Luther's Theology of the Cross: Christ in Luther's Sermons on John – A Review

David Ngien’s Luther's Theology of the Cross: Christ in Luther's Sermons on John is a thorough and enjoyable summary of and commentary on Martin Luther’s sermons on the Gospel of John. Its chapters, however, do not necessarily follow Luther’s order of exposition, and are thematically structured more than chronologically. This makes Ngien’s book an unusual introduction to Luther’s theology: it is an introduction in that virtually every pillar of Luther’s thought is discussed, and it is unusual considering that the exposition is meant to be practical and pastoral through the summary and exposition of sermons that Luther specifically intended to be so as they were offered to people in the church pews. Although the latter is, by no means, a negative characteristic, the reader who is looking for a survey of Luther’s thought should keep in mind the nature of this book.

The “Introduction” acquaints the reader with Luther’s general theological vision as presented in his sermons on John as well as with his rhetoric and terminology constituted by emphatic expressions, conceptual oppositions aimed at underlining the paradox of the cross and of the Christian life. Ngien also discusses Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (1518), as its theses are the core of the theology that will permeate Luther’s ministry for the rest of his life. The reader is invited to keep in mind Ngien’s “Introduction” in general, and Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation in particular, as they offer key theoretical and hermeneutical concepts for understanding the German reformer. In a review such as this, it would be unnecessary to summarize every single chapter of Ngien’s book. The author’s clarity of exposition, together with the popular and practical nature of Luther’s sermons, makes such a summary quite unnecessary. Luther’s Theology of the Cross is a relatively easy read and quite accessible to the beginner, in spite of the depths of its treatments.

Nevertheless, there are a few places in the book that might be considered problematic, especially for a reader not acquainted with or not necessarily sympathetic to Luther’s theology. In particular, chapter 11 “Christological Predictions: The Usage of Communicatio Idiomatum” is representative of these problems which, although I do not claim they are irresolvable, nonetheless seem to be left unanswered in Ngien’s book.

Chapter 11 is dedicated to Luther’s treatment of the communicatio idiomatum, the doctrine of the communication of attributes between the two natures of Christ. The primary problem in this chapter is the fact that, in Christ, there are two natures (the human and the divine) in a single person. This, however, does not necessarily require the divine nature to share attributes with the human nature and vice-versa—which is Luther’s, and presumably, Ngien’s claim. This is a thesis that is not inherent to the doctrine of Christ, as expounded in the articles of the Christian ecumenical creeds and that needs to be argued for further. However, the reader looks in vain for a full argument, or interpretation of Scripture, or the ecumenical creeds, that is developed enough to support this additional claim. 

Moreover, the claim in question—as expounded in chapter 11—is met with several prima facie contradictions. Ngien claims that, for Luther, “not only the man Jesus but also the Son of God was crucified, for there is one individual Person” (215). This means “suffering, proper only to the Son of man, since God cannot suffer, is now communicated to the Son of God, for there is one Son” (215). In addition to the fact that the Son as one person does not logically require any communication of attributes between the two natures, there is a problem with what Luther himself says elsewhere. In De servo Arbitrio, Luther says that God’s will is immutable because his nature and attributes are immutable and unchangeable (WA 18, 615-616 and 724-725, as translated by E.G. Rupp and P.S. Watson, Luther and Erasmus: Free Will and Salvation, Westminster, 1969, 118-119, 252).It is difficult to see how it is possible to coherently maintain that 1) the Son of God—according to his divine nature—not only suffers, but also that he begins to suffer at the incarnation; and 2) God’s nature—and, therefore, the Son of God according to his divine nature—is immutable. This issue is not addressed in Ngien’s book. This problem becomes even more evident when Ngien adds that this communication of attributes is real and concrete, and not merely ideal or verbal: “[t]he attributes of both natures are predicated of the whole person of Christ ‘in the concrete,’ so that the attributes of the one nature are shared with the other … Mortality, which is exclusively of the human nature, is now attributed to the divinity via the communication of properties in concrete” (215). The reader’s possible confusion is augmented when Ngien repeatedly claims that “Luther’s position sits comfortably with Chalcedon” (16, 84, 209, 220). However, the Creed of Chalcedon famously asserts that the two natures of Christ are without confusion and without change. It seems quite difficult to reconcile Ngien’s claim with these articles of the Creed of Chalcedon, or at least, Ngien does not offer enough material to make sense of this apparent contradiction.

