What did Martin Luther believe regarding the Eucharist?
Who, but the devil, has granted such license of wresting the words of the holy Scripture? Who ever read in the Scriptures, that my body is the same as the sign of my body? or, that is is the same as it signifies? What language in the world ever spoke so? It is only then the devil, that imposes upon us by these fanatical men. Not one of the Fathers of the Church, though so numerous, ever spoke as the Sacramentarians: not one of them ever said, It is only bread and wine; or, the body and blood of Christ is not there present.
Surely, it is not credible, nor possible, since they often speak, and repeat their sentiments, that they should never (if they thought so) not so much as once, say, or let slip these words: It is bread only; or the body of Christ is not there, especially it being of great importance, that men should not be deceived. Certainly, in so many Fathers, and in so many writings, the negative might at least be found in one of them, had they thought the body and blood of Christ were not really present: but they are all of them unanimous.”
—Luther’s Collected Works, Wittenburg Edition, no. 7 p, 391
(qtd, on: https://bfhu.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/martin-luther-on-the-real-presence/ )
From The Large Catechism (XIV):
And all these are established by the words by
which Christ has instituted it, and which every one who
desires to be a Christian and go to the Sacrament should know.
For it is not our intention to admit to it and to administer
it to those who know not what they seek, or why they come. The
words, however, are these:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was
betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake
it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is
My body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup when He had supped,
gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for
you for the remission of sins: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of Me.
Here also we do not wish to enter into controversy and contend
with the traducers and blasphemers of this Sacrament, but to
learn first (as we did regarding Baptism) what is of the
greatest importance, namely that the chief point is the Word
and ordinance or command of God. For it has not been invented
nor introduced by any man, but without any one's counsel and
deliberation it has been instituted by Christ. Therefore, just
as the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed
retain their nature and worth although you never keep, pray,
or believe them, so also does this venerable Sacrament remain
undisturbed, so that nothing is detracted or taken from it,
even though we employ and dispense it unworthily. What do you
think God cares about what we do or believe, so that on that
account He should suffer His ordinance to be changed? Why, in
all worldly matters every thing remains as God has created and
ordered it, no matter how we employ or use it. This must
always be urged, for thereby the prating of nearly all the
fanatical spirits can be repelled. For they regard the
Sacraments, aside from the Word of God, as something that we
do.
Now, what is the Sacrament of the Altar!
Answer:
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
in and under the bread and wine which we Christians
are commanded by the Word of Christ to eat and to drink. And
as we have said of Baptism that it is not simple water, so
here also we say the Sacrament is bread and wine, but not mere
bread and wine, such as are ordinarily served at the table,
but bread and wine comprehended in, and connected with, the
Word of God.
It is the Word (I say) which makes and distinguishes this
Sacrament, so that it is not mere bread and wine,
but is, and
is called,
the body and blood of Christ. For it is said:
Accedat verbum ad elementum, et At sacramentum. If the Word be
joined to the element it becomes a Sacrament. This saying of
St. Augustine is so properly and so well put that he has
scarcely said anything better. The Word must make a Sacrament
of the element, else it remains a mere element. Now, it is not
the word or ordinance of a prince or emperor, but of the
sublime Majesty, at whose feet all creatures should fall, and
affirm it is as He says, and accept it with all reverence
fear, and humility.
With this Word you can strengthen your conscience and say: If
a hundred thousand devils, together with all fanatics, should
rush forward, crying, How can bread and wine be the body and
blood of Christ? etc., I know that all spirits and scholars
together are not as wise as is the Divine Majesty in His
little finger. Now here stands the Word of Christ: Take, eat;
this is My body; Drink ye all of it; this is the new testament
in My blood, etc. Here we abide, and would like to see those
who will constitute themselves His masters, and make it
different from what He has spoken. It is true, indeed, that if
you take away the Word or regard it without the words, you
have nothing but mere bread and wine. But if the words remain
with them as they shall and must, then, in virtue of the same,
it is truly the body and blood of Christ. For as the lips of
Christ say and speak, so it is, as He can never lie or
deceive.
Hence it is easy to reply to all manner of questions about
which men are troubled at the present time, such as this one:
Whether even a wicked priest can minister at, and dispense,
the Sacrament, and whatever other questions like this there
may be. For here we conclude and say: Even though a knave
takes or distributes the Sacrament, he receives the true
Sacrament, that is,
the true body and blood of Christ, just as
truly as he who [receives or] administers it in the most
worthy manner. For it is not founded upon the holiness of men,
but upon the Word of God. And as no saint upon earth, yea, no
angel in heaven, can make bread and wine to be the body and
blood of Christ, so also can no one change or alter it, even
though it be misused. For the Word by which it became a
Sacrament and was instituted does not become false because of
the person or his unbelief. For He does not say: If you
believe or are worthy, you receive My body and blood, but:
Take, eat and drink;
this is My body and blood. Likewise: Do
this (namely, what I now do, institute, give, and bid you
take) . That is as much as to say, No matter whether you are
worthy or unworthy, you have here His body and blood by virtue
of these words which are added to the bread and wine. Only
note and remember this well; for upon these words rest all our
foundation, protection, and defense against all errors and
deception that have ever come or may yet come.
Thus we have briefly the first point which relates to the
essence of this Sacrament. Now examine further the efficacy
and benefits on account of which really the Sacrament was
instituted; which is also its most necessary part, that we may
know what we should seek and obtain there. Now this is plain
and clear from the words just mentioned:
This is My body and
blood, given and shed FOR YOU, for the remission of sins.
