Luther: A Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming.

(Revised 1/02/22)

Did Martin Luther say, "A Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming"?  The picture to the left is one of many found on the Internet popularizing its link to Luther. The attribution to Luther has gone beyond seemingly endless cut-and-pastes of cyberspace and also finds its way into published books. Let's take a look. 

Documentation
In my cursory search, of the scores of webpages using this quote, I found no documentation other than the simple attribution to Luther. The oldest use of it I found was to a Lutheran publication: Kent Gilbert (ed.), Confirmation and Education (Fortress Press, 1969). In a chapter entitled, The Purpose of confirmation Education, Richard Evanson writes on page 48,

Grow in the life of the community and its mission. Christians have always understood that God works with man through other men. Through his experience with the pastoral and educational ministry of the congregation, the confirmand is to gain such learning as:
a. Understanding that the that the church is the people of God and that it has the following God-given functions: worship, witness, education, service, fellowship.
b. Understanding that Christian growth is a lifelong process and that the Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming.
c. Understanding that all believers in Christ are members of the Body of Christ and are joined in a fellowship that transcends race, nationality, age, and time.
d. Feeling that he is genuinely a part of the body of Christ and experiencing the fellowship which this implies.
e. Finding those tasks within the church for which he is fitted and accepting responsibility to fulfill them.

It's interesting that almost the exact wording is used (except, "the Christian" vs. "a Christian"). Evanson doesn't document the quote but presents himself as the author of the words; that Christian growth is to be understood as "a lifelong process and that the Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming."  It's within the realm of possibility that Evanson simply arrived at the same formula independently of the current Luther attributed quote, or that someone mis-attributed to Luther what was original to Evanson.  

Conclusion (Revised 1/02/22)

When I originally wrote this entry, I concluded,

"This is yet another 'Martin Luther' quote best classified as apocryphal. No, Luther probably did not coin this phrase in this form.  The sentiment is so popular, that virtually anyone from any religion could have said it. In fact, "We are always in a process of becoming" is popularly attributed to Bruce Lee! Unfortunately, I was not able to determine who first attributed the quote to Luther."

Since then, I've found two instances of Luther using something very close. First, in a comment below under this entry, someone pointed out LW 67:213. Luther has a discussion about the journey of a Christian life. He says,  

"... [W]hoever has begun to be a Christian, this is what remains: to consider that he has not yet become a Christian and to seek to become a Christian, so that he can boast with Paul: 'Not that I am, but that I desire to be' [Phil. 3:12]. And 'As many of us as are perfect, let us remain in this rule' [Phil. 3:15]. For a Christian is having not yet become, but is becoming, for to him is said, 'Seek, ask, knock,' not 'You have, you have found, you have entered,' but 'seek, ask,' etc. ;Matt. 7:7]." 

Recently in re-reading the Defense and Explanation of All the Articles (1521) Luther says,

"The second parable is in Matthew 13:33 It is that of the leaven which the woman mixes in three measures of meal until it is leavened through and through. The new leaven is the faith and grace of the Spirit, who does not leaven the whole lump through at once, but gently and slowly makes us altogether like Himself, new bread of God. This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise; we are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished, but it is going on; this is not the end, but it is the road; all does not yet gleam with glory, but all is being purified." (PE 3:30-31)

As I said originally, it wouldn't be at all uncommon to find the notions of becoming and completion in Luther's writings.  On the other hand, what makes Luther unique is the concept of simul justus et peccator, that at the same time, a Christian is seen covered in the righteousness of Christ, but yet still a sinner, in the process of becoming. 

The concepts of "process of becoming" and "state of completion" are not unique to Luther. The sixth century B.C. Greek philosopher Heraclitus saw all of reality in the "process of becoming" while Parmenides delved into examining the state of "being." In more recent times, Process Theology views all of reality, including God, in perpetual process unto a final goal.  

In religious parlance, the paradigm of becoming and completion are almost thoroughly ingrained into whatever system one looks at.  In Christian theologies specifically, a Roman Catholic could just as easily say "A Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming" as a Protestant, but with different nuances: Roman Catholic theology sees sanctification unto eventual justification, whereas typical Protestant theology sees justification unto eventual complete sanctification. Eastern Orthodoxy has its emphasis on theosis and apotheosis, similarly seeing the Christian life as a process of becoming to eventual arrival.

In commenting on the inherent sin within the church, Luther speaks of judgment day "when we shall then rise pure," then in passing, mentions "the Aristotelians say, we are in process of becoming holy and not in the state of having become holy" (LW 12:243, "Luther’s phrases are in fieri and in facto"). In one of his early responses to the papal bull exsurge domine, he states,

This life, therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed (LW 32:24).

In Luther's Disputation on the Works of the Law and of Grace (1537), Luther says, "Our justification is not yet finished. It is neither something which is actually completed nor is it essentially present. It is still under construction"  (WA 39.1:252 (LW 71); cf, Paul Althaus, 245, fn 96), but is finally completed in the resurrection ("Sed complebitur tandem in resurrectione mortuorum").

Addendum: simul justus et peccator
Sometimes simul justus et peccator is misunderstood as a Christian being 100% sinner and 100% saint at the same time, in which case, a Christian would not be, in essence, in "a process of becoming," but rather simply awaiting to shed off the sinful man at death. Such Christian anthropology can veer towards antinomianism, seeing any doctrine of sanctification abhorrent.  This link presents a fascinating study of Luther's simul justus et peccator.  The author quotes Luther saying, "we die unto sin and live unto righteousness, beginning and growing here on earth and perfecting it beyond" (LW 41:113-114).