of his Apostleship But then agayne exception myght be made that at that time he was first appoynted an Apostle to the Gentils in which number the Galathians were Therefore the truer and playner answere is that he would not exclude heere vtterly the Calling of the Church but only shew that his Apostleshyppe rested vppon a greater prerogatiue the which is true For the Antiochians did not lay their handes vpon Paule of theyr owne heads An oracle is a spech from god but being commaunded by an Oracle Because therefore that he was called by Diuine Reuelation and after that was appointed and called the Apostle of the Gentils by the holy Ghost it foloweth that he was not brought in by men howsoeuer the solemne vsage of ordayning was afterward added If the indirecte contrarietye betweene Paule and the false Apostles please any manne I gainesay it not because they boasted of the name of men it shall bee thus as though hee saide Of whomsoeuer they boast themselues to be sent I certainly will be aboue them because I haue a commaundement from God and Christe By Iesus Christe and God the father Hee maketh God the Father and Christ the authors of his Apostleship He nameth Christ first because it belongeth to him to send and we do our ambassage for him But to amplify it he addeth also the father as if he should say If the maiestie of Christ suffice not let them know also that my office is enioyned me by God the Father which hath raised him Not without cause in this place doth he make mention of the resurrection for it is the beginning of the kingdome of Christe Therefore did they lightly esteeme Paule in that he was not conuersant with Christ vppon earth he on the contrary part doth signify that Christ as by his resurrection he is glorified so verily and in deed at length shewed foorth his power in ruling the Church Therefore more dignity hath Paule his calling than if he had been ordained of Christ while he was yet mortall And this circumstance is worthy noting because Paule doth couertly shewe the wonderfull power of God which appeared in the resurrection of Christe to be hatefully spoken against of his backbiters because the heauenly father which hath raised Christe from death euen he hath appointed Paule a preacher of that his power 2. And the brethren which are with me He semeth to haue written in the name of many for this cause that if they did attribute litle to him alone that yet at the leastwise they should harken to many and not despise the whole congregation And he is accustomed rather about the end to wryte salutations from the brethren than to ioyne them to him in the beginning as partners of his wryting at the least he nameth not aboue two at any time which two are well knowne but here he doth otherwise for hee comprehendeth all which I thinke is not done without cause for the consent of so many godly persons ought somwhat to preuaile with the Galathians to make them apt to be enformed and to be tractable To the Churches It was a large countrey and therefore had many dispersed congregations Obiectiō but it is maruaile that this title is graunted to the Galathians who almoste were shronke away from Christ for where the Church is there is vnity of faith Answere I answere In as much as there was among them the profession of Christianitye the inuocation of one God the vse of the Sacramentes and a Ministerie such as it was that there were remaining as yet some markes of a Church There is not in al Churches then that purity alwayes that may be required Those which are most pure haue their blemishes other some are not only full of spottes but almoste deformed It is not meete therefore that wee should so be offended with the faultes of doctrine and manners that if all thinges like vs not in euery Congregation we should straight way take from them the name of a Churche Paule in this place doth teache vs another manner of kindnesse neuerthelesse so are those Congregations which are faulty to be acknowledged as the Churches of Christe that we notwithstanding condemne whatsoeuer is euyll in thē neither is it thus that where there is a Church whatsoeuer one it bee there is perfection of all those thinges which are to be wished in the Church This I speake therefore because the Papistes catching this word Church will haue establyshed whatsoeuer they lust to thrust in although there be great diuersity between the estate fashion of the Church of Rome and Galatia If Paule liued at these dayes he shoulde perceiue there miserable ruines of the Church and horrible waste and spoile but no building If you had rather haue it more briefly it is called the Church by the figure Synecdoche where there is some portiō of a Church Synecdoche is a Figure whereby parte is put for the whole although all thinges answere not fully in it 3. Grace be vnto you peace I haue spoken of this maner of salutation in other epistles I remaine in opinion that Paule wisheth God mercifull to the Galathians after that all things to be prosperous sith that out of