Johannes Bugenhagen

Selected Writings

Kurt K. Hendel, Kurt K. Hendel

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781451465556
• eBook ISBN: 9781451469783
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

Martin Luther did not reform the church by himself. Throughout his life, and in the decades after it, many others spent their careers and risked their lives in the pursuit of a renewed church. They, too, made crucial contributions to the Wittenberg reform movement.

In this landmark set, an extensive collection of writings from Johannes Bugenhagen, Luther’s pastor, friend, and colleague in reform, are presented for the first time in English. The vast majority of these works have only been available in their original, sixteenth-century editions.M/P>

Called by some the Second Apostle to the North, Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558) was a pivotal figure in the organization of the Lutheran movement in northern Germany and in parts of Scandinavia. His writings and diverse reforming activity made a lasting impression on church administration, education, the care of the poor, worship, and theology.

Representing the fruit of many years of labor, Reformation scholar Kurt K. Hendel has organized this extensive collection thematically—introducing us to Bugenhagen the man, the theologian, the exegete, the pastor, the church organizer, and the social reformer.

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The Theologian

7

Concerning the high priestly office of Christ and the eternally lasting purification of His blood

(p. 1) Concerning the high priestly office of Christ and the eternally lasting purification of His blood. Hebrews 9.^[1]

From the ninth chapter of St. Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews. C.D.^[2]

However, Christ has appeared as a high priest of the future good things through a greater and more perfect tent, which was not made by hand, that is, which is not of this creation, and also not through the blood of rams or calves because He has entered the holy place once through his own blood and has obtained an eternal salvation. For if the sprinkled blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of the heifer sanctified the unclean for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who has offered Himself to God without blame through the Holy Spirit, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?

Therefore, He is also a mediator of the new covenant, so that those who are called receive the promise of an eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus our LORD since a death has occurred for salvation from the transgressions (which were extant under the first covenant). [Heb. 9:11-15]

Three articles are particularly held before us in this Epistle: first of all, the abolition of the Jewish (p. 2) ceremonies and the external, figurative justification of the old priesthood, etc.; secondly, precisely the gospel as the powerful truth after the shadow and interpretation of the law; thirdly, that through Christ an eternally lasting salvation and payment, or satisfaction, are established.

However, we see here, first of all, that the old priesthood, namely, the Aaronic and Levitical, with its tabernacle or temple and all of the sacrifices together with the external justification through food, drink, and a variety of washing or cleansings, etc., are all abolished and annulled through the new priesthood of Christ and His sacrifice and justification. Many prophets and kings wanted to see this and did not see it, namely, the revealed gospel; the obtained, eternally lasting salvation or payment through the blood of Christ; the truth or the righteousness that has followed the shadow or the figure; the evangelical freedom that has been established there in place of the servitude, or duty of external justification, or commandment of the old law. For in former times the people had to serve God in external things and fleshly ordinances, such as in food, drink, purification, sacrifices, fasting, clothing, services in the temple, and adornment of the latter, etc. In the same way that sin was begun only for the sake of the law and not for the sake of the thing or the deed, since it did not matter to God or the neighbor, in the same way also the justification, eradication, or cleansing which were necessary according to the law because of such transgression were only external and were not beneficial to genuine, suitable godliness. Because (p. 3) the divine law has been abolished in this external godliness and also sins and no longer binds, how, then, dare a human being be so presumptuous that he makes laws and ordinances regarding such external things whereby he seeks to capture and ensnare the consciences of the Christians, as if they did good works before God by keeping such supposed spiritual human laws and devices or commit sin before God by transgressing them. For since the sprinkled water with the ashes of the red heifer, prepared according to God’s law in Num. 19[:1-11], purified only externally and yet is totally invalid now, what, then, can the external things, like holy water, bishop’s oil, pieces of metal on the city wall which are to be touched, monastic clothing, eating of fish, etc., whereby we presume to purify ourselves without any support of Scripture but only through our own devices do or accomplish? Such things are by necessity absolutely void and purely and simply apparitions because they have no divine word to support them. What, then, do we fear or why are we troubled in our consciences if we either despise these things, or freely use them, or also not use them? Such freedom is explained further in Colossians 2, “Let no one trouble your consciences about food, or drink, or about festival days, namely, about holy days, or new moons, or the Sabbath. Such things are the shadow of things to come, etc.” [Col. 2[:16-17]].

