Commentary on Galatians, Chapter 2 · Verse extract 20
Ʋerſe. 20. VVho loued me and gaue him ſelfe for me.
Here hauehave ye the true meane of iuſtification,The true vvay to iuſtificatiō. and a perfect example of the aſſuraunce of faith ſet before your eyes. He that can with a firme & conſtāt faith ſay theſe words with Paule: I liue by Faith in the ſonne of God, vvho hath loued me, & geuen him ſelfe for me, is happie in deede. And euen with theſe wordes Paule taketh away the whole righteouſnes of the lawe and workes, as afterwardes we will declare. But we muſt diligently wey and conſider theſe wordes: The ſonne of God hath loued me, and geuen him ſelfe for me. It was not I then that firſt loued the ſonne of God, and deliuered my ſelfe for him: as the Sophiſters dreame, that they louelove the ſonne of God and deliuer thēſelues for him. For they teach that a man expuris naturalibus, that is,The peſtilent doctrine of the Papiſtes and Pelagiās. of his owne pure naturall ſtrength, can do meritorious works before grace, & louelove God & Chriſt aboue all things. Theſe felowes preuent the louelove of God and Chriſt: for they doe that which lieth in them (as they are wont to ſay) that is, they doe not onelyonly kepe the commaundements, but they doe alſo the workes of ſupererogation, & ſell the ouerplus of their merites to laimen, & ſo (as they imagine) they deliuer them ſelues for Chriſtes ſake, whereby they ſaue both themſelues & others, turning ye words of Paule cleane contrary, and ſaying:Theſe meritemōgers turne theſe vvordes of Paule vpſide dovvne. we hauehave loued Chriſt and geuen our ſelues for him. Thus, whiles the wicked being puffed vp wt the wiſedom of the fleſh, imagine that they doe what in them lieth, that they louelove God, and deliuer them ſelues for Chriſt: what doe they elſe but aboliſh the goſpel, deride, deny and blaſpheme Chriſt, yea ſpit vponupon him & tread him vnderunder foote? They confeſſe in wordes yt he is a iuſtifier and a Sauiour: but in very deede they take from him the power both to iuſtifie and ſaue, and geue the ſame to their owne wilworkes, ceremonies, and deuotions. This is to liue in their owne righteouſnes and workes, and not in the faith of the ſonne of God.
This is not then the true meanes to attaine iuſtification, to do that which in thee lieth:To doe vvhat in vsus lieth. as the Sophiſters and Scholedoctours doe teache, which affirme that if a man do what in him lieth, God wil vndoubtedly geue vntounto him his grace. But this ſaying may not be ſtraitly vrged, ſay they. For if we doe thoſe works which may be approued by the iudgement of any good man, it is enough: for then grace ſhall ſurely follow, becauſe god, in that he is good and iuſt, muſt needes geue grace as a recompence for ſuch good works. And hereof cometh this verſe:
Vitra poſſe viri non vult Deus vlla requiri. That is,
God vvill no more require of man, then of him ſelfe performe he can.
In dede this is a good ſaying if it be vſed rightly & in place cōuenient: yt is, in ye gouernment of cōmon weales or families. And if I being in ye kingdome of reaſon do execute ye office of a magiſtrate or gouerne a family, doing yt in me lieth, I am excuſed. This kingdom hath his boūds and limites:The Papiſtes do apply matters of policy and ciuill gouernment to the church. Rom. 7.14. to the which alſo theſe ſayings doe pertaine: To doe what in vsus lieth: To doe as much as we are able. But the Sophiſters apply theſe ſayings to the ſpirituall kingdome, wherin a man can do nothing els but ſinne: for he is ſold vnderunder ſinne. But in externall things (ſuch I meane as pertaine to ciuill and houſhould gouernment) he is not a ſeruaunt, but a Lord and a ruler. Wherfore they hauehave done wickedly in applying theſe ſentences to the church, which properly pertaine to the gouernment of common weales & families. For the kingdome of mans reaſon and the ſpirituall kingdome muſt be ſeparate farre aſunder.
