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Pentecostal Theology, Volume 24, No. 1, Spring 2002
The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation: The Ecumenical SigniŽ cance of Luther’ s
Doctrine of Salvation
Veli-Matti Kä rkkä inen
I believe that I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him, of my own reason or power but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctiŽ ed and upheld me in true faith.
1
Introduction: JustiŽ cation and Theosis
Generally speaking, Reformation theology viewed faith as the deci- sive work of the Holy Spirit, as the above quote from Luther and Lutheran confessions clearly shows. Luther’ s exposition of the third article of the Creed in the 1531 Small Catechism understands faith as a gift of the Holy Spirit.2
The later development of Reformation soteriology, however, especially in the Lutheran tradition, came to be expressed more in christological than in pneumatological terms.
3
It is a general consensus of the most recent Luther scholarship that the commonly held forensic doctrine of justiŽ cation by faith as articulated by later confessional writings, under the leadership of Melanchthon, is a one-sided understanding of Luther’ s theology; Luther himself speaks of the real presence of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit in the believer.
4
Not until the latest renaissance of Luther studies, especially in Scandinavia, has the pneumatological potential been
1
WA = Weimar Aufgabe 30, 1, 367-68; Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch- lutherischen Kirche2 (Gö ttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1963), 511-12.
In the Latin Middle Ages, there was a close relation between pneumatology and the doctrine of grace, though most medieval theologians did not equate the Holy Spirit with the gift of love (caritas) poured into our hearts, but distinguished this gift of grace as a gratia creata from the Holy Spirit himself. See Wolfhart Pannenberg, Systematic Theology , Vol. 33 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1993), 2.
In Calvin’ s theology in general and soteriology in particular, the pneumatological orientation 4 was preserved more carefully.
Cf. Kenneth L. Bakken, “ Holy Spirit and Theosis: Toward a Lutheran Theology of Healing,” St Vladimir’ s Theological Quarterly 38:4 (1994), 409. Vladimir Lossky ( The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church [London: James Clarke & Co, Ltd., 1957, 22]) notes that in the West the Spirit’ s role as a “ kind of lieutenant or deputy of the Son” and, consequently, theological categories in general and soteriological in particular, have over- looked the pneumatological dimension. Even if this is a bit of an overstatement, it is a helpful reminder.
© 2002 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden
pp. 26–39
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The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation
recovered.5 An important impetus to the recovery of pneumatologial out- look in the doctrine of salvation came from an unexpected direction. When the Lutheran churches started theological talks with the Eastern churches, the tradition of which is pneumatologically pregnant,
6
there was a harkening back to original Lutheran sources in order to uncover rich pneumatological resources. The culmination of Eastern pneumatological orientation is in their distinctive soteriological concept, namely, theosis (deiŽ cation; Vergött- lichung). The notion of theosis is a heavily pneumatological concept.
Earlier, it was thought that the idea of theosis is totally foreign to the Reformation, and certainly to Lutheran thought. Historically, the Lutheran doctrine of justiŽ cation and the Eastern doctrine of deiŽ cation
7
have been considered to be diametrically opposed to each other.
8
A corollary prob- lem is that, at least for Lutherans, the Eastern soteriology entertains prob- lematic notions of the freedom of the will, too positive an anthropology, and, worst of all, the idea of human-divine synergia in salvation.
9
Currently, there are a number of positive ecumenical changes on the horizon. Two developments in recent years have opened new horizons for
5
The term Lutheran has two meanings: it can denote either Martin Luther’ s theology as it is expressed in his own writings or theology/theologies of Lutheran confessions and subsequent Lutheran formulations. During the course of the discussion I will show that these two have to be distinguished from each other since they do not only have some dif- fering emphases but can also end up in contradictory orientations, especially in the cardi- nal doctrine of justiŽ cation. This is, of course, not my personal thought but is substantiated by recent 6 Lutheran scholarship.
Cf. Thomas Spidlik, Spirituality of the Christian East (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 7 Inc., 1986), 31.
For the centrality of the doctrine of theosis in Eastern theology in general and sote- riology in particular, see, e.g., Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church8 (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’ s Seminary Press, 1976), 9, 11-12.
See, e.g., Georg Kretschmar, “ Die Rezeption der orthodoxen Vergö ttlichungslehre in der protestantischen Theologie,” in Luther und Theosis. Vergö ttlichung als Thema der abendlä ndischen Theologie , ed., Simo Peura and Antti Raunio (Helsinki and Erlangen: Schriften 9 der Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft 25, 1990), 61-80.
