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Exegetical Theology: The Beginning of the Written Word
Satan is working hard to get Christians to doubt the Word of God. It’s common for members and prospects alike to ask, “Why did the Christian Church leave books out of the Bible?” YouTube is filled with “pastors” expounding lost truths from the Book of Enoch or the Gospel of Thomas. “Pastor, how do we know we have the real Word of God?”
Beyond pointing to autopistia1 or the reception of the canon in church history, we can point those doubting souls to the Bible itself. It’s useful to study what the Bible says about its own formation2.
We don’t have to read very far into the Bible to hear God first speak. “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). Consider three things: First, on that first day of creation, no human being had yet been created. Does God’s Word depend on human beings to confirm or authenticate it? By no means! The Word of God is the Word of God, regardless of whether human beings hear or believe it. Second, did time need to pass before God’s Word was recognized as authoritative? Most certainly not! The Word of God is the Word of God from the moment it is spoken (or written). Third, were those first words of God immediately written down? No. Pieper notes, “The Christian Church is indeed older than Holy Scripture, that is, older than the written Word of God. Until the time of Moses, God called His Church into existence and preserved it by His oral Word.”3
The book of Genesis doesn’t mention anything about writing down God’s Word, except for one word in Genesis 5:1: “This is the written account of Adam’s family line.” In Hebrew, the word “written” is actually the noun “book” (סֵ֔פֶר). None of the other toledoths (“accounts”) of Genesis use the noun סֵ֔פֶר (sefer). Jeske comments, “God made available to Moses an old document, a written tradition which had been handed down from generation to generation…. The Holy Spirit wanted this information in your Bible, and so he led Moses to incorporate the document into the biblical text.”4 One part of the Bible predates Moses!
Could you point to the first actual command from God to write down his Word? After God empowered the Israelites to defeat the Amalekites, the LORD said to Moses, “Write (כְּתֹ֨ב) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it” (Exod. 17:14). This was a new command: “Write!” Thankfully, God also told Moses the very clear reason why he wanted the story of this battle written down: “…as something to be remembered.” One purpose of writing down God’s words was so that they could be remembered—both by Joshua and by future generations.
As questions swirl regarding the Scriptures, there is so much we can learn from the Bible itself!
Rev. Nathan Nass serves at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Tulsa, OK. You can check out his blog at upsidedownsavior.home.blog.
1. See the series on autopistia in the Systematic Theology branch of the February–April 2026 issues.
2. Nathan Nass’ thesis will be on Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary’s essay file soon.
3. Franz Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, vol. 1 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1950), 193.
4. Carl J. Lawrenz and John C. Jeske, A Commentary on Genesis 1–11 (Milwaukee: Northwestern, 2004), 211.
Systematic Theology: Causes of Salvation, Part Four: The Ministerial Cause
These past months we’ve considered the causes of our salvation. These include 1) the prompting cause: our Father’s love for us, 2) the meritorious cause: Christ’s labor on our behalf, and 3) the mediate cause: the Spirit’s work by the means of grace. This month we’ll conclude with a sub-category of that last item. According to Scripture, we can say that, under the mediate cause of salvation, there belongs a ministerial cause of salvation. It is no error to say that ministers of the gospel save souls.
Does that seem a step too far? It didn’t to the apostle Paul. He claimed under inspiration: “I have become all things to all people so that I may save [σώσω] at least some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Did that apply only to apostles like Paul? No, the same Paul under the same inspiration says to his young fellow pastor Timothy: “Pay close attention to yourself and to the doctrine. Persevere in them because by doing this you will save [σώσεις] both yourself and those who listen to you” (1 Tim. 4:16). Is it perhaps only a New Testament phenomenon? No. Wasn’t Ezekiel’s call to be a watchman a call to save his people’s souls by proclaiming God’s warning and rescue (Ezek. 3 & 33)?
