1. The need for it
2. Its source
3. Its seat
4. Its nature
5. Its scope
6. Its sufficiency
At the foundation of all questions of religion lies the great subject of Authority. "By what authority doest Thou these things?" and "who gave Thee this authority?" (Matthew 21 v.23). All matters of difference between Christian people resolve themselves at last in this question of Authority, and if only we could come to an agreement on the supreme and final authority of the Christian religion, it would not be difficult to settle our differences and solve our problems. It is essential, therefore, that we as Churchmen should be quite clear on the important subject of the final and supreme authority in the Christian religion.
God's revelation is a personal one, personal both in source and destination. It is the revelation of a Person to a person, the Person of God in Christ to the person of man. This personal revelation is intended to affect with transforming influence every part of our natural and earthly life.
But here comes the important question, Where is this personal Revelation embodied? How may it become available for me? Since God is invisible, how may the personal Revelation of God influence my life? This leads to our third topic.
(a) Some say it is embodied in Human Reason. Reason is very valuable and necessary as one of the means of testing the claims of Authority and as the recipient of the truth of revelation. But can it be itself the seat of authority? It is, after all, only one of several human faculties, and Revelation concerns them all. Still more, reason has been affected by sin, and has become biassed, darkened and often distorted. It surely would not be reliable as the seat of authority in religion.
(b) Others say the Church is the seat of authority. We ask at once, What Church? Where is it to be found? The Church of England does not claim it for herself or allow it of any other Church. The Greek Church does not claim it. The Protestant Churches of Europe and America do not claim it. The Church of Rome alone claims to be the seat and embodiment of authority, but her claims are easily disproved when subjected to the two tests of historic fact and personal experience. Her career in history is far too dark and chequered to permit of her being regarded as the Seat of Divine Authority. And, on the other hand, her influence on human life, liberty, and progress is one of the strongest disproofs of her claim.
Besides, the Church of Christ, in the fullest and truest meaning of the term, "the blessed company of all faithful people," is itself the product of Divine Revelation. The Church came into existence on the Day of Pentecost by accepting God's Word as preached by St. Peter. Since the Church is thus the result, the product of Divine revelation, and all subsequent additions to the Church are instances of the same great principle, the Church cannot itself be the seat of the Authority. The Church cannot embody its Creator.
(c) The only other answer to the question before us is that given by the Church of England. The seat of Authority is to be found in the Word of God as recorded in the Bible. The Bible is for us the seat and embodiment of Divine Revelation in Christ.
What are our reasons for this position?
(a) The Scriptures preserve for us the revelation of Christ in its purest form. Christianity has a historic basis in the Person of Christ, and what we need is the clearest form of that revelation. The books of the New Testament, being the product of the Apostolic age, give us the purest form of revelation and guarantee it. At a later date this would have been impossible, because there was no unique inspiration after the days of the Apostles, and because, moreover, oral transmission is not trustworthy. What we ask is that the vehicle of transmission shall be certain and assuring. It matters not whether the vehicle is a book, or a man, or an institution, so long as we can be sure of its faithfulness as conveying God's revelation. We cannot be sure of this in human reason or in any ecclesiastical institution. But we are sure of it in the books of the New Testament because-
(b)The New Testament came to us from Apostolic men, men who were authorized
to be the exponents of the Divine will. We accept the books, not merely
as old, or as helpful, nor even as true, but because with these, and beneath
these, they come from men who were uniquely qualified to reveal God's will
to man.
And when we have made this position of the Church of England clear,
we proceed to consider-
"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church."The Bible is not a handbook of literature, though it is full of literature. It is not a guide to science, though it is full of scientific facts. It is not a record of history, though it is full of historical matter. It is a spiritual authority, a guide to man's life in things moral and spiritual. It declares the way of salvation.
THE BIBLE BELIEVER'S ATTITUDE TO GOD'S WORD.
Within that awesome Volume lies,(Sir Walter Scott.)
The mystery of mysteries:
And happiest they of human race,
To whom the LORD has granted grace,
To read, to fear, to hope to pray,
To lift the latch and force the way,
And better had they ne'er been born,
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn.
(2) The Bible is supreme over the Church in
the same way.
The Holy Scriptures are the title deeds of the Church, the law of the
Church's life, the test of its purity, the source of its strength, the
spring of its progress.
But it may be said, How can this be when the Church existed twenty-five years before a line of the New Testament was written? This is historically true, but what is the question intended to convey? Are we to argue from it the supremacy of the Church over the Bible? Let us examine the argument. It is assumed by this that the Church had no Bible in the Apostolic age, and that the Bible came historically after the Church and was given and authorized by the Church. In the first place, the Church had a Bible from the very outset, the Old Testament Scriptures, and such was their power that St. Paul could say that with the single but significant addition of "faith in Christ Jesus" these Old Testament Scriptures were "able to make wise unto salvation."