It might be important that at least some Roman Catholic theologians can hold that “ the Roman Catholic Church has always taught the deiŽ cation of man through God’ s grace,” even if this sounds a bit of an overstatement! Miguel Garijo-Guembe, “ Schwesterkirchen im Dialog,” Catholica (1994), 285; quoted in Risto Saarinen, “ Salvation in the Lutheran- Orthodox Dialogue. A Comparative Perspective,” Pro Ecclesia 5 (1996), 203. A Ž ne intro- duction to a Catholic appropriation of the idea of deiŽ cation is offered by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Theologik. III. Der Geist der Wahrheit (Basel: Johannes Verlag, 1987), 169ff. (Here, as always, von Balthasar is a bit idiosyncratic in his terminology.) The reason for a much more positive view among Roman Catholics probably has to do with their anthro- pology and a view of salvation that gives more weight to human responsibility; these two concepts have, in fact, been the main targets of traditional Reformation critique of Catholic soteriology.
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Pentecostal Theology, Volume 24, No. 1, Spring 2002
a more positive appraisal of Eastern doctrine of deiŽ cation by Lutherans and consequently for a reemergence of pneumatological outlook: ecu- menical conversations between Lutherans and the Orthodox and a “ new quest for Luther’ s theology” initiated by the Mannermaa school at the University of Helsinki. Most recent Lutheran ecumenical theologizing has discovered an unexpected motif of deiŽ cation and a pneumatological con- cept of grace within Luther’ s own writings. The Mannermaa school has provided a most promising and also to some extent controversial claim about theosis being one of the images Luther used to describe salvation. Rapidly these Ž ndings have been introduced into ecumenical conversa- tions, Ž rst between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Finnish Lutheran Church, and then into the international Orthodox-Lutheran dialogues.
In this essay I will take a critical look at the most recent Lutheran studies especially as they are conducted at the University of Helsinki
10 and ask about the pneumatological implications. Before discussing more extensively the basic Ž ndings of the Mannermaa school’ s inquiry into the doctrine of deiŽ cation in Luther and its pneumatological potential, I will have a brief look at theosis as it was discussed in Lutheran-Orthodox dia- logue, because that was the main impetus for much of recent Lutheran questioning concerning deiŽ cation. Following is a brief look at the pneu- matological orientation of Luther’ s main work, De servo arbitrio . Then I will discuss a recent study on the pneumatology of the Charismatic Lutheran Movement and its connection to our line of questioning. I will close with some ecumenical re ections and recommendations.
Theosis in Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue
First, a short deŽ nition of theosis as it is understood ecumenically is in order. According to Mannermaa, the patristic doctrine of theosis can be brie y formulated as follows:
Divine life has manifested itself in Christ. In the church as the body of Christ, man has a share in this life. Man partakes thereby of “ the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). This “ nature,” or divine life, permeates the being
10
I am not a Lutheran scholar myself. My interest in ecumenical and pneumatologi- cal implications of recent Lutheran scholarship arises out of my close contacts with the Mannermaa school. Tuomo Mannermaa was my Doktorvater , who also mentored my Habilitationsschrift , and I did my doctoral studies under the mentorship of the scholars of the Mannermaa school and Prof. Miikka Ruokanen, whose study on the pneumatological dimensions of Luther’ s theology I will also discuss here.
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The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation
of man like a leaven in order to restore it to its original condition as imago Dei.11
The distinction between God and human person is not made void. God still remains God and human remains human though participating in the divine.12
Already in the 1970s, the Finnish Lutheran Church, in its conversa- tions with the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted a number of soterio- logical statements that compare the Lutheran doctrine of justiŽ cation with the Orthodox view of deiŽ cation/ theosis.13 After the publication of the Finnish-Russian dialogue results in English,
14
other regional conversa- tions have made use of them.
15
The Finnish-Lutheran dialogue produced a highly in uential soterio- logical document in Kiev in 1977 entitled “ Salvation as JustiŽ cation and DeiŽ cation.” The preamble to the theses claims that:
[u]ntil recently, there has been a predominant opinion that the Lutheran and Orthodox doctrines of salvation greatly differ from each other. In the con- versations, however, it has become evident that both these important aspects of salvation discussed in the conversations have a strong New Testament basis and there is great unanimity with regard to them both.
16
It was found that the doctrine of deiŽ cation covers the idea of a Christian’ s life as righteous and sinful at the same time, as the Lutheran
11
12
“ Theosis as a Subject of Finnish Luther Research,” Pro Ecclesia 4:1 (1995), 42.
Orthodox theology, as is well known, has tried to solve this problem by making a distinction between divine essence and divine energies. According to Eastern understand- ing, deiŽ cation means participating in divine energies, not divine essence as such. The classical 13 formulation is that of Gregory Palamas. See, e.g., Hannu und Theosis , 49-60.
