Four fathers: luther on the fourth commandment

A Twitter user asked The Lutheran Witness: Why does Luther define the categories of fatherhood in the Large Catechism (4th Commandment):
by blood
of a household
of a nation?
This Tweet got me thinking about the ways that Luther speaks of fatherhood. Luther, in fact, discusses four kinds of “fathers” in the Large Catechism, in his explanation of the Fourth Commandment:
So we have introduced three kinds of fathers in this commandment: fathers by blood, fathers of a household, and fathers of the nation. In addition, there are also spiritual fathers — not like those in the papacy who have had themselves called “father” but have not performed a fatherly function. For the name of spiritual father belongs only to those who govern and guide us by the Word of God. (LC I 158, KW)
Luther’s language
By “father by blood” Luther speaks of a parent, the natural father, dad.
To understand “father of a household” we remember that until very recently the “home” included a number of workers. Many families and individuals would work together in a household: working in the fields, in the kitchen, helping with the children’s education, accounting, cleaning and so forth. Imagine a farm where the home is also the business. In this arrangement, the patriarch is the “father” of more than his own children; he also has responsibility for all those who work in the homestead.
Luther extends this office and responsibility also to the nation. Brilliantly, Luther understands all authority to extend from the office of parent. “Furthermore, in connection with this commandment, we must mention the sort of obedience due to superiors, persons whose duty it is to command and to govern. For all other authority is derived and developed out of the authority of parents” (LC I 141, KW). Rulers, then, are “fathers of the nation.”
They are all called fathers in the Scriptures because in their sphere of authority they have been commissioned as fathers and ought to have fatherly hearts toward their people. Thus from ancient times the Romans and peoples speaking other languages called the masters and mistresses of the household patres et matres familias, that is, housefathers and housemothers. (LC I 142, KW)
Luther also recognizes pastors as “spiritual fathers,” those who govern and guide the Lord’s church with the Word of God.
In short, Luther understands any authority or “headship” to be connected with fatherhood.
And other authorities
Beyond this, the Twitter user asked, “Why?” I think this question could be taken in two different ways: “Why does Luther extend the Fourth Commandment beyond the natural family into human government?” or “Why does Luther see fatherhood in these different ways?” Both are good questions to consider.
First, many people are surprised by the “and other authorities” in Luther’s explanation of the Fourth Commandment.
Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. (SC I, The Fourth Commandment, emphasis added)
Isn’t God just telling us how to treat mom and dad? How did my teacher and the police officer get into the commandment? Luther explains in the Large Catechism that the teacher and the policeman, the judge and the governor, are all there to help and serve mom and dad in raising the children. “Where a father is unable by himself to bring up his child, he calls upon a schoolmaster to teach him; if he is too weak, he seeks the help of his friends and neighbors; if he dies, he confers and delegates his responsibility and authority to others appointed for the purpose” (LC I 141). All temporal authority, as Luther understands it, is to protect, bless and serve the children. The children live under this authority.
Luther’s division of fatherhood into blood, household, nation and church echo his understanding of the “three estates”: the family, the church and the state. These three estates shape the way Luther sees and understands the world.
In 1528 Luther wrote, “But the holy orders and true religious institutions established by God are these three: the office of priest, the estate of marriage, the civil government” (LW 37:364). These same categories are recorded in Luther’s Table Talks: “The Bible speaks and teaches about the works of God. About this there is no doubt. These works are divided in three hierarchies: the household, the government, the church” (LW 54:446). Throughout his writings, Luther continued to teach about these three estates.
The three estates form a framework for Luther’s thinking, and when applied to fatherhood in the explanation of the Fourth Commandment, the father of the house, the nation and the church are all expounded.
The Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller serves St. Paul Lutheran Church and Jesus Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Austin, Texas. He is cohost of “Table Talk Radio” and the author of several books including And Take They Our Life. This article was originally posted by and is reprinted here with permission of The Lutheran Witness.
Be Informed
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod joined in — but did not blend in with — the March for Life on Jan. 27. Lime-green hats marked the Lutherans as a cohesive group. But more than the hats, it was the eyes that attracted the attention of marchers and TV cameras. Read on!
Be Equipped
Life matters even in death. Pastor Caleb Weight talks about the value of life and brings comfort, hope, and honesty to the conversation of miscarriage and mourning from a father’s perspective.
Be Encouraged
“What does peace look like? It looks like the crucified body of Jesus, the price for peace; it looks like the blood, there shed that you may be washed clean, forgiven, made new in him.”
Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).
Today’s reading is Galatians 5:1, where the Bible says,
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
That's how Marxism works. In the Communist Manifesto, it's the freeman and slave, the patrician and the plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman. Translated into the present, it's critical theory where it becomes a matter accumulating points. Score one for being a woman, one for being a person of color, one for being LGB, and perhaps two for being T. Count yourself as an enemy of the one percent, and that's at least a half-point. Such an odd thing, yet you gain a bit of oppressed status by including yourself among the 99 percent. Say you are an LGBTQ ally, another half point, and so on. Colleges have long operated this way, and many young people, young women especially, come home as trained Marxists.
Today’s reading is Galatians 3:26-29, where the Bible says,
26 So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.
The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.
If a couple came to me and said, “Pastor, we’d like to get married, and we’d like to do everything we can today to make sure our marriage ends in divorce tomorrow,” then I would tell them that the first thing they should do is move in together. Cohabitation is that destructive to marriage and family life.
