LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 323

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
human nature, and who can therefore
have sympathy with us, as with men and
His brethren — He will be with us in our
troubles also according to the nature by
which He is our brother and we are flesh
of His flesh” (FC SD VIII 87).5

mysteries, we also affirm these undeniable
truths. As for the communication of attributes
(communicatio idiomatum), we Lutherans
have always confessed that which the Word of
God makes clear:
1. What is true of each individual nature —
the human and the divine — is true of the
whole Christ, for He is one divine person
(FC SD VIII 36). So it is that we confess
the incomprehensible truth that in the
man Christ Jesus, God died for us.

3. Our God’s humble work in this divine-human book — a book as open to ridicule as
was the Lord whose humility made Him
the suffering servant of all — is nonetheless “special, high, great, supernatural,
incomprehensible, indescribable.” So
much so, indeed, that we gladly confess
that this book, like our Lord, is without
fault, truthful in all things and given for
our salvation (see John 20:31).

2. The one Christ, in His office, works “according to, with, and through both natures” (FC
SD VIII 46-47).
3. In the personal union of the human and
divine natures, the human nature of our
Lord retains all its essential characteristics
and traits, but alongside of them it has
“special, high, great, supernatural, incomprehensible, indescribable heavenly prerogatives and privileges” both now and into
eternity (FC SD VIII 51). And, with regard
to this third point, we confess that we
cannot limit or define the extent to which
Christ’s humanity shares in His divinity.

4. An inerrant book — a book that is
completely reliable
Another qualitative difference between the
Scriptures and other literature is that the
Scriptures — like the God who gives them —
are reliable and completely trustworthy, or as
the Christian church has often asserted, they
are inerrant.
a. We realize that the term “inerrant” (or terms
like “infallible” or expressions like “completely reliable”) is itself open to “errant”
understandings and definitions. Not all
Christians who confess the inerrancy of the
Bible view this inerrancy in the same way or
in a way that can be affirmed here. It should
not be understood as implying that the Bible’s
complete reliability can be demonstrated
on the basis of human reason, historical
study, scientific evaluation and so forth, but
as an article of faith that fully coheres with
Scripture’s character as the Word of God.6

ii. With the Church through the ages we confess: The divine and human character of the
Scriptures relate to one another in similar ways.
1. The Bible is fully human and fully divine
— in its entirety. So we do read and study
it, seeking to understand it as we would
other historical documents. We also read
it expectantly, for we believe its prophetic
and apostolic character means that it is
ever profitable to us in every way.
2. God is at work in Scripture — indeed, He
is present and most profoundly present
in the Person of the Son about whom all
Scripture testifies (Luke 24). God is present wholly in His humanity and divinity
wherever the Word is rightly preached
and taught. This is of deep comfort, for
Jesus has promised Christians “that not
only His mere divinity would be with
them (which to us poor sinners is like
a consuming fire on dry stubble). But
Christ promised that He — He, the man
who has spoken with them, who has experienced all tribulations in His received

b. Lutherans do hold that to declare the inerrancy or complete reliability of the Scriptures
5

The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church,
ed. Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959).
6
Lutherans are not “fundamentalists.” We note that fundamentalism, historically, is a movement within Reformed theology holding to five fundamental
doctrines and asserting that the inerrancy of Scripture is the only foundation
for faith. Lutheran theology would hold that faith results from the Word as it
is heard and received sacramentally. So faith in Christ, created by the Spirit
through the Word, precedes and is the basis for confidence in Scripture’s
infallibility. Therefore, while denying that Lutherans are fundamentalists, we
joyfully affirm that we confidently hold that the Bible speaks truthfully when
it teaches such doctrines as the bodily resurrection of Christ or His virgin
birth or God’s miraculous interventions in history.

