Martin Luther on Galatians 3:20

Verſe. 20. Novv, a Mediatour is not a Mediatour of oneBut ſerueth both for the Ievves and Gentiles, to ioyne them to God.. Here he compareth theſe two Mediatours together, and that wt a maruelous breuitie: yet ſo notwithſtanding, that he ſatiſfieth the attentiue reader, who, becauſe this word Mediatour is generall, by and by vnderſtandeth that Paule ſpeaketh alſo of the Mediatour generally, and not of Moiſes onely.The vvord Mediatour includeth tvvo. A Mediatour (ſayeth he) is not a Mediatour of one onely: but this word neceſſarily comprehendeth two: that is to ſay, him that is offended, and him that is the offender: of whom, the one hath neede of interceſſion, and the other needeth none. Wherfore a Mediatour is not of one, but of two, and of ſuch two as be at variaunce betwene them ſelues. So Moiſes by a generall definition is a Mediatour, becauſe he doth the office of a Mediatour betwene the law and the people, who can not abide the true and ſpirituall vſe of the law. The lawe therfore muſt haue a new face,The lavve hauing put on a veile, maketh vs not afraid. and his voyce muſt be chaunged: that is to ſay, the voyce of the law muſt be made ſpirituall, or the lawe muſt be made liuely in the inward affection, and muſt put on a viſour or a veile, that it may now become more tolerable, ſo that the people may be able to heare it by the voice of Moiſes. Nowe, the lawe being thus couered,Becauſe God ſpeaketh not novv in his Maieſtie as he did in the Mount, but by the voice of man, therfore men feare him not, nor regarde his lavve. ſpeaketh no more in his Maieſtie, but by the mouth of Moiſes. After this maner it doth not his office any more: that is, it terrifieth not ye conſcience. And this is the cauſe that they doe neither vnderſtand it, nor regarde it: by meanes wherof they become ſecure, negligent, and preſumptuous hypocrites. [illegible: 1 page] [illegible: 1 page] And yet notwithſtanding the one of theſe two muſt needes be done: to witte, that either the lawe muſt be without his vſe, and couered with a veile (but then, as I haue ſaid, it maketh hypocrites): or els it muſt be in his vſe without the veile,The lavve in his true vſe killeth. and then it killeth. For mans hearte can not abide the lawe in his true vſe, without the veile. It behoueth thee therefore, if thou looke to the ende of the law without the veile, either to laye holde on that bleſſed Seede by faith, (that is to ſay) thou muſt looke beyond the ende of the law vnto Chriſt, which is the accompliſhment of the law: which may ſay vnto thee: The law hath terrified thee enough: Be of good comfort my ſonne, thy ſinnes are forgeuen thee, (wherof I wil ſpeake more anone): or elſe ſurely thou muſt haue Moſes for thy Mediatour, with his veile. For this cauſe Paule ſayth: A mediatour is not a Mediatour of one. For it could not be that Moiſes ſhould be a Mediatour of God alone: For God needeth no Mediatour. And againe, he is not a Mediatour of the people onely,The office of a Mediatour. but he doth the office of a Mediatour betwene God and the people, which were at diſcord with God. For it is the office of a Mediatour to pacifie the partie that is offended, and to reconcile vnto him the partie which is the offender. Notwithſtanding Moiſes is a Mediatour in this ſort, as I haue ſayd: which doth nothing elſe but chaunge the voyce of the lawe, and maketh it tolerable, ſo that the people may abide the hearing thereof: but geueth no power to accompliſh the ſame. To conclude, he is a Mediatour but onely of the veile, and therfore he geueth no power to performe the law, but onely in the veile.Moſes a Mediatour of the veile. Therefore his diſciples, in that he is a Mediatour of the veile, muſt alwayes be hypocrites. But what (thinke ye) ſhould haue come to paſſe if that the lawe had bene geuen without Moiſes, either elſe before or after Moiſes, and that there had ben no Mediatour,VVhen vve are terrified by the lavve, vve haue nede of another maner of Mediatour then Moſes. and in the meane ſeaſon the people ſhould not haue ben ſuffered either to flie away, or elſe to haue had any Mediatour? Here either the people being beaten downe with intolerable feare, ſhould haue periſhed forthwith, or if they ſhould haue eſcaped, there muſt nedes haue come ſome other Mediatour, which ſhould haue ſet him