Concerning Martin Luther, here are some of his notorious writings on how only a subjective illumination of Scripture through the Holy Spirit can open its proper meaning to us. Luther was deeply intuitive. He did move toward a more literal reading toward the end of his life, but this is when he became bitter and fiercely anti-Semitic and needed the dead letter to attack his enemies. But, during his prime he was an advocate of spiritual exegesis, a well accepted reading style adopted by the church fathers and the anabaptists of his day. Luther, at one point, even thought that certain passages and books in the canon such as the book of James did not belong in the Bible. So, overall, Luther was no champion of literalism. Rather, in his prime and at his best, he was a devout spiritual exegete. If God does not open and explain Holy Writ, none else can understand it; it will remain a closed book, enveloped in darkness. M. Luther, Works, ed. J. Pelikan, XIII, p. 17. Therefore the first duty is to begin with a prayer of such a nature that God in His great mercy may grant you the true understanding of His words. Werke, Weimer Auflage , XIII, p. 57. The Bible cannot be mastered by study or talent, you must rely solely on the influx of the Spirit. Dr. Martin Luthers Briefwechsel, eds. E. L. Enders and G. Kawerau, I, p. 141. No-one can understand God or His Word who has not received such understanding directly from the Holy Ghost. Werke, Weimer Auflage, VII, p. 546. For nobody understands His precepts unless it be given him from above.... You understand them, however, because the Holy Spirit teaches you.... Therefore those most sadly err who presume to understand the Holy Scriptures and the law of God by taking hold of them with their own understanding and study. Werke, Weimer Auflage, LVII, p. 185; cf. XV, p. 565.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 16:57:48 +0000
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