God his beneuolence floweth vnto vs the happy successe of all thinges He wisheth both from the Father and also from Christe because that without Christ there is neither grace nor any good successe 4. Which hath giuen himselfe He commendeth here from the beginning the grace of Christ that he may cal back the Galathians vnto him retayne thē in him For if they had worthely considered this benefite of redemption they would neuer haue fallen to strange obseruations For he which knoweth Christ aright holdeth him with tooth naile embraceth him with both armes is occupied wholy in him desireth nothing beside him This therefore is a very good remedy wherwith we may purge our minds of all kind of errors superstitions namely to bring into mynd what Christe is vnto vs what he hath brought vnto vs. Neyther is it a small thing that is signified in these words Whiche hath giuen himselfe for our sinnes for he would premonish the Galathians that the purging of sinnes by that meanes perfect righteousnesse is no where els to be sought but in Christe because he hath offred himselfe for a sacrifice to his Father such an Hoste as to set any other satisfactions against it were wrong and wickednes moreouer that this Redemption is of so great worthines that it ought wholy to rauish vs into the admiration thereof But that which in this place Paule ascribeth to Christ the scripture elsewhere applieth to God the father and both properly For both the Father by his eternall counsell hath determined this Purging and satisfaction for vs in this hath witnessed his loue toward vs that he hath not spared his onely begotten sonne but hath giuen him for vs And Christ hee offered himselfe a sacrifice to reconcile vs to
God Rom. 8.31 whereof foloweth that his death is a satisfaction for sinnes That he might take vs. Hee also declareth the end of our Redemption that Christe hath gayned vs vnto hym by hys death to bee hys owne That cōmeth to passe when we are separated from the world for as long as we are of the world we partayne not to Christ This word World is taken here for the corruptiō that is in the world as 1. Io. 5.19 where it is sayd That the whole world is layd in wickednes and in many other places It is otherwise taken in the Gospel whereas Christ sayth I pray not that thou take thē out of the world but that thou keepe them frō euill Io. 17.15 for there he signifieth the present life What then is the World in this place Men separated from the kingdome of God and the grace of Christe For a man as long as he liueth to himselfe is totally damned The World then Regeneration are thinges opposite or contrary as also Nature and Grace the Flesh and the Spirite And therefore they that are borne of the Worlde haue nothing but sinne and wyckednes not by creation but by corruption Christe then hath died for our sinnes that he might redeeme or separate vs from the World Wicked He addeth this epithete or title to shew that he speaketh of the corruption or wyckednes that commeth of sinne and not of the creature of God or of corporall life And yet wyth this one woorde as with the stroke of a thunderbolt he hurleth downe all the pryde of man For he witnesseth that without the renewing which is by the Grace of Christe there is nothing in vs but meere wyckednesse For we are of the World and vntill Chryste take vs out of it the World raigneth in vs and we liue vnto it Howe much soeuer then menne please themselues they are but mischeuous and wicked with all their iolittye Vnto themselues they seeme not suche but let it suffice vs that the Lord doeth so speake it by the mouth of Paule According to the will Hee sheweth the first spring of grace to be the purpose of God for so God loued the world that he gaue his only begotten sonne Io. 3.16 But it is to be noted that Paule is accustomed to set the purpose of God agaynst all desertes or merites of men So Wyll signifieth here in this place that whyche commonly they call the Good Pleasure The sence than is That Christ suffered for vs not because we were worthy or because wee brought any thing whyche myght prouoke hym but because the Counsell of God was so Of God and our father is as muche as if it had been saide of God which is our father 5. Vnto whome be glory He brasteth forth into sodaine thanks giuing to quicken their minds to consider this inestimable benefite of God to that end that they may shew themselues afterward more apt to learne Although it bee also a generall exhortation that as often as that mercy of God commeth in minde strayghtway it should prouoke vs to glorifie hym 6 I wonder that you are so sone carried ouer frō Christ which hath called you in grace vnto another Gospell 7 Whiche is no other thing but that there are some which trouble you and are willing to ouerthrowe the Gospell of Christ 8 But although we or an Angell from heauen preach a Gospell vnto you beside that Gospell which wee haue preached vnto you let him be accursed 9 As we haue sayd afore now also say I againe If any shall preach a