On Matters of Revelation, Baptism, and Authority: Part 3
So, let's continue our investigation into Acts 15, looking at verses 22 through 29. First, we see that the Apostles and the presbyters, with the agreement of the entire Church, chooses certain representatives to go with Paul and Barnabas to deliver the authoritative conclusion of the whole Church to Antioch. The letter that these men deliver testifies to the ruling of the Apostles in the Council of Jerusalem, specifically, declaring that the whole Church should not eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols, should not consume the meat of strangled animals, and should keep free from unlawful marriage. The letter sent to Antioch says that its rulings from the authority of the Apostles come from "the decision of the Holy Spirit" working in and through the visible teaching authority of the men ordained by Christ.
So, we see that in the Church, when it comes to matters of faith and morals, the authority lies in the teaching of those in authority, the Apostles and their successors, led by the Holy Ghost into all truth. In the early Church, all Christians have recourse not to Scripture alone (which wouldn't even exist for another three centuries) but to the teaching authority of the men ordained by Christ and their successors who are under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. In Acts 15:27, we see that Judas and Silas were sent by the Apostles to convey the teachings of the Apostles "by word of mouth" in addition to the written letter. This calls to mind Paul's exhortation in 2nd Thessalonians 2:15, "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours."
Here is another helpful quote from the Catechism:
"In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways:
- orally by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
- in writing by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing."
In regards to the role of the interpretive authority of the Church, the Catechism says the following:
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome."
In the New Testament books and in the writings of the early Church Fathers, the idea that the fullness of the truths of the faith, of God's Divine Revelation, were to be found and discerned as true doctrines by Scripture alone through a person's personal interpretation alone is completely false and truly would have been a blueprint for spiritual disaster in the Church. In order to see the continuity of practice and in doctrine in the Church and also the essential role of authority in the Church, we should take a look at the testimony of the Fathers of the early Church.
First, we should ask, who are these men that we know as 'the Fathers'? Also, we must ask, can we trust them as witnesses to the truths of the Church Christ established? Let's dive right into an examination of these men.
In answer to the first question I proposed, here is a short but helpful quote from the Catholic Encyclopedia, "[T]he Fathers of the whole Church are especially the earlier teachers, who instructed her in the teaching of the Apostles, during her infancy and first growth." In many cases, these men either knew the Apostles directly (as is the case with Polycarp and Clement) or knew men who knew the Apostles (like Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp). Because of this, the testimony of these men is very profitable in witnessing to the living and unified Church that Christ established on the Apostles and their successors.
We read about the practice of ordaining men to be authorities and ministers in the Church in Paul's First Letter to Timothy. Paul writes, "Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate." Later on in his epistle, Paul continues his treatment concerning the ordination of new men as leaders in the Church, writing to Timothy in verse 22, "Do not lay hands too readily on anyone..." From these verses, the idea of Apostolic succession is quite clear. As Peter said in Acts 1:20, quoting the Psalms, "For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.' And: 'May another take his office.'" Clearly, Church authority was not to end with the death of the Apostles but was to grow and to subsist throughout the ages of the world by the ordination of new men to the office of bishop (1st Timothy 5:19-22, 2nd Timothy 4:5, Titus 1:5), presbyterate (1st Timothy 5:17, James 5:14–15), and diaconate (Acts 6:1–6, Philippians 1:1).
So, because of the Biblical practice and concept of Apostolic succession, there cannot be (as some might suggest) a radical disconnect between the Apostolic Church and the Church of the Fathers. Indeed, they are unanimously and certainly the same exact Church.
So, in this series of posts, we have looked at the concepts of Divine Revelation and Church authority in the New Testament. We also touched briefly on the Sacrament of Baptism. Fortunately, many more posts will be devoted to exploring these subjects in a more profound way in the future.
So, we see that in the Church, when it comes to matters of faith and morals, the authority lies in the teaching of those in authority, the Apostles and their successors, led by the Holy Ghost into all truth. In the early Church, all Christians have recourse not to Scripture alone (which wouldn't even exist for another three centuries) but to the teaching authority of the men ordained by Christ and their successors who are under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. In Acts 15:27, we see that Judas and Silas were sent by the Apostles to convey the teachings of the Apostles "by word of mouth" in addition to the written letter. This calls to mind Paul's exhortation in 2nd Thessalonians 2:15, "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours."
Here is another helpful quote from the Catechism:
"In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways:
- orally by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
- in writing by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing."
In regards to the role of the interpretive authority of the Church, the Catechism says the following:
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome."
In the New Testament books and in the writings of the early Church Fathers, the idea that the fullness of the truths of the faith, of God's Divine Revelation, were to be found and discerned as true doctrines by Scripture alone through a person's personal interpretation alone is completely false and truly would have been a blueprint for spiritual disaster in the Church. In order to see the continuity of practice and in doctrine in the Church and also the essential role of authority in the Church, we should take a look at the testimony of the Fathers of the early Church.
First, we should ask, who are these men that we know as 'the Fathers'? Also, we must ask, can we trust them as witnesses to the truths of the Church Christ established? Let's dive right into an examination of these men.
In answer to the first question I proposed, here is a short but helpful quote from the Catholic Encyclopedia, "[T]he Fathers of the whole Church are especially the earlier teachers, who instructed her in the teaching of the Apostles, during her infancy and first growth." In many cases, these men either knew the Apostles directly (as is the case with Polycarp and Clement) or knew men who knew the Apostles (like Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp). Because of this, the testimony of these men is very profitable in witnessing to the living and unified Church that Christ established on the Apostles and their successors.
We read about the practice of ordaining men to be authorities and ministers in the Church in Paul's First Letter to Timothy. Paul writes, "Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate." Later on in his epistle, Paul continues his treatment concerning the ordination of new men as leaders in the Church, writing to Timothy in verse 22, "Do not lay hands too readily on anyone..." From these verses, the idea of Apostolic succession is quite clear. As Peter said in Acts 1:20, quoting the Psalms, "For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.' And: 'May another take his office.'" Clearly, Church authority was not to end with the death of the Apostles but was to grow and to subsist throughout the ages of the world by the ordination of new men to the office of bishop (1st Timothy 5:19-22, 2nd Timothy 4:5, Titus 1:5), presbyterate (1st Timothy 5:17, James 5:14–15), and diaconate (Acts 6:1–6, Philippians 1:1).
So, because of the Biblical practice and concept of Apostolic succession, there cannot be (as some might suggest) a radical disconnect between the Apostolic Church and the Church of the Fathers. Indeed, they are unanimously and certainly the same exact Church.
So, in this series of posts, we have looked at the concepts of Divine Revelation and Church authority in the New Testament. We also touched briefly on the Sacrament of Baptism. Fortunately, many more posts will be devoted to exploring these subjects in a more profound way in the future.
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