Secondly, after Scripture abolished here the shadow of the old ceremonial law as something that is incomplete and, also, which no one can keep perfectly, it points out further the significant truth, which truly (p. 4) makes perfect, truly purifies and justifies, or makes godly, for this selfsame truth or the selfsame righteousness has not been established through Moses but through Christ, John 1[:17]. This is the gospel which is captured here in a few words and reads thusly, “The blood of Christ who offered Himself to God without blame through the Holy Spirit will cleanse our consciences from the dead works to serve the living God” [Heb. 9:14]. It is as if he said, “This is not the blood of red heifers about which it is written in Numbers 19, that had to be without external defilement and was sacrificed by fire, not by itself, but by a sinful priest and could not cleanse the conscience of dead works but only when one had become unclean and unsuitable externally by touching something that had died or something similar. However, it did not make godly so that one could serve God righteously, etc. However, here in the blood of Christ is the righteous purification signified by that Mosaic one.” Soon thereafter the content of the whole gospel is again expressed in this way, “Christ is a Mediator of the new covenant so that, after the death that has happened for redemption from the transgressions that occurred under the first covenant, those who have been chosen for the eternal inheritance receive the promise” [Heb. 9:15]. One sees here in both places that the gospel comprehends the two great blessings given us through our LORD Christ, namely, forgiveness and separation from the sin that has happened and that He renews, rules, and strengthens us further with His Spirit against sin and our evil (p. 5) desire so that we may continue to praise and serve God as children and heirs, etc. The Apostle also includes this summary in Romans 4 where he says, “Christ is given into death for the sake of our sin and is raised for the sake of our justification or our being made godly” [Rom. 4:25]; and in the fifth chapter, “Since we are reconciled to God through the death of His Son while we were still enemies, we are saved or preserved all the more through His life, now that we are reconciled” [Rom. 5:10]. However, someone might now raise an objection and say, “Since forgiveness of sin, making godly, and all of salvation happen through Christ alone and for His sake to the elect and blessed ones of the Father, that is, to those whom God has chosen before the world was created and whom He made pleasing to Himself as the beloved of Christ according to the pleasure of His will and to the praise of the glory of His grace, etc., how should the many passages of Scripture be understood that sound as if they ascribe all of this to works? John 5, ‘Those who have done good things will come to the resurrection of life, etc.’ [John 5[:29]]; and in Romans 2, ‘God forgives everyone according to his works, etc.?’” [Rom. 2[:6]]. Answer. First of all, this foundation shall remain firm, namely, that Scripture does not contradict or disagree with itself. Therefore, one must seek the agreement or harmony of such passages and in no way oppose the teaching of faith or of the gospel with the teaching of works or of the law as those do without ceasing who do not know how to distinguish (p. 6) the law and the gospel. I have commented regarding this in good measure before.^[3] Here you should, first of all, be certain that God’s law, which speaks about works and which commands and forbids, etc., includes all people under the condemnation and wrath of God, as the Apostle proves clearly in Gal. 3[:10]. We are preserved and saved only through faith, that is, when we flee to righteousness and atonement, and, therefore, purely and simply by grace. Paul says in Romans 6, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord” [Rom. 6[:23]]; and in Ephesians 2, “You have been saved by grace through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not through works, so that no one may boast. For you are His work created in Christ Jesus for good works for which God has prepared us that we might walk in them, etc.” [Eph. 2[:8-10]]. Therefore, that eternal life is assigned to good works like a reward in other places of Scripture must only be derived from the living, active power of faith so that one does not think that believers do nothing good and are not godly. Thus Scripture speaks about the whole tree together with its fruits in such places, that is, about the works of a believer, that is, about works of the children of God which God Himself has produced in them. God also only accepts those works and crowns them as His own, just as the sun alone gives those fruits strength to grow and ripen which have grown naturally on the tree through the working of the sun and not (p. 7) to the fruits that were broken off elsewhere or were formed otherwise with human hand and ingenuity and were hung on the tree, etc. Therefore, believers also deny themselves and their works and consider themselves and their works as nothing. Rather, they only sanctify God’s name and praise His honor, from whose power and gift all of their good works have flowed and through whose promise they are rewarded and crowned. Thus the believers decrease and totally despair of their own godliness or righteousness and flee to the righteousness and godliness of Christ and pray for God’s mercy through Christ. However, because they honor Christ in this way and let Him be their Savior, they are, in turn, honored by God and are now adorned with the wedding gown and can appear before the king with honor as those who are dressed in the color of the bridegroom Christ. God will crown the works in them as His own. This is all clearly indicated for us in Matt. 25[:34-36] where those whose works of love are crowned by God are, first of all, called the blessed of the Father for whom the realm has been prepared since the beginning of the world. Thereafter they are described in such a way that they know nothing about their works and do not at all presume or assume anything because of them [Matt. 25:37-40]. Therefore, one must know that Scripture, which often gives us, as little children, milk as food and in a childish manner entices us in a friendly way, speaks very differently about works for the sake of God, as to how God considers them, than Scripture does about works for our sake, as to how we should consider the works we have done. It is (p. 8) certain that when we do not act and are not so minded, with true self-denial, as the LORD teaches us in Luke 17[:10] in the parable of the servant tilling the fields, then we will never experience what is written about divine grace and reward in Luke 12[:35-38] in the parable of the lord who returns home from the marriage feast and of his awake, watchful servants. One may surely also deduce this from people’s relationships to their children, for it happens quite often that the father promises and gives his little child a new coat or a new pair of shoes in order that it might do the father’s will, even though the child owes such obedience to the father without such a gift and the father could also force the child to such obedience with the rod. That would not be very appropriate. So it is with God who coaxes the little children with such promises and rewards out of pure fatherly kindness. Therefore one must attribute it to His pure grace and kindness and not erect any human merit along with them. Therefore our work and law sermons err in a twofold manner in that case, even if they teach about the righteous good works. First of all, they err because they do not lead to the law and to works through Christ. Secondly, they err because they do not leave the honor of the good work as well as the generosity of the reward simply to God alone but babble about human merits. Thirdly, since Scripture here clearly expresses a salvation or payment discovered through Christ that lasts eternally, it powerfully vanquishes the error of those who are now allowed to say that Christ has only done enough for the sins of the ancestors that happened before His suffering or also only for original sin. However, we (p. 9) ourselves must make satisfaction for our sin. Thereby they presume to establish slyly their annual fair of masses and brotherhoods, etc. However, they direct the saying in this place to their opinion that the death of Jesus happened for redemption from the trespasses which occurred under the former covenant. In the same way they apply another saying from Romans 3, “God manifests the righteousness which is valid in His sight in that He forgives the sins that happened beforehand, etc.” [Rom. 3[:25]]. However, the first passage desires nothing else than that the law could not restrain sins or take them away. However, the second passage indicates that one should be thankful to God after committed sins are forgiven and grace is acquired and that one lives and serves in godliness or righteousness in the future and not in sin, etc. For the gospel is not preached so that we should continue to sin wantonly because we have a merciful God but rather so that we may be sorry if we were to anger such a gracious, loving God and Father further, as the holy St. John beautifully admonishes at the beginning of his second chapter of his first Epistle and at the same time splendidly repudiates and condemns the previously mentioned group by saying, “My little children, I write this (understand here the cleansing through the blood of Christ) to you so that you do not sin, and if someone sins, we have an advocate before God, Jesus Christ, who is righteous. He Himself is the reconciliation for our sins, but not alone for ours, but for the sin of the whole world, etc.” [1 John 2:1-2].