Considering that an entire chapter was dedicated to this problematic point, it was perhaps necessary to address it somewhat at length. However, the critical considerations above do not necessarily lower the quality of Ngien’s achievement. His book is not intended as a developed defense of Luther’s position on the abovementioned or other issues, but rather an exposition of his theology from a pastoral perspective. In fact, Luther’s Theology of the Cross is not only helpful for the scholar, but also beneficial for the reader who wants to approach Luther for devotional purposes. From this point of view, Ngien’s volume has achieved its goals and it deserves the scholarly endorsements that accompany it.

Originally published by Reading Religion

The Philosophy of Aquinas, by Shields and Pasnau - A Brief Review

A review of The Philosophy of Aquinas, by Christopher Shields and Robert Pasnau (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Christopher Shields and Robert Pasnau have provided an updated edition of their introduction to Thomas Aquinas originally published in 2004. The aim of this book is to equip the reader with a good understanding of Aquinas’s “four-causal explanatory schema” that “informs virtually every facet of Aquinas’ philosophy, from the most elementary to the most intricate and advanced” (x). Assuming that “no real understanding of Aquinas’ philosophy will result without a solid grounding in his doctrine of the four causes” (x), The Philosophy of Aquinas provides a good introduction to the philosophical concepts necessary to understand the philosopher-theologian from Roccasecca.

After a short intellectual biography of Aquinas (chapter 1), chapter 2 discusses the four causes’ explanatory framework just mentioned, focusing on Aquinas’s On the Principles of Nature. Through an exposition of On Being and Essence, chapter 3 expounds Aquinas metaphysics of being, thus completing the relatively brief but comprehensive account started in chapter 2 dedicated to the philosophical categories necessary to understand Aquinas. The book, however, does not merely expound Aquinas’s philosophical categories in the abstract. In fact, from chapter 4 onward, the authors make the reader have direct contact with Aquinas’s own applications of his philosophical system. Chapter 4 expounds Thomas’s doctrine of God’s existence and nature as found in the first book of Summa contra Gentiles. The second and third books of this latter work are the main text that inform chapter 5, dedicated to Aquinas’s view of God’s power and his relation to creation. Chapter 6, based on Aquinas’s Questions on the Soul, summarizes Aquinas’s doctrine of the human body and soul and their relationship. Aquinas’s epistemology and philosophy of mind are discussed in chapter 7, which mostly relies on Summa Theologiae. The book does not ignore Aquinas the commentator. In fact, chapter 7, which discusses Aquinas’s theistic and teleological doctrine of the purpose of human life, is based on Commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Finally, the last chapter treats Thomas’s ethical theory as found in Summa Theologiae and in Disputed Questions on Virtue.

The tone of the book is mostly sympathetic to Aquinas’s philosophy, although the authors in each chapter mention and discuss several difficulties and objections that his system might face. The authors also claim that on the topic of freedom and necessity Aquinas is a compatibilist. This is an arguable claim for many scholars that see Aquinas more as a libertarian. At any rate, Shields and Pasnau seem to make a good case for their claim in spite of the limited space dictated by the introductory nature of their book. Still, the reader that is looking for a more critical reading of Aquinas that interacts more directly with the relevant scholarly literature might not find what he desires in this book. That said, the secondary sources indicated in the suggested readings might be of interest to those who desire to engage with many of the main works on Aquinas available today. But this more critical interaction with both Aquinas himself and the contemporary literature is not the aim of this volume. 

Shields and Pasnau’s goal is to furnish the student of Aquinas with the basic philosophical knowledge necessary to read and understand the philosophical theologian’s works. They do that not only, as I have said, by interacting with Aquinas’s own works, but also by offering and commenting on relevant practical examples that facilitate understanding, especially for the beginner. Furthermore, the primary sources listed in the suggested readings indicated at the end of each chapter (and throughout the individual chapters) are a further helpful addition to guide the student in the challenging but rewarding endeavor of understanding Aquinas. The book is organized in a helpfully systematic way, and the exposition is clear and highly readable. I think that Shields and Pasnau have satisfactorily achieved their intended goal.

