Martin Luther and the Lord’s Prayer

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Mikoteit
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Critical Dialogue ◽  
Lord's Prayer ◽  
Actual Experience ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Holy Spirit

Martin Luther critically engaged with tradition in his interpretations of the Lord’s Prayer. As a result, he occasionally departed from a line of interpretation even in later years because he had taken up an idea from the traditional canon. His spiritual approach to prayer, reflected in his interpretations of the Lord’s Prayer, was also developed in critical dialogue with tradition. Luther’s spiritual treatment of the Lord’s Prayer either remained within its linguistic realm or became an element in a practice that reinterpreted the classical model of lectio—meditatio—oratio—contemplatio. When he established the three rules of the study of theology with his oratio, meditatio, and tentatio, this was informed by the fact that he identified existential need as the context for this exercise. Regarding the inner qualities of the spirituality of prayer, Luther called for prayer to be made up of words within a dialectic of law and the gospel rather than deliberately imagined internal images. This also held true when it came to Luther’s view on the particular experience of the Holy Spirit. For him, the only difference was that the petitioner should actively pray with his own words before and after experiencing the Spirit, but remain passive during the actual experience, shifting into a listening mode and praying with the words that flowed into him through the Holy Spirit from the Word of God Himself. This experience represented the pinnacle of this complex spiritual practice, being a specific form of contemplatio. Luther also developed his understanding, with regard to the theology of repentance, of the Lord’s Prayer in particular and of prayer in general by critically engaging with tradition. The fact that he interpreted other petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in terms of the fifth petition, confession, was a sign of his rethinking of the theology of repentance. This reevaluation was the result of Luther’s taking his doctrine of justification as the basis for the doctrine of prayer at the same time as adhering to the framework, in terms of the theology of repentance, for the interpretation of prayer that was defined by tradition.

The Reformation of Liturgy

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Karant-Nunn
Keyword(s):  
Religious Belief ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Lord's Supper ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Evangelical Movement ◽  
The Way

Along with Reformation changes in authorized religious belief came the urgent revision and refinement of ecclesiastical ceremony—the liturgy. Both before and after the Evangelical movement, every act and decorative object within the churches symbolized a point of theological affirmation. Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli led the way in directing a new program, which constituted an aural and visual means of instructing the laity. The transubstantiating priest gave way to the preacher of Scripture, and the sermon now became the centerpiece of organized worship. The Holy Spirit inspired the clergyman in his pulpit. The Lord’s Supper remained a liturgical and theological focal point even though it was not as prominently placed in services as preaching. Across Protestant Europe, new forms of observance inculcated doctrine upon parishioners. Social rituals—marriage, baptism, and penance—were made congregational and not just familial or personal concerns.

Martin Luther’s Sermons and Postils

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Frymire
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Theology Of Preaching ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Written Form

