Why Biblical Authority Is The Highest Authority
There’s a reason why Protestant confessions say of Scripture: “The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.” -Westminster Confession of Faith, Of The Holy Scripture, 10 (see also, Scots Confession, Augsburg Confession, London Baptist Confession 1689, Baptist Faith and Message 2000). This is not to say that the Bible is the ONLY authority in a believer's life. It’s simply the only infallible authority. Why? Because Scripture is God’s very own words to mankind and unlike man, God cannot err and God is infallible.
Jesus’ view of the Old Testament as Scripture/the Word of God
When it came to our Lord’s earthly ministry, He very much affirmed the Old Testament as the word of God. After all, they are the very Scriptures that prophesied His coming and since we believe Jesus is a member of the Trinity and that Scripture is Holy Spirit inspired, the words written in the Old Testament are inseparably linked to Christ. In Matthew 22:43, Jesus says that David wrote Psalm 110 “in the Spirit” or as the NIV translates it, “speaking by the Spirit.” Fascinatingly, in Matthew 22:31, Jesus tells the religious leaders, “have you not read what was spoken to you by God” before quoting Exodus 3:6 as what was spoken by God! We see in John 10:35, that Jesus actually says “the Scripture cannot be broken” when referring to Psa. 82:6. The translation note in the NET Bible provides excellent insight into the meaning of this: “Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.”
Even the critiques Jesus provides to the Pharisees and Sadducees are in regards to either their incorrect interpretation of the law, their overemphasis on minor laws at the expense of “weightier matters of the law,” or their tendency to subvert the law of God with their own, man-made traditions. Take Mark 7:8-13 for example. “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” 9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.” Notice how the ultimate authority Jesus appeals to is Scripture! Time and time again, Jesus does this. In a conversation about divorce, we see in Mark 10:6-9 and in Matt. 19:4-6 that Jesus appeals to Gen. 1:27 and 2:24 as the authoritative word of God for the intent and design of the marriage union. Jesus never sought to come and tell them they were wrong for correctly following the very laws He gave them! In fact, a crucial point of emphasis is that Jesus affirmed and upheld the law that was given to Israel by God’s Spirit (Matt. 5:17-19). When tempted by the devil, the one weapon Jesus used to rebuff the attacks was Scripture! He cites Deut. 8:3, Deut. 6:16, and Deut. 6:13 as His authority; the very words and commands the Spirit had spoken (Matt. 4:1-10)! Consider for a moment that when the devil tempted Jesus to turn the stone into bread, Jesus’ response was “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” -Matt. 4:4/Deut. 8:3 (ESV).
In Luke 24:25-27, He actually chastises some disciples by saying, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”
Leon Morris states: “Jesus goes on to point out that the root of the trouble was their failure to accept what is taught in biblical prophecy. The prophets had spoken plainly enough, but the minds of Cleopas and his friend had not been quick enough to grasp what was meant.” Darrell Bock adds: “They have not read Isaiah 52-53 or Psalm 16 with understanding, not to mention Deuteronomy 18:15, Psalm 2:7, Psalm 110:1, Psalm 118 or Daniel 7:13-14… Luke highlights the point by speaking about all the Prophets and interpreting all the Scripture.”
This is exactly why the Bereans are described as “more noble-minded” in Acts 17:11. It was because they searched the Scriptures for days to see if what the Apostle Paul was proclaiming was true or not! As a result of appealing to what they knew was God’s word (the Old Testament), they confirmed and validated the authority and truth of God’s newly appointed messengers (the apostles) and therefore became disciples of Christ (17:12)! This naturally leads us into apostolic authority and how that authority is now enshrined for us in the New Testament.
Apostolic Authority/The New Testament
In John 17:8, Jesus is in the middle of praying for his chosen apostles and says this: “the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.” As Jesus is finishing His prayer for them, He includes not only his chosen representatives to spread the gospel, but “for those also who believe in Me through their word” -John 17:20. The church in Thessalonica is a perfect example of this as Paul says of their reception of his message: “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” -1 Thess. 2:13.
The book of Acts (of The Apostles) illustrates for us just how the apostles went about establishing the church and proclaiming the message commissioned to them by Jesus and the Holy Spirit as well as the many signs and wonders that accompanied their apostolic authority. In the first chapter we see further proof of Jesus commissioning them directly.
