Promise, Justification, Sacrament

Oberman says that Luther moved toward his reformation insights by exploring what he described as the “theological grammar” of Scripture, which involved letting God define his own terms, on the assumption that nomina sunt ad pacitum Dei . Through this, he realized that the God of Scripture was the “bonding God who acts in history,” and also moved toward his breakthroughs regarding justification and Eucharist:

“Today we see clearly the extent to which this covenant theology was firmly rooted in the thought of the earliest Luther, and how, as he explored the testament of God, he came to discover the doctrine of justification by faith alone, as well as its ecclesiological and sacramental implications. Traditional scholarship treats Luther’s doctrine of justification under one heading and presents his teaching on the Eucharist under another; but that is a mistake . . . .

“Luther’s passionate rejection at Marburg in 1529 of Zwingli’s interpretation of significat in the Lord’s Supper as symbolic was directly related to his interpretation of the words of institution of the Eucharist: the trustworthy covenantal promise cannot, without peril, be adjusted to fit the categories of human ratiocination. The God who acts cannot be figured out by reason but makes himself known in words and deed, through preaching, absolution, water, bread and wine.”

Oberman thus points to the “considerable limitations” of common treatments of the Reformation’s origins that see it as a single moment of blinding insight. The insights regarding the justice of God were part of a larger development emphasizing the personal character of God, and His faithfulness to His self-binding promises to His people.