For a recent appraisal, see Risto Saarinen, “ Salvation in the Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue,” 202-13. It is noteworthy that even the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD), which has been the most ardent critic of Eastern soteriology, in the Ž fth round of conver- sations with the Rumanian Orthodox Church (1988) could produce a joint document Rechtfertigung und Verherrlichung (Theosis) des Menschen durch Jesus Christus . EKD- Studienheft 23 (Hermannsburg: Missionsverlag Herrmansburg, 1988). See also: Heinz Joachim Held, “ Glaube und Liebe in der Erlangung des Heils,” Das Heil in Christus und die Heilung der Welt , EKD-Studienheft 20 (Hermannsburg: Missionsverlag Herrmansburg, 1985). 14
Dialogue between Neighbours , The Theological Conversations between the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland and the Russian Orthodox Church 1970– 1986, ed. Hannu Kamppuri (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft, 1986). See also R. Saarinen, “ 25 Jahre theologische Gesprä che zwischen Evangelisch-Lutherischer Kirche Finnlands und 15Moskauer Patriarchat,” Ö kumenische Rundschau 4 (1995).
For a comprehensive analysis of Lutheran-Orthodox dialogues both regional and international levels, see Risto Saarinen, Faith and Holiness: Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue 1959-199416 (Gö ttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1997).
Dialogue between Neighbors , 73.
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Pentecostal Theology, Volume 24, No. 1, Spring 2002
theology has always emphasized. The idea of deiŽ cation makes more explicit what is sometimes in danger of being underemphasized in Lutheranism, namely, the sanative role of grace: “ When the Christian has been justiŽ ed, he takes a new road leading to deiŽ cation.”17
One issue to consider, however, is what an integration of justiŽ cation and theosis implies for our understanding of the role of the human will in salvation. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to Lutherans in how they per- ceive Eastern soteriology is the question of the freedom of human will. The Orthodox speak freely of the freedom of human person in a strongly ontological sense, whereas for Lutherans there is not much left to human initiative.
18
The other major issue implied in the integration of justiŽ cation and theosis is the role of the Spirit in salvation. DeiŽ cation is a pneumato- logically loaded image of salvation. The pneumatological orientation was acknowledged even in Lutheran- Orthodox conversations. DeŽ ning the “ the new road leading to deiŽ cation” as a “ process of growing in holi- ness,” the joint document cites two important Pauline texts: “ But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). DeiŽ cation takes place under the in uence of the grace of the Holy Spirit by a deep and sincere faith, together with hope and per- meated by love (1 Cor. 13:13).
19
DeiŽ cation and a Pneumatological Concept of Grace in
Luther’ s Theology
How can one base the Lutheran-Orthodox integration of justiŽ cation and theosis in Luther’ s theology? The theological grounding of the sug- gested convergence between Orthodox and Lutheran soteriologies from the vantage point of Luther’ s theology was done by Tuomo Mannermaa and his students. For Mannermaa, the contact point is Luther’ s idea of “ Christ present in faith” ( in ipsa Ž de Christus adest ).20 According to
17
18
Ibid., 75.
19
Saarinen, “ Salvation,” 204.
20
Dialogue Between Neighbors , 75; quoted in Saarinen, “ Salvation,” 203.
Mannermaa’ s basis ideas were Ž rst represented in his Der im Glauben gegenwä r- tige Christus. Rechtfertigung und Vergottung zum ö kumenischen Dialog (Hannover: Lutherisches Verlagshaus, 1989), which actually translates from Finnish several of his writ- ings, including those touching the relationship between faith and love, a critical question to Lutheran studies in relation to Eastern Orthodox views. For a helpful synopsis of basic
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The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation
Mannermaa, the idea of Christ’ s presence is “ real-ontic”21 for Luther, not just a subjective experience ( Erlebnis) or God’ s effect on the believer (Wirkung), as the neo-Protestant school has exclusively held.
22
The core of the doctrine of deiŽ cation from this viewpoint is the idea of real participation in the divine life in Christ.
23
We receive the salva- tory gifts through participation in Christ.
24
The Lutheran tradition holds to the idea of God living in the believer ( inhabitatio Dei ). This partici- patory understanding of salvation for Mannermaa is analogous with the doctrine of theosis. According to Luther, Christ in both his person and
ideas and philosophical-methodological orientations of the Mannermaa school, see his “ Theosis 21 as a Subject of Finnish Luther Research,” Pro Ecclesia 4:1 (1995), 37-48.
For a critical philosophical scrutiny and critique of this concept in Lutheran stud- ies, see Dennis Bielfeldt, “ The Ontology of DeiŽ cation,” in Caritas Dei: Beiträ ge zum Verstä ndnis Luthers und der gegenwä rtigen Ö kumene. Festschrift fü r Tuomo Mannermaa zum 60. Geburtstag , ed., Oswald Bayer, Robert W. Jenson, and Simo Knuuttila (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft, 22 1997), 90-113.
