Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/131

 present the body, tinder the wine the blood of the Christ who lives and reigns. It holds fast to this simple truth and despises curious questions.

Thus, too, I would solve the question about adoring and invoking God dwelling in the saints. It is a matter of liberty, and it is not necessary either to do it or not to do it. To be sure, it is not so certain that God has His dwelling in many men as that He is present in the sacrament, but we do read in I Corinthians^ that an unbeliever will fall on his face and worship God in the saints, if he hears them prophesying; and Abraham saw three angels, and worshiped one Lord ; and (to use your own illustration) what do we do when we "pre- fer one another in honor/' except honor and adore God in ourselves? Let it be free, then, to call upon God in man or out of man, in creatures or out of them, for "I fill heaven and earth," saith the Lord." Here faith goes the safest way, for in all things it sees only God, but we cannot say enough of this to unbelievers, or prove it to them, because they are always worshiping themselves. Therefore, as I said before, teach them only 'to be sound in faith, and there will be no need for this kind of questions, and the unction of the Lord will teach them in all things ; without it we can do nothing else than run into endless questionings.

Greet Martin Novilianus* for me. I have written to Madame Julia,* but not at length. The book on vows is long since out of print, but I have ordered a new edition struck oflF. I have told the bearers of this letter to be sure to tell you what is going on here. Farewell in Christ, and pray for me.

Postscript. — When I was about to seal this letter I looked over yours again to see if I had answered all your questions, and found the page in which you ask about the power of the words of institution in the sacrament. You think rightly that the power comes from the promise if, between ourselves, there is any power in the words. But you know, too, that it is faith alone that consecrates, and the priests are very often without faith when they consecrate, in which case, of course,


 * I Corinthians idv, 24!. ' Jeremiah xxiii, 24.


 * The schoolmaster at Iglau. ^Vide, p. 12$, n. i.

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