April ‘Lutheran Witness’: Three estates

The Poyers, a homeschooling Lutheran family, do lessons in their home in Illinois in 2021. The April 2023 issue of The Lutheran Witness includes an article on Lutheran education. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

Every Christian has three areas of life in which he or she has responsibilities: family, church and state. Martin Luther called these the three estates. Our vocations — father, mother, child, citizen, church member — take place within these three estates.

The life of the Christian also takes its form from Christ. Christ urges Christians to take up their cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). St. Paul declares that the Christian is baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 6:1–11). If this is so, then the death and the resurrection of Jesus guide and direct the entire life of the Christian as he or she fulfills these vocations.

The April issue of The Lutheran Witness examines how the death and resurrection of Jesus affects the life of the Christian in some areas of these three estates. Molly Lackey explores how husbands and wives live together, dying to the self and living new lives as children of God. The Rev. Sean Daenzer reflects on the services of Holy Week and how this fundamental celebration of our Lord’s death and resurrection directs our life as the church throughout the entire year. Finally, the Rev. Andrew Packer shows how the resurrection of Jesus speaks to the political debate surrounding transgenderism and how we, as the people of God, may speak truth in such difficult times.

Packer writes: “This teaching (of Christ’s resurrection) can anchor those tempted to mutilate the God-given body that they possess. The teaching of the resurrection can also comfort those who have already mutilated and maimed their bodies.”

The April issue also launches a new online series written by Dr. Adam Francisco. This series addresses “wokeness,” first by defining the term and then by looking at its ongoing history and usage. The first is published in the April print issue, and all six articles will be posted online in April and May. Read them at witness.lcms.org/series.

Visit cph.org/witness to subscribe.

Posted April 13, 2023