Mekane Yesus Theological Seminary

PGD Midcourse Home Take Exam

For the course PGD 340

Theology of the Lutheran Confessions

By

Retta Assefa

Instructor
Rev. Mark Rabe (M.Div, Ph.D.)

MYS, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

APRIL 2020
Name Retta Assefa Due on or before April 2

Definition (Answer all questions) (Total 10 Marks)

Give a short definition for each word/phrase.

Extra nos:

Norma normata:

Norma normans:

Justification

Faith

Short Answer (Answer all questions) (Total 12 Marks)

Answer each question briefly.

Name the three Ecumenical Symbols and give their dates? (6 Marks)

Name the three uses of the Law? (3 marks)

1.
2.
3.

State three reasons for the importance of Doctrine (3 marks)

Short Essay (10 marks each) Do all Essays (28 total marks)

Essay I
Discuss the three-fold tier of authority in the church and its relationship to the
Church’s doctrine and life.

Essay II
In class we have discussed the two natures of Christ. Explain the issues between
Lutherans and the Orthodox concerning the statement that Mary is “theotokos”.
Include in your discussion the issue of original sin.

Essay III
What the Lutheran Confessions say about Scripture? Why is this position important?

Essay IV
Concerning “Chirst’s Descent into Hell”, explain the different views discussed in class and
whether it is is important for the church that it is included in the Creed(s). If you
agree/disagree explain why.
PGD Midcourse—SPG 2020 Mekane Yesus School of Theology

Part I: Short Definition Answer

1. Extra nos:
Extra nos is a Latin term some theologians use to communicate a key concept about the work
of salvation. Simply translated it means that our salvation comes from outside ourselves – extra
meaning outside and nos referring to ourselves – our salvation comes from outside ourselves, it is a
work that primarily God does, it is extra nos.

2. Norma normata:
(Lat. ―the ruled rule‖). Term applied to a Confession, or body of Confessions, as secondary
norm (norma secundum quid; norma secondaria; norma discretionis), determined by the norma*
normans. The norma normata is only relatively necessary. It decides whether a person has clearly
understood the true doctrines of Scripture written by faithful yet fallible Christian men.

3. Norma normans:
(Lat. ―the ruling rule‖). Term applied to Scripture(The Bible) because it is the absolute norm
of faith (norma primaria, norma decisionis), decisive by its own right. Scripture as the decisive norm
is absolutely necessary, being the norm which decides whether doctrines are true or false. It cannot
err and directly inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16).

4. Justification
To be declared righteous before God. God is moved to justify us by grace, a special kind of
love, directed toward those who are undeserving or unworthy, John 3:16; Rom 4:3-6; 3:23.
God's grace accomplished its purpose through the redemption of Christ. This Substitute
fulfilled all requirements of the Law in our place (active obedience). He also suffered the pangs and
woes which we had deserved (passive obedience). Divine justice is satisfied and love triumphs.
Through Christ God reconciled the world unto Himself, 2 Co 5:19. This act of God is called objective
justification; when a person believes, then he receives that forgiveness personally - subjective
justification. It is not the same as redemption, justification being judicial, redemption is sacrificial.

5. Faith
Faith comes from God, and it is an act of people. Faith is the hand which receives the
promises of the Gospel. When God creates in us the faith to believe His promise of gracious
forgiveness for Jesus‘ sake, then we are justified by faith.
Faith is the human response to divine activity (fides qua creditur; Lat. ―the faith by which one
believes‖). Faith as confidence means that faith is that certainty, that assurance, which is as great and
as firm as though we actually had the promised things in our possession, as though we could see, feel,
and handle them, as though we had not only the prospect but the substance of these things (John 17:8;
Rom 4:18–21; Heb 11:1; Ap IV, 48, 50).

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Part II: Short Answer Questions