Originally published by Reading Religion

Meditating on God’s Word Continually

The Lord gave to Israel the following instructions: “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deut. 11:18–19; see also Deut. 6:7–9).

It is striking that these verses command Christian parents to talk, and therefore, meditate, upon God’s word at all times, to remind their children of God’s word during all the main parts of the day: “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deut. 11:19; see also 6:7). These are most solemn instructions, and although the focus of these verses is the highly important work of Christian parents in the religious instruction of their children, these verses contain several clear implications for all believers, young and old.

Dear reader, think about your own life. Parents, what are the most common topics at Sunday dinner? Young people, what are the most common topics of your conversations with your family and friends? Sports? Work? Hobbies? Entertainment? Are we also regularly taking advantage of the word of God that we have received from the preaching, using it as an occasion to discuss, meditate, and edify and encourage one another in the Lord? Out of the abundance of a person’s heart, his or her mouth speaks (see also Luke 6:45).

But you may ask, “those verses are mainly addressed to the teaching of parents to their children. Certainly, you are not saying that I, as an individual Christian, should meditate and talk about God’s word all the time, are you? There is so much else to do and to talk about!” I am certainly not saying that we should do nothing but study and meditate on the Scriptures all day. We have our duties, our callings, our jobs, our studies, and the Lord delights in us when we fulfill them to his glory (Col. 3:23–24; see also Eccl. 9:10). We also can enjoy many healthy and innocent recreational activities, for the good of our bodies and minds. However, this does not contradict the fact that the Lord and his word should be our priority and that God’s word should dominate our lives as manifested in our conversations and personal meditations.

David says that man is to be blessed whose “delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Ps. 1:2). David was resolute to praise the Lord continually and at all times: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1). Paul instructs us as follows: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8). And what is there in the world that is more true, more honest, more just, more pure, more lovely, more good, and more virtuous than God’s own word as recorded in the Holy Scriptures (Ps. 12; Prov. 30:5; 2 Tim 3:16–17)?

Sometimes we are afraid to bring up God’s word in our social gatherings, perhaps fearing to appear unusual or to break an accepted pattern. But what a great encouragement we find, unsurprisingly, in the Scriptures! Whether it is a family member who sincerely asks us for the reason of our hope (“when thy son asketh thee…” Deut. 6:20) or a friend who (perhaps annoyed) asks us why we “always bring up the Bible,” we answer according to the great truth that motivates us: “We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand” (Deut. 6:21). Purely by grace, the Lord saved me from that great and terrible bondage of sin that I could have never defeated by myself! The Lord brought me into his kingdom of light! He imputed unto me the perfect righteousness of Christ! The Lord gave me his Holy Spirit who is always with me! How can I stop talking and witnessing of such immeasurable and eternal benefits! It is because of these (and many other) priceless spiritual blessings that we, by God’s grace alone, out of gratitude conduct our lives, our thoughts, our meditations, and our conversations so that we can say with the psalmist: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1).

Yes, our old man always wants to do the opposite of praising, meditating and talking about the Lord, and Satan always works to distract us with anything but God’s word. We feel unable, and sometimes, unwilling. And the reason why we so often feel this way is simple: left to ourselves and according to our old man, we are unable and unwilling to meditate on God’s word day and night. But blessed be God, because in him, through Christ, we have not only all our salvation, but also the power by his Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life! Blessed be God, who has given us his Holy Spirit dwelling in us, bending our wills to his will, renewing our minds to see the greatness of his name and work for us in Jesus Christ. Move on, dear saint, in the strength of the Lord, the only author and captain of our salvation, and partake of the means of grace that he has established for his people.

