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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 March 2011
History has not yet taken its full measure of Martin Butzer who must be adjudged as standing within the sphere of Reformed rather than Lutheran theology, not only because of his masterful influence on Calvin or Calvin's considerable influence on him, but because his pioneer work in Biblical hermeneutics and patristic study helped to shape the whole Reformed Church. If Luther's theology is to be interpreted over against the development of Western thought particularly in its medieval form, that of Butzer is to be understood in terms of the Catholic Church and patristic theology of the first six centuries, for here we have a great attempt to get behind medievalism and, as Calvin put it, writing from Strasburg, to restore the face of the ancient Catholic Church. In further contrast to the Lutheran position Butzer's theology is more broadly based on the teaching of Scripture. Ephesians, Galatians and the Johannine writings, for example, are interpreted together, and so the Biblical ideas of election and adoption into the Body of Christ are placed alongside the doctrines of rebirth and justification by faith, and they are thought into each other, while the ministry of the Gospel, as well as the Gospel itself, becomes a de fide matter. It was in line with this that, while Luther laid all the stress upon the Word of God, Butzer (to be followed by Calvin) invariably stressed the Word and Spirit in their inseparable conjunction.
page 48 note 1 See, for example, Butzer's praelectiones on the Epistle to the Ephesians delivered in Cambridge in 1550 and 1551 (published at Heidelberg in 1561) in which Butzer apparently follows Calvin's Commentary on the same Epistle (published in 1548) in which Christ is spoken of as the cause of election in all four senses of cause, final, efficient, formal and material. Butzer, Enarr. in Eph., 19 ff.
page 48 note 2 See the In sacra quattuor Evangelia enarrationes perpetuae, 1553.
page 48 note 3 This is particularly clear in regard to the all-important little work, Von der waren Seelsorge und dem rechten Hirtendienst, wie der selbige inn der Kircahen Christi bestellet und verichtet werden solle, 1538. A Latin edition, De vera animarum cura, is found in the Scripta Anglicana, 1577, 260–356, where the purpose of the work is described as ad ipsius gloriam sempitemam, sanctique regni sui incrementtan, 264.
page 48 note 4 Scripta Anglicana, 262 f.
page 48 note 5 Vide infra.
page 48 note 6 See again Von der waren Seelsorge, and also the Explicatio in dictum Apost. Eph. 4, Scripta Anglicana, 504–38. It is this chapter in the Epistle to the Ephesians which became dominant in the Reformed doctrine of the Church, as taught by Calvin, Peter Martyr and John Knox. There is no doubt that it was Butzer's influence which was paramount there.
page 48 note 7 Scripta Anglicana, 31 f., 517, etc. and especially Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion 1548, published by F. Wendel in, Revue d'Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses, 1951/1. Cf. e.g., 34 f. and 44 f.
page 48 note 8 Ecclesiae Regnum is equivalent to Evangelium Regni: Enarr. in Matt., iv. 23. See also the De vi et usu sacri ministerii explicatio, Scripta Anglicana, 553–610.
page 49 note 1 Enarr. in Iohannem i. 155. 39, 46: De Regno Christi, Scripta Anglicana, 4, 15 f., 260 f.: Enarr. In Ps. 122: Metaphrasis et Enarr. in Rom. vi, etc.
page 49 note 2 See also the Preface to Butzer's Metaphrasis et Enarratio in Epist. D. Pauli. Apost. Ad Romanos, 1562, iv. It was Butzer's hope that through England the reestablishment of the Regnum Christi would spread all through Europe.
page 49 note 3 Scripta Anglicana, 164 f.
page 49 note 4 Scripta Anglicana, 3 f.
page 49 note 5 Op. cit. 270, from the De vera animarum cura.
page 49 note 6 This does not mean a Münsterisch view of the Kingdom which Butzer explicitly repudiates—see Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 72: Reich Christi das sie ins zeitlich gesetzit. For Butzer this has to be balanced by the conception of the Kingdom as regnum caelorum.
page 49 note 7 Op. cit. 296: Pater Christo Domino Nostro potestatem dedit super omnem carnem: ut redintegret omnia in coelo et in terra: ut ei flectatur omne genu omnesque linguae Dominum glorificent ac praedicent: denique ut regnet usque ad fines terrae, omnesque populos haereditate possideat.
page 49 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 30 f. This is a very frequent and dominant concept which also plays a similar role in Calvin's thought.
page 50 note 1 In Prophetam Sophoniam explanatio (published along with Enarr. in Ps., 1554), 568.
page 50 note 2 Cf. Enarr. in Matt., iii. 2.
page 50 note 3 Regnum et civitatem sanctam in terris, hoc est Ecclesiam: Scripta Anglicana, 19.