Moreouer, they ſay that nature is corrupt, but the qualities of nature notwithſtanding are ſound and vncorrupt: which alſo they attribute euen vntounto Deuils. VponUpon this groūd they reaſon after this maner. If the naturall qualities of man be ſound and vncorrupt,The Papiſtes doe graunt that nature is corrupt: but they ſay that the povvers and qualities of nature remaine ſound and vncorrupt then is his vnderſtanding and his will ſoūd and vncorrupt, and ſo conſequently all other qualities of nature are pure and perfecte in him. To knowe theſe things it is neceſſary for you, that ye may hold the ſinceritie of the doctrine of faith. Where they ſay then that the naturall qualities of man are ſound and vncorrupt, and therof do inferre, that a mā is able of him ſelfe to fulfil the law, and to louelove God with al his heart, applying theſe qualities to the ſpirituall kingdome, I deny the conſequence. And here I make a diſtinction betwene the naturall and the ſpirituall qualities (which they confound and mingle together), & I ſay that the ſpirituall qualities are not ſound but corrupt, yea vtterly quenched through ſinne both in man and deuill, ſo that there is in them nothing els but corrupt vnderſtanding and a will continually ſtriuing againſt the will of God, which can thinke nothing els but that which is altogether againſt god. Notwithſtanding, I graunt that the naturall qualities are vncorrupt. But what qualities are they? That a man being drowned in ſinne and iniquitie, and a bondſlaue of Satan, hath will, reaſon, and power notwithſtāding to execute the office of a magiſtrate, to gouerne a family, to guide a ſhippe, to build a houſe, and to doe ſuch other things as are ſubiect vntounto man: for theſe things are not taken from him. We doe not then denie but that theſe ſentences are true in the corporall kingdom: But if ye wreſt them to the ſpirituall kingdom, I vtterly deny them: for there (as I ſaid) we are cleane ouerwhelmed and drowned in ſinne. Whatſoeuer is in our wil, is euil: whatſoeuer is in our vnderſtanding, is errour. Wherefore in ſpirituall matters man hath nothing but darknes, errours, ignoraunce, malice, and peruerſenes both of wil and vnderſtanding. How then ſhould he worke well, fulfill the lawe, and louelove God?
Wherfore Paule ſayth here that Chriſt firſt began and not we. He, Chriſt firſt loued vsus, and not vve him.euen he (ſayth Paule) loued me & gaue him ſelfe for me. As if he ſaid: He found in me no good will or right vnderſtāding: but this good Lord had mercy vponupon me. He ſaw me to be nothing els but wicked, going aſtray, contemning God, and flying from him more and more: yea rebelling againſt God, taken, led, and caryed away captiue of the deuill. Thus of his mere mercy preuenting my reaſon, my wil, and my vnderſtanding, he loued me, and ſo loued me, that he gaue him ſelfe for me, to the ende that I might be freed from the law, ſinne, the deuill, & death.
Againe, theſe wordes: The ſonne of God hath loued me, and geuen him ſelfe for me, are mightie thūdrings and lightnings from heauē againſt the righteouſnes of the law & all the works therof. So great & ſo horrible wickednes, errour, darknes and ignorance was in my wil and vnderſtanding, that it was vnpoſſible for me to be raūſomed by any other meanes then by ſuch an ineſtimable price.The bragging of the integritie of our natural qualities is in vaine. Why do we then vaūt of the ſoundnes of nature, of the rule of reaſon, of free will, and of doing what in vsus lieth? Why do I offer vntounto god being angry wt me (who, as Moſes ſayth, is a cōſuming fire) this my rotten ſtubble and ſtraw, yea horrible ſinnes, & claime of him to reward me wt grace & euerlaſting life for them, ſince here I learne ſuch wickednes to lie lurkīg in my nature, that the whole world & all creatures therin were not able to counteruaile the indignation of God, but that the very ſonne of God him ſelfe muſt needes be deliuered for the ſame.
But let vsus conſider well this price, and let vsus behold this captiue deliuered (as Paule ſayth) for me, the ſonne of God I meane, and we ſhal ſee him without all compariſon to excede & excell all creatures.The greatnes of the price to be vvel vveyed, that vvas geuen for vsus. What wilt thou doe when thou heareſt the Apoſtle ſay that ſuch an ineſtimable price was geuen for thee? Wilt thou bring thy cowle, thy ſhauen crowne, thy chaſtitie, thy obedience, thy pouertie, thy works, thy merites? What ſhall all theſe doe? Yea what ſhall the law of Moſes auaile? What ſhall the works of all men, & all the ſuffering of the Martyrs profite thee? What is the obedience of all the holy angels in compariſon of the ſonne of God deliuered, and that moſt ſhamefully, euen to the death of the croſſe, ſo that there was no droppe of his moſt precious bloud but it was ſhedde, and that for thy ſinnes? If thou couldeſt rightly conſider this incomparable price, thou ſhouldeſt hold as accurſed all theſe ceremonies, vowes, works and merites before grace and after, and throw them all downe to hell. For it is an horrible blaſphemy to imagine that there is any worke wherby thou ſhouldeſt preſume to pacifie God, ſince thou ſeeſt that ther is nothing which is able to pacifie him but this ineſtimable price, euen ye death & bloud of the ſonne of god, one drop wherof is more precious then al ye creatures in ye world.