Key Instruments
The Reformation is larger than any man's life—larger than any group of people or movement. To speak of the Reformation properly is to speak of the work of God in and through living instruments and international circumstances.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther is simply one of the most significant figures in western history. God raised him up from peasant stock to be used as the leading voice crying out across the land to return to Christ in the Gospel of justification by faith alone through the Scripture. He was key in the magisterial Reformation. It was the event of Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the Wittenberg church door that today is recognized as the official start of the Protestant Reformation. His stance for the Word of God at the Diet of Worms (1521) proved to be a major milestone in the Reformation and would continue to inspire many other reformers after him.
Luther’s major contributions include:
- Justification by faith alone (sola fide)
- The authority of Scripture over the church and tradition (sola scriptura)
- Salvation by grace alone (sola gratia)
- A high view of God as specifically sovereign
- Christ as head of the church (solus Christus)
- The theology of the Cross
- Emphasis on the Gospel in all ministry (sola gratia)
Ulrich Zwingli
Ulrich (or Huldrych) Zwingli possessed a number of qualities and convictions that were distinct from Luther, sometimes even going beyond what Luther had contributed. Zwingli unfortunately often takes a backseat to Luther and Calvin, when indeed Zwingli was a pioneer and first-rate contributor in several ways. One historian states, "The true father of Reformed Protestant theology is Ulrich Zwingli" (Olson, 399).
In time, he is often eclipsed by the great German reformer Martin Luther, an immediate contemporary. In place, he is often overshadowed by John Calvin, the great French reformer and systematizer of reformed theology ministering chiefly from Geneva, Switzerland. The enormous contribution and immense influence of Luther and Calvin need not be weakened in order to appreciate the substantial and unique contributions of Zwingli—the profundity of God's providential work through these men is not mutually exclusive between them.
Zwingli’s major contributions include:
- Biblical exegesis and expository preaching
- The authority of Scripture over the church and tradition (sola scriptura)
- A high view of God as specifically sovereign
- A high view of and a vastly accentuated dependence on the Holy Spirit
- Centrality of Christ in the church (solus Christus)
- Emphasis on the Gospel in all ministry (sola gratia)
- Pastoral ministry and compassionate care for God’s people
- Memorial view of the Lord’s Supper
- Beginnings of believer's baptism
- Eradication of religious superstition
- First to publish a Reformation creed
William Tyndale
William Tyndale was one of the greatest lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ that the church has ever been blessed to know. The story of his life is one of great discovery. He was the Englishman that “gave God an English voice.” He was the first man to translate the Scripture into English from the original Greek and Hebrew languages. He was the Oxford and Cambridge scholar that brought the written Word to the common folk. He was the courageous lover of Christ who was martyred for his labors to make God’s Word available in the English language. He contributed more to the English language than any single man in history.
Tyndale’s major contributions include:
- First to translate the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures into English
- The authority of Scripture over the church and tradition (sola scriptura)
- A lovely view of Christ (solus Christus)
- Justification by faith alone (sola fide)
- Centrality of Christ in the church
- Emphasis on the Gospel in all ministry (sola gratia)
- Emphasis on devotional purity (soli Deo gloria)
John Calvin
John Calvin has been labelled "The Man of the Millennium." He is considered the architect of Reformed theology. In fact, Philipp Melanchthon said that Calvin was "THE theologian." As Luther was used of God to give life to the Reformation, Calvin was used of God to give it a body. He was extraordinarily God-centered. "No man," said B. B. Warfield, "ever had a profounder view of God, than did Calvin." He restored the supreme authority and sovereignty of God over all things practically. While not the first of its kind, Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is considered the greatest theological work to come out of the Reformation.
The legacy of John Calvin is not owing to novelty. Most men, for whom movements are named, are notably distinguished by some contribution of new thought or precept or philosophy. Calvin's greatest contribution was not original to Calvin, and the celebration of that fact is itself remarkable. Faith-filled perception and faithful perseverance in the ancient revelation of God is much closer to the distinctive non-originality of Calvin's contribution to mankind.
Calvin's major contributions include:
- A high view of God (soli Deo gloria)
- A high view of God's sovereignty and providence
- The authority of Scripture over the church and tradition (sola scriptura)
- Biblical exegesis and expository preaching
- A critical view of man's nature (sola gratia)
- Emphasis on Christ's penal substitution (solus Christus)
- Emphasis on the Gospel in all ministry
- Pastoral ministry and compassionate care for God's people
- Pastoral training
- Systematical Theology
- Church polity
- Civil relations to the church
- Democratic republic government
- Social welfare
- Ethics
- Public education
- Economy and commerce (work ethic)
- Music
- Publishing
John Knox
John Knox has been called a Hebrew Jeremiah set down on Scottish soil. After witnessing the martyrdom of Patrick Hamilton, a young nobleman returned from Germany with the Gospel, Knox was soon, in heart devotion, standing on the same side as the martyr. Knox boldly embraced the Reformation in a dangerously anti-Reformation realm. Though he was quite reluctant to accept a call to preach, almost immediately he was considered one of the most powerful preachers of his day. Knox strongly believed that the Roman Catholic Church was beyond repair and nothing less than a complete restart was necessary. That restart, he believed, could only come through a knowledge of the Word of God. Through a marvelous providence, not excepting persecution, Knox sought refuge in Geneva, under John Calvin. After some tutelage, Calvin encouraged Knox to return to Scotland because of its great turmoil, urging that he should be present to influence his nation for God. That he did, fearlessly. A noble said of him: "Here lies a man who in his life never feared nor flattered any flesh: who has been often threatened with pistol and dagger, but has ended his days in peace and honor." He demonstrated a fierceness for the freedom of the free gospel of the only Lord, Jesus the Christ and Savior.
Knox’s major contributions include:
- The authority of Scripture over the church and tradition (sola scriptura)
- A high view of God as specifically sovereign
- A high view of God's providence
- A deep commitment to prayer
- Strongly opposed idolatry
- Establishment of education throughout the realm
- Formalization of a Reformed doctrine of the church
