No one felt so much alarm as Luther at the moment when he saw the glorious edifice that God had raised by his hands on the point of falling to ruin in those of Melancthon. The day on which this news arrived, he wrote five letters,--to the Elector, to Melancthon, to Spalatin, to Jonas, and to Brenz, all equally filled with courage and with faith. "I learn," said he, "that you have begun a marvellous work, namely, to put Luther and the Pope in harmony; but the Pope is unwilling, and Luther begs to be excused.[771] And if, in despite of them, you succeed in this affair, then after your example I will bring together Christ and Belial. [771] Sed Papa nolet et Lutherus deprecatur. (L. Epp. iv. p. 144.) "The world I know is full of wranglers who obscure the doctrine of justification by faith, and of fanatics who persecute it. Do not be astonished at it, but continue to defend it with courage, for it is the heel of the seed of the woman that shall bruise the head of the serpent.[772] [772] Nam hic est ille unicus calcaneus seminis antiquo serpenti adversantis. (Ibid. p. 151.) "Beware also of the jurisdiction of the bishops, for fear we should have soon to recommence a more terrible struggle than the first. They will take our concessions widely, very widely, always more widely, and will give us theirs narrowly, very narrowly, and always more narrowly.[773] All these negotiations are impossible, unless the Pope should renounce his Papacy. [773] Ipsi enim nostras concessiones large, largius, largissime, suas vero, stricte, strictius, strictissime. (Ibid. p. 145.) "A pretty motive indeed our adversaries assign! They cannot, say they, restrain their subjects, if we do not publish everywhere that they have the truth for them: as if God only taught his Word, in order that our enemies might at pleasure tyrannize over their people. [Sidenote: THE WORD ABOVE THE CHURCH.] "They cry out that we condemn all the Church. No, we do not condemn it; but as for them, they condemn all the Word of God, and the Word of God is more than the Church."[774] [774] Sed ab ipsis totum verbum Dei _quod plus quam ecclesia est_ damnari. (L. Epp. iv. p. 145.) This important declaration of the Reformers decides the controversy between the Evangelical Christians and the Papacy: unfortunately we have often seen Protestants return, on this fundamental point, to the error of Rome, and set the visible Church above the Word of God.