1. The three Ecumenical Symbols and their dates:

The term ―ecumenical symbols‖ is sometimes used to describe Christian confessions of faith
that have been affirmed across the boundaries of confessional traditions. Most specifically, the term
refers to the use of the three ecumenical creeds. They originate from the earliest centuries of the
Christian church‘s history, a time when theological and philosophical questions about the identity of
Jesus were widely debated among Christians. All three creeds affirm that God is fully present in
Jesus, that Jesus Christ is both God and human (not a semi-divine or superhuman creature that is
neither). These three creeds are called ecumenical because they are all accepted and used by the
overwhelming majority of the world‘s Christians. All three are affirmed in the Lutheran confessional
writings. These are:
i. The Apostles’ Creed (Dates from eighth century), The Apostles creed describes primarily the
works which are ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Lutherans use the Apostles‘
Creed at baptism; it is also the Creed most often used in basic Christian education (as in the
Small Catechism).
ii. The Nicene (or Niceno-Constantinopolitan) Creed (Dates in 325AD.) Emphasizes the deity
of Christ the Son against various heresies of the fourth and fifth centuries. It rejected teaching
of Arius, some minor change were made at council of Constantinople 381AD. And it was
reaffirmed at the Chalcedon in 451AD), In the ninth century the filioque(―and the Son,‖ in the
third article) was inserted in the West, and it became a bone of contention between East and
West especially in the eleventh century. Lutheran Christians often use the Nicene Creed at
festivals like Easter and Christmas and during seasons of the year related to those festivals.
and,
iii. The Athanasian Creed (or, from its opening words, the Quicunque Vult, it was not written
by Athanasius, the great theologian of the 4th century. (Dates from the fifth or sixth centuries
and is of Western provenance). Originally, it is a liturgical creed goes much more deeply into
the relationship between the Father and the Son and the Spirit. Each is a Person, a distinct
center of consciousness, each Person uncreated, unlimited, eternal, almighty God and Lord.
Some Lutheran congregations recite the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday (the Sunday
after Pentecost) because of its focus on the relationships between the persons of the Triune
God.
The three creeds affirmed in the Lutheran Book of Concord and the Anglican Articles of
Religion, and these creeds were affirmed in both Roman Catholic and Protestant bodies too.

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2. The three uses of the Law are:

i. First, the Law helps to control violent outbursts of sin and keeps order in the world (a curb).
ii. Second, the Law accuses us and shows us our sin (a mirror).
iii. Third, the Law teaches us Christians God‘s Commandment, what we should and should not
do to live a God-pleasing life (a guide). The power to live according to the Law comes from
the Gospel.‖
That‘s worth committing to memory: the law is a curb, a mirror, and a guide for the Christian to
follow by the power of the gospel.
3. The three reasons for the importance of Doctrine are:

i. By pure doctrine that we honor God and hallow His name.

ii. By agreement in the pure doctrine that permanent Concord and Harmony can be achieved in
the church.
iii. Doctrine is important to Lutherans because they believe that Christian doctrine is not a
human fabrication but originates in God.
Moreover, Christian Doctrine is important for our Lutherans Confessions because it brings
eternal salvation, and we need to study Bible doctrine because without it we won‘t know what
to say to the unsaved people we meet. Peter tells us that we must be ‗prepared to give to every
man a reason for the hope that is within us‘ (1 Peter 3:15). We have to be competent to
answer questions.

Part III: Short Essay Answer

Essay I. The three-fold tier of authority in the church and its relationship to the Church‘s
doctrine and life:

There is a threefold tier of authority in the church, according to Lutheran Confessions.

1. "The prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments" are "the pure and clear
fountain of Israel, which is the only true norm according to which all teachers and teachings
are to be judged and evaluated" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 3). That statement means two
things:
a) Scripture is the one divine source from which, as from a spring or fountain, we draw
all our theology; and
b) Scripture is the only norm to judge teachers and teachings in the church.
2. The Confessions, on the other hand, are the "basis, rule, and norm, indicating how all
doctrines should be judged in conformity with the Word of God". This means, quite simply,
that the Confessions state what we Lutherans believe to be the teachings of Scripture and
what we therefore believe, teach, and publicly confess.

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3. Other good Christian writings, that is, "good, useful, and pure books, such as interpretations
of the Holy Scriptures, refutations of errors, and expositions of doctrinal articles" have their
place too. They are not to be rejected or spurned. "If they are in accord with the
aforementioned pattern of doctrine [namely, the Confessions], they are to be accepted and
used as helpful expositions and explanations".
Scripture, the Confessions, other good Christian literature! Scripture's authority is divine and
absolute. The Confessions' authority is derived from their agreement with Scripture and is binding for
everyone who professes to be a Lutheran. Other Christian writings are authoritative and useful too
when they agree with Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

Essay II: The issues between Lutherans and the Orthodox concerning the statement that
Mary is ―theotokos‖ and the issue of original sin.

The term Nature of Christ or Natures of Christ may refer to: Dyophysitism, christological doctrine
that teaches the existence of two unified natures (divine and human) of Jesus Christ, as defined by the
Council of Chalcedon in 451AD. Christ is God incarnate (Theos sesarkomenos). Christ isn't only a
divine person and no the incarnate God. Christ is at once God and Man. Emmanuel (God and man) is
only Jesus Christ and His Incarnation gave us again the eternal life. Only Christ can save the mankind
and for the Incarnation, only one person, Virgin Mary, Theotokos, is responsible for this Fact. The
Council of Ephesus in AD 431 decreed that Mary ("Mother of God" or "God-bearer"...) is the
Theotokos because her son Jesus is both God and man: intimately and hypostatically united.