Gospell vnto you beside that which you haue receiued let him be accursed 6. I wonder that He beginneth with chiding which chiding is somewhat more gentle than they deserued but his vehement chiding he had rather bestowe vpon the false Apostles as we shal see He reprehendeth them for theyr shrinking away not from his doctrine only but from Christ For they might not otherwise hold Christe than to acknowledge vs by his benefite to be set at liberty from the bondage of the Law but the necessity which the false Apostles did put in ceremonies was vtterly contrary and so they were caried ouer from Christe not because they did altogether cast away Christianitie but because in suche corruption there was only left vnto thē a counterfeite Christ So at these dayes the Papistes because they will haue a halfe Christ and a torne Christ haue no Christ and therefore they are caried ouer from Christ for they are full of superstitious which are directly contrary wyth the nature of Christ This must be dilligently marked That we are caried ouer frō Christ when we fal vnto those thinges which are contrary to his office for light cannot be mingled with darkenes After the same reason is it that hee calleth it another gospell that is contrary to the true gospell yet the false apostles did professe themselues to preach the gospell of Christ but whereas they did mingle their fayned deuises wherewith they destroye the principall force of the Gospell therefore they had a false a corrupt and a counterfeyte gospell He vseth the word of the present time as though their fall were now in the doing as though he should say I say not that ye are already carried ouer for then it were more hard for you to returne into the way but now whilest you are yet in the middest of your course drawe backe your feet rather than go forward Some reade From him that hath called you in the grace of Christ meaning of the father but the reading which I followe is more playn In that he saith that they were called of Christ by grace it serueth to vpbrayde theyr vnthankfulnesse To fall from the Sonne of God of it selfe is euill wycked but to fall from hyme when hee hath called vs freely to saluation is much more hatefull for his goodnesse towards vs augmenteth the greatnesse of our wyckednes if we be vnthankefull Soone He augmenteth the foulenes of their inconstancye There is no time fit to fall from Chryste but so much the more are the Galathians to be dyspraysed in that they were led away euen so soone as Paule was departed from them Therefore as before he amplified their vnthankfulnes in respect of their free calling so now he doth augment their lightnes by the circumstaunce of tyme. 7. Which is not another thing Some do thus expound it seing there is not another gospell as though it were a kind of correctiō least any man shold thinke there were more gospels I as touching the exposition of the words take it more simply for he speaketh contemptuously of the doctrine of the false Apostles that it is onely a matter of troubles and destruction as though he should say What bring these men What cause haue they to gaynsay the doctrine by me taught Forsooth they trouble you and ouerthrowe the Gospell and nought els doe they The sense notwithstanding commeth to one poynt for I graunt that by this kinde
righteousnesse of the Law for if Christ be taken out of the way the Iewes being seperated from the common pollution of the Gentils doe seeme in that respect to be after a sort exempted oute of the number of sinners The grace of Christ doth make them and the Gentils equall and the remedy which is to both common doth shew their disease and sicknesse to bee like in equalitie The word Also maketh to this purpose We our selues also saith he we speake not of euery body but of those who are notable such as the Iewes were God forbid Deseruingly doth he reiect that for Christ in vncouering of sinne which laye hidden is not the minister of sinne as though making iustice of no force he should open the gate vnto sinne nor yet as though hee should establish the kingdome of sinne This didde deceaue the Iewes that they did without Christ challenge to themselues some holynesse which in deede was none at all thereof grew their quarrell and complaynt Did Christ therefore come that he should take from vs the righteousnesse of the Law that of holy he should make vs vnholy that he should make vs in subiection to sinne and guiltinesse Paule denyeth it to be so and therefore he reiecteth this blasphemie with detesting it for Christ did not being sinne but he did reueale sinne neither did he take away iustice or righteousnesse but he drewe awaye the false visar from the Iewes 18 For if I build againe The aunswere is double This former aunswere is vndirecte whilest hee sheweth that that is repugnaunt to his whole doctrine seing that hee hadde so preached the fayth of Christe that he ioyned withall the ruine and abolishing of sinne For as wee are taught 1. Ioh. 3.8 that Christ came not to build vp the