Sasse, 1977. Chapter 2, Part 3 - Communio sub una and sub utraque (p. 71)

Chapter 2, Part 3 - Communio sub una and sub utraque (p. 71)

There was disagreement between Luther and the Bohemians as regards offering the cup to the laity. For some time, while the Bohemians insisted on both, Luther accepted the communion in one species as valid communion. By 1522 Luther was more interested in requiring that the chalice be available to all the congregation.

Pieper, 1968. Chapter C7, “Ecclesiastical Terminology and the Christian Knowledge of God”

Chapter C7, “Ecclesiastical Terminology and the Christian Knowledge of God”

The Christian faith is, in the final analysis, highly practical. God has made peace with man. How do we receive that and live it out? Pieper asks about the purpose of very specific theological and churchly terms which some have said lead to a jargonization of the Church. While these specific terms are not strictly necessary they may well be valuable due to their clarity and specificity. He then discusses seven which he considers most important.

1) Trinity - the specific term for the one God who exists in the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2) Person - the specific individual within the Godhed, as opposed to a mode of operation, attribute, etc.

3) Essence - There is one divine essence. All three persons of the Trinity share the same essence. Pieper doesn’t mention it, but this is really simply a translation of the Greek verb of being. It signifies the state of being God.

4) Consubstantial - being of one essence. Again, this describes how the persons of the Trinity share their essence.

5) Filioque - used to describe the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Son as well as from the Father. The term was added to the Nicene Creed by the Western Church in 589. The idea is clearly present in Scripture.

6) circumincessio - immanence - the three persons of the Trinity, having one essence, interact together in complete unity because of the shared essence.

7) opera divina ad intra - divine works within the Trinity / opera divina ad extra - divine works relating to the world. We observe that the divine works relating to the world can be addressed as belonging to the realm of one person of the Trinity bu those ad intra are not distinguished as to the source.

Bonhoeffer, 1937. Chapter 16, “The Hiddenness of the Devout Life”

Chapter 16, “The Hiddenness of the Devout Life”

How is the Christian’s life of subjection to God described? In Matthew 6:16-18 Jesus tells his disciples that their fasting is to be seen by God. When fasting, they are to prepare themselves for life as they always would otherwise.

Bonhoeffer observes first that the Lord assumes disciples are planning to fast. It is by fasting and other self-renunciation that we die to ourselves. In this way we discipline our flesh so the old man has no rights. This may be a practice we would like to avoid, but Bonhoeffer reminds us that our discipleship separates us from our world and its pleasures.

There is a danger, which Bonhoeffer acknowledges, of trying to replace Christ’s sufferings with our own. This moves the locus of our salvation from Jesus to ourselves. We avoid that but still practice our self-denial.

Sasse, 1977. Chapter 2, Part 2 - Criticism of the Roman Mass: Opus Operatum (p. 65).

Chapter 2, Part 2 - Criticism of the Roman Mass: Opus Operatum (p. 65).

Luther was likely one of the most conservative Reformers. His development of ideas was slow and appeared piecemeal. On p. 66 Sasse says that Luther gave up opus operatum, then the sacrifice element of the mass, then communion in only one kind (element), then transubstantiation. Whenever possible, he kept what he could unless Scripture demanded otherwise. As an example of Luther’s development, Sasse traces his statements on the Mass as our offering a sacrifice to God. He is careful to discuss the practice and its implications. In the end, he concludes that we are unable to and unworthy of offering any acceptable sacrifice to God, but that God gives us every good gift. This is a more clear and focused rejection than we see in the more radical Reformers.

Pieper, 1968. Chapter C6, “The Trinity and Human Reason”

Chapter C6, “The Trinity and Human Reason”

Each person of the Trinity is a full and complete expression of the Godhead. This is, in fact, a logical impossibility. Yet it is precisely what the Bible teaches. Pieper details two ways that we attempt to explain the Trinity. First, though there are many natural analogies of three in one, all of them break down. Nature certainly bears God’s fingerprints, but never his unique and trinitarian nature. Second, we cannot adequately analyze the doctrine by considering special characteristics of the persons. This always results in some god other than the one of the Bible. We are left, then, with the biblical narrative and nothing else.

Pieper divides modern theology and its speculations into two categories. First, some will fall into unitarianism, depicting one God but three different powers or wills. Another group will so classify the persons of the Trinity that they become tritheists.

In the end we have a biblical account which cannot be adequately analyzed or understood by our reason. Yet, trusting that God has inspired his Word and has shown himself trustworthy, we accept and receive this Word.

Bonhoffer, 1937. Chapter 15, "The Hiddenness of Prayer"

Chapter 15, “The Hiddenness of Prayer”

In chapter 15 Bonhoeffer discusses Jesus’ teaching on prayer from Matthew 6:5-8. He considers Jesus’ act of teaching his disciples to pray as indicating that prayer is not a natural activity. We can pray and not find God’s blessing. Christians pray to the Father through the mediation of the Son. This is how we know our prayers are heard and answered.

How do we go to pray in secret? Bonhoeffer says (Loc. 2292) that we need to hide our prayers in such a way that we don’t pray from our will but from God’s will. We “do this by letting Christ alone reign in our hearts, by surrendering our wills completely to him, by living in fellowship with Jesus and by following him.” This standard, of course, bases the efficacy of prayer solely on our level of discipleship.

Bonhoeffer next reviews the Lord’s Prayer as “the way Christians must pray” (Loc. 3307, emphasis his). In his commentary Bonhoeffer does picture prayer as expressing dependence on God for all we need, with our central concern being God’s holiness.

Sasse, 1977. Chapter 2, “Luther in His Early Period (1517-1524)” - Part 1 - The Source of Luther’s Doctrine on the Lord’s Supper (p. 62).

Chapter 2, “Luther in His Early Period (1517-1524)” - Part 1 - The Source of Luther’s Doctrine on the Lord’s Supper (p. 62).

Sasse observes (p. 62) that the Lutheran Reformation and its work with the Lord’s supper sprang from Medieval discussions. Possibly even without knowing it, the Reformers are influenced by their backdrop. Luther arose as the great theologian and liturgist of his time.

While Luther didn’t deny the real Presence, he did say that celebrating a Mass without communicants, as was the Roman custom, was not appropriate. As early as 1519 he was writing about communion and, even in that early time, affirmed the Real Presence and that the body and blood of Christ was distributed to communicants.