The term has had great historical importance because the Nestorians, who stressed the independence
of the divine and human natures in Christ, opposed its use, on the ground that it compromised the
human nature of Christ, and held that the more accurate and proper term for Mary was Christotokos
(―Christ-Bearer‖).

Jesus Christ was truly born of the Holy Virgin: yet we do not say that Jesus Christ was mere man, nor
do we conceive of God the Word apart from His human nature, but we say that He was made One out
of both, as God made Man, the Same begotten Divinely out of the Father as Word, and humanly out
of woman as Man: not as though called to a second beginning of being then when He is said to have
been born after the flesh: but begotten indeed before all ages, yet when the time came wherein He
must fulfill the economy, born also of a woman after the flesh. Hence the union of the Word with the
human nature may be not inaptly compared with our condition. Therefore He is free of Original sin,
also called ancestral sin.

Original or ancestral sin is a complete absence or lack of the created state of hereditary righteousness
in Paradise. Original sin (in human nature) is not just this entire absence of all good in spiritual, divine
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things but a person inherits an inborn wicked disposition and inward impurity of heart, an evil lust and
tendency(FC, SD I: 10-11). It is a disease that brings death and damns on those not born again
through Baptism and the Holy Spirit. (AC II, 2). It is a natural depravity! Born dead in sin and
trespasses, corrupt, helpless and not free to serve God and approach those things that are above.
Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13; Isaiah 1:1-6; Psalm 51:5. Therefore the One who is free of Original
sin, The Son of God, assumed human nature and reconciled the world to God—AC III [CCC:37].

Essay III: What the Lutheran Confessions say about Scripture and the importance of this
position.

We Lutherans base our theology solely on the Scriptures of God and nothing else, not tradition, not
human speculation, not modern scholarship, not our experiences or feelings or anything else. Sola
Scriptura (Scripture alone) is a watchword, a guide for action, for every true Lutheran, pastor or
layman. Scripture Is Divinely Authoritative. We believe in the absolute authority of Scripture because
Christ accepted the absolute authority of the prophetic Word of the Old Testament and because He
guaranteed the absolute authority of the apostolic Word of the New Testament by His promise of the
Holy Spirit to His apostles. And this authority is absolute and final. What Scripture asserts God
asserts, what it commands He commands, what it promises God promises!

Today, after 400 years, we need have no doubt concerning the divine authority of Scripture and
therefore of our Gospel message drawn from it. And today Scripture still authenticates itself as the
only source of our knowledge of God and of His grace.

This was the position and practice of Luther and our Lutheran Confessions. "The Word of God is and
should remain the sole rule and norm of all doctrine" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 9). "We pledge
ourselves to the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments as the pure and clear
fountain of Israel, which is the only true norm according to which all teachers and teachings are to be
judged" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 3). This is the spirit in which our great Lutheran Confessions speak.
As the Gospel writer John wrote, ―these things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus
is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name‖ (John
20:31).

Despite the diversity of viewpoints and the complexity of the many narratives contained in the
Scriptures, Lutheran Christians believe that the story of God‘s steadfast love and mercy in Jesus is the
heart and center of what the Scriptures have to say. Everything we need to believe and do as
Christians is told us in the Scriptures. Just as our Lord Jesus was a man of one Book and drew all His
teaching from that one divine source and submitted Himself to it utterly in all He said and did, so we
too who are His disciples today place ourselves joyfully under that prophetic and apostolic Word. And
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with our Lutheran Confessions we say: "No human being's writings dare be put on a par with it, but ...
everything must be subjected to it" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 9).

Essay IV: Concerning ―Chirst‘s Descent into Hell‖, explain the different views discussed in
class and whether it is important for the church that it is included in the Creed(s). If you
agree/disagree explain why.

Concerning ―Chirst‘s Descent into Hell‖, there are different views and questions whether it is
important for the church that it is included in the Creed(s). For example: Why would he do that? Did
he suffer there? Where does the Bible say this? Doesn‘t Luke 23:43 explicitly say that Jesus went to
paradise when he died?

Unanswered questions like these may lead some Christians to simply remain silent when their
congregation recites this part of the creed. Other churches have chosen to delete the phrase altogether.
Indeed, no other line of the Apostles‘ Creed has received so much pushback from modern
evangelicals. Especially since 1991, theologian Wayne Grudem wrote an article titled ―He Did Not
Descend into Hell: A Plea for Following Scripture Instead of the Apostles‘ Creed.‖ His arguments
have been echoed by many others. So despite not being inspired, it would seem that with a creed as
ancient and basic and widely confessed as the Apostles‘ Creed, we would need a pretty good reason to
disagree.

