Luther: the Church of the Word and the priesthood of all believers

Luther was not an individualist: he spoke of "Mother Church" and, like Cyprian, of no salvation outside the Church, but he differed from the Church of his day in defining its nature and authority. The supreme authority in the Church is the Word of God; the true Church is recognized by the pure preaching of the Gospel and the sacraments, not by apostolic succession or papal headship. In the treatise To the Christian Nobility (1520) he rejected the division into spiritual and temporal estates: baptism makes all Christians priests, differing only in function. The universal priesthood means that each is a priest for others, but public preaching is entrusted to those who are called, and the call is confirmed by the community.