kingdome of sinne but to destroye it so Paule doth witnesse here that hee in preaching the Gospell hath restored true righteousnesse that sinne might be destroyed That is Christ Than was it verye disagreeable that of one and the selfe same sinne shoulde bee both flayne and reuyued By the Obiecting of this absurditie hee putteth awaye the slaunder 19 For I by the Law Nowe followeth the directe aunswere That that oughte not to bee imputed to Christe whiche properlye is the worke of the Lawe for there is no neede of Christe to make voyde the righteousnesse of the Law because the Lawe it selfe doeth kill the Disciples thereof as though hee shoulde saye You deceaue poore miserable men with a false imagination as though they shoulde liue by the lawe and by that pretence you detayne them in the Lawe in the meane while you make the Gospell to bee spyted as though it broughte to noughte the righteousnesse whiche wee haue by the Lawe but it is the Lawe it selfe whiche compelleth vs to die to it for wheras it threatneth destruction vnto vs and leueth nothing vnto vs but despaire by that means it driueth vs from trusting to it A more easie vnderstanding of this place is to be sought out of the seuenth chapter to the Romaines for there Paule doth plainely describe that no man liueth to the lawe but he vnto whome the lawe is dead that is to say idle and without working or for as soone as the law beginneth to liue in vs it striketh vs with a deadly wound wherby we perishe and with all it inspireth life sinne being first dead They therefore which liue vnto the Lawe haue neuer felte the strength of the Lawe no nor yet haue once tasted what the lawe meaneth for the law being truly vnderstanded doth compell vs to dye to it and hereof is sinne and not of Christ To die to the Law is eyther to renounce it and to be sette at freedome from the power and dominyon thereof so that wee haue no confidence in it nor agayne that it holde vs Captyues vnder the yoke of bondage or else thus for that it alotteth vs all to destruction wee can fynde no lyfe in it and this latter sence is more conuenient For hee denyeth Christe to bee the authour of this euill because the Lawe is more hurtfull then profitable but hee affyrmeth that there is included in the Lawe it selfe the curse which killeth vs. Whereof it followeth that that stroke or wounde whiche is striken by the Lawe is in deede deadlye agaynste this is sette another kynde of death being liuely in the fellowship of the crosse of Christ And therefore hee sayeth that hee is crucified together with Christe that hee mighte beginne to lyue That distinction that commonlye hath preuayled doth darken the naturall sence and meaning if they reade I by the Lawe am deade to the Lawe that I mighte liue to Christe but the contrarye Texte soundeth better namelye I by the Lawe am deade to the Lawe and than by it selfe that I mighte liue to Christe I am crucified vyith Christ That I might liue to God Hee sheweth that kynde of death to bee worthye the wishing whereof the false Apostles tooke occasion of spighte for hee declareth that wee doe not therefore dye to the Lawe that wee shoulde lyue to sinne but to GOD. To liue to GOD sometyme is taken to frame our lyfe after his will so that wee studye nothing else all our life long but to be accepted of him but in this place it is to liue the life of GOD if I maye so saye whereby the thinges opposite maye aunswere the one the other for by that reason that it is sayde wee dye vnto the Lawe by the same it is sayde that wee liue vnto GOD. In summe Paule doeth admonishe vs that that death is not mortall but rather a cause of a better life for God taketh vs oute of the Shipwracke of the Lawe and by his grace restoreth vs to a better life I lette passe other expositions me thinkes this is the naturall meaning of Paule Whereas he sayth he is crucified with Christ he expresseth the meane how we being dead vnto the Law liue vnto God when as forsooth we being grafted into the death of Christ doe drawe an hidden power from thence as a grafte doth from the roote Farthermore Christ hath fastened to his crosse the handwriting of the Law which was againste vs. therefore we being crucified with Christ are deliuered from all the curses of the Lawe and guiltinesse he that goeth about to make this deliuerance vaine doth make voyde the crosse of Christ But let vs make account that we are not otherwise losed from the yoke of the Lawe than while we are made one with Christ euen as the grafte doth not otherwise draw moysture from the roote except it grow togeather into one nature with it 20. And I liue not any more The name of death is alwayes healthfull to the vnderstanding of man and therefore after he hath taught that wee are fastened to the Crosse together with Christ hee doth adde this that it bringeth also vnto vs life And also he doth declare what he meante before by these wordes to liue
