Full and Present Salvation in Christ: Life and Work of Theodor Jellinghaus

Full and Present Salvation in Christ

Life and Work of Theodor Jellinghaus

Klaus Arnold

Full and Present Salvation in Christ

Life and Work of Theodor Jellinghaus

Copyright © 2018 Klaus Arnold. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-1501-6

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-1503-0

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-1502-3

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Names: Arnold, Klaus, author.

Title: Full and present salvation in Christ : life and work of Theodor Jellinghaus / Klaus Arnold.

Description: Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2018 | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: isbn 978-1-5326-1501-6 (paperback) | isbn 978-1-5326-1503-0 (hardcover) | isbn 978-1-5326-1502-3 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Jellinghaus, Theodor | Salvation—Christianity | Theology, Doctrinal—Germany.

Classification: BT750. A33 2018 (paperback) | BT750 (ebook)

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 04/16/18

Table of Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Historical-Theological Setting

Chapter 3: Life of Theodor Jellinghaus

Chapter 4: Doctrine of Salvation I

Chapter 5: Doctrine of Salvation II

Chapter 6: Church and Christian Life

Chapter 7: Assessment of Theodor Jellinghaus’s Recantation

Appendix

Bibliography

I am dedicating this work to the love of my life, best friend, greatest supporter, and encourager, my wife, Martina Arnold.

Acknowledgments

The author of this book acknowledges that many people have contributed to his professional life and development and consequently to the writing of this work. I want to mention the main persons who have influenced and helped me to accomplish this task:

Rev. Thomas Findlay, former professor at European Nazarene College, introduced me to the subject and instilled a desire to do research on Theodor Jellinghaus.

Mr. Sigmar Jellinghaus, great-grandson of Theodor Jellinghaus, who was supportive of the project and gave me access to the family archives.

Dr. Jörg Ohlemacher, professor emeritus at Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität Greifswald, was a true mentor during the process of research and writing. His expertise on the Heiligungsbewegung and Gemeinschaftsbewegung in Germany in the nineteenth century has been a great resource and inspiration.

Last but not least I want to thank my supervisors at Nazarene Theological College, Dr. Thomas A. Noble and Dr. Geordan Hammond, for their help and guidance especially in connecting the subject to the English context and the Holiness Movement in England and the United States of America in the nineteenth century.

Abbreviations

Biblical Texts

Old Testament

New Testament

Journals, Periodicals, Major Reference Works, and Series

1

Introduction

The nineteenth century, and especially the last quarter of it, bears witness to interesting connections and relationships (most of which were reciprocal) in the history of Protestantism between the United Kingdom and the European continent and even the United States of America. One outstanding example is the history and impact of the holiness movement.

This work deals with that movement in general and one of its protagonists in particular, Rev. Theodor Jellinghaus. He was a Lutheran Pietist minister, missionary to India, founder of a Bible school, author of a theological treatise and other publications, speaker at various holiness conferences, theological leader of the Heiligungsbewegung¹ and one of the characters at the beginning of the Gemeinschaftsbewegung in Germany, a nineteenth century development of the Pietist tradition in Germany.

Motive and Goal of the Work

I learned about the work and life of Theodor Jellinghaus during my theological studies. Since I belong to a denomination which has emanated from the American holiness movement, I became fascinated that a German theologian in the nineteenth century tried to build a bridge between Anglo-American and German theological traditions in relation to the doctrine of sanctification.

After starting with serious research I had the chance to meet some of Theodor Jellinghaus’s family, which gave me another boost of motivation for the work. After the death of Dr. Paul Jellinghaus, son of Theodor Jellinghaus and successor of his work, the descendants had decided that the family member with the most interest in the family history should keep the family archives. Because of the total destruction of Berlin during the Second World War most of the archives were lost and destroyed. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Sigmar Jellinghaus, great-grandson of Theodor Jellinghaus, who has given me access to what was left from the archives.²

It is the goal of this work to examine and assess the life and work of Theodor Jellinghaus. Jellinghaus was the only representative of the Heiligungsbewegung in Germany who wrote a theological treatise of his understanding of sanctification in relation to other major doctrines of the church. His scholarly contribution was formulated especially in his seven-hundred-and-thirty page magnum opus, Das völlige, gegenwärtige Heil durch Christum (The Full, Present Salvation through Christ), which went through five editions between 1880 and 1903.³

The key event for the life and work of Jellinghaus was his participation in the convention on Christian holiness in Oxford in 1874. Therefore, the approach taken in this work will be to examine the historical context before examining his theology. He wanted to bring the new insights he gained there to revive the Protestant and Pietist traditions in the land of the Reformation. He believed that the doctrine of sanctification by faith in Jesus Christ which he had heard in England was an indispensable consequence of and necessary accompaniment to a clear doctrine of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. His doctrine of salvation focused on a personal faith relationship of the believer with Jesus Christ. In justification the relationship was established by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit; and in sanctification it was sustained through the Holy Spirit in moment-by-moment yielding of the believer to God.