But leaving this aside, the argument contains a fallacy which needs to be exposed. It is perfectly true that the Church existed before the written Word of the New Testament, but we must remember that there was first of all the spoken word of God through inspired Apostles. On the Day of Pentecost the word of God was spoken, the revelation of God in Christ was proclaimed, and on the acceptance of that Word the Church came into existence. The Word was proclaimed and accepted and the Church was thus formed on the Word of God. And as long as the Apostles were at hand the spoken Word sufficed; but as time went on and the Apostles travelled, and afterwards died, there sprang up the need for a permanent embodiment of the Revelation, and this was gradually given in the written Word. From that time forward, in all ages, the written Word has been the equivalent of the original spoken Word. The Church was created by the Word of God received through faith. The Word created the Church, not the Church the Word.
"In the history of the world the unwritten Word of God must of course be before the Church. For what is a Church (in the wider sense of the word) but a group of believers in God's Word? And before the Word is spoken, how can there be believers in it? 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.' Therefore the Word of God must be before faith. It is only of the Bible, or written volume of God's oracles, assuredly not of God's spoken Word, that we assert it to have been brought into existence later than the Church."(from Goulburn's Holy Catholic Church, quoted in Four Foundation Truths, p.13.)
The original process is illustrated constantly in the modern Mission Field. There was, for example, a Church in Uganda through the spoken Word long before the written Word could be given to them. But now the written Word is at once the foundation and guarantee of that Church's continued existence and prowess.
The Apostles may be regarded as representatives of Christ or as members of the Church. It is in the former aspect that they conveyed first the spoken and then the written Word of God, which has ever been the source of all Christian life.
HOW DOES GOD SPEAK?
What though no answering voice is heard,(What did he mean by 'the upright heart'?)
Thine oracles, the written word,
Counsel and guidance still impart,
Responsive to the upright heart.
(Joseph Conder.)
The function of a Rule of Faith is the conveyance of the Divine Authority to men. The Bible as a rule of faith existed in the minds of Christ and the Apostles long before it existed as a written work. Accordingly it precedes and conditions the existence and organization of the Church. The Church is to the Word a witness and a keeper (Article XX). The Church bears testimony to what Scripture is, and at the same time preserves Scripture among Christian people from age to age. But though the Church is a witness and a keeper, she is not the maker of Scripture.
The function of the Christian Church as the "witness and keeper of Holy Writ" is exactly parallel to that of the Jewish Church in relation to the Old Testament. The prophets who were raised up from time to time as the messengers and mouthpieces of Divine Revelation delivered their writings of the Old Testament to the Jews, who thereupon preserved them, and thenceforward bore their constant testimony to the reality and authority of the Divine Revelation embodied in the books.
The Church of Christ, whether regarded in her corporate capacity or in connection with individual members, is not the author of Holy Scripture. The Church, as we have seen, received the Scriptures from the Lord Jesus Christ through His Apostles and Prophets, and now the function of the Church is to witness to the fact that these are the Scriptures of the Apostles and Prophets which she has received and of which she is also the keeper, their preserver through the ages for use by the people of God. Article XX is perfectly clear as to the relation of the Bible and the Church.
We must hold fast to this position, for there is no more specious fallacy in existence than that just considered, and none doing greater harm to those who do not think out their own position.
(3) The Bible is supreme over Church Tradition.
The Church of Rome puts Church tradition, i.e. Church customs, usages,
beliefs, on a level with Scripture as a rule of faith. But the Church of
England, while valuing such testimony in its proper place, refuses to co-ordinate
the two, and puts the Bible high above all else as our Authority in things
essential.
Article XX tells us that the Church has "power to decree rites or ceremonies,
and authority in Controversies of Faith." The word "power" (Latin, jus)
implies full legal right to appoint and order any ceremonies or methods
of worship that may be regarded as fitting and appropriate, so long as
nothing is ordained contrary to Holy Scripture. In Controversies of Faith,
however, it is to be noticed that the Church has not this full legal right,
but "authority" (Latin, auctoritas), which means moral authority
arising out of the testimony of the Church as a whole throughout the ages.
The ultimate court of appeal must of necessity be the spiritually enlightened
judgment of the individual Christian with reference to any and every matter
of truth and conscience. This is the inalienable right of the individual
whether like the Churchman he exercises it continually and directly from
the Bible, or whether like the Roman Catholic he exercises it once for
all in deciding to submit himself to an external organization which he
believes to be an infallible guide. But the individual judgment of a believer
must continually be checked and safeguarded by the continuous consensus
of Christian opinion and practice, and it is part of our Christian discipline
to combine properly the spiritual right of the individual believer and
the moral authority of the Christian community. For all practical purposes
very little difficulty will be found in this connection.
(a) This position of the supreme authority of the Bible over Tradition is the assertion of the historic basis of Christianity. There is of course a true Church life and growth, but it must be growth and development from Apostolic germs. Many of the characteristic positions of the Church of Rome are not true developments from Apostolic germs, but alien growths from other germs of later date than the Apostolic age. This is quite another thing from legitimate development, and its tendency is to destroy the original germs and to transform true Christianity into the admixture of truth and error found in the Church of Rome. Adherence to the Bible and the constant shaping of Church customs and usages thereby will safeguard us against any such departure from the truth of God.
