Where is the Magisterium in the Bible? Part 3: How did Jesus provide for the transmission of the faith?
How did Jesus provide for the transmission of the faith? David Anders tackles that question,
All Christians agree that Jesus Christ is the ultimate authority. During his earthly ministry, He was the Final Authority. His authority superseded the Old Testament, human reason, Jewish Tradition, and the power of the state. But after His ascension, He did not leave us without direction. Before He ascended, He made provisions for a continuing doctrinal authority.
Jesus commissioned his apostles to teach with authority:
Jesus told his disciples, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
Jesus sent his apostles to teach, and promised to remain with them. Many passages of Scripture show that Christ’s authority accompanied their teaching:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21)
“Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)
“Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:18; Matt. 18:18)
These texts answer our question. Christ did give us a rule of faith before His ascension. He gave us the teaching of the apostles. It is important to note that Christ never mentions the writings of the apostles. He gave them no command to write, and never restricted their authority to the written word. His authority attached to their persons and their teaching.
The Apostles Appointed Successors to Teach with Authority
Protestants usually admit that the apostles taught with authority. They deny that the apostles transmitted this authority to their successors. However, Scripture and history refute them.
Scripture:
“They appointed presbyters for them in each church.” (Acts 14:23)
[Paul to Titus] “For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might . . . appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.” (Titus 1:5)
[Paul to Timothy] “And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
“For a bishop as God’s steward must . . . be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents.” (Titus 1:7-9)
When Judas died, Mathhias took his office. “Let another take his office.”
These texts show clearly that the apostles appointed the bishops and priests (presbyters) who took over the leadership of the infant church. They also show that leaders were 1) stewards of the Gospel, 2) given authority to teach and refute false doctrine, 3) ordered to entrust this charge to others. -Sola Scripture vs the Magisterium: What Did Jesus Teach?
Throughout the New Testament we see apostles exercising that authority to correct other believers. We also see a teaching authority in the Old Testament.
“All throughout salvation history the basic pattern is clear: God leads His People through one person, or through several people who are ultimately accountable to one person. Authority is top-down (children don’t choose their parents, the Israelites don’t choose their Kings or Judges, etc.) and the buck stops with a particular individual. Where this structure is challenged, whether that be by Miriam and Aaron or by Korah, the challengers are rebuked (or worse).” What’s the Biblical Model of Church Leadership?
Even in matters unrelated to worship and doctrine, the apostles spoke with authority over other believers: “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us the teaching you received from us.”
Peter Warned Christians About Those Who Teach Without Authority
Peter taught that “no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:20–21) and went on to warn about those who taught without authority: “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Pet. 2:1).-Authority to Teach
We see a hierarchical church throughout the New Testament.
For example, Bishops had the Power to Rebuke False Doctrine and Excommunicate from the Church: Acts 8:14-24, 1 Corinthians 16:22, 1 Timothy 5:20, 2 Timothy 4:2, Titus 1:10-11. Jesus’ plan is clear: those with his authority are to hand on traditions to other Christians, to discipline, to correct and to excommunicate Christians who persistently rejected their teaching.
“Jesus told his disciples, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
Joe Heschmeyer points out that the scriptural pattern is clear: God leads his people through one person or through several people who are accountable to that one person.
We See Apostolic Authority in Action in Acts 15
The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-29) bears witness to a definite hierarchical, episcopal structure of government in the early Church. St. Peter, the chief elder (the office of pope) of the entire Church (1 Peter 5:1; cf. John 21:15-17), presided and issued the authoritative pronouncement (15:7-11). Then James, bishop of Jerusalem (kind of like the host-mayor of a conference) gives a concurring (Acts 15:14), concluding statement (15:13-29). That James was the sole, “monarchical” bishop of Jerusalem is fairly apparent from Scripture (Acts 12:17, 15:13,19, 21:18, Galatians 1:19, 2:12). This fact is also attested by the first Christian historian, Eusebius (History of the Church, 7:19). -Visible, Hierarchical, Apostolic Church
Paul instructed to “follow Both Oral and Written Tradition”
“If any one refuses to obey what we say in this letter, note that man, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not look on him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:14–15).
