#134 The Triumph, Peace, and Power of True Christianity - Part 3
The Triumph, Peace, and Power of True Christianity part 3, by Pilgram Marpeck
The Harlot, The Bride, and The Serpent
We speak, as can be seen, of the old, red, Roman harlot (who passed herself off for so long as the bride of Christ, deceiving herself and many with her). This harlot the real bride of Christ—the bride consisting of a new people, married to Christ through his blood and suffering—has thrown out and rejected with all her tricks.
But the old serpent is busy.
No sooner have the new people of God (the reformed Protestant churches) appeared than the serpent has come up with new deceptions. But our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, has overcome him and his worldly ways through his death on the cross. He overcame the world through faith.
Now the serpent and the harlot, (Ezekiel 23) with all their children can do nothing but watch as simple faith brings their deception to nothing. Their clever plans are becoming known to the true children of God and shall be discussed, for the praise of God and the strengthening of the faithful, in this tract. May God give grace!
The old serpent helped to set up the false bride of Christ for the deception of the world (Revelation 20). He did this for a long time, but when he learned that his time was short, he partially revealed himself, through his prophets, to get his job done quickly. In this way he actually did the children of God a favour. He let some of his prophets speak out against his own deceptions, such as the baptism of infants and the pope's idolatrous works. But these prophets, instead of coming out into the clear, led those who followed them into great strife over insignificant details. They began to argue about exactly how to celebrate the mass, whether it should be taken in two kinds or without the cup, and through this led the whole world into confusion with their arguments. Satan used this situation to accomplish his purpose.
What We Have Inside
Martin Luther got so caught up with exactly how to celebrate the mass, whether to partake of it in two elements, and so forth, that he paid no attention to the fornicators, gluttons, drunkards, gamblers, murderers, traitors, tyrants, and liars who partook of it. He ended up calling everything and everyone the fellowship of holiness. Luther expected the correct observance of the mass to change his followers into real Christians. But what we eat and drink does not change our nature. Only what we partake of spiritually can change our spirits. What we have inside of us will bear fruit.
Luther and his men use the scriptures to persuade the common people to take up arms and to defend themselves valiantly. They get the people to trust, body and soul, in the force of arms, and they cause lords and cities to rise up against the emperor. What a terrible shedding of blood when false prophets and their followers begin to fight in the name of God! (Jeremiah 6; Ezekiel 22–23).
The Lord Christ wants to lead his followers out of all this with no hitting back. He wants to lead them in peace, under the cross, and in the shadow of his wings (Psalm 17; Psalm 57). Christ the lamb suffers patiently, allowing men to kill him, until the end of the world (Luke 17; Revelation 13). All the leaders of the world, Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas, unite to do him harm (Luke 23), but Christ gives himself up to their power and exercises no power upon them in return. He teaches rather that we should give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's (Matthew 22). He teaches that earthly rulers have been given the power to rule in everything except that which concerns the vengeance of God. No man, only God, may resort to vengeance (Romans 12; Hebrews 10).
God has appointed no power or rulers on the earth except Caesar. Caesar and his worldly government will rule on the earth until their time is up, as predicted by Daniel (Daniel 11), when the wrath of God will come upon all men (Isaiah 24). Until then all flesh needs the power and control of Caesar.
Jesus Christ, on the other hand, does not rule or judge in earthly inheritances or in earthly kingdoms. No matter whether his followers get treated good or evil, they pay back nothing but patience and love. They are willing to submit everything they have, even their bodies and their lives, to earthly powers. That is everything, except their true faith in Christ. No man may use force or rule over others in matters of faith in Christ, for it is not earthly lives but eternal life that is at stake. God himself will not take eternal life away from any creature in heaven or on earth (Romans 8; Matthew 10). Because true Christians set their hope on eternal life, they do not demand the right to earthly life (Hebrews 11; Luke 10; Colossians 3), and many are now choosing this. May God be praised!