LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

40 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW IX
With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the valiant One,
Whom God himself elected.
The Incarnate Lord acts in defence of His own through His holy angels, who
are therefore sheer realisation of Gospel. An infinite advantage is enjoyed
by angels over demons:
They are much more rational and clever than the evil angels, the cause
being that they have a mirror into which they look, that the Devil does
not have, which is called Facies patris, our Lord God’s countenance.
Therefore a single angel is much cleverer than all the devils rolled into
one. Thus they are much mightier than the Devil, for they stand with One
Who is called by His name Omnipotens, Almighty. 36
The 1530 Michaelmas sermon draws doxologically to its close, with the
Reformer uttering from the pulpit confident extempore prayers for angelic
protection. 37 Elisha’s vision of the heavenly hosts leads Luther to conclude
that “He has more angels than devils” and to take on his lips the prophet’s
triumphant cry, “There are more on our side than on theirs!” 38 Things were
as shaky in the summer of 1530 as they are in the autumn of 1996. Trust in
Christus Victor at the head of His heavenly hosts enables the Reformer to
close with a paraphrase of
Our victory has been won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth:
He shall have the glory of being a mighty, wise, and pious God, which
takes place when God helps us through His dear angels, so that we lick
the Devil. God help us all to do this. Amen. 39
This historical paper has ventured no critique of Luther’s angelology,
which, along with his better known demonology, perhaps invites the epithet
“naïve”. Was the Reformer writing in jest or in earnest when in the last
weeks of his life he informed Katie that the Devil had put pitch in his beer
36 WA 32:117.11-16: “Sie sind viel vernunfftiger und kluger denn die bosen Engel,
Ursach, sie haben einen spiegel, darein sie sehen, den hat der Teufel nicht, der heist Facies
patris, unsers Herr Gotts angesicht. Darumb ist ein Engel viel kluger denn die Teuffel all auff
einem hauffen. So sind sie auch viel mechtiger denn die Teuffel, denn sie stehen bey dem der
mit seinem namen Omnipotens heisst, Almechtig.”
37 WA 32:117.25-27, 119.25-27.
38 WA 32:119.28-120.7.
39 WA 32:121.21-24: “Er sol die ehr haben, das er ein mechtiger, weiser und frumer
Gott sey, Das geschicht denn, wenn uns Gott durch seine liebe Engele huelfft, das wir den
Teufel schlagen. Dazu helff uns Gott allen, Amen.”