vengeance on none. But he must do whatever he does according to the command of God, who wills through him, as his work testifies, to punish the wicked and dangerous people. He does this, not in wrath, but with sorrowful heart. But vengeance follows wrath; so, if one wishes to avenge himself because of his own wrath, that is here forbidden. Since vengeance is God's, he will repay the evil. (Deut. xxxii., Heb. x., Prov. xxv.) Paul gives the reason for this, from the twelfth chapter to the thirteenth: we should not avenge ourselves, because God has ordained the magistracy for vengeance, as his servants, whose duty is to protect, to punish, to avenge.
THE FIFTEENTH PASSAGE
"Christ is our head and we are his members."—Eph. i., 4, 5; Col. i., 2.
Here I must indulge myself, for they cry out at me: "Do you not see that our head, Christ, has not striven or fought? Therefore we must not strive, but patiently go to death." First, dear brothers, I fear you do not know what divine or Christlike means, for there is a great difference between them. As to that, if we look at ourselves as we are by nature, Christ is not our head and we are not his members. While he is righteous and truthful, we are wicked and full of lies. Christ is a child of grace, we are children of wrath. Christ never did any sin, we are conceived and born in sins. Do you see how as members we agree with the head?
Second, that Paul nevertheless calls us members of Christ pertains to faith. That is said so many times. If we know ourselves, that we ought to be members of Christ, and yet are not, we confess ourselves guilty and
