all
things; and that he commands you to believe it. Then you will perceive
that he, as your God and Creator, will not deceive you. What are
death, the devil and all creatures as a match for Christ?

11. The glory of Christ's message, then, here called by Paul "the word
of salvation," is much greater and higher than would have been the
promise of all the kingdoms, all the riches and splendors of the
world, yes, of both heaven and earth. For what could they benefit if
one possessed not the Word of salvation and eternal life? With all
these, when assailed by sins, or by the distress and danger of death,
one must still say, "Away with all the blessings and joys of the
world, so that I may hear and have altogether the message of salvation
sent by Christ." You must hold fast to it and know that it alone gives
eternal peace and joy; that it must receive your faith in spite of all
apparent contradiction; that you must not be governed by your reason
or your feelings, but must regard that as divine, unchangeable and
eternal truth which God has spoken and commands to be proclaimed. Such
is Paul's exhortation addressed primarily to the Jews to accept this
message as sent by God and as being the bearer of wondrous blessings.

12. Next, he proceeds to remove their chief stumbling-block, the thing
of greatest offense to them. He warns them against the course adopted
by them of Jerusalem, who had the Word of salvation from Christ
himself, who read it in the prophets every day, who should have had no
trouble perceiving that the prophets testified to Christ and that
there was complete harmony between their teaching and that of Christ
and the apostles, yet would not understand. Because Christ came not in
the manner they desired, they condemned the very One whom they read of
in the Scriptures as appearing with this Word of salvation, the time
of whose coming had been pointed out, leaving them to know it had long
since arrived and they had no reason to wait for another. They
understood not the Scriptures because their minds were completely
hardened and dominated by the fixed idea that Christ should reign as a
temporal king. So thoroughly was the whole Jewish nation impressed
with this belief that the very apostles had no other conception of
Christ's kingdom, even after his resurrection. As John says (ch. 12,
16), they did not understand the Scriptures until Christ ascended to
heaven and the Holy Spirit came.

So long as there hangs befo