However, the warning must not stop there. Because it is a form of public and intentional sin, cohabitation is particularly destructive to the conscience, and not just to the couple’s conscience but also to the conscience of the Christian community. Many couples view their choices as going no further than themselves. I would like to challenge this by considering some of the ways that cohabitation harms the broader Christian community.
Today’s verses are 2nd Corinthians 5:19-20, where St. Paul says,
19 That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting man’s sins against them. And He has committed to us this ministry of reconciliation, 20 for we are God’s ambassadors, as though were making His appeal through us, be reconciled to God!
That's the very least we can do. We have a lot of work to do. Blue states love abortion, want more of it, will never even speak against partial-birth abortion, much less children who, if born, could live outside of the womb. Red states are full of pro-life folks, many of whom would rather not push the issue. Abortion is the dark underside of our culture. What's a child in the womb worth? Nothing at all? Or is an unborn child dispensable? Is the child's worth totally dependent upon the mother? If a person is not loved, does that mean they can be dispensed with?
The story has many troubling aspects, not least of which is the parents’ decision based on inaccurate information about the child’s chance of surviving and thriving. But what troubles me most is that I encounter fellow Lutherans who have bought the narrative that it is better for babies with physical imperfections to be aborted rather than embraced and loved for whatever time the Lord allows them to live. I offer four problems with that mindset.
Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).
Today’s reading is Acts 1:7-11 which begins with Jesus telling His disciples,
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Abortion is a human right. So also is the right to ensure that children have puberty blockers and hormone treatment leading to mutilating surgery. Engage in debate, present the facts, and you will be shouted down by the mob. But that is a little child in the womb, a human being at an early stage. But you will hear only "My body, my choice." And if you take the argument further, you will hear more shouting, as the protestors screams and then repeats over and over again. What is a woman? There is no answer, but that doesn't bother the mob. Is there really such thing as a trans-child? How would you know? Might the child simply be confused? No answer, only the mantra, "Trans right are human rights."
Today’s reading is John 16:31-33, where Jesus says,
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
There was a great wedding in Leipzig, Germany, in the mid-1730s. We don’t know whose wedding it was, and we wouldn’t think anything of it today at all, had not Johann Sebastian Bach composed a cantata for it. A cantata was a piece of concerted music, about 20 minutes long and split into various movements, made up of sung Scripture passages and poetic verses. Almost all of Bach’s cantatas end with a hymn stanza.
Think for a moment about which hymn stanza would best conclude a cantata at a wedding. What words should be echoing in the ears of bridegroom and bride as they prepare for married life together? Which would be best?
The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.
The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.
Today’s reading is John 13:34-35, where Jesus says,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
What does it mean that Adam was created in God's image? Surely this includes righteousness, as well as the ability to be in conversation with God. But then, the same could be said of angels, who are not said to bear that image. This image also looks forward to God's eternal intention to become one of us in His eternal Son, who is the express image of God.
Today’s reading is Revelation 7:9-10, where the Apostle John tells us,
After these things I looked, and behold, I saw a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) will go down in history as the landmark Supreme Court case which redefined marriage in this country, granting same-sex couples throughout the land the right to marry. Keen observers have noted, however, that nowhere in the opinion of the majority (written by Justice Kennedy) is marriage itself ever actually defined.
Today’s reading is these portions of John 21:15–19, beginning with Jesus asking Simon Peter,
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me? ”He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. ”Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep….. 19… Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
“Savior.” “Lord.” “Son of God.” If you asked someone in the ancient world who these titles referred to, they might tell you “Jesus.” But depending on who you were talking to, they might also tell you “Caesar.” Modern readers of the Bible often miss the fact that some of the language the New Testament uses to talk about Jesus was also commonly used to talk about the Roman Emperor, who was not just a political leader, but someone whom people worshipped and even offered sacrifices to.
Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).
Today’s reading is John 20: 28-29, where the Bible says,
Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
D.C. We have seen religious liberties for Christians now protected and defended rather than threatened and litigated. We have seen other constitutional protections undergirded as well. But sadly, we are also seeing a growing callousness to the issue of life, not just from a select group of secular elites, but even from American citizens who are religious. The Pew Research Center shows that while conservative Christians still see abortion as an illegal action against innocent Children in the womb, other Christians are beginning to support the “abortion in all circumstances” mantra in pop culture. The abortion euphemistic cover of a constitutional “right to choose” has been properly litigated, but now the deceptive phrases of “reproductive freedom” and “women’s health care” has many callously embracing the killing on demand of innocent children right up to the moment of birth. Politicians and citizens alike are growing in their support of the outrageous notion that a child can be aborted up to the time of birth and even after it is born, as long as the mother and the doctor decide.
The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.
The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.
Today’s reading is from Luke 24:5-7, where angels speak these words to the women at Jesus’ empty tomb:
Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee, 7 “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”
A blessed Good Friday, Easter morning to you all!!
One of my favorite recurring guests on the “Liberty Action Alert” is Cal Thomas. He is a clear-thinking, fearlessly-engaging, Christian voice in the public square. His columns and commentary always give “public” Christians a lot to think about as they try to live out their faith lives in the particular vocations in the world in which they serve. He wrote this Good Friday piece about 3 years ago,