The Debate Matures, 1527–1529

Luther’s 1527 That These Words Still Stand Firm initiated a new stage of the Eucharistic controversy by summarizing and then refuting the most important sacramentarian arguments. The treatise initiated an exchange with Oecolampadius and Zwingli that highlighted their hermeneutical and exegetical disagreements and emphasized Christology. In response to Luther’s 1528 Confession Concerning Christ’s Supper, Martin Bucer wrote a dialogue arguing that Luther and his opponents actually agreed. Although Bucer still advocated a sacramentarian position, he recognized that Luther did not teach impanation, and he began to shift the debate away from Christ’s bodily presence in the elements to Christ’s reception by communicants. Other contributions demonstrate that the two sides were consolidating their arguments and propagating them through a variety of genres.