For a careful analysis of underlying philosophical presuppositions and their effects on Luther interpretation in neo-Kantian traditions, see Risto Saarinen, Gottes Wirken auf uns. Die transzendentale Deutung des Gegenwart-Christi-Motivs in der Lutherforschung (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1989). For a synopsis, see Mannermaa, “ Theosis,” 38-42. Saarinen shows clear evidence of how the “ transcendental effect” orientation, originated by the nine- teenth-century German philosopher Hermann Lotze, has blurred the meaning of real pres- ence of Christ in Luther research, be it neo-Protestant, Luther Renaissance, or even dialectical theology. According to Mannermaa (p. 42), “ In Luther research there is a long tradition of solving the problem of the presence-of-Christ motif with the help of transcendental effect- orientation,” which simply means that we cannot know God, only God’ s effects on us. In other words, Christ being present through faith is not a “ real” event, at least it can not be known except through its effects on us. According to the traditional Reformation under- standing, the Evangelical/Lutheran view of God and his revelation is fundamentally dif- ferent from the Roman Catholic dogma which embraces “ metaphysical” categories, “ substances” and “ accidents,” whereas the Lutheran approach is antimetaphysical, empha- sizing God’ s work pro me without making any ontological commitments. This view, how- ever, as mentioned already, does not do justice to one of the leading ideas of Luther, namely Christ’ s real presence in the believer. See, e.g., Risto Saarinen, “ The Presence of God in Luther’ s Theology,” Lutheran Quarterly 3:1 (1994), 3ff. For an ecumenical Catholic treat- ment, see Oswald Bayer, “ Das Sein Jesus Christi im Glauben,” Theologische Literaturzeitung (1993), 23 276-84.
This idea of real participation in Christ brings Luther’ s idea into close connection with the classical Eastern view. See, e.g., Lossky, Mystical Theology , 67: “ The words of St. Peter are explicit: partakers of the divine nature . They leave us in no doubt as to the reality of the union with God which is promised us, and set before us as our Ž nal end, the blessedness of the age to come. It would be childish, not to say impious, to see in these words only a rhetorical expression or metaphor.” This emphasis is very important in relation to the Luther interpretation of the Mannermaa school that thinks in terms of the “ real-ontic” nature of deiŽ cation in Luther’ s theology. See also Risto Saarinen, “ Die Teil- habe an Gott bei Luther und in der Ž nnischen Lutherforschung,” in Luther und Ontologie , 167-82.24
So also, e.g., Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 3:215ff.
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work is present in the faith itself.
25
For him, the Christ present in faith is the forma Ždei, i.e., the realization or concrete manifestation of faith. Whereas Catholic theology considers love as a forma, Luther regards Christ himself as a link between faith and good works.
26
Luther, in contradistinction to later Lutheranism, does not differenti- ate between the person and the work of Christ. Christ himself, his per- son and his work, is the righteousness of humanity. In the language of the doctrine of justiŽ cation it means that Christ is both donum and favor (not only favor, as subsequent Lutheranism teaches).
27
Mannermaa’ s student Simo Peura has written a full-scale monograph on the idea of deiŽ cation in Luther.
28
Peura shows that even though Luther does not often use the term “ deiŽ cation” itself— even though it is one image of salvation in him
29— the idea of deiŽ cation is an integral motif of his theology. The most explicit passage comes from Luther’ s Sermon on the day of St. Peter and St. Paul (1519): “ For it is true that a man helped by grace is more than a man; indeed, the grace of God gives him the form of God and deiŽ es him, so that even the Scriptures call him God
25
Mannermaa, “ Theosis,” 42-44; idem, “ Luther ja Theosis” (Luther and Theosis), in Pastor et Episcopus Animarum. Studia in Honorem Episcopi Pauli Verschuren , ed. Pentti Laukama 26 (Vammala: Vammalan Kirjapaino, 1985), 15-29.
See Mannermaa, Der im Glauben , 95-105, for a careful comparison with Scholastic theology. Another student of Mannermaa, Antti Raunio, in his Summe des christlichen Lebens. Die Goldene Regel als Gesetz der Liebe in der Theologie Luthers von 1510 bis 1527 (Diss., Helsinki, 1993) shows how the idea of Christ present also relates to Luther’ s view of love on the basis of the Golden Rule. In loving one’ s neighbor, the Christian does to the neighbor as Christ has done to him or her, that is, one puts oneself in the position of one’ s neighbor and helps the neighbor as one would want another to help him or her in a similar situation. God through Christ receives the honor since the doer of the deed, in the 27 Ž nal analysis, is Christ present in faith.
For a careful analysis, see Simo Peura, “ Christus als Gunst und Gabe. Luthers Verstä ndnis der Rechtfertigung als Herausforderung an den ö kumenischen Dialog mit der Rö misch-katholischen 28 Kirche,” in Caritas Dei , 340-63.
