Martin Luther on Galatians 3:8

Verſe. 8. For the ſcripture foreſeing that God vvould iuſtifie the Gentiles through faith. The vaine bragging of the Ievves.Theſe things doe pertaine to the former argument. As if he ſhould ſay: Ye Iewes doe glory in the law aboue meaſure: ye highly commend Moſes becauſe God ſpake vnto him in ye buſh &c: As the Iewes doe proudly bragge againſt vs, (as I haue my ſelfe at ſundry times heard) ſaying: ye Chriſtians haue Apoſtles, ye haue a Pope and ye haue Biſhops: but we Iewes haue Patriarkes, Prophets, yea we haue God him ſelfe, who ſpake vnto vs in the buſh, in Sinai where he gaue vnto vs the law, and in the temple &c. Such a glory and ſuch an excellent teſtimony alledge ye for your ſelues againſt vs, if ye can. To this aunſwereth Paule the Apoſtle of the Gentiles: This your proude bragging & boaſting is to no purpoſe. For the ſcripture preuēted it, & foreſaw long before the law, yt the Gentiles ſhould not be iuſtified by the law, but by the bleſſing of Abrahams ſeede, which was promiſed vnto him (as Paule ſaith afterwards) .430. yeares before the law was giuen. Now the law being geuen ſo many yeares after, could not empech or aboliſh this promiſe of the bleſſing made vnto Abraham, but it hath continued firme and ſhall continue for euer. What can the Iewes aunſwere to this? An argument grounded vpon the certaintie of time. Geneſ. 15.6. Geneſ. 22.16. This argument grounded vpon ye certaintie of time, is very ſtrong. The promiſe of bleſſing is geuen vnto Abraham .430. yeares before ye people of Iſraell receaued the law. For it is ſaid to Abraham: Becauſe thou haſt beleued God and haſt geuen glory vnto him, therefore thou ſhalt be a father of many nations. There Abraham by the promiſe of God is appointed a father of many nations,Rom. 4.20. and the inheritaunce of the world for his poſteritie and iſſue after him, is geuen vnto him before the law was publiſhed. Why doe ye then bragge, O ye Galathians, yt ye obtaine forgeuenes of ſinnes, and are become children, and doe receaue the inheritaunce through the law, which followed a long time, that is to ſay .430. yeares after the promiſe. Thus the falſe Apoſtles did aduaunce the law and the glory therof aboue meaſure: but the promiſe made vnto Abraham .430. yeares before the law was geuen, they neglected and deſpiſed, and would in no wiſe know that Abraham (of whom they gloried notwithſtanding as the father of their whole nation) being yet vncircumciſed, and liuing ſo many ages before the law, was made righteous by no other meanes then by faith onely, as the ſcripture moſt plainly witneſſeth:Geneſ. 15.6. Rom. 4.18. Abraham beleued God, and it vvas counted to him for righteouſnes. Afterwards, when he was now accounted righteous becauſe of his faith, the ſcripture maketh mention of circumciſion in the .17. of Geneſis, where it ſaith:Geneſ. 17.1[illegible: 1 letter]. This is my couenaunt vvhich ye shall keepe betvvene me and you &c. With this argument Paule mightely conuinceth the falſe Apoſtles,Abraham vvas iuſtified before Circumciſion & .430. yeares before the lavv. and ſheweth plainely that Abraham was iuſtified by faith onely, both without and before circumciſion, and alſo .430. yeares before the lawe. This ſelfe ſame argument he handleth in the fourth chapter to the Romaines: to witte, that righteouſnes was imputed to Abraham before Circumciſion,Rom. 4.10.11.12. and that he was righteous being yet vncircumciſed: much more then was he righteous before the law. Therefore (ſaith Paule) the ſcripture did well prouide againſt this your glorious bragging of the righteouſnes of the law and workes. When? before Circumciſion and before the law.Galat. 3.8. For the law was geuen 430. yeares after the promiſe, whereas Abraham was not only iuſtified without the lawe and before the lawe, but alſo deade and buried: and his righteouſnes without the lawe did not onely flouriſh vntill the lawe, but alſo ſhall flouriſh euen to the end of the world. If then the father of the whole Iewiſh nation was made righteous without the lawe and before the lawe, much more are the children made righteous by the ſame meanes that their father was. Therfore righteouſnes cometh by faith onely, and not by the law.