page 50 note 4 Scripta Anglicana, 5–11. As such it is the Kingdom of God and Christ: Enarr. in Ps., 147, 313, 361 etc.
page 50 note 5 Enarr. In Ps., 132.
page 50 note 6 Scripta Anglicana, 8 f. The subjection of the regnum mundi to the Regnum Christi is on the ground that sacro baptismate omnes regno Christi incorporantur et in obedientiam eius sese addicunt: ibid., 9. Cf. 33.
page 50 note 7 Or the Regnum Mediatoris, as he calls it elsewhere: Enarr. in Ps. xi, 22.
page 50 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 4, 14.
page 50 note 9 Enarr. in Lucam ii. 33, where the Kingdom is spoken of as ‘the sign of all grace and benevolence toward the genus humanum.’
page 50 note 10 Enarr. in Matt., xiii. 20: Proprie regnum Christi est quod sacerdotium eius, et situm in justificatione et intercessione pro sanctificatis.
page 50 note 11 But cf. 16: Omnis Christi Ecclesia debet esse evangelizatrix ita ut in omni sanctorum coetu sonet vox Evangelii assidue, fiducia maxima et studio ardentissimo. Summa Evangelii est nobis exhibere filium Dei, et ceu praesentem offerre et dicere, Ecce Deum Vestrum hoc est, peccatorum condonatorem atque bonorum omnium Vitaeque aetemae largitorem. Hoc debet quaelibet vera Christi Ecclesia, non suis tantum hominibus, verum etiam quibuscunque possit populis et hominibus indefinenter, et quam clarissime praedicare atque adclamare, Ecce Deus Vester.
page 51 note 1 See especially, De vera animarum cura, De vi et usu sacri ministerii explicatio, and Explicatio in Eph. iv. The Reformed Churches had to fight for this doctrine against the Roman conceptions of the Church as absolute institution and corpus mysticum.
page 51 note 2 Enarr. in Matt., xiii. 24.
page 51 note 3 Enarr. in Matt., v. 3.
page 51 note 4 Scripta Anglicana, 11.
page 51 note 5 Scripta Anglicana, 287; Enarr. in Matt., v. if.; in Matt., v. 18f. Ecclesia praesens aedificatur ex bonus et malis sed caelistis ex electis solum: Enarr. in Ps., 95.
page 51 note 6 Enarr. in Matt., v. 19; Enarr. in Matt., xii. 31f.; Enarr. in Lucam ii. 23; Scripta Anglicana. 20, 31. ‘The Lord does not wish to make known to us the mysteries of election, but commands us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature—in all the world and to every creature’: Scripta Anglicana, 296.
page 51 note 7 Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 38.
page 51 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 164f. The universum Regnum requires an ecclesiam universam: Met. et Enarr. in Rom. iv.
page 51 note 9 Although the Church is communio, par excellence, Butzer recognises that it has aliqua communio in common with general society on the ground of the charitas required by the law of all men in their relationships of life and work. See Enarr. in Eph., 29f.
page 52 note 1 Enarr. in Ps., 240.
page 52 note 2 E.g. Scripta Anglicana, 556f.
page 52 note 3 Op. cit., 10. Cf. 271: Hoc regimen gerit et exercet Dominus in domo Iacob, id est, in Ecclesia, perpetuo est et habitat apud suos usque ad finem mundi: non quidem sensibiliter out more huius mundi, quern reliquit, at vere tamen et efficaciter. In similar vein Butzer speaks of the Church as verus Israel, terra Domini: Enarr. in Ps., 335.
page 52 note 4 Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 20.
page 52 note 5 Scripta Anglicana, 322f. I t is the archa foederis: Enarr. in Ps., 388.
page 52 note 6 Op. cit., 306f., cf. 7: vera fraterna charitas.
page 52 note 7 1538 edition, p. 4. Similar definitions of the Regnum Christi are given in the Scripta Anglicana. Cf. 3f.: Regnum Servatoris nostri Jesu Christi, administrate est et procuratio salutis aetemae electorum Dei, qua hic ipse Dominus noster et Rex coelorum, doctrina et disciplina sua, per idoneos et ab ipso delectos ad hoc ipsum ministros administratis, electos suos (quos habet in mundo dispersos, et vult nihilominus mundi potestatibus esse subjectos) colligit ad se, sibique et Ecclesiae suae incorporat, atque in ea sic gubemat, ut purgati indies plenius peccatis, bene beateque vivant hic et in futuro An alternative definition follows on p. 32 which stresses more the work of the Holy Spirit and the sacraments. See also 271.
page 52 note 8 Op. cit., 1; cf. 39, 47f. etc., and also Scripta Anglicana, 267, 304f, 521f., 556ff.
page 52 note 9 Scripta Anglicana, 273; Ein Summarised vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 44; Met. et Enarr. in Rom. iv.
