Kevin Golden
Lutherans joke, “If your Catholic friends think you are a Baptist and your Baptist friends think you are Catholic, you might be a Lutheran.” Whether the joke is funny or not, it captures the unique place Lutherans hold within Christianity. Every Christian confession is unique, yet Lutherans can be seen as particularly distinct.
Lutherans reflect their distinctive place within Christianity in how they study Scripture. On one hand, their high view of Scripture leads to a strong focus upon the text that would be appreciated by Protestants. On the other hand, Lutherans tie their study of Scripture to their liturgical heritage, an emphasis that would be appreciated by Catholics. Additionally, they adhere to teachings that, although not exclusive to Lutherans, nonetheless have greater dominance in how they study Scripture.
Those who claim the title “Lutheran” can have vastly different understandings of Scripture and therefore vastly different approaches to Bible study. In this article, I will be describing Confessional Lutherans such as the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and how they study Scripture.
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Lutheran doctrinal standards
While Lutherans take their name from the sixteenth century reformer Martin Luther, they do not hold his teachings as their doctrinal standard or treat his writings as infallible. Instead, Confessional Lutherans pledge themselves to preach and teach in accord with the Lutheran Confessions contained in The Book of Concord of 1580.
The Book of Concord
The Book of Concord is comprised of ten documents:
- Luther authored three of those documents, namely, his Small and Large Catechisms and the Smalcald Articles.
- Three of the remaining documents are the ecumenical creeds— The Apostles,’ Nicene, and Athanasian.
- Luther’s colleague, Philip Melanchthon, wrote three further documents within The Book of Concord: The Augsburg Confession and The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (together serving as a summary of Reformation teachings) and the “Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope” that addresses the question of papal authority.
- The Formula of Concord (1580) addressed disagreements that arose among the reformers after Luther’s death.
Its role in Lutheran Bible study
The confessional Lutheran subscription to The Book of Concord strikes some as a violation of the Reformation principle of sola scriptura. Scripture is the sole authority that determines faith and practice. Yet Lutherans subscribe to The Book of Concord as a faithful and true exposition of Scripture.
The Latin terms norma normans and norma normata capture this distinction between Scripture and the confessions. Scripture is the Word of God and thus it is norma normans, the norming norm, the norm that norms all other writings. The confessions, as faithful summary of Scripture, are norma normata, the normed norm, the norm that has been normed by Scripture.
The confessions, as faithful summary of Scripture, are norma normata, the normed norm, the norm that has been normed by Scripture.
Lutheran theologian, Charles Arand, has described the role of The Book of Concord in relation to Scripture as being like a roadmap.1 The map is helpful because it is faithful to the physical reality of the roadways. The map helps point you in the right direction, but it cannot substitute actually getting out on the road. The Book of Concord gets you going in the right direction, but it is not a substitute for studying Scripture. In other words, The Book of Concord is beneficial and faithful because (quia) it is in agreement with Scripture.
And because this is the case, The Book of Concord is indispensable for the Lutheran study of Scripture. Lutherans studying a given text of Scripture will consult the index to The Book of Concord to see if and how it is used. Lutherans will also interpret any given text of Scripture in agreement with the teachings of The Book of Concord.
Key Lutheran convictions for Bible study
What key teachings are found in The Book of Concord and thus central to Lutheran Bible study?
Justification by grace through faith
Of critical importance is the Reformation teaching of justification by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) apart from human works. Lutherans contend that this teaching is the doctrine upon which the Church stands (or falls, if it is surrendered). Thus, Lutheran study of Scripture always asks how the passage in view relates to the doctrine of justification.
While Lutherans classically have leaned upon Paul’s letter to the Romans to articulate this doctrine, they find it throughout Scripture since it is the heart of the Bible’s message. Article four of the Augsburg Confession articulates this doctrine, while the Apology to the Augsburg Confession defends it even more extensively.
The means of grace
Lutherans find great beauty in the means of grace. The physicality of the means of grace is an extension of the incarnation. As the eternal Son of God took on a physical, human nature, so he continues to come to us in physical means. Through his chosen means, God promises to deliver his grace and instill saving faith. Those means are his written Word (Scripture), the proclamation of his Word (normed by Scripture), holy baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.
Since God has chosen to come to us through means that are outside of us, the turmoil that can rage within us cannot rob us of the certainty of what he promises in his Word, both written and proclaimed in baptism and in the Lord’s Supper.
Thus, Lutherans study Scripture with an eye toward the means of grace. More than just tallying scriptural references to the Word, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, Lutherans focus upon how the means of grace take prominence in the narrative of Scripture.
The greatest benefit we receive from the means of grace is certainty. Since God has chosen to come to us through means that are outside of us, the turmoil that can rage within us cannot rob us of the certainty of what he promises in his Word, both written and proclaimed in baptism and in the Lord’s Supper.
The distinction between law and gospel
Lutheran study of Scripture also attends to the proper distinction of law and gospel. In the law, God reveals his holy and righteous will, makes known man’s failure to live by his will, and proclaims the just punishment for that failure. In the gospel, God delivers the saving work of Christ so that sinners receive the forgiveness of sins, salvation, and life everlasting.
As Lutherans study Scripture, they consistently ask: “Is this text law or gospel? Does this text reveal God’s demands and my failure to live by those demands (sin), or does this text proclaim Christ and his saving work?”
The Christocentricity of scripture
Lutheran study of Scripture always attends to the Christocentricity of Scripture as the interpretive key to all of Scripture.
