Faith and obedience in Bonhoeffer and the communicatio idiomatum

Abstract

AbstractThis article interprets Bonhoeffer's interrelated dialectic of faith and obedience through the Lutheran doctrine of communicatio idiomatum. As the church community concretely practices faith and obedience in Christ's person, this, I argue, involves participating in Christ's human and divine natures as the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection dialectically work together. As Christ's humanity is communicated divine attributes, acts of human obedience incur and involve faith; similarly, just as Christ's divinity is communicated human attributes, the act of faith involves and motivates concrete acts of obedience.