ſelfe betwene the law and the people to this end, that both the people might be preſerued, and the lawe remaine in his force and ſtrength, and alſo an attonement might be made betwene the lawe and the people. In deede Moiſes cometh in the meane ſeaſon, and is made a Mediatour: he putteth on a veile and couereth his face: but he can not deliuer mens conſciences from the anguiſh and terrour which the law bringeth. Therefore, when a man, in the hower of death or in the conflict of conſcience feeleth the wrath and iudgement of God for ſinne which the law reuealeth and encreaſeth, here to keepe him from deſperation, ſecluding Moiſes wt his veile, he muſt haue a Mediatour which may ſay vnto him: Although thou be a ſinner, yet ſhalt thou remaine, that is to ſay: thou ſhalt not die, although the lawe with his wrath and malediction doe ſtill remaine. This Mediatour is Ieſus Chriſt, which chaungeth not the voice of the law, nor hideth the ſame with a veile as Moiſes did,Chriſt hideth not the lavv, but taketh it avvay, and therefore is a better Mediatour then Moſes. nor leadeth me out of the ſight of the law: but he ſetteth him ſelfe againſt the wrath of the law and taketh it away, and ſatiſfieth the lawe in his owne body by himſelfe. And by the Goſpel he ſaith vnto me: In deede the law threatneth vnto thee the wrath of God and eternall death: but be not afraid: flie not away, but ſtand ſtill. I ſupply and performe all thinges for thee: I ſatiſfie the law for thee. This is a Mediatour which farre excelleth Moiſes, who ſetteth him ſelfe betwene God being angry, and the ſinner. The interceſſion of Moſes here profiteth nothing: he hath done his office, & he wt his veile is now vaniſhed away. Here the miſerable ſinner being vtterly deſperate, or a man now approching vnto death, & God being offended & angry doe encounter together. Therefore there muſt come a farre other Mediatour then Moiſes, which may ſatiſfie the lawe, take away the wrath therof, and may reconcile vnto God which is angry, that poore ſinner, miſerable and gilty of eternall death. Of this Mediatour Paule ſpeaketh briefely when he ſaith:A Mediatoure is he that ſtandeth betvvene the offender and him that is offended. A Mediatour is not a Mediatour of one. For this word Mediatour properly ſignifieth ſuch a one as doth the office of a Mediatour betwene the partie that is offended and the offender. We are the offenders: God with his law is he which is offended. And the offence is ſuch,God of his iuſtice can not forgeue ſinne vvithout ſatiſfaction, vvhich is done by Chriſt. that God can not pardon it, neither can we ſatiſfie for the ſame. Therefore betwene God, who of him ſelfe is but one, and vs, there is wonderfull diſcord. Moreouer, God can not reuoke his law, but he will haue it obſerued and kept. And we which haue tranſgreſſed the law, can not flie from the preſence of God.Chriſt is the Mediatour betvvene God and ſinners, vvhich are quite contrary one to the other. Col. 2.24. Chriſt therefore hath ſeth him ſelfe a Mediatour betwene two which are quite contrary and vtterly ſeparate aſunder with an infinite and euerlaſtinge ſeparation, and hath reconciled them together. And how hath he done this? He hath put avvay (as Paule ſaith in an other place) the hādvvriting vvhich vvas againſt vs, vvhich by ordinaunces (that is, by the law) vvas cōtrary vnto vs, and he hath taken it and faſtened it to the Croſſe, and hath ſpoiled principalities and povvers, and hath made a shevve of them openly, and hath triumphed ouer them by him ſelfe. Therefore he is not a Mediatour of one, but of two, vtterly diſagreeing betweene them ſelues. This is alſo a mighty place and of greate efficacie to confute and confounde the righteouſnes of the law, and to teach vs that in the matter of Iuſtification it ought to be vtterly remoued out of our ſight. Alſo this word [Mediatour] miniſtreth ſufficient matter to proue that the lawe iuſtifieth not: for els what neede ſhould we haue of a Mediatour? Seing then that mans nature can not abide the hearinge of the lawe,Man can not abide the hearing of the lavv, therfore he can not keepe the lavv much leſſe is it able to accompliſh the lawe, or to agree with the lawe. This doctrine (which I doe ſo often repete and not without tediouſnes doe ſtill beate into your heades) is the true doctrine of the lawe, which euery