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1. The original is titled Vom hohenn Priesterthum Christi/vnnd der ewig werenden reynigung seines pluets. Hebreos am. 9 [Herzog August Bibliothek S 149b Helmst. 8° (7)]. There is some uncertainty whether Bugenhagen wrote this short treatise since his name does not appear in the original. It is, however, identified as a Bugenhagen work in the holdings of the Herzog August Bibliothek, and its theological perspective is consistent with Bugenhagen’s. ↵
   
2. It is not clear what C.D. means. A possibility would be Christus Dominus. This abbreviation is not typical in Bugenhagen’s writings, however. ↵
   
3. Bugenhagen’s most extensive discussion of the proper relationship of faith and works is his Van dem Christenlouen vnde rechten guden wercken/wedder den falschen louen vnde erdychtede gude wercke. . . . Wittemberch, Hans Barth, 1526. The translation of this work is included in these volumes. See 191–359. ↵
   

8

An Open Letter to the Christians in England in which a Christian life is described

An Open Letter to the Christians in England in which a Christian life is described. Johann Bugenhagen Pomer. Wittenberg 1525^[1]

(p. 1) Johann Bugenhagen Pomer, pastor of the congregation of Christ in Wittenberg, wishes the saints in Christ who are in England grace and peace from God our Father and our LORD Jesus Christ.

We had to rejoice, dear brothers, when we heard that the gospel of the glory of God was...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Johannes Bugenhagen: Reformer beyond the Limelight
• The Man and His Times
• The Theologian
• The Exegete
• The Pastor
• The Church Organizer and Social Reformer
• Index of Subjects and Names
• Index of Biblical References