And from the highly regarded Anglican theologian, the late John R.W. Stott, we hear: "It is by receiving the illumination of the Spirit, by using our own reason and by listening to the teaching of others in the church that we grow in our understanding of Scripture. [But] I am anxious not to be misunderstood. I am emphatically NOT saying that Scripture, reason and tradition are a threefold authority of equal importance by which we come to know God's truth. No. Scripture alone is God's Word written, and the Holy Spirit its ultimate interpreter. The place of the individual's reason and of the church's tradition lies in the elucidation and application of Scripture. But both are subordinate to God himself as He speaks to us through His word."

I very much like this quote by VOL commenter William .A. Scott: "The Word of our God in Scripture is also the final and authoritative word of His Church -- spoken and recorded by her chief prophetic and apostolic spokesmen and forever binding on her lesser, subsequent spokesmen and members. In other words, the Church speaks most authoritatively (as the mouthpiece of her heavenly Bridegroom) in the Scriptures -- and any other words she speaks on behalf of Christ must necessarily be tested by and brought in submission under this infallible and inerrant standard."

The above truths still beg the very practical question: "What are we to do when we disagree regarding what the scriptures teach? Whose interpretations can we trust?"

The Value of the Authority of the Church

In a less-than-agreeable online debate regarding a particular interpretation of scripture, I found myself asking my antagonist: "What makes you think that your interpretation of Scripture is of the Holy Spirit and mine is not? If Scripture were as self-interpreting as I would like, then we would agree on this issue. We do not. So one of us must be at least partially wrong. Probably both of us. But between you and me, we will never be able to decide. We must have a higher authority." However, many Protestants reject the reality of a "higher authority." And many trained in theology simply do not want to defer to any authority higher than their own capacity to exegete and apply hermeneutical principles.

After Christ Himself and the "God-breathed" written Word of God, who/what is the next level of authority? When we disagree on what the scriptures teach, who is authorized to be the arbiter between us? Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3:15 : "...God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth." Now why would Paul label the Church as the "pillar and foundation of the truth"? I submit that it is because it is the Church who keeps and spreads the gospel. It is the Church who has the responsibility to uphold the scriptures. But which "church" are we talking about, especially since they do not all agree? We will get to that question later.

There is a proper order of authority and it begins with Christ (God's Word made flesh), secondarily it is where we find His words (gospels), those of His chosen Apostles and NT writers (epistles), and then the rest of the scriptures. Next we have Church consensus, and finally there is general revelation (natural truth as from scientific research). These are our authorities because each of us is quite limited in knowledge and ability. None of us are Apostles.

Within the Church category of authority, we must look for consensus over time and over the various denominations with regard to the interpretation of the scriptures. Where no consensus has ever existed and disagreement remains, then it must be relegated to the category of a secondary matter and we must deal with the issue with the tolerance Paul indicated in Romans 14.

However, where there has been consensus of agreement in churches throughout the world and over time, then we are to agree and submit to the scripture message, even if we do not fully understand yet why a principle is true or why God has commanded something of us. Two modern examples should suffice. Until this last moment of recorded church history (when the heresy of revisionism is rampant), homosexuality was always regarded as a sin (no exceptions can be found in the scriptures). With regard to the roles of women in the church, they were always excluded from positions of authority over men (e.g., Jesus chose no women as Apostles, no women were writers of the NT canon, and Paul forbade women to occupy such roles (see 1 Tim 2:11-14, 3:1-13, Titus 1:6-9, 2:3-5; Eph. 5:22-24).

Now let us add some more context to 1 Timothy 3:15, note especially verse 16: 15 "If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory."

You will notice by the context that the description of the church is rather an aside, tucked in there where the point being made is about Christian conduct and secondly it is about Jesus Christ himself. The medium flows well enough that it conveys the message. This passage is not about the Church but about who Jesus is-- from Whom true godliness springs. Although the church is mentioned as the place where we should conduct ourselves with the godliness which comes from Christ, the focus is not upon the church; this is not a passage about ecclesiology. And note that this passage happens to be the only place in Paul's writings where he even hints that the church as an organization may be authoritative such as to possibly rival the authority of the scriptures. There is certainly not enough evidence here on which to hang a definitive ecclesiology of church authority.

