During the Reformation, few doctrines were as controversial as those of the sacraments. While the Roman church taught seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, penance, the Mass, ordination vows, marriage, and the anointing of the sick), the reformers affirmed only two as having the scriptural mandate to be considered sacraments: Baptism and the Eucharist. As Basel Reformer…

The reformers rejected the sacramental doctrine that many of them inherited from the Roman Catholic Church, which taught that the elements of the ceremony infused grace into the recipient, working independent of their faith, or lack of faith. Instead, Reformed theologians such as Zurich pastor Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) taught that the sacrament was the sign…

While most view the Reformation in terms of the Protestant break from the Roman Catholic church, the magisterial reformers were also forced to contend with the emergence of the Radical Reformation, which they believed to be equally in error. One of the key points of contention was the doctrine of baptism, with Anabaptist groups arguing…

Within the ecclesiology of the medieval church, the duties of deacons were broad, and their work as assistants to the priests extended from the stewardship of church funds and the distribution of alms to the administration of the sacraments and other liturgical roles. For many of the reformers, this role narrowed. As seen in this…

Throughout the history of the church, the biblical idea of “elders” or “presbyters” has been understood in numerous ways, and it has been used to justify levels of oversight stretching from the communal rule of single congregations to the supervision of a single bishop or archbishop concerned for the spiritual wellbeing of large territories. As…

In comparison to many modern exegetes, the Reformers had a broader hermeneutical lens when reading the Old Testament, and were more open to finding types, figures, and applications for their particular contexts in the Old Testament. This can be seen in the interpretation of Ezekiel 34:1-31, where Lutheran theologian Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586), like many of…

For reformers such as Martin Bucer (1491-1551), a true response to the Word of God involved incorporation into the church, the body of Christ on earth. Soteriology and ecclesiology were inseparable, and the Christian life could not be undertaken without becoming part of into the community of believers. Integration in the body evidenced true faith,…

In every era of the church’s history, the question of spiritual gifts has caused significant discussion and debate. One aspect of this doctrine that found almost universal agreement during the sixteenth century, however, was that spiritual gifts existed for the edification of the whole church to the glory of God. This is understanding is exemplified…

Erasmus Sarcerius (1501-1559) was a Lutheran superintendent, educator, and pastor, known particularly for his role in the organization of numerous regional churches in Germany. As he considers the gifts of Christ discussed in Ephesians 4:7-16, Sarcerius argues that church offices and ministries must be matched with those who hold corresponding spiritual gifts in order for…

Through Christ, the gates to the dwelling place of the Lord have been opened, and it is the mission of his people, the church, to gather God’s people into his presence. As English poet and preacher John Donne (1572-1631) argues, preachers work in this economy as ambassadors of the Holy Spirit, sent to fulfill their…

The proper structure of the church was one of the most contested issues of the sixteenth century, and while Protestants agree on the errors of an episcopacy headed by a supreme pontiff, there is still little agreement among them about the right form of church polity. Many of these disagreements emerged early in the Reformation,…

Reflecting on Ephesians 3:14-19, German Reformed theologian and pastor Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563) draws out the significance of Christ’s indwelling for the nurture of believers. Musculus understands indwelling as our union with Christ as a body of believers, and argues that this relationship is the same as a branch grafted into a vine, from which it…