Ascension Lutheran Church

Calgary, AB

A Minute With Martin

Martin Luther

Introduction

Table Talk

  1. Introduction
  2. No. 587
  3. No. 358
  4. No. 319

The Small Catechism (SC)

  1. The Ten Commandments
  2. The Apostles’ Creed
  3. The Lord’s Prayer
  4. Daily Prayers

Christmas

Easter

A Minute With Martin

Table Talk

Many Things Not Recorded in Scripture
Table Talk No. 319
October, 1532

Moses wrote nothing about the creation of angels, first, because he wrote only about the creation of visible things, and, second, because he didn’t want to give occasion for speculation. Our Lord God did well to leave many things unwritten. Besides, we would have belittled what we now have and would have sought after the things that are higher.
page 44. Luther’s Works vol. 54—Table Talk. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967

In Luther’s time, it was widely accepted that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). He notes that while there was a great deal of information given in the story of creation, there were also a lot details that weren’t included (such as the creation of angels)—and this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Then as now, there are people who think the Bible is somehow deficient because it doesn’t necessarily address every issue and item they think it should, whether it’s about creation or some other subject. Luther doesn’t find this problematic at all. In fact he sees it as evidence of God’s care for us. In Holy Scripture, God doesn’t necessarily provide us with what we want but with what we need (a theme Luther highlighted in an other item on God and prayer). Being fallen and sinful humans we can easily get distracted from crucial matters by less essential or even insignificant details. Thus while something like the creation of angels certainly may be a matter of interest for some, it isn’t essential for our salvation, and so was left out.

Once more Luther calls attention to God’s care for us. We may not get all our questions answered, but God will provide the necessary answers for our salvation.

God Bless

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