Yes, Pastor, your job is to save souls! To keep you from pride, do remember: you’re not at all the prompting cause, certainly not the meritorious cause, nor even directly the mediate cause of salvation. Still, your proclamation is crucial. “How can they call on one in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14). What an amazing task is ours! The Lord gives us an indispensable role in the rescue of immortal souls, for which God paid his own blood.
Finally, doesn’t that also excellently direct our labor? Although we will urge good works where Scripture does so, we will always proclaim Law and Gospel. Although we look to deliver a Christian worldview in earthly matters, we will never fail to preach and teach sin and grace. Although we will treasure harmony with our members and deep friendship with many of them, we will be unafraid to risk all of that, in order to declare that great offense to our sinful human pride: Christ crucified for our transgressions.
And in the end, we will declare: “We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do” (Luke 17:10). We will fulfill the words of Jesus, whose chosen spokesmen were ecstatic to say: “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!” To which he replied: “I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven…. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names have been written in heaven” (Luke 10:17–20).
Rev. Karl Walther serves at St. Mark’s Lutheran in Watertown, WI.
Historical Theology: Perspectives from Moldehnke’s Five Years in America: Old Faith in a New World
While researching and preparing for the WELS 175th anniversary, I came across Eduard Moldehnke’s all-but-forgotten Five Years in America. Moldehnke’s reflections on his Civil War-era service in the Wisconsin and Minnesota synods as missionary, pastor, synod official, editor, and seminary president/professor provide eclectic anecdotes about our synod’s early history. His fourteen chapters (printed individually in Germany in the Evangelische Kirchenzeitung) offer critical analysis of the immigrants’ many adjustments in the new world, the many American sects and secret societies, how Lutherans wrestled with disagreement and coming to confessional consensus, the need for Christian education, and much more.
Having translated this work, I will share some of Moldehnke’s observations that will hopefully help us understand our unique identity and raise essential questions as we move forward together as a synod. This article will cover the significant shift that took place as Lutherans from state-established churches found themselves completely responsible for organizing the visible church in their new home. During this national anniversary, this perspective can help us contemplate what it means to be a Lutheran in America.
Moldehnke observed that, “everything is different in America than in Germany, and the newcomer finds something to marvel at everywhere.” His observations contrast the stability of Prussian state-church institutionalism with both the spontaneous authenticity and the uncertainty of American free-church life. In Prussia, established institutions provided regular ministry support and a clear position of social authority but could encourage dependence, apathy, and indifference. In America, congregations had to organize and support themselves. Scattered immigrants sometimes went years without pastors. This made the synod’s traveling missionary ministry (the Reiseprediger) essential and often deepened the immigrant laity’s appreciation for preaching, worship, and religious instruction.
Like the congregations themselves, European pastors enjoyed secure positions and institutional support, while American pastors depended on voluntary contributions and the strength of their relationships with congregations. Where “everything depended on personal talent,” there was great temptation to place the greatest emphasis on a pastor’s personality rather than on his faithfulness to the Word. Moldehnke often heard members say, “We are in America and can do what we want.” More than ever before, pastors had to carefully navigate the benefits of Christian and political freedom while preserving the divine authority of the Word and the office of the ministry.
Congregational membership in Germany was largely inherited and legally defined on paper; in America, it rested more explicitly on voluntary association and shared faith. This encouraged active participation, attentive service, and generous giving, but it also exposed pastors to financial pressures and dismissal if they failed to impress or please the members.
Still, Moldehnke contrasted German administrative burdens and detached preaching with American ministry shaped by close contact with parishioners. Overall, Moldehnke believed that the pastor’s dependence on his members encouraged more faithful service and better preaching. In a future article, we will see that the greatest benefit of American religious freedom was that it allowed Confessional Lutheranism to blossom—something the state church had utterly suppressed. While there were several drawbacks and obstacles in the transition from state to free church (of which we should continue to remain mindful), Moldehnke’s reflections help us clearly see many blessings in a land of religious freedom that we continue to enjoy.
Rev. Benjamin T. Phelps serves at St. Matthew Lutheran in Marathon, WI.