to God that forsooth nowe hee liueth not by his owne life but that he is so liued with the hidden vertue power of Christ that Christ may he sayde to liue and to flourish in him For as the soule nourisheth the body with life so also doth Christ inspire life into his membres A notable sentence That the faythfull liue without themselues that is to saye in Christ which cannot be but they must haue a true and a substātiall communicating with him Finally Christ liueth in vs two maner of wayes One life is whan hee gouerneth vs with his spirite and doth direct all our doinges The other is that hee maketh vs pertakers of his righteousnesse that when wee bee not able in our selues yet in him we maye be acceptable vnto God The first belongeth to regeneration or new byrth the seconde belongeth to the free accepting of righteousnesse of the which we may vnderstande this place to meane although if any man had rather vnderstand it of both I willingly will embrace it In as much as I now liue in the flesh There is here almost no sentence which hath not bene torn with sundry expositions as some expounde flesh in this place to be the euil of nature corrupted But Paule doth meane it more simply to be the bodily life For the faithfull by liuing in the flesh doe neuerthelesse not liue after the flesh although it doe also comprehend the infirmities in which wee are now helde enwrapped Or else there had ben another obiection in a readinesse Obiection Thou also liuest a bodily and fraile life where not onely this corruptible bodie doth exercise his offices wheras it is susteined or fed with meat and drinke but also it is in like manner compassed with many vices so that on euery side the face of death doth shewe it selfe this is not the heauenly life of Christ A Paradox is a sentence or opinyon straunge and contrary to the opinyon of the most part Aunswer therfore it is a paradox contrary to all reason that whereas thou doest manifestely liue after the common maner of men yet thou sayest thou haste no life of thine owne Paule aunswereth that it namelye his life consisteth in fayth whereby he auoucheth that it is a misterie hidden from the sence of man The life than whiche wee obtayne by fayth appeareth not to the eyes but it is perceyued within in the conscience by the efficacie of the spirite and therfore the bodily life letteth not but that we maye by fayth possesse the heauenly life Ephe. 1.20 He hath placed vs in heauenly thinges c. Also Now yee are the Citizens of the Saynts and of the housholde of God Ephe. 2.19 Also to the Philippians 3.20 Our conuersation is in heauen Also to the Colossians We are dead and our lyfe is hid with Christ in God to be short Paule is full of such testimonyes whereby hee affirmeth that we doe so liue in the world that neuerthelesse we liue also in heauen not only because there is our head but also that by the right or interest of vnitie we haue a life common with him as S. Iohn speaketh cap. 14. ver 1. In the meane while let vs note that here he bringeth his reason from the nature of fayth that he may teache vs that it is no absurditie if that life bee hid which is graffed or placed in fayth because that thing whiche we hope for doth not yet appeare that fayth maye be named the knowledge of thinges inuisible Which hath loued me These wordes are added to expresse the force of Fayth or else this thought would come into euery mans mynde Whence cōmeth such vertue of fayth that it should shead out vppon vs the life of Christ therefore the hypostasis whereon fayth leaneth Substance or foundation doth declare the loue and death of Christ for thereof is the effecte of fayth to be estimated Howe commeth it to passe than that wee liue by the fayth of Christ because he hath loued vs and giuen himselfe for vs. the loue I saye wherwith Christ hath imbraced vs did cause that he did make himselfe one with vs that hath he done by his death for in giuing himselfe for vs he hath suffered no otherwise than in our person and therfore whatsoeuer faith findeth in Christe of the same it maketh vs partakers Wheras he maketh mention of Loue he meaneth that whiche is taught 1. Ioh. 4.19 Not because we loued him firste but that he hath preuented vs firste with his loue For if he being prouoked with merites had redemed vs the cause therof would haue bene tolde but now Paule ascribeth all vnto loue it is therfore free or without merite For the order must be marked He hath loued vs and giuen himselfe for vs. which is as muche as if he hadde sayde There was no other cause wherefore hee shoulde dye but because he loued vs. and that at such time as we were his enimies as he teacheth Rom. 5.10 And giuen himselfe We cannot wel expresse with any wordes how great a thing this is for who canne declare in wordes howe greate the excellencie of the Sonne of GOD is hee hath appoynted himselfe to bee the price to redeeme vs. Vnder the worde giuen is included the whole commoditie whiche commeth vnto vs by the death of Christe that is to saye that it is the Sacrifice of Purging the Washing Satisfaction c. Neyther haue these wordes for me