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Miles Coverdale, England, Reformer October 4. Miles Coverdale Miles Coverdale, England, Reformer October 4. Miles Coverdale. Coverdale realized the common people needed a Bible they could read and understand in their own language. So he made it his life’s ambition to produce an entire Bible in English. He started as an Augustinian friar at Cambridge, then he became a priest and was influenced by his supervisor in the monastery—an active Lutheran—who was later executed by Henry VIII for heresy. This caused Coverdale to give up being a monk and then to leave England for safer parts. By 1529, he lived in Germany and helped William Tyndale with his English translation of the Scriptures. Next, a merchant commissioned Coverdale to translate the Bible, and on this date in 1535, he completed the first Bible translated into English and printed. However, it did not pass standards that would make it the official translation. So Thomas Cromwell hired Coverdale to work in England on a new version based on Tyndale’s Matthew’s Bible. In 1539, Coverdale finished the Great Bible, which was approved by Henry VIII. But when Queen Mary took the throne, she took away all Coverdale’s religious authority. Most people believe he would be executed but that the King of Denmark persuaded Mary to send Coverdale to Denmark instead of killing him. God’s rule over us is demonstrated by how well we rule ourselves. Although he was a priest, around 1527, Coverdale broke with Roman Catholic beliefs and became an earnest Reformer of the Church. When he heard about some people hungry for Christ, he jumped at the opportunity to preach the gospel in a church at Bumpstead. When Coverdale stepped into the pulpit, a rapt audience listened to him preach the gospel of Christ, some for the first time. And God worked mightily. At the end of the service, the interim pastor of the church, a monk named Topley, cried out, “Oh my sins, my sins!” Topley was coming to Coverdale for absolution! But Coverdale advised the man to confess his sins to God and not to a priest. Topley believed Coverdale and accepted God’s forgiveness. Afterward, he dedicated himself to the work of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Topley was beginning to understand the true nature of Christ’s rule over the believer. And he realized that a believer is one who shares the gospel of Jesus and works under His authority to bless others. Coverdale wasn’t putting down the priesthood as it is described in the New Testament. He was only steering the monk away from putting his trust in the religious institution of the priest instead of putting his trust in the living Christ. One historian put it this way: “The clergy had made religion their business, and the Reformation was restoring [religion] to the people. Nothing offended the priests so much as that laymen should claim the right to believe without [the priests’] intervention, and even to propagate their faith.” But the Reformers believed in the priesthood of all believers, as did the Apostle Peter when he wrote to the church: “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:45 NASB). And Cloverdale hoped Topley would now believe in the priesthood of all believers. Are you working under the authority of Jesus? Do you recognize God working in your life? God’s rule over us is demonstrated by how well we rule ourselves. D’Aubigne, J.H. Merle. The Reformation in England, Vol. I. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1853, reprinted 1977, page 352. Ford, David Nash. “Miles Coverdale (1488-1569).” Royal Berkshire History. Published 2003. http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/mcoverdale.html. The Reformation. “Miles Coverdale (1486-1568).” Accessed July 11, 2020. https://www.thereformation.info/miles_coverdale/. Bible Manuscript Society. “1535 Coverdale Bible.” Accessed July 11, 2020. https://biblemanuscriptsociety.com/Bible-resources/English-Bible-History/Coverdale-Bible. “Miles Coverdale.” English Bible History. Accessed July 11, 2020. https://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english- bible-history/myles-coverdale.html. Simkin, John. “Miles Coverdale.” Spartacus Educational. September 1997. https://spartacus- educational.com/Miles_Coverdale.htm. Story read by: Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/ Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter Audio production: Joel Carpenter Story written by: Toni M Babcock, https://www.facebook.com/toni.babcock.1 Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/ Project manager: Blake Mattocks © 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. .
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