Christians agree that the words of Jesus Himself carry more weight than those of anyone else. So the ultimate "foundation of truth" is found primarily in the words and acts of Jesus (see Matt 7:24-29), who defined Himself as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). Therefore, the Church is the foundation of the truth only to the extent that it follows His lead and proclaims His gospel words. When it strays, the church is no longer that foundation. I am sure Paul would agree since he was the one who condemned any other "gospel" as anathema.

This all comes down to how you define "church" as the Apostles' meant it. With a view to the entirety of Apostolic teachings, the Church may be defined as the priesthood of all believers, the invisible Church that only God knows. All believers now have direct access to the throne of God through Jesus Christ our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) and no other mediators are necessary (1 Tim 2:5-6), including professional clergy. Peter wrote: "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ ... But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:5-9).

So the true Church is not some visible organizational entity in the world (or any combination of such organizations). In Paul's time, the churches were haphazard and disorganized, which was inevitable due to slow travel and difficulties with long distance communication. In the Roman Empire, the church would become highly organized and hierarchical (much like the Roman government and army), with a clergy class ruling over the laity. This latter development was not only unscriptural, it went directly against Jesus' own teaching about such things (Mark 10:42-45, Matt 23:5-12).

Jesus did not mention 'the church' many times but He talked a lot about 'the Kingdom of God.' To what extent do the concepts of the Kingdom of God and the Church overlap? The true Church is made up of people and they are all citizens of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the King, both of the Church and of the entire universe, and believers will be ruling with Him in this Kingdom (1 Cor. 6:2-3, Rev 20).

Note the words of Jesus: "the kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17: 20-21). Some translations say "among you." The point is clear. The Kingdom of God (and I would say that this refers to the real Church as well) is not an organizational structure. It is not something visible that you can point to, as you obviously can do with the institutional Churches of Rome or Constantinople and now the Protestant churches. It is the body of individual true believers, those who are members of the various churches and those who are not. So the phrase where Paul calls the church the "pillar and foundation of the truth" applies only to that elect group of 'born again' people whose identity only God knows for certain. Do not confuse the true Church with any particular organization in the world.

Christians have tended elevate other Christian leaders and writers simply because they existed in an earlier time, perhaps because those times were closer to the time of the Incarnation. However, I suspect that if the early Church Fathers (like Ignatius) showed up right now and were weighing in on our discussion, they would have a consensus in saying: "Give all glory to the Word of God, both to Jesus and to the scriptures where we find His words inscribed for all time, and pay little mind to us. Preach Christ crucified. Keep it simple, evangelize the world, and love each other as Christ loves you. We early believers were only servants of Christ at that particular time, no better and no worse than all of you. We are all in this together. Do not honor us to the point of subtracting glory from our Lord." As Paul taught the church at Corinth, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building (1 Cor 3:6-9).

Remember the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-9). The Father honored Moses and Elijah by having them show up and talk with Jesus... but note carefully what God said when Peter wanted to honor them overmuch, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him" I would interpret an exclamation point on this last sentence, with "Him" in bold. God purposely said nothing about Moses and Elijah. Extrapolating from this point, we can say that Christianity is all about Jesus Christ, and although we can read and value what came after the Apostles, we must beware of elevating anyone too highly. We should read their words, not as having divine authority but with caution and prayerful discernment--- the same as listening to our bishop's sermon or anything written here on Virtue Online.

Conclusion

Let us return to the original point and briefly 'come full circle.' First, until the Lord returns in glory, we must always maintain the primacy of the authority of Scripture. Second, we must accept the reality that differences in the interpretation of Scripture are inevitable. Third, despite the absence in- the-flesh of Jesus and the Apostles, we do have Church consensus to help arbitrate such differences. This Church consensus is represented by the historic writings of the early Church Fathers as well as by both Catholic and Reformation leaders. When these three church authorities agree, you can take it to the proverbial bank. When these three do not agree, there is room for ongoing discussion and negotiation. When two agree but disagree with the third, then it is wise to lean in the majority direction. A final warning: when we disagree on controversial issues, we must always seek to do so respectfully.

Dr. Atkinson is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary (M.A. in Theology, 1985, PhD in Clinical Psychology, 1987). He has a private practice in clinical psychology and Christian counseling in Atlanta, Georgia.