The Lutheran Church has always battled with each other in-house regarding various theological topics. Historically, there were numerous "controversies" that arose in our history. Many of these arose in the 16th century which led to the writing of the Formula of Concord. However, other battles occurred later in history, as American Lutherans debated fiercely over Section XI of the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord regarding election and predestination. One side argued for an election in view of faith (intuitu fidei) whereas the other side argued for an election that is a cause of faith. Or we could term this, an election that is unconditional. To this day, Lutherans are split on this topic. Both sides of this discussion claim that the Formula of Concord is on their side, and both have reasons for doing so.
To answer which side is truly the one that agrees with the Lutheran Confessions, it is vitally important that we go to the framers of the Formula of Concord and see what they had to say on the topic. While it is certainly true that both sides of this debate have an historical basis in Lutheranism, which one has the actual Confessional basis? Let us look at some quotes on the topic from the Formula's writers as well as quotes from later Lutheran scholastics.
To begin, we will look at some of the authors of the Formula. These men are: Martin Chemnitz, Jacob Andreae, Nicholas Selnecker, David Chytraeus, Andrew Musculus, and Christopher Cornerus.
Martin Chemnitz, the principal author of the Formula, writes this in his 1574 Enchiridion, directed to the Lutheran ministers in the Duchy of Braunschweig:
But does predestination only encompass salvation and not at the same time the persons who should be saved? Scripture includes in this article at the same time also the persons of the elect. For it ought not be considered equally as though God only prepared in general with his predestination, but did not think about the persons themselves who should be saved but left it to them to strive and seek to attain salvation by their own natural powers and efforts. But God in grace considered and predestined unto salvation in his eternal decree of predestination and gracious purpose each and every individual elect person who should be saved through Christ while He at the same time foreordained how through His grace, gifts, and working He would bring and preserve them in the salvation prepared in Christ. Does that election first happen when men repent and believe the Gospel, or does it happen because of their salvation foreseen from eternity? Paul says in Ephesians 1:4: "He chose us in Christ" not in time, but "before the foundation of the world," and in 2 Timothy 1:9 he says: "He called us to a holy calling, not because of our own works, but because of His own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began." For the election of God does not follow our faith and righteousness, but precedes it as the effective cause.
Dr. Marin Chemnitz, Enchiridion de pradecipuis doctrinae coelestis capitibus (Leipzig, 1554) 1600, p. 210ff. See also Martin Chemnitz, Ministry, Word, and Sacraments: An Enchiridion (St. Louis: Concordia, 2009)
Chemnitz also continues:
For those whom He previously predestined and ordered (quos praedefinivit et praedestinavit) He also called and made righteous, Romans 8:29ff. Augustine diligently discussed what Paul writes in Ephesians 1:4, that "He chose us," not because we were holy or became holy, or because He foresaw that we would be holy, but "He chose us in Christ," he says, and indeed "before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy and blameless before Him." For election and the decree of grace is the effective cause of everything that belongs to salvation, as Paul confirms in Ephesians 1:11-12, 19 by writing: "Through Christ we have come to the inheritance that we were previously ordered to according to according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will so that we might be to the praise of His glory through whose powerful working we also believe" etc. And this election occurred before the time of the world, not in regard to our works, whether they be earlier, or present, or in the future, according to God's purpose and the pleasure of His grace. Romans 9:11: "Not from the merit of works but from the grace of the one who calls." 2 Timothy 1:9: "He called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His purpose and grace."...Therefore Paul also says in 2 Timothy 2:19 that this is the seal: "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from unrighteousness." And from that it is evident with certainty (certo constat) that none of the elect remains in that which is called ultimate unrepentance and unbelief (in finali, ut dicitur, impoenitentia et incredulitate)
Dr. Chemnitz, Enchiridion, p.211. sq. 215)
Nicholas Selnecker, commenting on Acts 13:48, writes:
This is written because that is the state of the matter. For God knows His own from eternity and He endowed with faith those whom He predestined to eternal life, through the word that they hear, and justifies them. But that He did not predestine all and endow them with faith is the fault of man, not God. For many men hear the Word in vain and despise the grace of God offered in the Word. But although God could make all those who are not willing willing, He does not do this; and He has most just and wisest reasons why He does not do it, which is not our matter to investigate. On the contrary, we are to give thanks with our whole heart that He has called us unto fellowship of eternal life through the preaching of the Gospel and enlightened our hearts by faith. And since Luke 13 uses the specific word (ordered), we should know that we are bound to a (Greek Word), that is, that we ought to judge and speak of election according to the order appointed by God in the Church through Word and Sacrament. We ought to ever hold fast to the truths (sententias) of this in the most faithful way, namely, that there are no elect apart from the amount of those called and that all those who persevere in faith in the agonies of death and in appealing to the Son of God are elect.