Verſe. 8. Preached the Goſpell before vnto Abraham ſaying:Geneſ. 15.6. Rom. 4 3. in thee shall all the Gentiles be bleſſed. The Iewes doe not onely lightly paſſe ouer, but alſo doe deride and with their wicked gloſes doe corrupt theſe excellent and notable ſentences: Abraham beleued God &c. The Ievves corrupt the ſcriptures. I haue appointed thee a father &c, and ſuch like, which highly commend faith & containe promiſes of ſpirituall things. For they are blinde & hard harted, and therfore they ſee not that theſe places do entreate of faith towards God, and of righteouſnes before God. With like malice alſo they dallye out this notable place of the ſpirituall bleſſing:Geneſ. 12.13. Actes. 3.23. In thee all the nations of the earth shalbe bleſſed. For (ſay they) to bleſſe ſignifieth nothing els but to praiſe,VVhat the Ievves call bleſsing. to pray for proſperitie, and to be glorious in the ſight of the world. After this manner they ſay, that the Iew which is borne of the ſeede of Abraham, is bleſſed: and the proſelyte or ſtraunger which worſhipeth the God of the Iewes and ioyneth himſelfe vnto them, is alſo bleſſed. Therefore they thinke that Bleſſing is nothing els but praiſe and glory in this world, that is to ſay, that a man may glory and vaunte that he is of the ſtocke and familie of Abraham. But this is to corrupt and peruert the ſentences of the ſcriptures, and not to expoūd them. By theſe words: Abraham beleued, Paule defineth and ſetteth before our eies a ſpirituall Abraham, faithfull, righteous, and hauing the promiſe of God: an Abraham (I ſay) which is not in errour, and in the old fleſh: which is not borne of Adam, but of the holy Ghoſt. And of this Abraham renued by faith and regenerate by the holy Ghoſt, ſpeaketh the ſcripture, and pronounceth of him, that he ſhould be a father of many nations: Alſo, that all the Gentiles ſhould be geuen vnto him for an inheritaunce, when it ſaith: In thee shall all the nations of the earth be bleſſed. The ſcripture then attributeth no righteouſnes, but vnto the beleuing Abraham: and it ſpeaketh of ſuch an Abraham, as he is accounted before God. Therefore ſuch ſentences of the ſcripture doe ſet forth vnto vs a new Abraham, A nevv Abraham. which is ſeparate from the carnall mariage and bed, and from the carnall generation, and is taken for ſuch a one as he is before God, that is to ſay, beleuing and iuſtified through faith, & to whom now God maketh this promiſe becauſe of his faith: Thou shalt be a father of many nations. Again: In thee shall all the natiōs of the earth be bleſſed And this is ye meaning of Paule where he ſheweth how the ſcripture preuenteth the vaine preſumption and proude bragges of the Iewes as touching the lawe. For the inheritaunce of the Gentiles was geuen vnto Abraham, not by the law and circumciſion, but long before the ſame, by the onely righteouſnes of faith. Therfore, wheras the Iewes will be counted and called bleſſed becauſe they are the children and ſeede of Abraham, it is nothing elſe but a vaine glorious bragge. It is (no doubt) a great prerogatiue and glory before the w[illegible: 2 letters]ld to be borne of Abrahams ſeede, as Paule ſheweth.It is a great glory to be borne of Abrahams ſede. Rom. 9: but not ſo before God. Wherfore the Iewes doe wickedly peruert this place cōcerning the Bleſſing, in applying it onely to a carnal Bleſſing, and do great iniurie to the ſcripture which ſpeaketh moſt manifeſtly of the ſpirituall Bleſſing before God, and neither can nor ought otherwiſe to be vnderſtande. This is then the true meaning of this place: In thee shalbe bleſſed. In which thee?The expoſition of theſe vvordes: In thee shalbe bleſſed. In thee Abraham beleeuing, or in thy faith, or thy ſeede which is to come: that is to ſay, in Chriſt in whom thou beleueſt, all the nations of the earth (I ſay) ſhalbe bleſſed: that is, all the nations ſhalbe thy bleſſed children, euen like as thou art bleſſed, as it is writen: So shall thy ſeede be. Geneſ. 15.5. Hereof it followeth that the Bleſſing & Faith of Abraham is the ſame that ours is: that Abrahams Chriſt is our Chriſt:Abrahams faith and out all one, Io. 3.5 6. that Chriſt died aſwell for the ſinnes of Abraham as for vs. Abraham vvhich ſavve my day and reioyced. Io. 8. Therefore all ſounde but one thinge. We may not ſuffer this word Bleſſing to be corrupted. The Iewes looke but through a veile into the ſcripture,VVe muſt marke diligently vvhat is ſet out to vs in the promiſes of the lavv and therefore they vnderſtande not what or whereof the promiſe is which was made to the fathers: Which we notwtſtanding ought to conſider aboue all things. So ſhal we ſee that God ſpeaketh to Abraham the Patriarke, not of the lawe nor of things to be done, but of things to be beleued: that is to ſay, that God ſpeaketh vnto him of promiſes which are apprehended by faith. Now, what doth Abraham? He beleeueth thoſe promiſes. And what doth God to that beleeuing Abraham? He imputeth faith vnto him for righteouſnes, and addeth further many moe promiſes, as:Geneſ. 15.[illegible: 1 letter]. Geneſ. 17 4. Geneſ. 15.5. I am thy defender. In thee shall all nations be bleſſed. Thou shalt be a father of many nations. So shall thy ſeede be. Theſe are inuincible arguments, againſt the which nothing can be ſaid, if the places of the holy ſcripture be throughly conſidered.