page 52 note 10 Scripta Anglicana, 177, 559. The old Latin translation of Eph. is followed rather closely.
page 53 note 1 This is supremely evident in the Lord's Supper, op. cit. 32 if.
page 53 note 2 Vide supra (note 8 on previous page).
page 53 note 3 Scripta Anglicana, 20, 85, 288, 559. Because Christ dwells in all Christians, all are needed to heal the wounds of the people, op. cit. 304 f., 533 f. See also the Formula brevis visitandi aegroti, Scripta Anglicana, 356–9.
page 53 note 4 Scripta Anglicana, 20. Cf. 19 where evangelizare is spoken of as omnis Christiani hominis proprium et praecipuum munus.
page 53 note 5 Cf. Scripta Anglicana, 268: Christiani communionem suam habent non solum in spiritualibus sed etiam in temporalibus. See also 560 f.
page 53 note 6 Cf. Scripta Anglicana, 12: Quicunque vere credit Christo, is non potest regnum eius non praedicare, et ad Mud, quos queat, invitare.
page 53 note 7 Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 38: ein ware treue thetige liebe.
page 53 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 32 f., 139.
page 53 note 9 Enarr. in Eph., 26 f.
page 53 note 10 Enarr. in Matt. v. 19; in Matt. iv. 23.
page 53 note 11 Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 40 f.
page 54 note 1 See the recurring expressions in Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion : in geistlichen oder weltlichen sachen (16), dutch sein h. Evangeli unnd catch in eüsseren zeitlichen thun (18), zu jrem zeitlichen unnd ewigen heil (38), mit zeitlichen unnd ewigen gueteren (42), zu disem unnd dem ewigen leben (84).
page 54 note 2 Scripta Anglicana, 31; see also 10 f., 28 f., 295 f., 509 f., 521 f., 527 f. etc.
page 54 note 3 Op. cit., 20, 30, 364. In this context virtus also involves the sense of power or action. Cf. 16: Ubi vox Christi non sonat cum virtute, ibi ecclesia Christi non est.
page 54 note 4 Op. cit., 30.
page 54 note 5 Enarr. in Matt, xviii. 7 f.
page 54 note 6 Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 38.
page 54 note 7 Scripta Anglicana, 167 f.
page 54 note 8 Enarr. in Matt. viii. 11; in Johannem iii. 15 f., 21 f.
page 54 note 9 Enarr. in Iohannem xvii. 1; Scripta Anglicana, 557.
page 54 note 10 Cf. Enarr. in Matt. ix. 2: Saluas enim et vita est fides ipsa, hoc est certa futurae salutis et vitae persuasio : qua interea iustus vivit, accepto arrabone Spiritus, qui ad iustitiam inclinat quae Spiritus primatiae dicuntur. See Enarr. in Matt, xxiii. 1.
page 54 note 11 Enarr. in Matt, xviii. 1. f. See also Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 38, 70.
page 54 note 12 Scripta Anglicana, 31.
page 54 note 13 See especially Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, section on Die Christliche gemeinde xi, 44.
page 54 note 14 See Scripta Anglicana, 504 ff.
page 54 note 15 Op. cit., 556 ff., and Enarratio Epistolae D. Pauli ad Ephesios, 108 ff.
page 55 note 1 Enarr. in Ps., 312 f., 374.
page 55 note 2 Enarr. in Matt., iv. 23.
page 55 note 3 Scripta Anglicana, 164 f.
page 55 note 4 Op. cit., 287: Ecclesiae autem a Christo Domino nostro per pretiosum eius sanguinem redemptae sunt, ut sint regnum eius sanctum ac liberum. Harum igitur sunt omnis, ipsae autem solius Christi. See also 558 where Butzer discusses Paul's ideas of the Church as πλρωμα.
page 55 note 5 Scripta Anglicana, 4. Similarly the Regnum Christi is said to exercise its own coaction or compulsion but in a way contra carnem: Scripta Anglicana, 297.
page 55 note 6 Munus proprium Christi praedicare Evangelium, non dare leges: Enarr. in Matt. iv. 23.
page 55 note 7 Wir verhelssen auch den unseren\so bei dem Euangelio bleiben/nit zeitlichen sig/reich unnd herschung/wie die falschen Propheten zu Münster gethon/sonder das der Herre verheissen hat/ewige gnad und hilffe Gottes/zu disem unnd dem ewigen leben/damit wir hie/so lang er uns will auff erden haben/seinen Namen heiligen/sein reich befordem/und seinem willen geleben moegen. Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 84.
page 55 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 9. Of the ministry of the Church Butzer says, ut mundum ad verbum suum regnumque excitant: Scripta Anglicana, 275.
page 55 note 9 Op. cit., 164f.
page 55 note 10 Op. cit., 52, 67, 164f.