Simo Peura, Mehr als ein Mensch? Die Vergö ttlichung as Thema der Theologie Luthers von 1513 bis 1519. Verö ffentlichungen des Instituts fü r Europä ische Geschichte (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1994). For publication and discussion of the results of the Mannermaa school’ s research on deiŽ cation, see: Luther und Theosis , ed. S. Peura and A. Raunio (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft, 1990); Thesaurus Lutheri , ed. T. Mannermaa, et al. (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft, 1987); Luther und Ontologie , ed. Kari Kopperi et al. (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola Gesellschaft, 1993); Nordiskt forum fö r studiet av Luther och luthersk teologi , Vol. 1, ed. T. Mannermaa (in German; Helsinki: Luther-Agricola- Gesellschaft, 29 1993).
The terms deiŽ co/vergotten/durchgotten appear thirty times in Luther’ s corpus. Simo Peura, “ Vergö ttlichungsgedanke in Luthers Theologie 1518– 1519,” in Thesaurus Lutheri, 171-72.
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and ‘ God’ s son.’ ”30 To cite yet another obvious example from Luther’ s Christmas sermon of 1514: “ Just as the word of God became esh, so its is certainly also necessary that the esh become word. For the word becomes esh precisely so that the esh may become word. In other words: God becomes man so that man may become God. Thus power becomes powerless so that weakness may become powerful. The logos puts on our form and manner . . .”31 It is easy to see that Luther, helped by the formulation of Athanasius and Irenaeus, presents here the idea of deiŽ cation as a union of logos and esh, or of Word and humanity. Although God does not stop being God and humanity does not stop being human, the unio though, is real; it is “ a community of being of God and man.”32
Although the term ‘ deiŽ cation’ is not frequent in Luther, the core idea is integral to him; he usually prefers terms like “ presence of Christ in faith,” “ the participation in God,” “ union with God,” “perichoresis ,” the famous Eastern term, and others. As already noted, Christ’ s real presence in a believer is the leading motif in Luther’ s soteriology. A classic formulation can be found, for example, in his Lectures on Galatians (1535). Speaking about “ true faith,” Luther says: “ It takes hold of Christ in such a way that Christ is the object of faith, or rather not the object, but so to speak, the One who is present in the faith itself . . . Therefore faith justiŽ es because it takes hold of and possesses this treasure, the pre- sent Christ.”33
The idea of participation in God is related to this implicit understanding of salvation as theosis. Luther does not hesitate to say that “ we are born again into eternal life by faith, that we may live in God and with God and be one with him, as Christ says (John 17:21).”34 Participation in Christ, following Paul (Phil. 3 et al.), is also participation in his cross. For Luther, the idea of deiŽ cation is closely linked with his theology of the cross.35
Pneumatological implications of this new approach of Luther scholar- ship are obvious. The leading idea, Christ present through faith, can also
30
WA 2, 247-48. Incidentally, it is from this passage that the title for Peura’ s work
comes: 31 Mehr als ein Mensch (“ More than a Man” ).
32
WA 1, 28, 25-32.
33
Mannermaa, “ Theosis,” 44.
34
WA 40, 228-29; Saarinen, “ The Presence of God,” 5-6.
35
WA 42, 48; Saarinen, “ The Presence of God,” 6-7.
For a recent, full-scale study on the theology of cross as one leading motif of Luther’ s theology, see Kari Kopperi, Paradoksien Teologia. Lutherin dispuraatio Heidel- bergissä 1518 (Theology of Paradoxes. Disputation in Heidelberg 1518) (Helsinki: Teologisen Kirjallisuusseuran Julkaisuja 208, 1997).
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be expressed pneumatically: it is through the Spirit of Christ that the medi- ation of salvatory gifts is accomplished. Participation in God is possible only through the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of adoption.
36
“ There is not justiŽ cation by faith without the Holy Spirit. Justifying faith is itself the experience that the love of God has been poured into our hearts ‘ through the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 5:5).”37
Pneumatological Orientation of Luther’ s De servo arbitrio
Several major research projects at the University of Helsinki are cur- rently underway focusing on pneumatological orientations in Luther.
38 The title of Prof. Miikka Ruokanen’ s preliminary study clearly expresses its purpose: Spiritus vel gratia est ipsa Ž des (Spirit or grace is the faith itself), with the subtitle A Pneumatological Concept of Grace in Luther’ s De servo arbitrio .39 Contrary to what is usually thought of Luther’ s major work De servo arbitrio (in which he vehemently attacks Erasmus), Ruokanen argues that the theology of grace and justiŽ cation is conceived very much in terms of pneumatology. Ruokanen shows that Augustine’ s concept of pneumatological gratia increata (i.e., the personal presence of the Triune
36
For a brief summmary of the idea of adoption in Luther, see Saarinen, “ The Presence of God,” 37 9-10.
