Reformed Evangelical Catholic Press

Martin Luther’s Theologia Crucis

Chase Reed

Notable Anglican theologian John Stott includes in the first chapter of his well-known book, The Cross of Christ, the statement, “From Jesus’ youth, indeed even from his birth, the cross cast its shadow ahead of Him. His death was central to His mission.” Certainly, the cross was key in Christ’s death, as well as His goal for saving humanity. But the cross was also central to the theology of German theologian, Martin Luther, who opposed certain practices and teachings of the medieval Roman Catholic Church. In the Spring of 1518, Luther was called to the city of Heidelberg to present 28 theses defending his theological views, part of which was his theologia crucis (Latin for “theology of the cross”), as seen in theses 18 through 24. By looking primarily at his theses at the Heidelberg disputation, one can understand Luther’s theology of the cross as it pertains to how one is to know God and to live out the Christian faith.

Theologia Crucis and Knowing God

To begin to understand Luther’s theologia crucis by unpacking his perspective on knowing God, one can start by looking at Theses 19 to 22 from the aforementioned Disputation. Thesis 19, to begin with, reads as follows: “That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened.” In this instance, Luther draws upon the biblical truth given by Paul in Romans where the Apostle states that God’s invisible attributes “…have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made…” (Rom. 1.20 ESV). It is here that Luther begins to display his perspective by contrasting the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross. From Thesis 19, Luther is warning against those theologians of glory who “try to speculate about God on the basis of the created world and historical data” apart from the revelation of Christ’s death on the cross. It is evident then, that Luther is opposed to agreeing that God can be rightly understood apart from the revelation of the cross. If Christ is the complete image of God according to the Scriptures, then the act of Jesus on the cross, according to Luther, is the complete revelation of God’s love for Man (Col 1.15). Therefore, Luther points out that scholars should not seek to divorce God’s revelation from the act of Christ on the cross. This point is further proven when Luther states in the 20th Thesis: “He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross.” Truly knowing God, then, for Luther must be coupled with the reality of Christ’s suffering on the cross.

In Theses 21 and 22, Luther expands on his two previous theses, by contrasting the glory-based and cross-based theologians with how they perceive suffering and works. He posits that the theologian of glory does not see reality, and thus God’s work in the Christian’s life, as it actually is. Rather, he calls suffering evil while he calls works good. Luther sees this as the opposite of how Christ calls His followers to view suffering for His sake. In a separate letter to one of his contemporaries, Luther encourages him by stating, “say…with Christ: ‘Cross, cross,’ and there is no cross. For the cross ceases to be a cross as soon as you say joyfully: ‘Blessed cross, there is no tree like you.” This is in line with his theses as he displays that if one is a theologian of the cross, then even that which causes great suffering, such as the cross, can be viewed in light of Christ’s work and made to bring hope to Men and glory to God. And this according to Luther is the correct way to interpret reality, and therefore, know the God of reality.

Theologia Crucis and the Christian Life

To understand Luther’s theologia crucis as it relates to how one should live out their faith and Christian life, one must look to Thesis 18 in the Disputation, as well as Theses 23 and 24. Luther gives a serious warning in Thesis 18 where he states, “It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.” Luther echoes Proverbs 1:7 in that Man must have an awe-filled fear of God before he can either know him or be received into God’s grace. Author Jos Vercruysse expands on this section of the Disputation stating, “…to be a true theologian is a confessing sinner, full of fear and despair, acquainted with God’s way of dealing with man…in order to perform ultimately his proper work of justification.” This relates to the cross, as Christ Himself had to also suffer in order for sinners to be reconciled to God. Luther so highlights this in order that all Christians, whether they be clergy or laity, should see suffering as not something to be avoided but rather as something as a freeing event that allows one to see the reality of God.

Within all three Theses (18, 23-24), Luther also evokes a sense that the theologian who is rooted in the cross will have no room for pride in his life. His 23rd thesis comes in with a message even more convicting than the 18th. Luther writes, “The law brings the wrath of God, kills, reviles, accuses, judges, and condemns everything that is not in Christ.” With this sobering reminder, Luther shows how a person cannot have pride if they are to know God or live out the Christian faith. The theologian of the cross must remind himself daily of Thesis 23, for without the cross, “it is utterly presumptuous of [Man] to strive for grace on the basis of his own strength.” Luther echoes this sentiment in the second half of Thesis 24 where he proclaims, “…without the theology of the cross Man misuses the best in the worst manner.” This theme of evading pride in his theologia crucis is not only convicting but biblical. The Apostle Peter, nearly one-thousand, five hundred early wrote that in light of the cross, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Pet. 5.6). Peter also brings his argument for humility, as Luther would, back to the cross when he states a few chapters earlier, “[Christ]…bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2.24). Many such examples are seen in both the Petrine and Pauline letters, and Luther is clearly inspired by such. For Luther, a person lives out their Christian faith by first humbling themselves by recognizing their sin as the Law convicts, but then continues to live in joyful humility by the work done on the cross by the Lord.

An Objection to Luther’s Theologia Crucis

It is worth noting that Luther’s theologia crucis displayed at the Heidelberg Disputation was not unanimously appreciated by all who heard it, especially by that of the Roman Catholic Church. Though there weren’t any academic, civil, or ecclesiastical condemnations issued against him after the Disputation, Luther challenged those that disagreed with him to either point out a better understanding of the matters he was treating or to submit their charges to a church tribunal. One of the subjects Luther’s opponents contended was the aspect of his theologia crucis that downplayed the theologian of glory’s use of natural theology to understand God. Natural theology had become a crucial point in defending the existence of God, as the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas, developed the framework of this theological method in the 13th century. Luther’s opponents viewed his challenge to the theologian of glory as an attack on it. As Lutheran scholar Heino Kadai points out, “Luther clearly rejects the Thomistic type of natural theology. But he does not reject a ‘natural’ knowledge of God. As far as Luther is concerned, to move from below to above, from creation to the Creator via analogia entis (“analogy of being”), is not sound theology.” In other words, Luther believes that to look at Creation as the starting point of doing theology is poor practice. This leads him to defend his theology of the cross, believing that Man can better understand God through the actions of Christ, namely His suffering and death, in order to live out his faith and bring others into the Kingdom. If the cross is not the central and beginning point of theology, then Luther views such a system as inadequate.

As one reads Luther’s Theses from the Heidelberg Disputation, one can see that Luther’s theology of the cross informs his view of, first, how Man can know God, and second, how Man is expected to live out their faith as Christians. Although the Disputation was a success for Luther he was not met without criticism from his Roman Catholic contemporaries. However, his theology of the cross survived over the years. Today, Protestants are reminded of Luther’s notion of “the cross as the revelation of God’s purposes and as the criterion for truth in theology and life.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Grimm, Harold J. and Helmut T. Lehmann, eds. “The Heidelberg Disputation.” Pages 39-58 in Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer [LW 31]. Minnesota: Fortress Press, 1957.
  • Kadai, Heino O. “Luther’s Theology of the Cross.” Concordia Theological Quarterly 63, no. 3 (1999): 169-204.
  • Stott, John R. W. The Cross of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2006.
  • Trueman, Carl. “The Sacred Cross: Martin Luther and the Marks of a True Church.” Pages 55-69 in Reformation 500: How the Greatest Revival Since Pentecost Continues to Shape the World Today. Edited by Ray Van Neste and J. Michael Garret. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016.
  • Vercruysse, Jos E. “Luther’s Theology of the Cross at the Time of the Heidelberg Disputation.” Gregorianum 57, no. 3 (1976): 523–48. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23575620.

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