a small force in them because it was not ynough to consider or thinke that Christ died for the saluation of the worlde excepte euerye one doe challenge priuatelye vnto himselfe the effect and possession of this grace 21 I cast not awaye There is a greate emphasis or vehemencie in those wordes for what and how horrible vnkyndenesse is it to contemne so inestimable grace of GOD and purchase with so greate a price Hee accuseth the false Apostles of this sacriledge whiche is robbing Christe of his honour which being not contence with Christe alone doe thrust in also other helpes of saluation For the grace of GOD is refused excepte that wee renounce all other thinges and embrace Christe alone finallye what hath a man left him after he hath refused the grace of God and made himselfe vnworthye of it For if righteousnes Gratis which I haue translated for nothing is taken for frustra which is in vaine that is there should be nothing much worth in the death of Christ or Christe died for nor reward For this is the rewarde of his death that by purging of our sinnes he hath reconciled vs vnto his Father hereof it followeth that by his grace we are iustified and therfore not by workes The Papists interprete it of the ceremoniall Lawe but who seeth not that it hath respecte to the whole Lawe for it is as muche as Paule shoulde saye If wee our selues deserue righteousnesse than Christe hath suffered in vayne for therefore suffered hee that hee mighte obtayne righteousnesse for vs. and
what needeth that to be gotten vs of another that wee canne giue to oure owne selues Truelye if the death of Christe bee oure redemption than were wee Captiues if our satisfaction than were wee Debters if oure purging than were wee guiltie if our washing than were wee vncleane And so on the contrarye syde hee that doeth attribute vnto workes his cleannesse his forgiuenesse purging righteousnesse and deliueraunce doeth make the death of Christ vayne Here perhappe somebody will Obiect Obiection That the Argumente is not of force agaynste them whiche couple the grace of Christe with workes whiche no man neede doubte but the false Apostles didde for these two clauses stande together That righteousnesse is by the Lawe and Wee are redeemed by the death of Christe I graunte Aunswer if wee yielde parte of our righteousnesse to bee gotten by workes and parte to come by grace But we maye readilye gather that this kynde of Diuinitye was vnknowne vnto Paule for eyther hee didde wiselye and orderlye reason agaynste his Aduersaries or else foolishlye and ouerthwartelye If so bee any Blasphemer dare be so bolde to accuse him the defence for Paule is forcible ynough namelye That that is reputed righteousnesse before GOD not suche as wee men imagine but suche vnto whiche nothing is wanting But because it belongeth not to the presente purpose to pleade Paules cause againste Blasphemers which dare barke agaynst the holy Ghost let vs try the matter with the Papists They mocke vs when according to Paule wee reason That Christ dyed in vayne if righteousnesse bee by workes for they thinke themselues armed with a trimme aunswere when they bring out of their Sophisters That Christ deserued for vs the firste grace that is to saye the occasion of deseruing and that the merite of his death doth concurre and meete together with the satisfactions of workes to the daylye forgiuenesse of sinnes Let them than mock Paule out of whose mouth we speake for they must confute him before they confute vs. Wee knowe that he had to doe with men which did not vtterly shut out the grace of Christ but did place the one halfe of saluation in workes agaynste whome he reasoneth thus Christ died in vayne if righteousnesse be by the law and in so doing he leaueth not one drop of righteousnesse vnto workes The Papistes differ not from them a whit and therefore it is lawfull vnto vs also to vse the argument or reason of Paule to confute them The ende of the seconde Chapter ¶ The third Chapter 1 O foolishe Galathians who hath bewitched you that you should not obay the truth vnto whome Iesus Christe is paynted forth before your eyes being crucified among you 2 This only will I learne of you Haue you receiued the Spirite by the works of the law or by the preaching of faith 3 Are ye so foolish that hauing begun in the spirite yee will now be made vp in the flesh 4 Haue ye suffered so great thinges in vaine if yet also in vaine 5 He therefore that ministreth vnto you the spirite and worketh in you vertues doeth hee that by the vvorkes of the Lawe or by the preaching of the fayth O Foolish Vnto doctrine he ioineth or rather putteth in chiding If any man doth maruell why he deferred it not till the end without dought those so graue sentenses which he pronounced stirred him sodenly to be angry For wheras wee heare that the Sonne of God is reiected with all his goodnes and that his death is accounted as nothinge what godly hart is not broken with indignation He pronounceth them