God enlarges our hearts in the way of spiritual exercise…When God enlarges the heart of his child, he does so not without, but through the heart-exercise of the renewed and sanctified saint, longing and yearning, praying and seeking, searching the word, dwelling in the midst of God’s people, fighting the good fight, walking in the way of his good commandments. Thus the saint goes from strength to strength, rejoicing in the Lord and confiding in his promise.[1]

As we continually and daily cling to Christ alone by listening and reading his preached and written word, by praying, fellowshipping with the saints, and striving for godliness, the Lord works in us in his good appointed time, so that we may increasingly make the psalmist’s confession our own: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97).

 

[1] Herman Hoeksema, All Glory to The Only Good God (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 2013), 299.

Originally published in the

Beacon Lights, Vol. 79, No. 2 (Feb. 2020).
Art by Ferdinand Pauwels.

©

Augustine on Peace, War, and Man's Highest Good

The Dark Riders, by Carle Hessay (1911-1978)

 

“Whoever gives even moderate attention to human affairs and to our common nature, will recognize that if there is no man who does not wish to be joyful, neither is there any one who does not wish to have peace. For even they who make war desire nothing but victory—desire, that is to say, to attain to peace with glory. For what else is victory than the conquest of those who resist us? And when this is done there is peace. It is therefore with the desire for peace that wars are waged, even by those who take pleasure in exercising their warlike nature in command and battle. And hence it is obvious that peace is the end sought for by war. For every man seeks peace by waging war, but no man seeks war by making peace. For even they who intentionally interrupt the peace in which they are living have no hatred of peace, but only wish it changed into a peace that suits them better. They do not, therefore, wish to have no peace, but only one more to their mind. And in the case of sedition, when men have separated themselves from the community, they yet do not effect what they wish, unless they maintain some kind of peace with their fellow-conspirators. And therefore even robbers take care to maintain peace with their comrades, that they may with greater effect and greater safety invade the peace of other men. And if an individual happen to be of such unrivalled strength, and to be so jealous of partnership, that he trusts himself with no comrades, but makes his own plots, and commits depredations and murders on his own account, yet he maintains some shadow of peace with such persons as he is unable to kill, and from whom he wishes to conceal his deeds.”

These considerations on earthly peace and war (or earthly peace through war) by Augustine of Hippo are from The City of God, 19:12. They are placed in the context of Augustine's teleological ethics according to which true peace can only be found in the enjoyment of the highest good, that is, the triune God: “the peace which is peculiar to ourselves we enjoy now with God by faith, and shall hereafter enjoy eternally with Him by sight. But the peace which we enjoy in this life, whether common to all or peculiar to ourselves, is rather the solace of our misery than the positive enjoyment of felicity. Our very righteousness, too, though true in so far as it has respect to the true good, is yet in this life of such a kind that it consists rather in the remission of sins than in the perfecting of virtues” (Book 19:27). Often in The City of God (and elsewhere in some of his works), Augustine offers insightful analyses of the reasons for and the unfolding of fallen humanity's natural but disordered desire for peace and happiness. In this specific passage, Augustine discusses one of the most extreme consequences of the misdirection of this natural desire: war. 

Delighting in God, Delighting in Godliness

The Sower (1888), by Vincent van Gogh  (1853–1890)

We are called to obey God’s will out of gratitude because we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The Heidelberg Catechism famously describes its third part as “how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance” (Answer 2), and Lord’s Days 32–44 are a detailed explanation of our walking in gratitude toward the Lord. This is indeed our chief motivation for obedience. 

The confessions and Scripture, however, do not talk only of gratitude. They also talk about delight, joy, and love. Here are some examples with emphasis added to identify some key words: 

What is the quickening of the new man? It is a sincere joy of heart in God, through Christ, and with love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 90) 

What doth the tenth commandment require of us? That even the smallest inclination or thought contrary to any of God’s commandments never rise in our hearts; but that at all times we hate all sin with our whole heart, and delight in all righteousness. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 113) 

The elect in due time, though in various degrees and in different measures, attain the assurance of this their eternal and unchangeable election, not by inquisitively prying into the secret and deep things of God, but by observing in themselves, with a spiritual joy and holy pleasure, the infallible fruits of election pointed out in the Word of God—such as a true faith in Christ, filial fear, a godly sorrow for sin, a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, etc. (Canons 1.12) 