Once he had formulated his doctrine of justification and sanctification, Jellinghaus developed the doctrines of redemption and reconciliation. In fact, the latter became the ontological foundation of his teachings because it provided the basis for both the objectivity and subjectivity of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It will be demonstrated that his teachings were a distinctive treatment of different influences in his life and learning.

Although the ecclesiology of Jellinghaus was based on the understanding of the established Protestant Church in Germany and rooted in the historical and theological development of the Pietist tradition in Germany (ecclesiola in ecclesia)⁴, he developed an ecclesiological concept which received an independent character through his doctrines of reconciliation and redemption. This approach and the fact that he formulated his theological understanding in a theological treatise made him unique among the fathers of the Gemeinschaftsbewegung. The involvement of Jellinghaus in the Gemeinschaftsbewegung must be interpreted from the viewpoint of his ecclesiological concept in the light of his understanding of the kingdom of God and in relation to the Protestant state churches of Germany. His special concern in the Gemeinschaftsbewegung was the education of laypersons.

The last phase of his life was characterized by crisis and illness which were related to each other and directly and indirectly led to his so-called recantation. We can only do justice to the overall persona of Jellinghaus if we differentiate between the former (healthy) and later (ill) Jellinghaus. He has to be viewed in the contradictions and tensions within the development of the Heiligungsbewegung and the Gemeinschaftsbewegung as well as his theological teachings.

This work is the first comprehensive treatment of Jellinghaus which not only focuses on his doctrine of sanctification, but assesses his overall life and work, that is, his theological system and personal involvement in and contribution to the development of the Heiligungsbewegung and Gemeinschaftsbewegung in Germany.

Methodology

A mix of biographical study and thematic approach seems to be the best method to look at the life and work of Theodor Jellinghaus. The main themes of his theological thought and his contribution to the Heiligungsbewegung and Gemeinschaftsbewegung in Germany can only be understood in the framework of important events and developments in his life. From his family background, studies, and experiences as missionary in India and pastor at two different parishes in Germany to the encounter with leading persons of nineteenth century Pietism in Germany and representatives of the American holiness movement during a holiness conference in England and the following development of the Heiligungsbewegung and Gemeinschaftsbewegung in Germany cannot be separated from the formulation of his theological teachings.

There are at least three strengths in this approach. First, it places Jellinghaus in the historical-theological setting of the nineteenth century in Germany. Second, it helps explain the relationship to and the influences of the American holiness movement and the later Keswick movement to his theological teachings. Third, this approach is of assistance in explaining Jellinghaus’s theological contribution as a distinctive treatment of different influences in his life and learning.

The leading questions guiding the research were: Who and what influenced Theodor Jellinghaus’s life and work? Why did Jellinghaus formulate his thoughts on justification and sanctification the way he did? What was his overall aim? Did Jellinghaus reach his goal? How was Theodor Jellinghaus assessed during his life time until today? What is his theological contribution?

The method and the questions have influenced the procedure for developing this work. First, I have gathered and read all the works published by Theodor Jellinghaus. I have summarized them and correlated the content according to topics and themes to show how his thoughts developed. Second, it was important to research as much as possible about his life: his family, his studies, his ministry and personal relationships and developments in the different phases of his life. The primary sources and the family archives were of great help to develop a personal data sheet in chronological order. This biographical study was then connected to the development of his theological teachings. Third, the different assessments of his thoughts by different theologians were put into dialogue with the different themes of his teachings. This procedure should help to provide a historical-critical approach to the life and work of Theodor Jellinghaus.

Translation Methods for German Texts and Specific German Terminology

Any translations of German works (by Jellinghaus and others as indicated in the footnotes) have been produced by the author. Regarding the methods of translation I have basically followed three types according to Newmark’s categories.⁵ Rarely did I use the word-for-word translation, which means that the word-order of the source language is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context.⁶ This method was used for book titles.⁷ The second method used is literal translation. In this method, according to Newmark, the grammatical constructions of the source language are converted to their nearest equivalents in the target language but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context.⁸ The literal translation method has been applied mostly for short quotations. The method used most commonly in this work has been faithful translation.

A faithful translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL⁹ grammatical structures. It ‘transfers’ cultural words and preserves the degree of grammatical and lexical ‘abnormality’ (deviation from SL¹⁰ norms) in translation. It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and text-realization of the SL writer.¹¹

This method was most appropriate for larger texts and the overall presentation of theological teachings. It was most important to the author of this work to make an effort to be as faithful as possible to the intentions of the writers of the German texts.

When an explanation for the translation is necessary, this is done in the specific chapters (e.g., Versöhnung, Erlösung, Kirche, and Gemeinde). However, at this point a couple of terms will be explained at the beginning because the terms are either specific to Jellinghaus or appear throughout his writings and this work.