therfore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to saye out of their wits which suffered themselues to be enwrapped with so great sacriledge neyther doth he reprooue them only for that they suffred themselues to be deceyued but to be deluded as it were with a certayne Magicall enchauntment which is farre worse for he showeth that their fall was more nigh vnto madnesse then foolishnesse Some thinke that Paule had respecte to the disposition of the nation for they hauing their originall of Barbarians were to be handled the more hardlye but I hadde rather referre it simply to the the thing it selfe for it is a wonderous thing that in so great clearenesse of the Gospell there should as yet a place be open to the bewitchinges of the Diuel For he doeth not therefore onely saye that they are bewitched and out of their wits because they obey not the truth but because they being taught so certainly so manifestly so familiarly to be shorte so effectuallye doe straight waye fall awaye Erasmus hath the Verbe Crederetis Beleeued the whiche although I doe not vtterly reiect yet more agreeable to the Texte is that which I haue vsed namelye Obediatis obayed because Paule doth not accuse them that in the beginning they refused the Gospell but he chideth them because they stood not stedfast in obaying it Vnto whome before the eyes This belongeth as I haue already touched to augment their fault for the better knowne that Christ hath bene to vs so muche the more grieuous is our fault of falling awaye from him Hee sayeth therefore that the perspicuitie or playnesse of his Doctrine hath bene so great that it hath not bene so muche a bare teaching as a liuelye and expresse Image of Christe their knowledge then was suche as might be compared to a seeing The exposition of Augustine is harde and farre from the mynde of Paule who sayth that Christe was sette forth as though hee shoulde bee put out of possession Some reade for Proescriptus Wherof the Grecians call those tables Programmata wherein they shewe abrode such possessions as are to be solde that the matter might be apparant to the eyes of al men proscriptus which worde woulde not ill agree to the purpose if it be taken for Set forth to open sale or spoyle But in the worde depictus painted out there is lesse ambiguitie or doubtfulnesse and in my iudgement it doth very well agree for that Paule may show how great the force of his preaching hath bene firste he compareth it to a picture or paynting which hath expressed to them liuely the image of Christ after that being not contente with this similitude hee addeth that Christ was crucified among them Whereby hee meaneth that they shoulde not haue bene more touched with the present sighte of the death of Christ than with his preaching for mee thinkes it is somewhat hardly expounded of some where they vnderstande the Galathians to haue crucified agayne and mocked the Lord when they went back from the puritie of the Gospell or else had giuen eare and credit to those deceauers which had crucified him Let vs therefore keepe this sence that they were no otherwise instructed of Christ by the doctrine of Paul than if he had bene shewed them in a table nay rather crucified among them Such a representation can bee done with no eloquence with no colours of Rethoricians excepte that
Circumcision auaileth anye thing neither vncircumcisioÌ„ but faith which worketh by loue STand therefore in the libertie After he had sayde they were the children of the frewoman now he admonisheth theÌ„ how great the valure of this libertye is that they conteÌ„ne it not as a thing little worth And certainly it is an inestimable good thing for which it becoÌ„meth vs to fight vnto the death neither is he in hand here about fires onely but also about alters too Because many at these dayes doe not waye this they doe condemne vs that wee bee too earnest whiles they see vs to sharpelye and with so greate contention auouche the libertie of Fayth agaynste the Tyrannie of the Pope in outwarde thinges By this pretence also the aduersaries stirre vs vp ill will among the vnlearned as though wee seeke nothing else but licentiousnesse whiche is a setting loose of all Discipline But they that are wise and skillfull know that this is one of the principall poyntes in the doctrine of saluation For here wee deale not aboute this Whether you may eate this meate or that meate whether you make this daye holye or let it alone as many men doe foolishlye suppose and some men doe slaunderouslye report but what is lawfull for thee to doe before God what is necessarye to saluation and what it is wickednesse to leaue vndone to be briefe it is a contention about the estate of the conscience when wee come before the tribunall seate of God Finallye Paule in this place meaneth the libertie from the cerimonies of the Lawe the obseruing wherof the false Apostles did exacte as a thinge necessarie But withal the readers must remember that that manner of libertie is but a part only of that libertie which Christe hath