Throughout the course of church history, many people have taught that Jesus‘ spirit descended into
hell after His death on the cross. Basing this idea on Ephesians 4:8–10 and 1 Peter 3:18–20, most of
those who have taught that Jesus‘ spirit went to hell after His death have said that He went there to
proclaim judgment to sinners and/or rescue the saints of the Old Testament. On the other contrary,
some say that First, Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross that he would be with Christ in Paradise
on the same day of their crucifixion (Luke 23:39– 43). Second, nothing in Ephesians 4:8–10 says
Jesus descended into hell; Paul means only that Christ descended into the grave. Third, 1 Peter 3:18–
20 likely refers to the Son of God preaching by the Holy Spirit through Noah to the people of Noah‘s
day. Finally, Jesus finished His atoning work on the cross.

Some theologians like Matthew Emerson, a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University, in his new
book, ‗He Descended to the Dead‘: An Evangelical Theology of Holy Saturday, suggested ―Anyone
who can confess that Christ rose from the dead should be able to confess that he descended to the
dead.‖ He had tried to go a long way toward easing the concerns of many evangelicals, as for whom
the words ―into hell‖ immediately conjure up images of Jesus being tormented. But ―into hell‖ did not
mean, until Calvin described the term, ―descend into the place of torment.‖ But these are synonyms

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until the Reformation. Since almost no one in the church held that understanding for the first 1,500
years, it seems a shame for evangelicals today to think they have to choose between violating their
consciences and remaining silent.

One way he explains the place of the dead is by synthesizing three passages from Luke‘s writing
(Luke 16:19–31; 23:43; Acts 2:27, 31). More importantly, it‘s why Luke could also speak of Jesus
being ―in Hades‖ while dead (Acts 2:27, 31). And yet it wasn‘t a place of torment for Jesus, any more
than for Abraham and Lazarus. Jesus experienced death as all humans do—his body was buried and
his soul departed to the place of the dead—and in so doing, by virtue of his divinity, he defeated death
and the grave. (35–36) Regardless of where Paradise was for Old Testament saints (whether heaven
or Hades), it was different in this key way: it lacked the presence of the human Christ.

Here Christ‘s Descent Matters most. Even if we‘re not ultimately convinced by Emerson‘s view it is
clear that how Christ‘s descent relates to doctrines like:
a) Cosmology: it assumes a three-tier universe—an earth with heaven above and Hades beneath,
with Jesus visiting and conquering in all three tiers (56, 134; cf. Phil. 2:10; Eph. 4:9).
b) Anthropology: it assumes human souls can exist in an intermediate state separate from their
bodies (146–47).
c) Soteriology: it functions as the beginning of Christ‘s exaltation, coming as it does
immediately after the words ―It is finished‖ (164; cf. John 19:30).
But ‗He Descended to the Dead‗ begins and ends with a pastoral heart (6–9, 208). Because Christ‘s
descent pushes us to recognize that Jesus doesn‘t simply know what it‘s like to die. He knows what
it’s like to be dead. The resurrection that forms the foundation of our hope didn‘t happen in an
instant—it happened after ―three days and nights in the heart of the earth‖ (Matt. 12:40, language
reminiscent of Jonah‘s descent to ―the belly of Sheol‖; cf. Jon. 1:17; 2:1, 6. Now clearly, if the
Apostles‘ Creed is at odds with Scripture on this point, we should go with the source that‘s God-
breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). At the same time, the Protestant view of sola Scriptura has never denied the
role of creeds and confessions.

In conclusion, our high priest understands better than we think. And when we or our loved ones stand
on the brink of death, we can draw comfort from knowing that our Savior has already been there. He‘s
already walked through the gates of Hades, and come back out with the keys (Rev. 1:18). This is good
news. So when ever our congregation/ church is reciting the Apostles‘ Creed, we don‘t be silent. Hold
our head high and confess the faith with joy. Because the one who experienced death for us is now
ascended on high, and is even now preparing for his final descent (1 Thess. 4:16).

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References

1. Edward W.A.Koehler, A Summary Of Christian Doctrine, Concordia Publishing

House, 2006.

2. Matthew Emerson, a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University, ‗He Descended to the

Dead‘: An Evangelical Theology of Holy Saturday

3. Abraham Mengesha(Rev), ―አ መክ ን ዮ ያ ል ጋ ረ ደ ውእ ውነ ት‖ The Truth Beyond Logical

Reasoning Theology: Tefera Seyoum Printing Service 2019 , Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

4. Amharic/English Catechisms, Creeds And Confessions, 1st Edition Printed January,

Lutheran Heritage Foundation 2015, Augsburg Fortress

5. SA III V 1-2(Concordia).

6. Hans J. Hillerbrand, 2019 , Martin Luther: German Religious Leader,

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