Commentary on Galatians, Chapter 5 · Verse extract 19 – Verse extract 21
Verſe. 19. The vvorkes of the flesh are manifeſt, vvhichwhich are adulterie, fornication, vncleannes, vvantonnes, idolatrie, vvitchcraft, &c.
Paule doth not recite all the workes of the fleſh, but vſeth a certaine number for a number vncertaine. Firſt he reckeneth vp the kinds of luſtes, as adulterie, fornication, vncleannes, wantonnes, &c. Now, Now, not only carnal luſt is a worke of ye fleſh, as ye Papiſts dreamed, who called mariage alſo a worke of the fleſh (ſo chaſt & holy are theſe men) wherof God himſelfe is the author, which alſo they themſelues reckened among their ſacraments: but he numbreth alſo amongſt the workes of the fleſh (as I hauehave ſayd before) idolatrie, withcraft, hatred and ſuch other, which hereafter folow. Wherfore this place alone doth ſufficiently ſhew what Paule meaneth by the fleſh.VVhat Paule meaneth by flesh. Theſe wordes are ſo well knowne that they neede no interpretation.
Idolatrie.
All ye higheſt religions, the holines & moſt feruent deuotions of thoſe which do reiect Chriſt ye Mediatour & worſhip God wtout his word & cōmaundement, are nothing elſe but plaine idolatry. As in Popery it was coūted a moſt holy & ſpirituall act, when ye Mōks being ſhut vp in their ſelles did muſt & meditate of God or of his works, & whē they being enflamed wt moſt earneſt deuotions, kneeled downe, praied, & were ſo rauiſhed wt the cōtemplation of heauēly things yt they wept for ioy. Ther was no thīking of womē or of any other creature, but only of god ye creator, & of his wonderfull works: and yet this moſt ſpiritual worke (as reaſon eſtemeth it) is, accordīg to Paul, a worke of ye fleſh & plaine idolatry. Wherfore all ſuch religiō wherby God is worſhipped wtout his word & cōmaundement, is idolatry.Idolatrie or Idoll ſeruice. And ye more holy & ſpirituall it ſeemeth to be in outward ſhew, ſo much ye more dāgerous & pernicious it is. For it turneth men away frō faith in Chriſt, & cauſeth thē to truſt to their owne ſtrēgth, works & righteouſnes. And ſuch is ye religion of ye Anabaptiſts at this day: albeit they daily more & more bewray thē ſelues to be poſſeſſed wt the Deuill, and to be ſeditious & bloudy men.
Therfore ye faſting, the wearing of heare, holy works, ſtrait Rule,Carthuſians or charterhouſe mo…k…. & whole life of ye Carthuſiās or Charterhouſe monks, whoſe order notwtſtanding is of all other the ſtraiteſt & ſharpeſt, be very works of the fleſh, yea plaine idolatrie. For they imagine thē ſelues to be ſaincts, & to be ſaued, not by Chriſt (whom they feare as a ſeuere & cruel iudge) but by obſeruīg of their Rules & Orders. In dede they thinke of God, of Chriſt & of heauenly things, but after their owne reaſon & not after the word of God: to wit, yt their apparell, their maner of liuing, & theyr whole conuerſation is holy & pleaſeth Chriſt: whō not onelyonly they hope to pacifie by this ſtraitnes of life, but alſo to be rewarded of him for their good deedes & righteouſnes. Therfore their moſt ſpiritual thoughts (as they dreme of thē) are not only moſt fleſhly, but alſo moſt wicked: For they wold wipe away their ſinnes, & obtaine grace & life euer laſting, by ye truſt & affiāce they hauehave in their owne righteouſnes, reiecting & deſpiſing the word, faith & Chriſt. Al ye worſhippings & ſeruices of God therefore & all religions without Chriſt are idolatry and idoll ſeruice.The falſe and true vvorshipping of God. In Chriſt alone the father is wel pleaſed: who ſo heareth him and doth that which he hath commaunded, the ſame is beloued becauſe of the beloued. He commaundeth vsus to beleue his word and to be baptiſed, &c. and not to deuiſe any new worſhipping or ſeruice of God.
I hauehave ſaid before yt the works of ye fleſh be manifeſt: as adultery, fornication & ſuch like be manifeſtly known to all men. But idolatry hath ſuch a goodly ſhew & is ſo ſpirituall,Idolatrie is vnknovvne to the vvorld. yt it is known but to very few, that is, to the faithful, to be a worke of the fleſh. For ye Monke whē he liueth chaſtly, faſteth, praieth or ſaith Maſſe, is ſo far from thinking hīſelf to be an idolater, or yt he fulfilleth any worke of the fleſh, yt he is aſſuredly perſwaded yt he is led & gouerned by the ſpirit, yt he walketh according to the ſpirit, yt he thinketh, ſpeaketh & doth nothing elſe but mere ſpiritual thīgs, and yt he doth ſuch ſeruice vntounto god as is moſt acceptable vn to him.The Maſſe horrible idolatrie and blaſphemie againſt Chriſt. No mā cā at this day perſwade the Papiſts yt their Maſſe is a great blaſphemy agaīſt god & idolatry, yea & that ſo horrible as neuer was any in ye church ſince the apoſtles time. For they are blind & obſtinate & therfore they iudge ſo peruerſly of god & of gods matters thīkīg idolatry to be a true ſeruice of god, & contrariwiſe faith to be idolatry. But we which beleue in Chriſt & know his mind, are able to iudge & to diſcerne al things, & cannot truly & before God be iudged of any man.