purchased vnto vs. For howe small a thing were it if he had onely deliuered vs from the ceremonies This custome therefore springeth out of a deaper fountaine namely in that he was made a curse that he might redeeme vs from the curse of the Law aboue in the third chapter verse 13 because he hath abrogated the force of the Lawe as farre forth as it hold vs endaungered by the iudgement of God vnder the guiltinesse of eternal death to coÌ„clude because he hath set vs at libertie from the tyrannye of sinne Sathan and death so vnder one kinde is the whole comprehended whereof I wil speake in the Epistle to the Colossians Furthermore Christ hath purchased libertie vnto vs in the Crosse but hee giueth vs the fruite and possession thereof by the Gospell Paule than doeth well when he monisheth the Galathians that they be not entangled againe in the yoke of bondage that is to say that they suffer not a snare to bee put on their consciences for if men will laye a wrongfull burden on our shoulders it may be borne but if they will bring our consciences into bondage wee must resist it stoutly and euen to the death For wee shall be robbed of an inestimable benefite if men maye binde our consciences And withall iniurie shall be offred to Christ the authour of libertie But of what force is this againe for the Galathians neuer liued vnder the law It is meant simply for this Euen as though they were not deliuered by the grace of Christ For although the law was giuen to the Iewes and not to the Gentils yet without Christ there is no libertie to eyther of them but a mere bondage 2 Beholde I Paule He could shew them nothing more grieuous thaÌ„ that he should shut them out from the grace of Christ But what meaneth this That Christe auayleth nothing to all that are circumcised Did hee auayle Abraham nothing yea rather that he might auayle he tooke circumcision If wee saye that that auayled before the comming of Christ what shall we aunswere concerning Timothie It must be marked that Paul in this place doth not speake of the outward cutting onlye or of the ceremonie but rather he reasoneth agaynst the wicked doctrine of the false Apostles who fayned the same to be a necessarie seruice of God and withall they did beate in a confidence as it were of a meritorious work These diuelish deuises did make Christ fruitlesse and vnprofitable not that the false Apostles did denye Christ or would haue had him vtterly taken awaye but they did make suche a partition betweene his grace and the workes of the Law that but onelye halfe parte of our saluation should be by him The Apostle cryeth out agaynste that saying we may not make such a diuiding nor that otherwise hee can auayle vs except we imbrace him wholy And what other thing doe the Papistes at this daye but thrust in trifles inuented by themselues in stead of Circumcision certaynly to this ende is directed their whole doctrine that the grace of Christ should be mingled with the merites of workes which thing is impossible For whosoeuer will haue but halfe Christ shall lose all Christ and yet the Papistes seeme in their own eyes to be very sharpe witted when they alleage that they attribute nothing vnto workes but by the grace of Christ being the meane as though the Galathians were in any other error For they did not think or beleeue that they â—ell away from Christ or did refuse his grace but yet Christ was left vnto them for that the doctrine of the Gospell in that principall poynte was counterfeyted and abased This speeche Behold I Paule hath no small force in it for he doth set himselfe againste them euen to their face and he giueth out his name lest he should seeme to haue a doubtfull cause And although his authoritie began to wax lesse and lesse among the Galathians yet he auoucheth it to be sufficient to ouerthrowe all his aduersaries 3 For I testifie agayne It is the proofe of the former sentence taken out of the place of things repugnant for he that is debter to doe the whole Lawe shal neuer escape death because shall remayne alwayes vnder guiltinesse for no man shall euer be founde whiche maye satisfie the Lawe suche an obligation than Binding is a certayne condemnation of a man so it happeneth that Christ helpeth him nothing We see than how these thinges are contrary the one to the other That wee are pertakers of the grace of Christ And agayne that we are bounde to fulfill the whole Lawe But so shall it followe that none of the Fathers were saued Moreouer it shall followe that Timothie was cast awaye by Paule when hee was circumcised For woe to vs vntill wee bee set free from the lawe and where Circumcision is there is subiection It is to bee noted that Paule is accustomed to speake two maner of wayes of Circumcision and that shall bee easilye perceyued of euerye one that is meanelye excercised in the reading of Paule For to the Romaynes cap. 4.11 he calleth it the seale of the righteousnes of fayth and so he includeth Christe and the free promise of saluation vnder Circumcision Nowe in