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33. On the Councils and the Church—Part III (1539)
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363 33 On the Councils and the Church—Part III (1539) Luther describes here the seven “marks” of the church— the distinctive characteristics that make the church, “the church.” He defines it neither as a building nor an institution , but as the gathered people of God, centered on the Word of Christ. In many ways, Luther tried to rally the church around the gospel, so that, whatever the structures and orders of the church might be,they serve the proclamation of the grace of God. This piece,in many ways,continues the work of The Smalcald Articles, published the year before. Just as they scream about the fathers and the councils ,without knowing what fathers and councils are, only to drown out our voices with mere letters, so they also scream about the church.But as for saying what, who, and where the church is, they do not render either the church or God even the service of asking the question or thinking about it.They like very much to be regarded as the church, as pope, cardinals, bishops, and yet to be allowed, under this glorious name,to be nothing but pupils of the devil, desiring nothing more than to practice sheer knavery and villainy. Well then, setting aside various writings and analyses of the word “church,” we shall this time confine ourselves simply to the Children’s Creed, which says,“I believe in one holy Christian church, the communion of saints.” Here the Creed clearly indicates what the church is, namely, a communion of saints, that is, a crowd assembly of people who are Christians and holy, which is called a Christian holy assembly, or church.Yet this word church is not German and does not convey the sense or meaning that should be taken from this article. In Acts 19[:39] the town clerk uses the word ecclesia for the congregation or the people who had gathered at the market place, saying, “It shall be settled in the regular assembly.” Further,“When he said this,he dismissed the assembly”[vs.41].In these and other passages the ecclesia or church is nothing but an assembly of people, though they probably were heathens and not Christians. It is the same term used by town councilmen for their assembly which they summon to the city hall.Now there are many peoples in the world;the Christians,however, are a people with a special call and are therefore called not just ecclesia, “church,” or “people,” but sancta catholica Christiana, that is, “a Christian holy people” who believe in Christ.That is why they are called a Christian people and have the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies them daily, not only through the forgiveness of sin acquired for them by Christ (as the Antinomians foolishly believe),but also through the abolition, the purging, and the mortification of sins, on the basis of which they are called a holy people.Thus the “holy Christian church” is synonymous with a Christian and holy people or, as one is also wont to express it, with “holy Christendom,” or “whole Christendom.”The Old Testament uses the term God’s people. If the words, “I believe that there is a holy Christian people,” had been used in the Children’s 364 Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings Creed,all the misery connected with this meaningless and obscure word (church) might easily have been avoided. For the words Christian holy people would have brought with them, clearly and powerfully , the proper understanding and judgment of what is, and what is not, church. Whoever would have heard the words Christian holy people could have promptly concluded that the pope is no people , much less a holy Christian people. So too the bishops, priests, and monks are not holy, Christian people, for they do not believe in Christ, nor do they lead a holy life, but are rather the wicked and shameful people of the devil.He who does not truly believe in Christ is not Christian or a Christian.He who does not have the Holy Spirit against sin is not holy.Consequently,they cannot be“a Christian holy people,” that is, sancta et catholica ecclesia. But since we use this meaningless word church in the Children’s Creed, the common man thinks of the stone house called a church,as painted by the artists; or, at best, they paint the apostles, disciples, and the mother of God, as on Pentecost, with the Holy Spirit hovering over them.This...