Finally, justification by faith is not the only immediate context in
which Luther employs the verb agnosco. Like Augustine, he fre-
quently speaks of acknowledging God or Christ. Indirectly, these
phrases contain a reference to salvation and justifying faith in some
sense, as God is not properly acknowledged in terms of acquired
habit, but apprehended and received as a gift. At the same time,
Luther’s phrases continue the older Augustinian way of speaking.
In aSermon on John 17(1528), Luther meditates on the verses
(2–7) that speak of the eternal life that comes from knowing God and
Jesus Christ whom God sent. Luther remarks that knowing (cognosco)
heaven and earth in a philosophical manner does not make one a
Christian. Only the person who acknowledges or knows Christ
(Christum agnoscit) has eternal life.^185 This acknowledgement is the
crucial issue in salvation for Luther. He can thus conclude that‘this is
the sum of Christian doctrine, the one who believes this has eternal
life: knowing Jesus Christ (agnoscere Jesum Christum) from God the
Father’.^186 Not only general knowledge about God, but the personal
knowledge regarding Christ is crucial for salvation. Justification is
thus embedded in the event of knowing Christ.
In aSermon on St Stephen’sDay(1527) Luther explains the event of
incarnation. He employs 2 Cor. 5:16 and 10:3 to explain what it means
to know something carnally and spiritually.‘Knowing Christ’(Chris-
tum agnoscere) means for Luther a spiritual knowledge (cognitio spir-
itualis) in faith.^187 This spiritual understanding means that we know
Christ as a new creature in Christ.^188 At the same time the carnal body
remains, since when I see the incarnated infant Christ, I recognize
(agnosco)Christinflesh and blood. In some sense, I do not recognize
(non agnosco) him insofar as I know him (cognosco) as similar to other
infants. However, we know him (cognoscimus) according to the
spirit.^189 While the Vulgate hascognoscoin 2 Cor. 5:16, Luther changes
toagnoscowhen he speaks of thefirst-personappropriationinfaith.
In this manner, the Augustinian phrase of acknowledging God or
Christ is employed by Luther in a more individualist and appropria-
tive manner than in the tradition. At the same time, this‘spiritual’
knowledge is not autonomously acquired but bestowed from above.
A similar sense occurs in theLutheran Confessions, Formula of
(^185) Wochenpredigten1528/9, WA 28, 96, 4–97, 8.
(^186) WA 28, 103, 4–13. (^187) Predigten1527, WA 23, 734, 9–36.
(^188) WA 23, 736, 10–12. (^189) WA 23, 736, 20–3.
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