Acts 1:1-8, "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
God used the apostles and prophets as His mouthpiece to deliver the oracles of God, not dissimilar to the prophets of the Old Testament (see Eph. 3:5, cf. John 17:8, 17:20). When we, in the 21st century come to faith in Christ, it is because we are believing in God’s word delivered to us through His chosen messengers and thus devote ourselves to their teaching (Acts 2:42). They laid the foundation so that the church could be built on top. This is the meaning of Eph. 2:19-20, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone.” This concept is crucial to understand for the believer. When Muhammad, Joseph Smith, or any self proclaimed “prophet” comes along hundreds of years later to declare a “new revelation” or visitation from an angel adding to, modifying, or subtracting from “the faith once for all handed down to the saints” as Jude 3 says, we can confidently reject such nonsense (see also: Gal. 1:8-9, 2 Thess. 2:15, Heb. 1:2). As John Stott proclaims, “The church stands or falls by its loyal dependance on the foundation truths which God revealed to his apostles and prophets, and which are now preserved in the New Testament Scriptures.” Francis Foulkes writes of the apostles and prophets in Eph. 4:11, “Their work, receiving and declaring the word of God under direct inspiration of the Spirit, was most vital before there was a Canon of New Testament Scripture.” Foulkes goes on to remark that by the second century, “the apostolic writings were coming to be read widely and accepted as authoritative, and this tended to replace the authority of the prophets.”
The Apostle Peter had this to say not only about their authority as eye witnesses, but also about Scripture: “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”- 2 Peter 1:16-21
Towards the end of the apostle’s lives, the directive given to the church was to point to the Scriptures for guidance and direction. Wayne Grudem remarks, "In no case do we read exhortations to ‘give heed to the prophets in your churches’ or to ‘obey the words of the Lord through your prophets,’ etc.” Rather, as Grudem shows, we see Paul tell Timothy to be a workman who is “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) and in 2 Tim. 3:16, the “thing” that is inspired by God and useful for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness is Scripture. Additionally, Peter, towards the end of his life exhorts his readers to “pay attention” to Scripture as a light shining in a dark place (2 Peter 1:19-20) and reminds them of Paul’s teaching through his letters and refers to them as Scripture (2 Peter 3:16). Thus, the main authority for guidance in the church is Scripture. Specifically, the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42). All of this is why we all need to be “noble-minded” Bereans and test everything against the objective standard of the word of God. Whether it was Jesus, Paul, or Peter; all affirmed that it was the Holy Spirit’s work that gave us the written word of God we now have.
As the Apostle Peter tells the Gentile believers in his letter: “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.” -1 Peter 1:23-25. That the “enduring word of God” in verse 23 is the gospel message is established by verse 25, “And this is the word which was preached to you.” This prophetic word uttered by God is living and endures forever!
Therefore, Peter tells his readers to crave the word so that they continue to grow in their salvation: “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” -1 Peter 2:2. Certainly, this includes the Old Testament which Peter quotes in 1:24-25 (Isa. 40:6-8) and that Paul says makes one wise unto salvation (1 Tim. 3:15), but also the gospel message proclaimed by the apostles over and over again in the 1st century that we now have in the form of their writings (just as the recipients of all the epistles had). As Thomas Schreiner notes of this verse, “The means by which God sanctifies believers is through the mind, through the continued proclamation of the word. Spiritual growth is not primarily mystical, but rational, and irrational in the sense that it is informed and sustained by God‘s word.”
Our feelings, preferences and desires should all be shaped by Scripture; by the God who cannot lie (Num. 23:19, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18). This is why the confessions and creeds share this sentiment, that Scripture is “the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried” (Baptist Faith and Message 2000). I’ve heard it said by Christians: “It’s not God the Father, Son and Holy Bible, it’s God the Father Son and Holy Spirit!” But this is completely nonsensical as The Bible is the very work of the Holy Spirit! The more you submit to The Bible as the word of God, the more you submit to the Holy Spirit’s work! The more you denigrate Scripture as God’s word and try to separate the Holy Spirit from what He has communicated to us, the more you denigrate the Holy Spirit Himself!
To quote J.I. Packer, “Do we honor the Holy Spirit by recognizing and relying on his work? Or do we slight him by ignoring it, and thereby dishonor not merely the Spirit but the Lord who sent him?” Packer later goes on to state rather astutely, “Always it is stressed that the claim of the word of God upon us is absolute: the word is to be received, trusted, and obeyed because it is the word of God, the King. The essence of impiety is the proud willfulness of “these wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words“ (Jer. 13:10). The mark of true humility and godliness, on the other hand, is that a person “trembles at my word“ (Isa. 66:2).”
As the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You” (8-11).
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path” (119:105).
“The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (119:160).
Bibliography:
Bock, Darrell L.- Luke IVPNTC, 1994 (p.384-85)
Foulkes, Francis- The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, TNTC, 1981 (p.119)
Grudem, Wayne- Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 1994 (p.1055)
Morris, Leon- The Gospel According to St. Luke, TNTC, 1982 (p.338)
NET Bible- Translation note on John 10:35
Packer, J.I.- Knowing God, 1973 (p.78,132)
Schreiner, Thomas- 1,2 Peter, Jude, NAC, Vol. 37, 2003 (p.100)
Stott, John- The Message of Ephesians: God’s New Society, BST, 1979 (p.107)
*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995): New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.