We beseech Thee…that they may daily follow Him, joyfully bearing their cross, and cleave unto Him in true faith, firm hope, and ardent love. (Form for the Administration of Baptism) 

We beseech Thee, show him Thy mercy, that he may become more and more assured in his mind of the remission of his sins, and that he may receive from thence inexpressible joy and delight to serve Thee. (Form of Readmitting Excommunicated Persons) 

It is appropriate for these documents to mention joy, love, and delight. In fact, it is possible to be grateful to someone without necessarily delighting in or loving that person. In contrast, believers walk in the way of holiness because we love holiness, as it deserves to be loved. We love holiness because God is holy. More than that, God is holiness. And we love and delight to walk in godliness because it is in the way of our obedience that the triune God has been pleased to transform us by his Spirit. We walk that way out of love for and delight in God in addition to our gratitude for his great saving benefits. We do this just as a faithful son obeys his good father, not simply out of gratitude (which ought certainly to be there), but because he loves his father and rejoices and delights in obeying him.

We have every reason for delighting in God’s beautiful holiness and in practicing godliness. God is beautiful. Even more than that, he is beauty.[1] It is right to rejoice, love, and delight in our God who is true beauty. This beauty explains why God is attracted to and loves himself above all else: he is the standard of love and beauty in his own being. Hoeksema states: “As an attribute of God, grace is that divine virtue according to which God is the perfection of all beauty and loveliness and contemplates himself as such with infinite delight.”[2] 

Related to this idea of beauty, we understand that God’s law is the reflection of his character. Every commandment is a glorious and beautiful revelation of his character to his people. Consider the following: 

• Why shall we have no other gods before him? Because he is the only God, the sole creator of all things. 
• We shall not worship any image because “there is one only simple and spiritual Being, which we call God…eternal, incomprehensible, invisible…” (Ex. 33:20; Belgic Confession art. 1).
• We shall not take the name of the Lord in vain because God is his name (Ex. 3:14).
• We shall not steal because God is the creator and owner of all (Ps. 24).
• We shall not kill because God is life and the only one who owns life and death (Deut. 32:39).
• We shall not lie because God is truth (Ps. 31:5). 

As it is natural and right to delight in God who is holiness and beauty in himself, so it is natural and right to rejoice and delight in the law that reflects his holy character. Through obedience to that law, we are transformed according to his holy and beautiful image. In addition to their gratitude for God’s deliverances, the psalmists repeatedly mention their delight in and love for God’s law: “I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved” (Ps. 119:47). I encourage you to read through the psalms with this theme in mind.[3] 

Gratitude does not exhaust the motivation for our walking in obedience. When I truly love a person who is in authority over me, who loves me, and who cares for me, I enjoy that person’s company and delight in serving him. I also rejoice in pleasing that person. Similarly with God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt. 22:37). The triune God is not only our Lord, but our Father. And Jesus is not only our Savior, but our mediator and eldest brother. True love for him certainly involves gratitude, but it is not limited to gratitude alone. 

Saints delight and rejoice in serving the Lord through an active faith because of all his benefits and because of who he is. Saints love God because of their justification and their sanctification in Christ. And they delight in and are attracted to such a beautiful God, desiring to be changed by grace according to his image. Taking on the image of God means that we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4) in the way of obedience to his commandments. “Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness” (Ps. 97:12). 

Let us all go to Jesus in gratitude and delight! Not only have we full forgiveness for all our sins and shortcomings in Jesus, but we are indwelled by the regenerating and empowering Holy Spirit! Holding fast to Jesus and his finished work for us, and relying on the Spirit who Christ sent to dwell in us, let us all join the psalmist and pray: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law…Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works” (Ps. 119:18, 27). 

[1] See especially Ps. 27:4; 29:2; 39:11; 45:11; 50:2; 90:17; 96:6, 9.
[2] Herman Hoeksema, Reformed Dogmatics: Vol. 1 (Grandville, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2004), 160. Emphasis added. The reader will not regret reading pages 154–166 of the same book.
[3] See especially Ps. 1:2; 37:4; 40:8; 112:1; and nearly all of Psalm 119.

Originally published in the 

Beacon Lights, Vol 80 No 9 2021.

Republished with the editor's permission.

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