Hold fast to the traditions I have taught by word of mouth or by letter. I Corinthians 11:2
The letter to the Hebrews states, “Obey your leaders and submit to them for they watch over your souls”.
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents” (Heb. 13:7–9). It goes on, “Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).
Jesus says he must gather “other sheep” referring to the gentiles. Who does our Lord use as the shepherd to bring this prophecy to pass?
John 21:1-17: Here, we find another example of Jesus aiding the fishing of the apostles who “caught nothing” all night long (vs. 3). At the command of Jesus they let down their nets and catch an astonishing 153 “large fish” (vs. 11). When Jesus commands the net to be hauled ashore, St. Peter heaves the entire net of fish to shore by himself. No man can lift that size of a catch out of the water and on to the shore by himself. If you take these words literally to mean Peter actually did this, it seems Peter was given supernatural strength to do what no man could naturally accomplish.
Fish are symbols representing the faithful (recall Luke 5:8-10). And the symbol of “the net” is used elsewhere in the New Testament for the Church (see Matt. 13:47). Not only is Peter’s ability to carry these fish (all the faithful) a miracle, but the fact that the “net” is not broken is also extraordinary. The message seems to be that the Church Jesus establishes containing all of God’s faithful with Peter packing the power will never be destroyed!
It is in this context that Jesus then asks St. Peter three times, “Do you love me… Do you love me… Do you love me?” When Peter responds in the affirmative the second time, Jesus responds by commanding Peter to “tend (Gr. poimaine—’shepherd’) my sheep” (vs. 16). Jesus the shepherd here commissions Peter to be the prophetic shepherd of John 10:16 to shepherd the entire people of God! How many of the sheep belong to Jesus? All of them. How many of his sheep did Jesus give to St. Peter to shepherd? All of them.-The Papacy In Scripture-No Rocks Required
Jesus established a kingdom. The Biblical Roots of the Papacy were foreshadowed in the Old Testament Davidic kingdom
Even in the Old Testament the Kingdom of David was a manifestation of God’s own Kingdom: “You think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David?” (2 Chron. 13:8). Raymond Brown says: “The kingdom established by David was a political institution to be sure, but one with enormous religious attachments (priesthood, temple, sacrifice, prophecy)…It is the closest Old Testament parallel to the Church.”
Now, David and his lineage, the anointed kings of Judah, did not govern alone. As king Solomon appointed twelve officers to rule his kingdom (1 Kings 4:7), so also Jesus appoints twelve apostles to rule his Kingdom after his ascension (Matt. 19:28). The Twelve are his royal cabinet, the body of men authorized to do the King’s will, to represent him as they rule over his New Israel, the Church: “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects yourejects me” (Luke 10:16). Jesus even gives them the power to forgive sins: “‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:21-23). Christ planned to bless the world “through their message” (John 17:20).
In choosing twelve men to be the ministers of his Kingdom Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. And the apostles were no fools. They knew that Jesus was the new King David, and that he had gathered the twelve tribes. They knew that they held an office, and that an office left vacant must be filled. After the death of Judas, Peter says to the others: “Let another take his office” (Acts 1:20). There was no debate. And Matthias was chosen to be numbered among them. -The Biblical Roots of the Papacy
But What about bad popes?
We don’t reject Jesus because of Judas. Peter held an apostolic office and he denied Jesus three times. He cut off a man’s ear. Yet Christians everywhere trust that Peter’s teaching letters were inspired. God chooses to speak through fallible men. This video answers the question, “what about bad popes?”
Pax Christi.
This is Part 3 in the series : Where is the Magisterium in the bible? Part 1, “Is the church an invisible collection of believers?” is here. Part 2 . Was Peter or James the Leader of the Early Church? is here.
More Information!
The Papacy In Scripture-No Rocks Required
The Biblical Roots of the Papacy
Why You Can’t Have Jesus Without His Church
Visible, Heirarchical, Apostolic Church
What’s the Biblical Model of Church Leadership?