For Martin Luther the sermon was not simply an exercise in which a preacher expounded on the biblical text, taught moral lessons, and reprimanded listeners for their shortcomings. The sermon meant far more than that. Preaching was God’s voice speaking through the minister. Hearing God’s promise of salvation was far more effective than reading it. In terms that echoed medieval theories of demonology, which posited that reading biblical passages aloud exorcized the air, Luther insisted that Satan fled the spoken word of God even if the written form bothered him not a whit. The sermon was the site where Christ confronted Satan in eschatological combat. Minsters made Christ really present from their pulpits and, through their preaching of God’s word, provided the means through which the Holy Spirit “worked,” literally, upon the auditor. Luther’s sense of the sermon was spiritual and physical to the extent that he considered preaching quasi-sacramental in the medieval sense of the opus operatum. Luther’s theology of preaching was among the most original of his discoveries, but he did not invent the sermon. For 1,500 years Christianity had spread among overwhelmingly illiterate populations, and the oral exposition of scripture was part of Christian services early on. Patristic theologians such as Augustine had preached extensively and left a corpus of manuscript sermons that influenced later exegetes. The advent of printing in the mid-15th century spread the homilies of medieval preachers and their patristic forerunners as never before. Especially popular were postils, model sermons for Sundays and festival days that were available in Latin and vernacular versions. Printing, the spread of the Mendicant preaching orders, improved clerical education, and increasing lay literacy all combined to produce a late medieval preaching renaissance. Martin Luther was born into this renaissance just as he became a trained professional in its tradition. When he died in 1546 he was no longer a late medieval Augustinian, but he had been a preacher by trade for nearly forty years. Luther preached constantly. None of his other duties took as much of his time. About 2,300 of his sermons survive, which, based on his preaching schedule, represent about half of the sermons he preached. Sermons take up some thirty volumes—that is, one-third—of the Weimar edition (WA) of his works. No other genre in his corpus comes close. The same can be said of the printing and impact of his sermons: none of Luther’s contemporaries came close either. Unlike many of those contemporaries, however, the most significant preacher in early modern Europe never wrote a treatise on how to preach. Luther never produced a comprehensive work of dogmatics either, and for the same reason: the incredibly gifted theologian was not a gifted systematician. Several of Luther’s greatest admirers noted as much, warning future preachers that unlike Luther, whose sermons tended to drift hither and yonder, they should stick to the main roads. Determining what sermons Luther actually delivered is nettlesome because it hinges on the types and numbers of texts that have come down to us. The issue is always the state of the sources. Thus, the rudiments of Luther’s sermons and postils as genres are presented, and select issues of manuscript and print production that shape our understanding of what Luther preached and how his ideas were received are examined.

Pentecostal Understanding of Sanctification from a Pentecostal Perspective

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Hollis Gause
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Birth ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Fruit Of The Spirit ◽  
The Trinity

AbstractThe doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the product of divine revelation, and is a doctrine of divine worship. The expressions of this doctrine come out of worshipful response to divine revelation demonstrating the social nature of the Trinity and God's incorporating the human creature in His own sociality and personal pluralism. The perfect social union between God and the man and woman that he had created was disrupted by human sin. God redeemed the fallen creature, and at the heart of this redemptive experience lies the doctrine of Holy Trinity, with the Holy Spirit as the communing agent of all the experiences of salvation. The Spirit is especially active in the provision and fulfillment of sanctification, which is presented here as the continuum of 'holiness-unity-love'. He produces the graces of the Holy Spirit – the fruit of the Spirit. He implants the Seed of the new birth which is the word of God. He purifies by the blood of Jesus. He establishes union and communion among believers and with God through His Son Jesus. This is holiness.

Para leer la espiritualidad de Agustín. Elementos espirituales

Augustinus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-78
Author(s):  
Vittorino Grossi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Saint Augustine ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function

The article deals with the key ideas to understand S. Augustine’s Spirituality, setting in its context the figure of the postconstatinian saint, and discussing the topic of the degrees of sanctity in Saint Augustine. Later, it deals with the various spiritual phases in the writings of Saint Augustine, dividing the life of the doctor of Hippo in two moments, before and after his priestly ordination, pointing out in the second stage the role and function of the Holy Spirit as love and principle of holiness. The importance of spiritual man in the period of the anti-Pelagian struggle is also revealed. It also explains what is for Saint Augustine the spirituality of the heart.

Prinsip Pertumbuhan Gereja Mula-Mula Ditinjau Dari Kisah Para Rasul 2:1-47 Dan Aplikasinya Bagi Gereja Masa Kini

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Ferderika Pertiwi Ndiy ◽  
S Susanto
Keyword(s):  
Church Growth ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Church History ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Church ◽  
Acts 2

Church growth is an important study in church history. The Bible has important principles in church growth, therefore these principles need to be analyzed so that they can contribute to the study of church growth. The Acts of the Apostles is a book that has a history and principles of church growth, therefore the author conducted research on church growth based on Acts 2: 1-47. The author uses a qualitative approach to literature study to find the principles of church growth based on Acts 2: 1-47. The results showed that there were three principles for the growth of the early church. The first principle based on the fourth verse is to depend on the Holy Spirit, the second principle based on verses 14-36, 42 is to preach the Word of God, the third principle based on verses 42-46 is to live in fellowship. For the growth of the church today the church must depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, teaching based on the word of God, and the church lives in fellowship.