The first term is one that is specific to the teachings of Theodor Jellinghaus. No other theologian used this terminology. Jellinghaus described his doctrine of salvation as heilistische Erlösungslehre (I would translate it literally as salvific doctrine of redemption) or Heilismus (which is the noun of the adjective heilistisch). The word is based on the German term Heil meaning redemption, salvation, blessedness, well-being, or even welfare. It seems that Jellinghaus created here a pleonasm in the first use (heilistische Erlösungslehre). With the term heilistisch or Heilismus Jellinghaus wanted to describe his own understanding of salvation, especially the relationship of the doctrines of justification and sanctification, to distinguish it from other teachings in the Protestant tradition in Germany.¹²

The German term chosen for holiness movement (Heiligungsbewegung) literally means sanctification movement. I could not find any specific reason why the English designation was not translated literally as Heiligkeitsbewegung. However, since the message of the movement focused on the doctrine of sanctification and not on the biblical teaching of holiness in general, the term appears to be most appropriate for the social, historical and theological setting of the movement in Germany. We will use the German term if it refers to the German movement. For the movement in other parts of the world (especially in the United States) the term holiness movement will be used because that is the historic designation.

The last specific German term to be explained in this section is Gemeinschaftsbewegung. The most common translation has been Fellowship Movement.¹³ However, it does not fully grasp its original meaning, because the term implies also the sense of confraternity and community. Throughout this work I will use the original German term Gemeinschaftsbewegung to describe this movement.

Regarding translation from German to English in this work it is also important to note that the author, although born and raised in Germany, has had most of his theological education (on Bachelor’s and Master’s level) in English speaking schools and lived in the United States of America for three years as he attended seminary. This is mentioned to emphasize the author’s being immersed in the English speaking vocabulary in theological studies, to highlight his familiarity with both languages, and to accentuate his expertise for translating theological texts from German to English.

Primary Literature

The most important source for this work is the main work of Jellinghaus, Das völlige Heil. Although each edition reveals the same theological orientation and direction, there are various developments visible in the different editions. An important methodology has been the creation of a synopsis of the table of contents and a comparison of the content of the chapters of all five editions. Especially in the second and fourth editions there are important enlargements and amendments in regard to his doctrines of reconciliation and redemption, his understanding of faith and his doctrine of baptism.

Jellinghaus’s publication is not a dogmatic work in the common sense.¹⁴ It was rather the main textbook of his Bible school and was meant to help train laypersons for involvement in the Gemeinschaftsbewegung. In the preface Jellinghaus wrote that he intended it to be biblically, historically and theologically sound, but written in a language that reflected the Pietist tradition and that was readable for laypersons within the Gemeinschaftsbewegung.¹⁵

A second fruitful source was his regular newsletters of his Bible school, the Mitteilungen aus der Bibelschule (Information from the Bible school).¹⁶ These regular publications provide a lot of information about his life, ministry, travels, Bible courses, Bible school, and his theological convictions. They also contain interesting comments on the developments of the Gemeinschaftsbewegung. Two methodologies used with this source were the development of a chronology of the Bible school and summaries of the different theological teachings. The chronology has been a great tool for the biography of Jellinghaus, and the summaries have aided the interpretation of his other writings.

Jellinghaus wrote two Bible commentaries for laypersons¹⁷ which were designed to start a commentary series on the entire New Testament.¹⁸ However, no other commentaries in this series were published; neither by him nor by any other theologian. The commentaries on John’s first epistle and the epistle to the Romans are examples of Jellinghaus’s exegesis and focused on his teaching of Jesus as the present Savior in who is victory over sin.

Other publications by Jellinghaus focused on key teachings of Das völlige Heil.¹⁹ In addition he issued a short aid for interpreting the Bible for laypersons.²⁰ He also published various articles in the Evangelisches Allianzblatt²¹ (Gazette of the Evangelical Alliance) and other periodicals of the Gemeinschaftsbewegung²² and a practical guide for Christian living.²³ All of these publications do not contain new or different teachings from his Das völlige Heil; they were either examples on how he applied his theological teachings or additional interpretations of his basic theological convictions. As these publications were reviewed for this work, they were compared with Das völlige Heil and integrated into the appropriate chapters.

Secondary Literature and Current State of Research

Since the 1970s the research on the Heiligungsbewegung and Gemeinschaftsbewegung has experienced some attention.²⁴ Particularly since the last decade of the twentieth century there has been intensive and extensive work on the whole movement as well as specific aspects²⁵ and outstanding personalities.²⁶

Regarding the life and work of Theodor Jellinghaus the most extensive work has been done by Paul Fleisch.²⁷ He indicated that he had a special relationship to Jellinghaus. On the one hand, Fleisch saw in Jellinghaus the most thorough theologian of the Heiligungsbewegung. In his historical and theological review of the Gemeinschaftsbewegung Fleisch laid a special focus on Theodor Jellinghaus and his work. On the other hand, Jellinghaus had asked Paul Fleisch himself to critically assess his theological work. Jellinghaus approached Fleisch during the time he was ill and asked him to help him in the recantation of his theological teachings.²⁸ Actually, Jellinghaus’s work became the overarching benchmark for Fleisch’s critical review of the Heiligungsbewegung.²⁹ Ohlemacher, in the preface to Fleisch’s