38
Bakken, “ Holy Spirit and Theosis,” 410.
A study by Pekka Kä rkkä inen focuses on pneumatology in Luther in general and attempts to correct interpretations of earlier approaches that still bear the marks of neo- Kantian methodology. The classic introduction to Luther’ s pneumatology is Regin Prenter, Spiritus Creator , trans. John M. Jensen (Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1953). For recent developments in pneumatology from Reformation perspectives, see Der Heilige Geist: ö kumenische und reformatorische Untersuchungen . Verö ffentlichungen der Luther- Akademie Ratzeburg (Erlangen: Martin Luther Verlag, 1995). For our purposes, the fol- lowing articles are noteworthy: Ulrich Asendorf, “ Martin Luthers umfassende Neuentdeckung des Heiligen Geistes in Gesamtzusammenhang seiner Theologie— Korreferat zu Wolfgang A. Biener,” 57-64; “ ‘ Du musst den Geist haben!’ — Anthropologie und Pneumatologie bei Luther,” 65-88; Risto Saarinen, “ Die moderne Theologie und das pneumatologische DeŽ zit— eine 39ö kumenische Situationsbestimmung,” 245-63.
Still in an unpublished version (University of Helsinki, 1991, 124 pp.). It is expected that Ruokanen will expand it to a monograph, to be published both in Finnish and English. Ecumenically, it is highly signiŽ cant that the role of the Spirit in the doctrine of salvation is gaining more and more ground as is evident, e.g., in the recent, perhaps the most in uen- tial systematic theology of our age, Pannenberg, Systematic Theology , Vol. 3; the main sec- tion on soteriology is entitled “ The Basic Saving Works of the Spirit in Individual Christians,” 135ff. Cf. one of his summary statements just preceding the above-mentioned section: “ The Holy Spirit is the medium of the immediacy of individual Christians to God as he lifts them up to participation in the sonship of Jesus Christ and grants them, as a permanent gift, the Christian freedom that enables them to call conŽ dently on God as ‘ our Father’ (Rom. 8:15) . . .” (p. 134).
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The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation
God in humanity through the Holy Spirit) might be an indispensable the- ological background for Luther’ s emerging pneumatology of grace.
40
Ruokanen very carefully distinguishes Luther’ s theology of grace in De servo arbitrio both from the Scholastic and Nominalistic ( via mo- derna) doctrine of grace, and shows that there is a direct link in Luther’ s doctrine of grace with Augustine’ s pneumatological understanding of grace. In distinction from Eastern theology, and from Luther’ s under- standing of Erasmus, Luther places liberium arbitrium (free will) against the gracious effect of the Holy Spirit; this is in line with Luther’ s con- cept of necessity. Luther also strongly opposes the Scholastic rule faci- entibus quod in se est Deus non denegat gratiam suam (to those who do what they can God does not deny his grace).
Luther’ s theology is centered on the person and the work of Christ, and its modes of thought are christologically concentrated. But Ruokanen shows that in De servo arbitrio even Luther’ s theology of the cross takes a profoundly pneumatological form; “ it is still the same gratia increata of the merciful God who makes a sinner just by presenting the sinner the righteousness of Christ.”41 Holding to the classical canon according to which the works of the Trinity are indivisible externally ( opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa ), it is possible for Luther to create a doctrine of justiŽ cation in terms of pneumatology. Interestingly enough, Ruokanen argues that adhering to pneumatology is the means by which Luther can completely refute all the synergistic tendencies implied by the facere quod in se est axiom of the Nominalists. For Luther, pneumatology represents divine initiative, “ God’ s monergism,” distinct from and in contrast to any notion of the natural capacities of the human arbitrium (will).42
According to Ruokanen, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is the liv- ing divine reality that encounters humanity and creates a mystical unity between the sinner and the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit makes the out- come of Christ’ s cruciŽ xion and resurrection an instant and intimate real- ity that enters the intimate center of human personality and touches the ultimate limits and foundations of a person’ s life and existence.
43
40
The interest on theosis and pneumatology in Luther is, of course, not limited to Finnish Lutheran theologians. E.g., Kenneth Bakken’ s recent article, “ Holy Spirit and Theosis” (St. Vladimir’ s Theological Quarterly 38 1994: 409-423) opens interesting hori- zons both to charismatically oriented readers of Luther and to those wanting to see more convergence between the Eastern emphasis on sin as “ sickness” leading to mortality and the 41Reformation view of sin as juridical deserving punishment.
42
Ruokanen, Gratia vel spiritus , 108.
43
Ibid., 108-9.
Ibid., 109-10.
