Martin Luther’s Personalist Spirituality: Faith, Sacraments, and the Song of Songs

Abstract

Abstract:Without attempting to associate Martin Luther historically with the many complexities and implications of the twentieth-century philosophical school of personalism, this essay aims to trace the development of “personalist” tendencies in Luther’s works, particularly with regard to his treatments of faith and the sacraments. “Personalist” refers to Luther’s emphasis on Christ’s intimate and personal relationship with each individual Christian. This essay traces the personalist elements of his spirituality chronologically by dividing his works into three sections: early (1509–17), middle (1517–21), and late (1522 onward). Between the sections on Luther’s middle and late work, a brief excursus is taken to explore Luther’s understanding of the Song of Songs to highlight the development of his spirituality. The essay concludes by summarizing the trajectory of Luther’s spirituality and reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of the theology that comes out of it. Positively, Luther’s spirituality highlights the personal and relational aspects of the Christian life and guards against overly mechanistic or impersonal understandings of grace. Negatively, Luther’s framework fails to incorporate an ecclesiological component adequately. Further work remains to be done to integrate his personalist theology into a “personalist ecclesiology,” in which Christ the bridegroom unites himself mystically not only to the individual Christian soul, but to the entire church, his bride, especially through the sacramental encounter.