page 55 note 11 Scripta Anglicana, 7 f., 50 f., 136, 353 ff.
page 55 note 12 Scripta Anglicana, Praefatio, i. See also 8.
page 56 note 1 Op. cit., 164.
page 56 note 2 Op. cit., 165.
page 56 note 3 Scripta Anglicana, 5 f. This involves the idea that the Oberkeit ein heilig Goettlich ampt ist: see Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 72.
page 56 note 4 In vera theologia tantum quisque rite novit quantum vita exprimit. Cited from W. Pauck, The Heritage of the Reformation, 302. Cf. also, Vera theologia non theoretka et speculativa, sed activa et practica est. Finis sequidem eius agere est, hoc est vitam vivere deiformem: from Enarr. in quat. Ev. (Basel, 1536—cited from Pauck, ibid.). Cf. Enarr. in Lucam ii. 50: Vera theologia scientia est pie et beats vivendi: sine quo multa nosse, et variis de rebus posse differere, etiam daemonum est.
page 56 note 5 Enarr. in Matt., xviii. 7 f. Cf. Scripta Anglicana, 14: Explicat vim suam fides per charitatem, quae ut benefaciat hominibus oblaedat neminem, semper elaborat.
page 56 note 6 Ennar. in Matt., xviii. 7 f, xv, 1 f.; Scripta Anglicana, 30.
page 56 note 7 Scripta Anglicana, 1.
page 56 note 8 Enarr. in Matt., xiii. 30.
page 56 note 9 Enarr. in Matt., v. 3.
page 56 note 10 Scripta Anglicana, 33, 556, etc.
page 57 note 1 Enarr. in Matt., xxiv. 27: in Matt., v. 38: in Matt., xxii. 41. ‘Spiritual’ usually refers to the priestly or mediatorial mode of the Regnum Christi, as distinct from the kingdoms of this world. He also speaks of Regnum Christi as Regnum cognitionis atque revelationis, Regnum Spiritus in Enarr. in Iohannem i. 34.
page 57 note 2 Scripta Anglicana, 57 f.
page 57 note 3 Op. cit., 59.
page 57 note 4 Op. cit., 14, 54 f., 146, 149 f. 347 f. Cf. Enarr. in Matt., vii. 12; viii. 10; v. 19, etc. Even as Respublica Christiana the State is not to impose spiritual matters upon the people by edict but rather by persuasion (Scripta Anglicana, 58 f.). No one is therefore to be compelled against his will in matters spiritual, e.g. in going to the Lord's Table (298 f.). Charitatis etenim Christianae proprium est, ut quisque alterum praestantiorem habeat, et fidei libertatem circumscribere vult nemo: Enarratio Epistolae D. Pauli ad Ephesios, 13.
page 57 note 5 Scripta Anglicana, 80 f.
page 57 note 6 Ein Summarischer vergriff der Christlichen lehre und Religion, 38 f.
page 57 note 7 The State is also responsible for encouraging widespread preaching of the Word: Scripta Anglicana, 64.
page 57 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 5–11.
page 57 note 9 See, e.g., Scripta Anglicana, 40 ff., 43 f., 64, 73, 324 f., etc.
page 57 note 10 Scripta Anglicana, 40 f.
page 57 note 11 Vide supra.
page 58 note 1 Enarr. in Matt., xiii. 30. Sometimes Butzer uses humanitas as a synonym for charitas (Scripta Anglicana, 14.) Humanitas was used more by Calvin.
page 58 note 2 Enarr. in Iohannem xvii, 10.
page 58 note 3 Enarr. in Iohannem xvii. 10 f.; Scripta Anglicana, 30 f.
page 58 note 4 Cf. Enarr. in Matt., iv. 23: Sola enim Christianorum Respublica Regnum et Dei et caeleste vocari meretur. Et Evangelium Christi, vere Evangelium Regni, nimirum praeconium Regis caelestis, hoc est aetemum iustificantis et salvantis omnes in se credentes.
page 58 note 5 Enarr. in Iohannem xvii. 10.
page 58 note 6 Scripta Anglicana, 31.
page 58 note 7 Enarr. in Matt., v. 18.
page 58 note 8 Scripta Anglicana, 64; Enarr. in Matt., xxiii. 1. The Covenant is realised through Holy Baptism and it is on this ground that the regnum mundi and regnum Christi are seen to involve each other. Compare 9 and 31 f. (Scripta Anglicana) of the De Regno Christi.
page 59 note 1 This is apparent particularly in the De vi et usu s. ministerii explicatio. The theme of the new birth is found also throughout the De Regno Christi. E.g., cf. 17: Nam regignit nos Rex noster verbo et spiritu suo, ut semen, eius simus: et regignit in vitam aetemam.
page 59 note 2 Enarr. in Matt., vii. 12.