Flesh.Hereby it is plaine yt Paul calleth fleſh whatſoeuer is in mā, cōprehē ding all the .iii. powers of the ſoule, that is, the wil that luſteth, the wil that is enclined to anger, & the vnderſtāding. The works of yt wil that luſteth, are adultery, fornicatiō, vncleanes & ſuch like. The works of yt wil inclined to wrath, are quarelings, cōtentiōs, murder, & ſuch other. The works of vnderſtanding or reaſon are errors, falſe religions, ſuperſtitiōs, idolatry, hereſies, that is to ſay, Sectes and ſuch like. It is very neceſſary for vsus to know theſe things: for this word [fleſh] is ſo darkned in ye whole kingdom of the Pope,The vvorkes of the flesh as the Papiſtes define them. yt they hauehave takē the worke of the fleſh to be nothing elſe but yt accōpliſhing of fleſhly luſt or ye acte of lechery: Wherfore it was not poſſible for them to vnderſtād Paule. But here we may plainly ſee that Paule reckeneth idolatry and hereſy amōgs ye works of the fleſh, which two (as before we hauehave ſaid) reaſon eſtemeth to be moſt high & excellēt vertues,Reaſon eſtemeth idolatry and hereſie for moſt excellent vertues. wiſedō, religion, holines & rightouſnes. Paul Col. 2. calleth it ye religion of angels. But although it ſeeme to be neuer ſo holy & ſpiritual, yet is it nothīg elſe but a worke of the fleſh, an abhomination and idolatry againſt the Goſpell, againſt faith, and againſt the true ſeruice of God. This do the faithfull ſee, for they hauehave ſpirituall eyes: but the Iuſticiaries iudge the contrary. For a Monke can not be perſwaded that his vowes be works of ye fleſh. So the Turke beleueth nothing leſſe then that his Alcaron, his waſhings and other ceremonies which he obſerueth, be workes of the fleſh.
VVitchcraft.
Of witchcraft I hauehave ſpoken before in the .3. Chap. This vice was very cōmon in theſe our dayes before the light & truth of ye goſpel was reueled. Whē I was a child there were many witches & ſorcerers which bewitched both cattel & men, but ſpecially children, & did great harme alſo otherwiſe. But now in the light of the Goſpell theſe things be not ſo commonly heard of, for the Goſpell thruſteth the Deuill out of his ſeat with all his illuſions. But now he bewitcheth mē much more horribly, namely with ſpirituall ſorcerie and witchcraft.
Paule reckneth witchcraft among the works of the fleſh,VVitchcraft. which notwtſtanding, as all mē know, is not a work of fleſhly luſt or lechery, but a kinde of idolatry. For witchcraft couenanteth with the Deuil:Idolatrie. ſuperſtition or idolatrie couenanteth wt God, albeit not wt the true God, but with a counterfet God. Wherfore idolatry is in dede a ſpiritual witchcraft. For as witches doe enchaunt cattel & men, ſo idolaters, that is to ſay, all Iuſticiaries or iuſtifiers of thēſelues go about to bewitch god,Iuſticiaries or iuſtifiers of themſelues. and to make him ſuch a one as they doe imagine. Now, they imagine him to be ſuch a one as will iuſtifie them, not of his mere grace and mercy and through Faith in Chriſte, but in reſpect of their wil worſhipping and works of their owne chooſing, and in recompēce therof wil geue them righteouſnes and life euerlaſting. But whiles they go about to bewitch God, they bewitch thēſelues. For if they continue in this wicked opinion which they cōceiue of God, they ſhall die in their idolatrie and be damned. The workes of the fleſh are well knowne for the moſt part, therfore they ſhall not neede any further declaration.
Sectes.