Chriſtian ought with all diligence to learne,The doctrine of the lavv. that he may be able truly to define what the law is, what is the true vſe and office, what are the limites, what is the power, the time and the ende thereof. For it hath an effect quite contrary to the iudgement of all men: which haue this peſtilent and pernicious opinion naturally rooted in them, that the law iuſtifieth. Therefore I feare leſt this doctrine will be darkened and defaced againe, when we are deade. For the world muſt be repleniſhed wt horrible darkenes & errours before the latter day come. The proper vſe of the lavvHe therefore that is able to vnderſtand this, let him vnderſtand it, that the law in true Chriſtian Diuinitie, and in his true and proper definition doth not iuſtifie: but hath a cleane contrary effect. For it ſheweth and diſcouereth vnto vs our ſelues: it ſetteth God before vs in his anger: it reueileth Gods wrath, it terrifieth vs, and it doth not only reueile ſinne, but alſo mightily encreaſeth ſinne, ſo that where ſinne was before but litle, now by the law which bringeth the ſame to light, it becometh exceeding ſinfull: ſo that a man now beginneth to hate the law and to flie from it, & with a perfect hatred to abhorre God the maker of the law. This is not to be iuſtified by the law (and that euen reaſon it ſelfe is compelled to graūt): but to commit a double ſinne againſt the law. Firſt, not onely to haue a wil ſo diſagreeing frō the law that thou canſt not heare it: but alſo to do contrary to that which it cōmaundeth: And ſecondly ſo to hate it that thou wouldeſt wiſh it were aboliſhed together wt God himſelfe who is the author therof and abſolutely good. The lavve is good and holy, and yet intolerable to mans nature.Now, what greater blaſphemy, what ſinne more horrible can be imagined then to hate God? to abhorre his law, & not to ſuffer the hearing thereof? which notwithſtanding is good and holy. For the hiſtory doth plainely witnes that the people of Iſraell refuſed to heare that excellent lawe, thoſe holy and moſt gracious wordes (namely, I am the Lord thy God, Exod. 2.3. Deut. 4.40. vvhich brought thee out of the land of Egypt and out of the houſe of bondage. Thou shalt haue none other Gods &c. Shevving mercy to thouſandes &c. Honour thy father and thy mother that it may goe vvell vvith thee, and that thy daies may be prolonged vpon the earth &c.) and that they had neede of a Mediatour. They could not abide this moſt excellent, perfect and diuine wiſedom: this moſt gracious, ſweete, & comfortable doctrine. Let not the Lorde ſpeake vnto vs (ſay they) leſt vve die. Speake thou vnto vs &c. Doubtles it is a merueilous thinge that a man can not heare that which is his whole felicite, namely that he hath a God,The lavv containeth profitable doctrine and yet a man can not heare it. yea & a mercifull God which wil ſhew mercy vnto him in many thouſands of generatiōs. &c. And moreouer that he can not abide that which is his chiefe ſafetie, protectiō & defence, namely: Thou shalt not kil: Thou shalt not cōmit adultery: Thou shalt not ſteale: For by theſe wordes the Lord hath compaſſed and fortified the life of man, his wife, his children and his goods, as it were wt a wal againſt the force and violence of the wicked. The law then can doe nothing, ſauing that by his light it lightneth the cōſcience that it may know ſinne, death, the iudgement, the hatred and wrath of God. Before the law come I am ſecure: I feele no ſinne: but whē the law cometh, ſinne, death, & hel are reueiled vnto me. This is not to be made righteous, but giltie, & the enemy of God, to be condemned to death and hell fire. The principall point then of the law in true Chriſtian Diuinitie is, to make men, not better but worſe: that is to ſay, it ſheweth vnto them their ſinne, that by the knowledge therof they may be humbled, terrified, bruſed and brokē,The lavve maketh not men better but vvorſe. & by this meanes may be driuen to ſeeke comforte, and ſo to come to that bleſſed Seede.

Verſe. 20. But God isConſtant and alvvaies like him ſelfe. one. God offendeth no perſon, and therefore needeth no Mediatour. But we offend God and therfore we haue neede of a Mediatour, not Moſes, but Chriſt, vvhich ſpeaketh farre better things for vs &c. Hitherto he hath continued in his digreſſion: Now he retourneth to his purpoſe.