Martin Luther on Faith

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Stoellger
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
The Holy Spirit

Faith is not a human act but rather (a) an act of God—that is, the power or action of God as a “divine work in us”; and (b) relation before God (coram Deo), or more precisely, a passive relation and responsorial action (vita passiva). Furthermore, the genesis of faith and its execution should be systematically conceived as (c) communication (unio, communio et communicatio cum Christo) in the event of justification; or (d) the encounter of a pure gift by the power of the Holy Spirit in the word event; (e) ensuing the exchange of gifts or the response of the vita passiva.

Martin Luther and the Holy Spirit

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lois Malcolm
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Literary Genres ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Theology ◽  
The One ◽  
The Trinity

Although often neglected in historical and theological studies of Martin Luther’s work, an understanding of the Holy Spirit undergirds his signal contributions to the history of theology and is essential to any case for his ongoing relevance to contemporary theology and practice. Drawing on biblical exegesis, Luther would reinvigorate the doctrine of the Holy Spirit he inherited from the Western theological tradition and from the Ancient Church. Nonetheless, he wrote in a variety of literary genres and in response to a range of issues. To address this linguistic and historical complexity, this article examines the role the concept of the Holy Spirit plays in his theology by providing readings of texts that have been influential on later appropriations of his work. In doing so, it focuses on two intertwined themes in his theology. First, it examines his understanding of the Holy Spirit in relation to justification—that is, the righteousness of God we receive as a gift by faith—looking at his early biblical theology and two especially influential texts, “The Freedom of a Christian” (1520) and his “Lectures on Galatians” (1535). Second, it discusses his portrayal of the Holy Spirit as sanctifier—that is, as the one who creates holiness or sanctification in us—in his most well-known catechisms, in the “Confession of 1528,” and in his “Lectures on Genesis” (1535) and “Sermons on John” (1537). Throughout, attention will also be given to his understanding of the Trinity, Word and sacraments, faith, hope, and love, and the themes of promise and gift. The article concludes with a sketch of historical work and a discussion of the influence of Luther’s pneumatology on later theology and current areas of research.

The Inspiration of the Bible

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald O’Collins, SJ
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Efficient Cause ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Church

Dealing with biblical inspiration within the scheme of the Word of God in its threefold form (as preached, written, and revealed), Karl Barth distinguished between divine revelation and the inspired Bible. He insisted that the revelation to prophets and apostles preceded proclamation and the writing of Scripture. He interpreted all the Scriptures as witness to Christ. While the human authors of the Bible ‘made full use of their human capacities’, the Holy Spirit is ‘the real author’ of what is written. Raymond Collins, in dialogue with Thomas Aquinas, Barth, and others, interpreted biblical inspiration in the light of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on Divine Revelation. He spoke of the Holy Spirit as the ‘principal, efficient cause’ (with the human authors as the ‘instrumental’ causes), rejected dictation views of inspiration, and examined the scope of biblical truth and the authority of the Bible for the Church.

ISLAM W DOŚWIADCZENIU ŚW. JANA DAMASCEŃSKIEGO

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-47
Author(s):  
Piotr Bortkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
Saint John ◽  
John Of Damascus ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Islam And Christianity ◽  
The Difference

According to saint John of Damascus, Islam is one of the Christian sects. The difference between Islam and Christianity is mainly in understanding Logos (Logos as an eternal Word of God) and “logias” – the words of God that were revealed and written down. Christians understand Logos as the eternal Word of God directed to people by God. This Word is Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, Muslims refer to Jesus as a prophet and teacher. The Word of God for them is Koran, but initially it was also the Holy Bible. Muslims could not comprehend the person of the Holy Spirit and perceived Him only as a Divine power. Nevertheless, the biggest problem for Muslims living at the time of John of Damascus was to understand the embodiment.

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