By the name of Sects Paule meaneth here, not thoſe diuiſions or contentions which riſe ſometimes in the gouernment of houſholdes or of common weales for worldly and earthly matters: but thoſe which riſe in the Church about doctrine, Faith and workes. Hereſies, that is to ſay, Sectes hauehave alwayes bene in the Church, as we hauehave ſayd before in diuers places.The Pope an Archheretike. Notwithſtanding the Pope is an Archhereticke and the head of all heretickes: for he hath filled the world as it were with an huge floud of infinite Sectes and errours. What concord and vnitie was there in ſo great diuerſitie of the Monkes and other religious Orders? No one ſort or Sect of them could agree wt an other: for they meaſured their holines by ye ſtraitnes of their Orders. Hereof it commeth yt the Carthuſian wil needes be counted holier then the Franciſcane,No vnitie or concord in the Popish church. & ſo likewiſe ye reſt. Wherfore there is no vnity of ſpirit, nor concord of mindes, but great diſcord in the papiſticall church. There is no conformitie in their doctrine, faith, religion or ſeruing of God, but all things are cleane contrary. Contrariwiſe, amongſt the Chriſtians the word, faith, religion, ſacramēts, ſeruice, Chriſt, God, hart, ſoule, mind & vnderſtāding are all one and commō to all: and as touching outward conuerſation ye diuerſitie of ſtates, degrees & conditiōs of life, hindreth this ſpirituall concord and vnitie nothing at all, as before I hauehave ſayd. And they which hauehave this vnitie of the ſpirit, can certainly iudge of all Sects, which otherwiſe no man vnderſtandeth: As in deede no diuine in yt Papacie vnderſtode, that Paule in this place cōdemneth all ye worſhippings, religiōs, cōtinencie, honeſt conuerſation & holy life in outward appearance, of all ye Papiſts, Sectaries & ſchiſmatikes: but they all thought that he ſpeaketh of the groſſe idolatrie and hereſies of the Gentiles & Turks which manifeſtly blaſpheme the name of Chriſt.
Dronkennes, Gluttonie.
Paule doth not ſay that to eate & drinke be workes of the fleſh, but to be drūken & to ſurfet, which of all other vices are moſt cōmon at this day. Who ſo are geuen to this beaſtly diſſolutenes & exceſſe, let them know that they are not ſpiritual, how much ſo euer they boaſt them ſelues ſo to be, but they folow the fleſh and performe the filthie workes thereof. Therfore is this horrible ſentence pronoūced againſt them, yt they ſhal not be inheritours of ye kingdom of God. Paule would therfore yt Chriſtiās ſhould flie drunkennes & ſurfetting,Drunkards & ſurfetters. liuing ſoberly & moderately wtout all exceſſe, leſt by pāpering ye fleſh they ſhuld be prouoked to wā tonnes: As in deede after ſurfetting & belly cheare, the fleſh is wont to waxe wanton, & to be inflamed wt outragious luſt. But it is not ſufficiēt only to reſtraine this outragious wātonnes & luſt of the fleſh which foloweth drūkennes & ſurfetting or any maner of exceſſe, but alſo ye fleſh when it is moſt ſobre & in his beſt tēperance muſt be ſubdued & repreſſed, leſt it fulfill his luſtes & deſires. For it oftentimes cometh to paſſe that euē they which are moſt ſobre,The moſt ſobre and temperate are many times moſt aſſailed vvith tentations. are tempted moſt of al: As Hierom wryteth of himſelfe: My face ſayth he, was pale wt faſting, & my minde was enflamed wt fleſhly deſires in my cold body, and although my fleſh was half dead alredy, yet yt flames of vnclene luſt boiled wtin me. Hereof I my ſelfe alſo had experiēce whē I was a Mōke. The heat therfore of vncleane luſts is not quēched by faſtīg only, but we muſt be aided alſo by the ſpirite, that is, by ye meditation of Gods word, faith & praier. In deede faſting repreſſeth the groſſe aſſaultes of fleſhly luſt:Hovv the burning heat of luſtes may be quenched. but the deſires of the fleſh are ouercome by no abſtinence from meates an drinkes, but onelyonly by the meditation of the word of God and inuocation of Chriſte.
Verſe. 21.
And ſuch like.
For it is vnpoſſible to recken vp all the workes of the fleſh.
Verſe. 21.
VVherof I tell you, as I hauehave alſo told you before, that they vvhichwhich doe ſuch things, shall not inherite the kingdom of God.
This is a very hard & a terrible ſaying, but yet very neceſſary, againſt falſe Chriſtiās and careles hypocrites, which bragge of the Goſpell, of Faith & of ye ſpirit, and yet in all ſecuritie they performe ye workes of the fleſh. But chiefly the heretickes being puffed vp wt opinions of ſpirituall matters (as they dreame) are poſſeſſed of the Deuil, and altogether carnall: therefore they performe and fulfill the deſires of the fleſh, euen with all the power of the ſoule.An horrible ſentence pronounced by Paule. Therfore moſt neceſſary it was that ſo horrible and terrible a ſentence ſhould be pronounced by the Apoſtle againſt ſuch careles contemners and obſtinate hypocrites (namely that all they which do ſuch works of the fleſh as Paule hath recited, ſhall not inherite the kingdom of God), that yet ſome of them being terrified by this ſeuere ſentence, may begin to fight againſt the workes of the fleſh by the ſpirit, that they accompliſh not the ſame.