Any given text of Scripture is to be interpreted with textual integrity so that its interpretation stands on its own. The text is also to be interpreted with canonical coherency so that it is part of the symphony of the whole of Scripture.
If your study of Scripture can stand apart from Christ, then you have not rightly studied the text.
Integrity and coherency are indispensable, but the heart of Lutheran Bible study is the Christocentricity of all Scripture. Every text points to and finds its fulfillment in Christ. If your study of Scripture can stand apart from Christ, then you have not rightly studied the text.
The formal and material principles
Lutherans articulate the Christocentricity of Scripture through the formal principle and material principle of theology. The formal principle is what forms/informs your theology, namely, Scripture. The material principle is what matters most to your theology, namely, the person and work of Christ. Thus, Lutheran Bible study focuses upon the text of Scripture (formal principle) in all of its detail, but it invariably leads to a confession of Christ (material principle).
Use of Hebrew & Greek
Since Scripture is the formal principle, Lutheran Bible study gives heed to the biblical languages. God has graciously revealed himself to us in Hebrew and Greek. Therefore the standard for Lutheran clergy is to study Scripture in those languages.
This is not to discount the blessing and benefit of faithful translations. If you have not been blessed with training in the biblical languages, rejoice that there are numerous faithful translations through which you receive Christ and his blessings. And rejoice that those who have been blessed with training in the biblical languages are able to guide you into details that cannot be captured in a translation. After all, you find God in the details of Scripture.
When studying Scripture in the original languages, key resources include a Greek lexicon (BDAG is the standard). A Hebrew lexicon is also indispensable (while various options exist, the Dictionary of Classical Hebrew is my favorite). Reference grammars (such as A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew by Paul Joüon and Takamitsu Muraoka and Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 2nd English Edition by Arthur Ernest Cowley, Wilhelm Gesenius, and Emil Kautzsch) help resolve challenging grammatical questions. While those resources are foundational, even further wealth awaits you beyond those.
But what if you don’t know the biblical languages? Encourage your pastor to hone his skills in the languages. And don’t lose heart, as if you’re cut off from benefitting from the languages. A good study Bible will deliver insights from the Biblical languages in understandable fashion (unsurprisingly, I suggest The Lutheran Study Bible from Concordia Publishing House). You can find even more detail in good Biblical commentaries, especially those that give significant attention to textual notes that delve into the Hebrew or Greek text.
The Bible’s divine and human authorship
Just as the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ, is fully human and divine, so also Scripture has both a human author and a divine author. More specifically, the whole of Scripture has one divine author while each book of the Bible has a unique human author.
This divine authorship of Scripture prompts the interpretive principle that Scripture interprets Scripture. A millennium and a half separates the writing of the Torah and the New Testament, yet they are part of the same interpretive matrix since they share the same divine author.
The whole of Scripture has one divine author while each book of the Bible has a unique human author.
The human authors of Scripture are apparent in their unique (yet complementary) emphases. Not only do human authors differ in their emphases, but they also exhibit literary styles that are part of their rhetorical strategy. From the conventions of Hebrew poetry used by the prophets to the epistolary form employed by Paul to the daunting genre of apocalyptic literature found in Revelation, we must account for these differing literary forms as we study the Bible.
These literary forms also underscore the historical nature of Scripture. Scripture’s historicity relates to its Christocentricity. All of Scripture hinges upon the historical event of Christ’s incarnation. It happened at a point in time (his conception in the virgin womb) and has enduring historical significance. Indeed, it has revolutionized history. It also underscores that Scripture is grounded in history.
The historicity of Scripture means that grasping the historical setting of a given text is of high importance for Bible study. Here again, a good study Bible can be of great assistance. Biblical commentaries will give even greater insight to the historical setting. We have access to a wealth of helpful commentary series. I encourage you to check out the Concordia Commentary Series from Concordia Publishing House.2 This series exhibits the principles for studying Scripture that this article addresses. A good Bible atlas is also immensely helpful for Bible study. Scripture refers to real historical places. Viewing those locales on an atlas can open the study to a fuller sense of the events, people, and places that Scripture describes. The Holman Bible Atlas is a long-standing resource that helps in that regard.
Studying Scripture as encountering Christ
Ultimately, Scripture is proclamation of Christ. He is the heart and center of Scripture.
Lutherans confess that all Scripture is given for the two-fold purpose of glorifying Christ and comforting penitent sinners. Those two purposes are inseparable. Christ’s highest glory is his salvation of sinners, and the sinners’ comfort is bound up in Christ’s saving work. Bible study magnifies this two-fold purpose of Scripture.
The natural response to the proclamation of Christ is worship. Lutherans see a rhythm in which Christ gives his gifts to us and then we respond in praise and thanksgiving. The study of Scripture prompts our praise. Thus, Bible study is well accompanied by a good hymnal and a faithful prayer book.
Standing forever!
The Lutheran reformers adopted VDMA as their motto: Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternam—the word of the Lord stands forever. Indeed, it does. Lutheran Bible study grounds us upon that which stands even when man withers like the grass (Isa 40:7–8).
Key resources for studying within the Lutheran tradition
Related articles
- What Is Lutheranism? Its History, Distinctives & Key Thinkers
- What Is This Thing Called Bible Study?
- Law & Gospel: How Martin Luther Wanted You to Read Your Bible
- How Should We Think about AI & Bible Study?
- Charles Arand, Testing the Boundaries to Lutheran Identity, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2012.
- This series has been in process for over twenty years and will be completed roughly a decade from now. My plug for this series is admittedly a bit self-serving as I near completing the Hosea commentary in the series.
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