(b) This position is the charter of spiritual freedom. Tradition is vague and arbitrary, and means the acceptance of the dicta of fallible men. Besides, Church tradition must be embodied somewhere. Some say it is in the Pope. Others say in a General Council. Others say in the Pope and Council combined, and these differences show the utter impossibility of arriving at a true conclusion. The great authority of the first four General Councils is acknowledged by all, and their doctrinal standards are our heritage to-day. Yet even their decisions were accepted because they immediately and readily commended themselves to the judgment of the whole Church as in accordance with Divine revelation. This, too, is the principle on which the Church of England accepts the authority of General Councils (see Article XXI).
General Councils, however, have expressed themselves on a few matters
only, and do not offer any help on the many pressing problems of life as
to which the soul needs guidance and authority. Consequently, the final
decision must be made by the spiritually illuminated Christian consciousness
guided by the Word of God and advised by means of every possible channel
of knowledge available. When this is dearly realized it removes all objections
to what is often scornfully described as "private judgment." It is this,
but it is very much more. Private judgment does not mean private fancy,
but a deliberate decision based on Scripture. It is the decision of the
judgments, the conscience, and the will of the man who desires to know
and follow the truth, and who finds the source and embodiment of truth
in the Scripture, and bows in submission to it. He does not separate himself
from or set himself above the corporate Christian consciousness of his
own and previous ages so far as he can determine what that corporate consciousness
teaches, but while welcoming and weighing truth from all sides, he feels
that Scripture is the supreme and final authority for his life.
This position is abundantly justified on several grounds. It comes
to us with the example of our Lord Who constantly appealed to the Scriptures
as the touchstone of truth. It is that which is the most consonant with
the nature of our personality and its responsibility to God. It is the
assertion of our indefeasible right to be in direct personal relation to
God, while welcoming all possible light from every available quarter as
helping us to decide for ourselves under the guidance of God's Word and
Spirit. This position has also ever been productive of the finest characters,
and the noblest and truest examples of individual and corporate Christian
life. We have only to compare such countries as South America and Spain,
where the opposite principle of Church authority and supremacy has had
undisputed sway for centuries, to see the truth of this statement.
Once again let it be said that we do wisely and well in giving to the universal voice and testimony of the Church (wherever and in so far as it can be discovered) the utmost possible weight, for no individual will lightly set aside such united and universal belief; but the last and final authority must be the Word of God illuminating, influencing, and controlling the human conscience and reason through the presence and power of the Spirit of God.
(b) It is sufficient because it is clear. When all is said about its obscurity in certain parts, the fact remains that there is still left more than enough to guide every honest soul from time to eternity.
(c) It is sufficient because it is definite. There is no doubt about its meaning. It says what it means and means what it says. What must I do to be saved? How may I be holy? How can I live aright ? How shall I live hereafter? To every necessary question the Bible has a definite and unmistakable answer.
(d) It is sufficient because it is accessible. Here is a little book, easily obtained, quickly read, and adequate to every conceivable circumstance.
(e) It is sufficient because it is satisfying. To the soul that receives
it, it affords its own blessed and satisfying proofs. That soul needs nothing
that is not derived thence for spiritual life and power.
This great truth of the sufficiency of Holy Scripture may be summed
up in the words of the Apostle Paul, who, speaking of the Old Testament
(though the words are still truer of the New Testament books), says, "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God (literally "God-breathed"), and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3 v.16 f.). The Divine inspiration carries
the Divine authority, and with it the profitableness of the Scriptures.
And the profitableness is of so full, varied, and thorough a nature that
the man of God finds in it, as we have seen above, a complete equipment
for his whole life.
We say, therefore, that the Bible is sufficient as a spiritual authority, that it is neither insufficient nor obscure, and that it is not necessary to go to the early Church to clear it of obscurity or supplement its inadequacy. It is not to be supplanted by Church or Council, or Pope, and not to be supplemented by tradition, whether primitive or current.
This is the Church of England position on the question of authority in Religion : the Scriptures, supreme and sufficient. Taking our stand on Article VI, we ask concerning everything offered to us as vital and essential, What saith the Scriptures ? We test everything by Scripture. To this end we must study it. We must "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" the Scriptures if we would be on our guard against attack, or attack error ourselves. There is no Churchmanship worthy the name which is not based on a personal, experimental, intellectual, practical knowledge of the Scriptures.
The above is a reproduction of Chapter 1 of "Authority in Religion."
It is taken from "THE CATHOLIC FAITH" - a manual of instruction for members of the Church of England.
It is by W. H. Griffith Thomas, D.D, Sometime Principal, Wycliff Hall, Oxford.
The book can be obtained from The Church Book Room, 7, Wine Office Court, London, EC4.