Lectures on Genesis Quotes

“For I am ashamed of and annoyed by my exceedingly disgraceful lack of faith amid such a wealth of promises by which we have been overwhelmed and made drunk, when I consider and see that the saintly fathers had such great faith in promises not yet fulfilled.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But Simeon is the most abject tribe of all, for he is cursed by his father Jacob and is passed over in silence by Moses. Jerome, as I have stated, is of the opinion that no mention is made of Simeon because Judas Iscariot was to be born from that tribe.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But there is a common opinion among all authors in the church that the Antichrist, whom they take to be the viper, will come from the tribe of Dan; and this opinion has been received and approved by all as an important article of faith.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But the Christian life is of such a nature that it is bound daily to the vine, that is, to the Word, and is made drunk with the gifts of the Spirit or the Word. In the second place, it is not only made drunk this way by the Spirit and filled with the confidence which is the most salutary inebriation for the new man; but it is also washed in wine according to the old man. The old scoundrel must still be washed, not with soap and water but by means of the Word, by means of the blood of the Son of God, which is sprinkled among us through the ministry of the Word. For when we teach, we do nothing else than sprinkle and divide the power of the blood of Christ among the people, as has been stated above68 from the Epistle of Peter (1 Peter 1:2). One should not teach Aristotle, nor the decretals of the pope; but the blood of Christ, God’s Son, must be proclaimed to us, in order that He may purge me more and more from day to day until I am perfectly clean, so that I may be able to meet the Savior when He comes.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But the Christian life is of such a nature that it is bound daily to the vine, that is, to the Word, and is made drunk with the gifts of the Spirit or the Word. In the second place, it is not only made drunk this way by the Spirit and filled with the confidence which is the most salutary inebriation for the new man; but it is also washed in wine according to the old man.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But those are truly gifts of the Holy Spirit which make drunk with the richest knowledge of the Son of God, just as when John Hus was led to martyrdom, he prayed with great and unbroken courage: “Jesus, Son of God, Thou who hast suffered for us, have mercy on me.”63 This is not said without the Holy Spirit. No one else would have spoken this way unless he had been made drunk by that wine. He was one of the colts bound to the excellent vine.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Although the arms and kings of the world should serve the purpose of peace in the kingdom of Christ for the sake of teaching and propagating the Gospel, that kingdom should not be administered through laws. For laws do not make Christians. No, the Word and the sacraments — the Eucharist, Baptism, etc. — establish and build the kingdom of Christ.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Those who hear the Word of the Gospel concerning Christ are sprinkled with the blood of the Son of God.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“He who believes that he has a gracious God as his Father, and that Christ, the Son of God, has abolished death, sin, hell, and the devil, should he not rejoice and exult? Indeed, he should even go through iron mountains and adversities of every kind with a fearless and invincible heart, and he should conclude that everything is flowing with honey, milk, and wine; yes, he should praise God with the height of joy and gratitude, now no longer as one who is mortal but as one who is living an eternal life.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“In this way the godly are filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they cannot keep from breaking forth into thanksgiving, confession, glorifying God, and teaching and proclaiming the Word of the Gospel.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“For it is human to avoid or hate because of some error what you do not understand or regard as true; but to persecute manifest and acknowledged truth — this is altogether satanical.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Thus Augustine says: “We know that we owe our existence to His goodness. We know that we are creatures because of the kindness of God, not because of merit. For it has pleased God that no one should glory except in the Lord.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But grace has changed my nature for the better, to keep me from joining them and shedding innocent blood.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But the world and the godless are not moved by God’s wrath and curse.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“And finally indeed this blessing, or rather this curse, was fulfilled in Caiaphas, Annas, and the other high priests who persecuted Christ and His apostles with the greatest severity. For these two tribes, Simeon and Levi, stirred up the multitude before Pilate to ask that Barabbas be set free and that Jesus be crucified.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Simeon was the ancestor of Judas Iscariot;”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Therefore we must be steadfast; we must be Constantines, stouthearted,13 and rocks, lest we “be carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14).”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“One must be careful to hold fast to the fact that God makes promises and defers the things promised, and that He tries us with a scarcity of available things in order to instruct us in faith in the promise and in order that this faith may be strengthened and may learn to believe God not only in prosperous times, when things are available, but also in adversity, when things are lacking.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“For formerly, under the papacy, when I was a monk, it was by no means customary to speak of a promise. And I give thanks to God that I may live at this time, when this word “promise” resounds in my ears and in the ears of all the godly. For he who hears the Word easily understands the divine promise, which was obscure and unknown to all the theologians throughout the papacy.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But the kingdom of God does not consist in the Law; it consists in the Word of the promise. Today it is commonly said: “He loves the Word. He loves the Word of the Gospel, or the ministry.” But in the papal decretals and canons you will not find even a syllable about the Word. They thunder only about the confession of sins, contrition, satisfaction, obedience to the pope, and the observance of monastic rules. But there is the deepest silence concerning the promises. Accordingly, the papal kingdom was a horrible devastation of the church, and even now promise is an unheard-of word to the pope and the cardinals.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“But the kingdom of grace is a kingdom of mercy, of pardon, of redemption, and of liberation from sins and the punishments for sins.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“For if I believe the promise of God, I am certain that my life is pleasing to God and is superior to all the orders, since it makes a heavenly man, a conqueror of death, an heir of eternal life, and one who tramples the devil underfoot, as is stated in Ps. 91:13: “You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and serpent you will trample underfoot.” This is the strength and particular power of Christians.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Therefore Augustine was right when he said: “The external works of the Godhead are indivisible.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“No, he joins the three Persons in the one work of blessing — God the Father, God the Shepherd, and the Angel.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“And the human mind endures misfortunes of any kind more easily than prosperity and abundance, as the German proverb puts it: “Strong legs are needed to be able to endure good days.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“Therefore Jerome — whether it is his own judgment or the opinion of others — says that Moses did not want to make mention of Simeon because the traitor Judas was to be born from him;28 and even up to this time the tribe of Simeon is the most contemptible among these dregs of the Jews.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“For when we have learned to know God in the Son after apprehending the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit, who clothes our hearts with joy and with the freedom from care because of which we despise sin and death, what is left? “Go, and do not keep silence, in order that the rest of the multitude may be saved too, not you alone.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50

“And when the angel orders the resurrection of Christ to be announced to the disciples, he wants it to be made known to Peter in particular, because he was in the greatest distress. Peter knew how to decline the word !”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 8: Genesis Chapters 45-50