Briefly that is as much as to say: For this reason we go to
the Sacrament because there we receive such a treasure by and
in which we obtain forgiveness of sins. Why so? Because the
words stand here and give us this; for on this account He bids
me eat and drink, that it may be my own and may benefit me, as
a sure pledge and token, yea, the very same treasure that is
appointed for me against my sins, death, and every calamity.
On this account it is indeed called a food of souls, which
nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are
first born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains,
besides, the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and
there are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and
of the world that we often become weary and faint, and
sometimes also stumble.
Therefore it is given for a daily pasture and sustenance, that
faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back
in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger. For
the new life must be so regulated that it continually increase
and progress, but it must suffer much opposition. For the
devil is such a furious enemy that when he sees that we oppose
him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over
by force, he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all
devices, and does not desist until he finally wearies us, so
that we either renounce our faith or yield hands and feet and
become listless or impatient. Now to this end the consolation
is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming
too heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment.
But here our wise spirits contort themselves with their great
art and wisdom, crying out and bawling: How can bread and wine
forgive sins or strengthen faith? Although they hear and know
that we do not say this of bread and wine, because in itself
bread is bread, but of such bread and wine as
is the body and
blood of Christ, and has the words attached to it. That, we
say, is verily the treasure, and nothing else, through which
such forgiveness is obtained. Now the only way in which it is
conveyed and appropriated to us is in the words (Given and
shed for you). For herein you have both truths, that
it is the
body and blood of Christ, and that it is yours as a treasure
and gift. Now the body of Christ can never be an unfruitful,
vain thing, that effects or profits nothing. Yet however great
is the treasure in itself, it must be comprehended in the Word
and administered to us, else we should never be able to know
or seek it.
Therefore also it is vain talk when they say that the body and
blood of Christ are not given and shed for us in the Lord's
Supper, hence we could not have forgiveness of sins in the
Sacrament. For although the work is accomplished and the
forgiveness of sins acquired on the cross, yet it cannot come
to us in any other way than through the Word. For what would
we otherwise know about it, that such a thing was accomplished
or was to be given us if it were not presented by preaching or
the oral Word? Whence do they know of it, or how can they
apprehend and appropriate to themselves the forgiveness,
except they lay hold of and believe the Scriptures and the
Gospel? But now the entire Gospel and the article of the
Creed: I believe a holy Christian (the Creed says "catholic") Church, the forgiveness of
sin, etc., are by the Word embodied in this Sacrament and
presented to us. Why, then, should we allow this treasure to
be torn from the Sacrament when they must confess that these
are the very words which we hear everywhere in the Gospel, and
they cannot say that these words in the Sacrament are of no
use, as little as they dare say that the entire Gospel or Word
of God, apart from the Sacrament, is of no use?
Thus we have the entire Sacrament, both as to what it is in
itself and as to what it brings and profits. Now we must also
see who is the person that receives this power and benefit.
That is answered briefly, as we said above of Baptism and
often elsewhere: Whoever believes it has what the words
declare and bring. For they are not spoken or proclaimed to
stone and wood, but to those who hear them, to whom He says:
Take and eat, etc. And because
He offers and promises
forgiveness of sin, it cannot be received otherwise than by
faith. This faith He Himself demands in the Word when He says:
Given and shed for you. As if He said: For this reason I give
it, and bid you eat and drink, that you may claim it as yours
and enjoy it. Whoever now accepts these words, and believes
that what they declare is true, has it. But whoever does not
believe it has nothing, as he allows it to be offered to him
in vain, and refuses to enjoy such a saving good. The
treasure, indeed, is opened and placed at every one's door,
yea upon his table, but it is necessary that you also claim
it, and confidently view it as the words suggest to you.
This, now, is the entire Christian preparation for receiving
this Sacrament worthily. For since this treasure is entirely
presented in the words, it cannot be apprehended and
appropriated in any other way than with the heart. For such a
gift and eternal treasure cannot be seized with the fist.
Fasting and prayer, etc., may indeed be an external
preparation and discipline for children, that the body may
keep and bear itself modestly and reverently towards
the body
and blood of Christ; yet what is given in and with it the body
cannot seize and appropriate. But this is done by the faith of
the heart, which discerns this treasure and desires it. This
may suffice for what is necessary as a general instruction
respecting this Sacrament; for what is further to be said of
it belongs to another time.
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/catechism/web/cat-14.html
By nearly all the words here, Luther's view on the Eucharist is very "Catholic." The distinction between Lutheran and Catholic theology can be shown through two words, "transubstantiation" v. "consubstantiation." My father-in-law often stated the truism, "words mean things," and they most certainly do here. Clearly both words are dealing with the "substance" of the Eucharist - but one deals with "change" (tran-) and the other speaks of "with" (con-). The Catholic view is that the substance changes "transubstantiation" and Luther's view was that the body and blood of Christ, while truly present, is "with" (to use his own words, "in and under") the substance or "consubstantiation." So which view is the more scriptural view? Did Jesus hold up the host and declare "This IS My body WITH the bread," or did He say, "This IS My body," period? Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24 - regardless of translation you will find that Jesus (or St. Paul repeating Jesus' words) does not say "WITH" but simply, "this IS My body..." Does this cause you to stumble or grumble? Do you realize that in such grumbling you would put yourself in the same boat with those disciples who also grumbled, and then "turned and walked with Him no more." Do you really want to be in THAT boat?! Luther was close, but he:
I encourage you to continue studying this topic, and if you like - join us in discussion or even debate in the Catholic Debate Forum - where respectful questions, even the "tough ones," are answered.
