Luther on Bishops and Authority

Mike Spreng over at Anglican Thought has a post on Protestant Reformers and the ancient order of bishops. Mr. Spreng writes of Luther:

Luther, speaking concerning the authority which Bishops would have among the Reformers, says if any of them should adopt reformed principles, “We would acknowledge them as our fathers, and willingly obey their authority, which we find supported by the Word of God.”

The problem with this is that Luther also said that the “princes of Germany” had “replaced” the bishops of the Church because the the Catholic bishops had forfeited their apostolic authority – sort of a reverse Donation of Constantine.

Basically, Luther was saying “If anyone agrees with me (i.e. is theologically “Lutheran”), then we’ll submit.” That is not submission, but rather cooperation. This reveals that magisterial Protestantism does not have a true doctrine of ecclesiastical authority. It basically boils down to, “I’ll submit whenever I decide that the authority is worthy of submission.” Thus, it is merely a matter of private judgment and submission to one’s own personal authority.