Der Testamentsbegriff bei Zwingli und Luther – oder warum Luther kein Bundestheologe wurde

Abstract

Zwingli’s covenant-theological departure from Luther has been explained by previous research through a different definition of the term testament or testamentum, given by the Reformer as a result of a dissimilar legal context. Accordingly, Luther understood “testament” as a unilateral contract from a Latin perspective, while Zwingli apprehended the term in bilateral terms from a German perspective. This essay refutes this explanation and shows that Luther and Zwingli used the term “testament” in similar ways. However, the meaning given to the “testament” in their interpretations of the words of institution differed radically. While Luther equated the Lord’s Supper with the testament as such and renamed it as “promise,” Zwingli’s commemorative understanding of the Lord’s Supper associated the “testament” with the historical crucifixion. The redemptive-historical approach of the Zurich Reformer to Christ’s testament versus Luther’s sacramental approach is seen instead as a fundamental factor of Zwingli’s covenant-theological development, which is what this essay finally argues.