is to declare that what the Bible teaches to be
true in any area of doctrine or life is so, but
without any assumption that we can thereby
resolve every difficulty of interpretation.
c. We may not simply reduce scriptural
reliability to “spiritual” matters. To do so
is to invite a Gnostic sort of faith that not
only questions the Bible’s truthfulness in
such matters as creation, but in the whole of
redemption as well, for the same Bible that
tells us God is Spirit (John 4:24) also tells
us that He creates the entire material world
and has become man, embodied in flesh
and blood (John 1:14; Heb. 2:14). So also, a
limitation of biblical reliability to “spiritual
matters” undermines biblical authority in
matters of morality and ethics. Therefore,
we affirm scriptural reliability in every
matter of doctrine and life.
d. Lutherans believe that Scripture’s reliability
and trustworthiness does not suggest that
it employs the technological precision of
modern scientific study or contemporary historiographic methodologies. Only an anachronistic interpretive method would impose
upon the Bible methodologies that have been
developed centuries after its composition or
would require the type of precision demanded by modern positivism or scientism.7
e. The Lutheran Confessions make a sharp distinction between the Scriptures and human
literature: “no person’s writing can be put
on a par with it” (FC SD Summary 9), and
clearly affirm that the imperfections that
characterize human writings are not found
in the Scriptures (Ap XXIV 94-95). Rather,
the Word of God is “pure, infallible, and unchangeable” (Preface to the Book of Concord
[BC Preface], 16; see also paragraph 20).
f. The Lutheran Confessions confess the
truthfulness of the Scriptures with simple
and forceful words: “They will not lie to
you” (LC V 76; cf. also FC Ep VIII 13) and
“God’s Word cannot deceive” (LC IV 57).
The Formula of Concord refers to Scripture’s
teaching on election as a “clear, certain, and
unerring foundation” for faith (FC SD XI 12).
7
Positivism and its synonym, scientism, assert that only the sciences can
establish a valid truth claim.

God’s Word forever shall abide | 5
i. What the original situation was to which
the words were first spoken;

The Bible must be understood in this way, or it
will not be understood at all.

ii. What the words meant in that particular
historical context;

2. With these indispensable emphases in mind,
Lutherans employ principles for interpreting the
Bible that flow from the fact that it is a divine book
whose primary Author is the Holy Spirit.

iii. What their continuing meaning is for
subsequent times and circumstances.
c. Lutheran theology, therefore, gratefully uses all
the information made available by historical and
archaeological research relative to the history of
Israel and of all the other nations whose history
touches Israel’s. Lutheran theology gratefully uses
the gains of faithful New Testament scholarship,
which broaden and deepen our understanding of
the apostolic writings.
d. When Lutherans say that Scripture interprets
itself, this is not to be understood as though
historical research has no value for illumining
the meaning of a biblical text.
Inspired by God: Other Principles
While Lutheran students of the Bible gladly avail
themselves of any light that historical research can shed
on the Bible as a historical phenomenon, they never
forget that the Bible is at the same time God’s eternal,
immutable Word given to us by inspiration of God to
make us wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15).
1. Viewing the Bible in this way leads Lutherans to emphasize the following as they interpret the Scriptures:
a. The divine and saving wisdom that the Bible imparts can be understood and believed only as the
Holy Spirit graciously empowers us to hear what
God is speaking to us in His Word.
b. In His Word, God speaks to us His Law and
Gospel, the Word that condemns and the Word
that forgives. These must be carefully distinguished
lest the Law be diluted and the Gospel perverted
so that we receive from the Scriptures neither the
knowledge of sin nor the assurance of grace. The
central message of the Bible is the Gospel of God’s
free grace toward sinners in Christ Jesus — the
Good News that through the cross of Christ, the
condemning record of our sin has been erased.
c. God’s Word is, therefore, always to be read and
interpreted in light of the Gospel — its central
message of Christ and His justifying work. Just as
surely, only in the Bible’s revelation of the Triune
God and the Person and work of Christ can we
know the Gospel authentically and truthfully.

