
AELW1:104

"Moreover, there was no government of the state before sin, for there was no need of it. Civil government is a remedy required by our corrupted nature. It is necessary that lust be held in check by the bonds of the laws and by penalties. For this reason you may correctly call civil government the rule of sin, just as Paul calls Moses also the minister of death and of sin (Rom. 8:2). This is the one and foremost function of government, to hold sin in check, as Paul says (Rom. 13:4): “Government bears the sword for the punishment of the wicked.”

Where were Adam and Eve created?

We know the how, but Luther makes an interesting observation as to the where...

AELW1:91
"What need is there to know where he (Adam) was created? He was created outside of Paradise; for the text states that he was brought or placed into Paradise before the creation of Eve, who as Moses here points out, was created in Paradise. To know this is enough"

The Seventh Day - A Purpose for Man

The Seventh Day - The Sabbath
A Purpose for man, but.... "33 days short of 40 days of purpose" does not make for a good slogan.

AELW1:80

"Then it is also shown here that man was especially created for the knowledge and worship of God; for the Sabbath was not ordained for sheep and cows but for men, that in them the knowledge of God might be developed and might increase. Therefore although man lost his knowledge of God, nevertheless God wanted this command about sanctifying the Sabbath to remain in force. On the seventh day He wanted men to busy themselves both with His Word and with the other forms of worship established by Him, so that we might give first thought to the fact that this nature was created chiefly for acknowledging and glorifying God."

The Sixth Day - The image of God

Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

AELW1:68

"But without a doubt, just as at that time God rejoiced in the counsel and work by which man was created, so today, too, He takes pleasure in restoring this work of His through His Son and our Deliverer, Christ. It is useful to ponder these facts, namely, that God is most kindly inclined toward us and takes delight in His thought and plan of restoring all who have believed in Christ to spiritual life through the resurrection of the dead."

The work of the Fifth day - Just a drop of Water

AELW1:49
"Nothing—even raising the dead—is comparable to the wonderful work of producing a bird out of water. We do not wonder at these things, because through our daily association with them we have lost our wonderment. But if anyone believes them and regards them more attentively, he is compelled to wonder at them, and his wonderment gradually strengthens his faith. Since God is able to bring forth from the water the heaven and the stars, the size of which either equals or surpasses that of the earth; likewise, since He is able out of a droplet of water to create sun and moon, could He not also defend my body against enemies and Satan or, after it has been placed in the grave, revive it for a new life? Therefore we must take note of God’s power that we may be completely without doubt about the things which God promises in His Word. Here full assurance is given concerning all His promises; nothing is either so difficult or so impossible that He could not bring it about by His Word. The heaven, the earth, the sea, and whatever is in them prove that this is true."

The Fourth Day - Let there be luminaries in the heaven

Regarding Augustine and astronomers who assert various theories of how the sun, moon and stars are lighted.

AELW1:41
"For me it is enough that in those bodies, which are so eloquent and necessary for our life, we recognize both the goodness of God and His power, that He created such important objects and preserves them to the present day for our use. These are the views which are proper to our profession; that is, they are theological, and they have the power to instill confidence in our hearts."

The Third Day

Luther speaks of the philosophers of his time thinking the earth is the center of the universe. This was the most up to date scientific theory of the day...but even so, Luther concludes...

AELW1:35
"All this is worth knowing. But what philosophers do not know is that this permanence is entirely the result of the power of the Word of God."

No matter what scientific creation theory man may present, "Our victory has been won, The kingdom ours remaineth"

The Second Day- Sola Scriptura

AELW1:23
"Other, unnecessary information about the nature of the angels (angels of darkness and the devil) and the like he(Moses) passed over. Therefore, we should not be expected to say more about this whole business either, especially since the New Testament too, deals in a rather limited way with this doctrine; it adds nothing beyond the fact that they have been condemned and are held bound in prison, as it were, until the Day of Judgment (Rev. 20:2,7)"

Here Luther affirms that it is proper to not let our minds wander by creating and filling in what we perceive as missing points of scripture. We should let scripture interpret scripture. The Word of God is all that we need to show us our salvation has already been won.

Still the First Day...(A few of my days later ;-)

Regarding God and time

AELW1:11
"It is folly to argue much about God outside and before time, because this is an effort to understand the Godhead without a covering, or the uncovered divine essence. Because this is impossible, God envelops Himself in His works in certain forms, as today He wraps Himself up in Baptism, in absolution, etc. If you should depart from these, you will get into an area where there is no measure, no space, no time, and into the merest nothing, concerning which, according to the philosopher, there can be no knowledge. Therefore we justly pass over this question and are satisfied with the simple explanation of the phrase "in the beginning."

The Work of the First Day

Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...

Luther speaks of primary matter, AELW 1:6. This formless earth was like an "ooze or dense fog." The explanation of the meaning of primary matter states that this is something like the "raw material." From this raw material created by God, all the heavens and the earth are formed and all that is in it.

"Everything that is, was created by God."(AELW1:7) And we should not forget "God" here is the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Triune God created everything out of nothing...

Let's begin - January 2008 - Volume 1

Luther's Work's Volume 1, Luther's Lectures on Genesis Chapters 1-5

From Luther's lectures on Genesis which he started in 1535.

Since I started reading this at the beginning of the month I have a bit of backtracking and catching up to do...

In light of recent discussions on other websites regarding the church father's, I found it interesting to note the following introductory comments from Luther...

AELW 1:4 (This nomenclature will be used for all future references and means, American Edition, Luther's Works, Volume 1, page 4)

"Hilary and Augustine, almost the two greatest lights of the church, hold that the world was created instantaneously and all at the same time, not successively in the course of six day."

Luther further notes on the pages following this quote, that the six days of creation were to be understood in a literal sense, meaning six 24 hour days, not in an allegorical sense.

I also find it amusing that Hilary and Augustine almost made it to the two greatest lights of the church...

The First Post

I suppose the first post should set forth the premise for having a blog.

My premise for having this blog is to encourage myself to read through the entire American Edition of Luther's Works, in a continuous manner. Further, the challenge includes reading a volume a month until I'm done. I know I say 55 Volumes at the top of the page, most of you know that the last volume will be fairly easy as it is the index. So what this really means is, that at this rate, it will take about 54 months, or 4-1/2 years...yikes

I'll also note that by the time I'm nearing completion of my stated goal, by the great initiative of Concordia Publishing House, (CPH) there will prayerfully be twenty more volumes translated into the English language. For progress on this project, check the CPH website www.cph.org.

With regard to format, I will post as often as I am able. My posts will include the words and thoughts of Luther which may jump out at me during this reading through Luther. I welcome your comments, and insight to my posts, as well as your noting nuances which I will invariably skip over or miss. I will moderate comments and ask that posts are made in a polite and/or professional manner.

I will ask in advance for forgiveness for any errors which I may make or imply. In addition, I know that the American translation is not always the most correct, I hope that there will be some of you out there ready to convey important thoughts which may have been lost in the translation.

Also I am a new blogger so if things move around, or formats change, please know that I am learning about this blogging thing along the way too...

So join me on this journey, I pray that I will learn more from this reading, and from you too...

In Christ,
Pastor Larry Wright