Practical Theology: A Lesson from Luther’s German Mass
This year marks the five hundredth anniversary of the publication of Luther’s German Mass. Congregations may offer an adaptation of Luther’s service on Reformation Sunday this year.1 When a church uses the Deutsche Messe, the service is presented not as a historic form to be rigidly duplicated today, but as a valuable lesson from the past that teaches us how Luther prioritized Word and Sacrament in his worship reforms.
The Rites Committee of the WELS Hymnal Project was committed to the historic pattern of the communion rite. This commitment included restoring a Eucharistic Prayer after the Sanctus. In the spirit of due diligence, Rites Committee member Prof. James Tiefel noted that the committee should also discuss the pattern from the Deutsche Messe, which is shorter than the Western Rite. The committee unanimously agreed to retain the historic Western form, but the brief discussion of Luther’s adjustments and his possible thinking proved insightful.
In 1523, Luther published the Formula Missae, his Latin Mass. The Words of Institution were embedded in the prayer that immediately followed the Preface, removing the Roman Canon and its sacrificial language that Luther famously deplored.2 Although the theology of sacrifice had been removed, Prof. Tiefel theorized that, because the Verba were still within a prayer, worshipers may still have had the impression that the Sacrament was a sacrificial act, especially considering the historical context. This might explain Luther’s revised progression in the Deutsche Messe: the Preface was replaced with an exhortation, followed by the Sanctus, Verba (proclaimed instead of prayed), Pax Domini, and Agnus Dei.
From time to time, the need arises for an abbreviated communion service.3 On those occasions, the communion rite is sometimes reduced to little more than the Words of Institution. The celebration of the Sacrament in those cases is perfectly valid, but the truncated service may cause the Supper to feel like an obligatory liturgical addition rather than an unhurried celebration.
Luther’s pattern from the Deutsche Messe may provide a path forward in those situations. The Preface’s invitation to offer thanks (leading naturally to the Eucharistic Prayer) is replaced by a brief exhortation.4 The congregation sings the Sanctus, the minister speaks the Verba and Pax, and the congregation sings the Agnus Dei.5 The abbreviated rite respects time constraints without omitting any of the traditional liturgical songs, and presents a logical train of thought: Let us celebrate Christ’s supper (Exhortation), in which the holy and almighty God comes to us (Sanctus) in his true body and blood (Verba) to bless us with his peace (Pax) as we receive him with penitent hearts (Agnus Dei).
Rev. Johnold Strey serves as pastor at Crown of Life Lutheran Church in Hubertus, WI.
1. The resources in Christian Worship: Service Builder include an order called “A Version of Luther’s German Mass.” Technically speaking, the service in Builder is not the exact form of Luther’s German Mass because it incorporates elements that are customary in Lutheran worship today not found in Luther’s original service (such as corporate confession and absolution), and common elements from other Lutheran services produced during the Reformation era.
2. “What I am speaking of is the canon, that abominable concoction drawn from everyone’s sewer and cesspool. The mass became a sacrifice. … That utter abomination follows which forces all that precedes in the mass into its service and is, therefore, called the offertory. From here on almost everything smacks and savors of sacrifice. And the words of life and salvation [the Words of Institution] are imbedded in the midst of it all, just as the ark of the Lord once stood in the idol’s temple next to Dagon” (“An Order of Mass and Communion for the Church at Wittenberg,” Luther’s Works 53:21, 25–26).
3. Services at a one-day conference or abbreviated midweek services are among those circumstances.
4. In “The Service of Word and Sacrament” from Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal (1993), the Preface text is preceded by a short, unspoken explanatory paragraph. The text of that paragraph would make a fine introductory paragraph to an abbreviated communion rite, with a short exhortation added at the end, such as: “Let us celebrate and receive this Sacrament in Christ’s name and according to his command.”
5. The Lord’s Prayer may be placed after the distribution in these cases, just as it is in the non-communion ending of The Service in Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021).