a. Since it is the Holy Spirit who bears witness in all
the Holy Scriptures to God’s actions in human
history for the salvation of the world, this witness
is consistent with itself and true to the facts.
Therefore, a basic principle for interpreting the
Holy Spirit’s writings is that they are characterized
both by unity and truthfulness.
b. Because there is perfect unity in the scriptural
witness to God and His mighty deeds for our
redemption, Lutherans operate confidently with
the principle that Scripture interprets Scripture.
i. It is the Spirit’s authorship of the Scriptures that
makes a meaningful application of this principle
possible. If the Bible were merely a human book
written from a variety of human perspectives
and reflecting only human attempts to talk
about God and history, then the unity necessary
in order to use one part of Scripture to interpret
another would be totally missing.
ii. Since the Spirit of truth is the Author of
Scripture, the witness of Scripture to the
history in which God acted savingly is true.
This is not to say that the Scriptures are mere
chronicles, or that they were written in the first
instance to be a history of Israel and a biography of Jesus. The Bible reports history to show
what God was doing through Israel and Jesus
to accomplish His saving purposes. The history
reported in the Bible is selective. In the Bible,
God has given us a theology of history.
iii. While the history the Bible reports is selective,
it is also wholly reliable. If the history is negated, then what God was doing in the history is
negated too, and the Bible is turned into a book
of mythology — humanly devised legends with
no basis in fact — about the doings of the deity
that have nothing to do with human affairs.
iv. It is a principle for Lutheran biblical interpretation that the Bible is not mythology, but a revelation from God Himself about what He actually
did in the arena of human history in order to
carry out His eternal counsels of salvation.

God’s Word forever shall abide | 7

323

g. Above all, Lutherans approach the Scriptures
with humility, confessing with Luther: “The
Pope, Luther, Augustine, Paul, an angel
from heaven — these should not be masters,
judges, arbiters but only witnesses, disciples
and confessors of Scripture” (AE 26:58).

Part 3: Suitable Methodology
of Interpretation
Lutheran theology has always recognized that because
the Bible is written in human language, certain general
principles of interpretation must be observed. Lutheran
theology also recognizes that because the Bible is God’s
Word, certain other principles are basic to a correct
understanding of its message.
A Human Book: General Principles
1. Because the Bible communicates God’s eternal
truth in literature, written by human authors
employing human terminology and idioms, and
comprises literary forms common to other human
literature, it is self-evident that the best and most
thorough biblical exegesis requires the following:
a. A thorough knowledge of the languages in which
the Bible was originally written;
b. Acquaintance with and recognition of the literary
forms employed by biblical authors for effective
communication (address, oracle, prayer, creed,
hymn, proverb, parable, historical narrative, edict,
treaty, prose and poetry).
2. Because the biblical literature dates from various
periods of human history and was addressed to
concrete situations characterized by the particularity
peculiar to everything that is historical, biblical interpretation needs to take this “historical dimension”
of the Bible into account.
a. The biblical literature cannot be treated as
though every book and pericope was addressed
to general situations, and as though everything
that is said in every pericope is applicable immediately to every situation.8
b. The interpreter will therefore want to understand:
8

For example, concerning the Third Commandment, Luther said: “Therefore, according to its literal outward sense, this commandment does not
concern us Christians” (LC I 82 [Tappert]). For a discussion of the specific
application of specific texts to specific situations, see the Apology’s treatment
of Matt. 19:21 in Ap XXVII 45-50.

God’s Word forever shall abide | 6
c. Lutherans hold that the Scriptures are clear in
their saving truths (the perspicuity of Scripture).
We must, with Luther, distinguish the inner clarity of faith and the external clarity of Scripture. No
one — believer or unbeliever — can misunderstand the clear assertion that God created heaven
and earth, for example. However, only faith
believes this clear assertion. The Bible’s essential
message is unambiguous, but only faith appropriates its truth (Deut. 30:11–14; Rom. 10:5–13).
This does not deny that there are passages we
cannot understand either in part or fully. For this
reason, we read what is unclear to us in light of
the overwhelming clarity of the biblical message,
confident that God has made clear everything we
need for life and salvation in Christ Jesus.
d. In interpreting the Bible, Lutherans remember
that the Spirit has spoken through human beings
whose words must be understood in the light of
their historical context. They remember, too, that
the Spirit has spoken through human beings. This
fact means that historical, human words are at the
same time divine, eternal words that speak the
truth about God’s saving will and actions.