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In line with his anthropology, Luther’ s doctrine of grace is sharpened by his strong conception of the opposing spiritual transcendence. He emphasizes that no neutrality exists: either God’ s Spirit viviŽ es a human being, or else he or she lives in the enslavement to the powerful enemy. The central place of pneumatology in the doctrine of justiŽ cation safe- guards the idea of the absolute freedom and mercifulness of the divine Almighty. The Holy Spirit is the agent of movement and change. No other entity can be substituted for the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
44
Ruokanen summarizes his study in the following terms. The pneuma- tological concept of grace is a twofold modiŽ cation of the same doctrine of divine grace that is present in a predominantly christological form in many of Luther’ s other writings. It comprises both the aspects of causa efŽciens of conversion ( gratia operans in Augustine) and the forma sub- stantialis of the grace itself ( gratia increata in Augustine).
45
In other words, grace to Luther is the personal presence of Christ or the Holy Spirit in the inmost secrecy of human being.
46
Christ’ s Real Presence in Charismatic Lutheran Theology
A very interesting study for the purposes of the present essay is the inquiry into the pneumatological implications of the doctrine of salvation in Charismatic Lutheran theology. Dr. Markku Antola has recently pub- lished his dissertation entitled The Experience of Christ’ s Real Presence in Faith.47 The Charismatic theology of Lutheranism describes charis- matic experience
48 as the presence of the Triune God through God’ s
44
45
Ibid., 110.
Ruokanen (Ibid., 110-11) notes that, for instance, Luther’ s Commentary on Galatians , 1531, teaches the same familiar Augustinian principles of gratia operans and gratia incre- ata in terms of Christology as those which De servo arbitrio teaches in terms of pneu- matology46 .
Ruokanen, Gratia vel spritus , 111. Consequently, justifying grace is not gratia gra- tum faciens , as the Scholastics thought, a supernatural hbitus of the human soul presented by divien grace and perfected by the cooperation of grace and man/woman to become gra- tia creata47 .
With the subtitle: An Analysis on the Christ-Presence-Motif in the Lutheran Charismatic Renewal. Schriften der Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft 43 (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola- Gesellschaft, 1998). The primary source of the study was the International Lutheran Charismatic Renewal Leader’ s consultation, published as Welcome Holy Spirit , ed. Larry Christenson 48 (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1987).
Antola (The Experience , 47) makes use of Moltmann’ s concept ‘ immanent tran- scendence’ (see Moltmann, The Spirit of Life: A Universal AfŽ rmation [Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1992], 47-48) to express the transcendent dimension of the personal or inter-
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The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation
Spirit.49 The actual purpose of the Holy Spirit’ s work is to create faith in Christ and to lead the believer into a “ living union” with Christ. “ But the Holy Spirit alone creates true faith, whereby one is actually united with the living Christ as the present and redeeming Lord.”50 It is noteworthy that Christ’ s presence is often expressed by the union-with-Christ concept:
If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). The newness is not simply the fact that human nature has been forgiven and cleansed . . . The newness goes deeper: a person now lives in union with the risen Christ. That which has been created, the “ new creation,” is precisely this reality of the indwelling Spirit establishing and maintaining the risen Christ and the believer in a living union.
51
Explicitly using Luther’ s language, Antola presents Charismatic the- ology as supporting the assertion that “ in the faith itself Christ is pre- sent.”52 Also, “ Faith describes the whole action by which the Holy Spirit brings the living, redeeming presence of Christ into a living union with a human being. The initiative and the power to accomplish this lies with the Spirit.”53
Also, in line with Luther’ s own theology— but not necessarily of sub- sequent Lutheranism— Charismatic theologians teach that the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of Christ’ s work to the believer ( favor Dei) is to be followed by unio with Christ, where Christ comes to live inside the believer as God’ s gift ( donum). In other words, justiŽ cation does not only include God’ s favor but also Christ as the gift living inside the Christian.
54 Charismatic Lutheran theology is also helpful in maintaining— in line with Luther himself, but against his later interpreters— that justiŽ cation and sanctiŽ cation, rather than being two distinct matters, occur inside each other and happen simultaneously.
55
An important bridge to Pentecostal-Holiness traditions is the accent on experience: “ No one can correctly understand God or his Word unless he has received such understanding immediately from the Holy Spirit.
actional experience. Cf. George Lindbeck’ s arguments in ( The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age [London: SPCK], 36-37) against the “ experiential- expressive” 49 model.
Antola, The Experience , chap. 2, “ The Charismatic Experience as the Presence of
God,” 50 esp. pp. 53ff.
51
Welcome Holy Spirit , 141.
52
Ibid., 142; Antola, The Experience , 56-57.
53
Welcome Holy Spirit , 142-143; Antola, The Experience , 58.