Later, Selnecker continues, answering the question "Is foreseen faith the cause of election?" He writes:
If justifying faith were our work, our nature (qualitas) and virtue, then this question would obtain. But because that faith is a work of God in us, this question is not needed very much, however to answer this question is not difficult. Election is certainly God's eternal resolution regarding the saving of men. This resolution of God is subject to (subjictur) faith in Christ, which God also Himself gives according to the order established by Him. Therefore foreseen faith cannot be the cause of eternal election whose result and effect is faith, as it were, in those of us born in time and which in time ceases when we die. If, then, foreseen faith were to be called the cause of election, the false delusion of our foreseen worthiness and merits not only of faith, as our quality, but also our other good works would capture our minds. God knows those who are His own and elected them before the foundation of the world. And the cause of this election is nothing other than the mercy and gracious goodness of God through and for the sake of Christ, the mediator, and of His merits, which must be grasped and apprehended by faith alone. This faith, because it is the hand or the instrument by which God's grace and Christ's merits are grasped, cannot be the cause of grace and election, but it is that means and tool by which we apprehend the grace and merits of Christ.
Nicholas Selnecker, In omnes epistolas D. Pauli apostoli Commentarius. Published by the sobn of Georg Selnecker, Leipzig 1595, fol. 213ff.
This should all be enough to see that the authors of the Formula themselves did not hold to election intuitu fidei. That being said, let us look at some other Lutherans, namely, as it pertains to the intuitu fidei.
C.F.W. Walther, the first president of the LCMS, was a staunch defender of the single predestination of Luther, Chemnitz, and the Formula. That being said, here is what he has said about some other Lutheran theologians who thought differently:
Our theologians intended to go in the safest way when they here employed the expression "intuitu fidei," that is, "in view of faith." With it, they wanted to avoid and escape the Scylla of Calvin's absolute predestination, and on the other side the Charybdis of the predestination by the conduct of man of Pelagius and all synergists. They were far away from wanting to correct in any way the pure biblical and symbolical doctrine of gracious election with that use of the dubious term "intuitu fide." Indeed, they held onto it fast nonetheless with complete earnestness and rejected in the strongest way that Pelagian and synergistic notion in the notion of gracious election. Therefore it would be irresponsible heretification [Ketzermacherei] to want to make these pure, outstanding theologians in the development and defense of the doctrine of our Church into false teachers, namely into Pelagians, at least semi-Pelagians or synergists, on account of that expression that indeed all too easily leads to misunderstanding.
C.F.W. Walther, Predestination, St. Louis, Concordia, p. 21.
The most careful and orthodox expositor of the intuitu fidei, in my mind, was probably Johann Gerhard, the brilliant Lutheran dogmatician. Let us briefly see what he has to say.
We do not say that faith is the meritorious or effective cause of election, or that God elected us on account of faith. Gerhard, quoted in Hannekin, Verae th. Synopsis, p.170
We do not say that predestination has its basis in the foresight of faith, but that the foresight of faith belongs to the decree of election. But there is a big difference between these phrases. The first expresses the meritorious or initial cause, the latter indicates only the ordering. Gerhard, Ibid. p. 175
Since the decree of predestination, which nobody can preempt, is limited by God Himself with a certain order, nobody can in the ordinary manner believe if he does not observe that original order appointed by God. The result of this is that all grace originally flows out of God's hand as that which steadfastly appointed and prescribed that order, so that whoever desires to obtain faith and be saved through it would use Word and Sacraments, which were entrusted to the Church. Briefly, faith is a gift and effect of the grace of the electing God, who not only made the decree about the salvation of believers, but also first ordained certain means of faith and of salvation beforehand, without which order nobody would either believe or be saved. Gerhard, Disputatt. Isag. p.726
It is not denied that out of sheer grace God predestined to the final goal and to the means those who should be saved, but the gist of the controversy is whether God first predestined some to the final goal according to an absolute pleasure, to which absolutely elect ones He first decreed to give the means through which He would lead them to the final goal. Gerhard, Ibid. 175
Many more quotes could be provided from both sides. From where I sit, however, it would seem that the intuitu fidei, while not falling into synergism - much less into Pelagianism - is not what the Formula is speaking of. This is clearly defended by non-Confessional writings and quotes from the authors of the Formula itself. Chemnitz and Selnecker certainly did not affirm intuitu fidei. That said, Johann Gerhard, one of the best Lutheran theologians to ever live, did affirm it. Yet he was very cautious and careful in his handling of it. He saw the slippery slopes and expertly avoided them.
Therefore, let us avoid pinning any labels such as Pelagian, semi-Pelagian, synergist, Arminian, or free willers on these solid Lutheran dogmaticians.
+Pax+