Part 4: Proper Use of the Bible
1. Because Lutherans believe, teach and confess that the
words of the Holy Scriptures are from the Holy Spirit
(Ap IV 107-108; AC XXVIII 49), they therefore hold
that the Bible is qualitatively different from all other
human literature (FC SD Summary 9; Ap XXIV 9495). They do not hesitate to call the Bible the “pure,
unadulterated Word of God” and “infallible” divine
truth (BC Preface 5, 20).
2. Confessional Lutheran theology, accordingly, declares
that “we base our teaching on God’s Word as the eternal truth” (FC SD Summary, 13); “God’s Word alone
ought to be and remain the only guiding principle
and rule of all teaching” (FC SD Summary 9); “Holy
Scripture alone remains the only judge, rule, and guiding principle, according to which, as the only touchstone, all teachings should and must be recognized
and judged as good or evil, correct or incorrect” (FC
Ep Summary, 7); “the only rule and guiding principle
according to which all teachings and teachers are to be
evaluated and judged are the prophetic and apostolic
writings of the Old and New Testaments alone” (FC
Ep Summary, 1; cp. FC SD Summary, 3).

a. These quotations from the Confessions leave little
doubt about how they use the Bible, namely, as
the ultimate and absolute authority for all that the
church teaches in God’s name.
b. That is why the Symbols repeat over and over
again such formulas as “Scripture teaches” (AC
XXIV 28; Ap XXIII 11; FC SD I 46; FC SD III 30)
and “it is written” (AC XXIV 26; XXVIII 51; Ap
IV 263; SA III vii 1-2; III xiii 3; FC SD III 20, 57;
VI 12; VIII 6; X 8 11; XI 7).
c. That is why the Confessions, without concern that
some might accuse them of making a legislative
use of Scripture, firmly insist that where “we have
the clear, certain testimonies in the Scripture …
we should [sollen wir] simply believe” and “should
not raise any objections” (FC SD VIII 53).
3. The sacred Scriptures are to the Lutheran confessors
the source of doctrine.
a. In contrast to the authority of the church
fathers, the Smalcald Articles (II ii 15) set up
the invariable rule: “This means that the Word
of God — and no one else, not even an angel —
should establish articles of faith.” The Augsburg
Confession (Preface 8; Epilog to XXI 2; XXI
4, German) and the Apology (I 2; II 32-43; IV
5, 166; XII 16; et passim) appeal to the sacred
Scriptures as a whole as well as to individual
passages as final authority.
b. The “summary and generally accepted concept
and form” that the Formula (SD Summary 1)
regards as essential for basic and firm agreement
in the Church is to be drawn from the Word
of God. The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures
of both testaments are “the pure, clear fountain
of Israel” (FC SD Summary 3).
4. Lutherans think it is “rash” to teach something that
passages of Scripture do not teach (Ap XII 138), and
that it is “extreme impudence” to teach anything that
is contrary to testimonies of Scripture (Ap XXIII 63).
a. Lutherans, therefore, hold “that it is only from the
Word of God that judgments on articles of faith are
to be pronounced” (FC SD II 8). We accept without
reservation that the only norm for the church’s faith
and practice must be the Scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments, that is, the written Word of God.
b. Lutherans appeal to and use the sacred Scriptures as
a whole, as well as individual passages of Scripture,
as the sole and final authority in the Church.

God’s Word forever shall abide | 8

2019 Convention Workbook