54
Welcome Holy Spirit , 69.
55
Antola, The Experience , 58.
Ibid., 64.
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But no one can receive it from the Holy Spirit without experiencing, prov- ing, and feeling it.”56
Concluding Re ections: The Ecumenical Challenges
of Luther’ s Pneumatological Soteriology
The most recent Luther scholarship has opened fruitful horizons into the pneumatological resources of Luther’ s theology. The Eastern doctrine of deiŽ cation has been an important catalyst here. DeiŽ cation is an ecu- menically fruitful and a biblically-theologically legitimate image of sal- vation that carries a lot of pneumatological potential.
57
For a long time, it was believed that Reformation and Orthodox sote- riologies were diametrically opposed to each other. A closer scrutiny shows that this is not necessarily the case. A faithful reading of Luther’ s texts reveals that the idea of deiŽ cation is not just occasional but an integral part of the structure of Luther’ s view of salvation. Even though the con- cept of deiŽ cation is not extensively used by Luther, other corresponding concepts leave no doubt about the legitimacy of theosis as an image of salvation. Ecumenically in general and with regard to Pentecostal-Lutheran relations in particular, it is extremely signiŽ cant that it seems to be pos- sible to express the classical Reformation doctrine of salvation and justiŽ ca- tion in pneumatological terms.
Jü rgen Moltmann has a helpful section on soteriology in his Spirit of Life, in which he criticizes the traditional Reformation/Lutheran view for not paying due attention to the role of the Spirit in salvation. Referring to such passages as Titus 3:5-7 that speak about the “ washing of regen-
56
Welcome Holy Spirit , 117-18; Antola, The Experience , 61. Ecumenically this state- ment is important since it brings into light the same emphasis that has been characteristic even of a more recent Catholic doctrine of grace. Karl Rahner, the most noted spokesper- son for the new approach, against the widespread neo-Scholastic position that grace can- not be experienced (because it is supernatural), holds that people do experience grace. Following Rahner, several leading theologians of the Catholic Church have come to describe the essence of grace and salvation in pneumatological terms. For a detailed discussion, with bibliographical references, see Veli-Matti Kä rkkä inen, Spiritus ubi vult spirat. Pneumatology in Roman Catholic– Pentecostal Dialogue 1972-1989. Schriften der Luther- Agricola-Gesellschaft 57 42 (Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Gesellschaft, 1998), 160ff.
For an interesting discussion concerning the emergence of pneumatological orien- tation in the Anabaptist tradition, in dialogue with the Eastern notion of theosis, see Thomas N. Finger, “ Anabaptism and Eastern Orthodoxy: Some Unexpected Similarities,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 31:2 (Spring 1994), 67-91. For Pentecostal-Holiness Traditions, see David Bundy, “ Visions of SanctiŽ cation: Themes of Orthodoxy in the Methodist, Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions,” paper read at the European Pentecostal Charismatic Research Association Meeting, Prague, September 14-17, 1999.
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The Holy Spirit and JustiŽ cation
eration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly,” Moltmann emphasizes that “ ‘ regeneration’ as ‘ renewal’ comes about through the Holy Spirit” when the “ Spirit is ‘ poured out.’ ”58 By making further reference to John 4:14, the metaphor of the divine “ well- spring of life” that begins to ow in a human being, he contends that “ through this experience of the Spirit, who comes upon us from the Father through the Son, we become ‘ justiŽ ed through grace.’ ”59
Moltmann contends that “ in order to present regeneration of men and women as their justiŽ cation, the Reformation doctrine of justiŽ cation has to be expanded” in three interrelated directions. First, it must show the saving signiŽ cance of Christ’ s death and resurrection. Second, it must from the outset be presented pneumatologically as experience of the Spirit. And third, it must be eschatologically oriented.
60
Moltmann’ s threefold emphasis helps us to reorient soteriology toward a proper pneumatological balance. First, it focuses on the crucial role of the Spirit in justiŽ cation and regeneration in accordance with many New Testament witnesses. Second, it puts more stress on the process of sanctiŽ cation than traditional Reformation doctrine has done. Again, quot- ing Moltmann: “ The operation of the Spirit as we experience it is there- fore a double one: it is the justiŽ cation of the godless out of grace, and their rebirth to a living hope through their installation in their right to inherit God’ s future. The justiŽ cation of the godless is the initial opera- tion of the outpouring of the Spirit . . .”61 Such is the possible point of convergence suggested by Luther’ s soteriology, not only between Lutherans and Orthodox in dialogue, but also for Charismatics and Pentecostals.
58
59
Moltmann, Spirit of Life , 146.
60
Ibid., 146.
61
Ibid., 411; see also Bakken, “ Holy Spirit and Theosis,” 410-11.
Moltmann, Spirit of Life , 146-47.
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