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Who Has Authority Over Doctrine? Calvin on the Church | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed thinking. This is the deep dive.
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And here we take your sources, articles, historical documents,
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theological works and really just pull out the essential
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insights. Our goal is to give you that
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shortcut, that Direct Line to being well informed without you
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having to read through all the original material yourself.
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And today we're tackling a concept that, well, it underpins
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all ecclesiastical order. The precise boundaries of
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spiritual authority. Our listeners looking for a
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crisp but accurate understanding of of the church's reach.
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Specifically, what it can legitimately define, what it can
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command, and this is the critical part where those
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borders are drawn. That's right, our mission today
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is all about dissecting the parts of the Church's spiritual
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authority. Doctrine, jurisdiction,
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lawmaking, all of it. And we're doing it by consulting
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one of the most systematic and frankly, clear thinkers in
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history on this very topic. We're drawing heavily from John
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Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, and we're
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looking at sections that directly address how the
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church's doctrinal authority is absolutely restricted by the
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written Word of God. And the sources make a pretty
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sharp contrast here. Oh, a very sharp contrast
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between this kind of principled restraint and what Calvin calls
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the unbridled license he saw in the papacy of his day.
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So the central argument we're unpacking the the core thesis
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the source material presents is actually pretty simple.
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It is. Christ alone is the master.
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He's the sole schoolmaster of the church, which means, which
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means any authority that's given to men or to institutions is
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entirely subordinate. It's confined by and it's
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accountable to the Holy Scriptures.
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And this idea serves as the the theological check against
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institutional overreach. That boundary setting is
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everything. I mean, if we're going to
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acknowledge that Christ gives some spiritual authority to the
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visible church. We have to immediately ask about
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the conditions. We have to we must define the
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precise conditions of that grant, because if those
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conditions are violated, that authority becomes destructive,
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not constructive. OK, let's unpack this.
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We can start with the initial parameters in Section 1, the
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principle of restriction, the idea that authority belongs to
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the ministry, not the man. But before we get to the
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restrictions themselves, let's clarify what we mean by
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spiritual authority. What are its components?
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So Calvin lays out three specific aspects of this.
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First, you have the authority related to doctrine.
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OK, so laying down the articles of faith explaining them.
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Exactly. Then second, there's the
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authority of jurisdiction. And that deals more with
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discipline censures, correcting moral conduct.
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And finally, there's the authority related to lawmaking.
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Which would cover things like establishing order, customs,
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various church rights. Now, what's the prerequisite for
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all three of those to operate lawfully?
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What's the big condition? The sources point straight to
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the Apostle Paul. Yes.
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The crucial condition you find it in Second Corinthians is that
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this authority must be used exclusively for UP.
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Building up building. And not for destruction.
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This is a non negotiable term of the deal, so to speak.
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So ministers have to see themselves as instrument.
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Mere instruments they have to see themselves as servants of
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Christ, and at the same time servants of the people in
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Christ. And that servant status is sort
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of the theological firewall against tyranny.
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It's meant to be. But you actually ensure that.
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I mean, human nature being what it is, giving anyone spiritual
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authority seems like an invitation for them to
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eventually elevate their own opinions.
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And this is where that restriction becomes so, so
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important. The only way to guarantee the
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authority is for upbuilding is by guarding Christ's unique
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position. He's the only schoolmaster of
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the church. The only one.
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We see this so clearly when the voice from the cloud says hear
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him about Christ. Right, Matthew 17.
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That command is given only about Christ.
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So if we allow men to stray from Christ's word, we open the door
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to human whim, and the authority immediately crosses its
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boundary. And leads to destruction.
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A consequence Calvin warns about over and over again.
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If men feel they can just speak without direct reference to the
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Word, the slide into spiritual tyranny is almost inevitable.
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So let's track this principle of limitation.
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We can see it all through the Scriptures.
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The spiritual dignity and authority given and to Old
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Covenant figures, priests, prophets, even apostles, was
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never really vested in the men personally, was it?
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No, it was wholly vested in the Ministry, in the Word itself
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which was entrusted to them. The office was conditional that.
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Entirely conditional upon the faithful transmission of the
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message, when these men were called, they were immediately
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commanded not to bring forth anything from themselves.
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They were taught what to say before they went out to the
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people. Yes, the source of the content
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had to be God alone. Let's take Moses.
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He was the Prince of the prophets.
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You couldn't find a higher authority figure.
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And even with that status, he was previously instructed, he
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can proclaim nothing at all except from the Lord.
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That's right. And think about how the
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Israelites accepted his teaching.
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The text says they believed in God and in his servant Moses.
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That wording is subtle, but it's important.
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It's so. Important.
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Their belief in Moses was derivative.
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It was contingent upon him being God's faithful messenger.
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We see the same pattern with the priesthood.
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We do. Their role was sacred, but their
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ability to be heard was completely conditional.
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Malachi gives the clearest statement on this.
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He reminds the priest that the covenant was made so the law of
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truth might be on his lips. Right.
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If people sought the law from the priest's mouth, it was
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because the priest was God's messenger.
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And they were commanded to answer only according to God's
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law. They had to faithfully
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communicate the commands they received from their divine
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author, no more, no less. And the restriction gets even
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clearer when we look at the prophets.
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They had to be the most zealous guardians of this boundary.
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They did. Ezekiel was appointed as a
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watchman, but his directive was very specific.
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He was told. You will therefore hear a word
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of my mouth and will declare it to them for me.
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The moment he's commanded to hear the Word from the Lord's
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mouth, he is fundamentally forbidden to invent anything of
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his own. His job is transmission, not
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creation. That is the essential definition
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of a true prophet, isn't it? One who can confidently say that
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the message is not his own. Jeremiah draws that sharp
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distinction separating legitimate revelation from, you
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know, human fancy. He does.
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He says, let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, and let
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him who has my word speak my true word.
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And that sets a universal law for everyone who would speak in
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the Lord's name. God just does not grant a
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license to anyone to teach beyond what He has commanded.
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And this brings us to to the the spiritual consequence of
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crossing that line. Yes, if a teaching has not come
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from God alone, Jeremiah calls it chaff.
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Chaff. That's the label for any
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doctrine or pronouncement that comes from human opinion or
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imagination. It doesn't matter who the
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teacher is. It's worthless.
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It's not spiritual food. It cannot build up the people of
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God, and it's why the true prophets consistently use
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phrases like the word of the Lord came to me.
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They are bound by that necessity not to deliver anything they
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haven't first received. And this principle, of course,
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carries right over into the New Testament with the apostles.
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Absolutely. They held this unique,
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foundational place in the church.
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They had spectacular titles, Light of the World, Salt of the
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Earth. And they were to be heard for
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Christ's sake. But they're very name apostles.
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Meaning those who are sent. Shows the limit of their office.
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They are delegates. So as delegates, they're not
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free to just chatter about whatever they please.
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No, their function is to faithfully report the commands
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of the sender who is Christ. In Christ's words, defining
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their mission are perfectly plain.
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It's their job description. It is they were commanded to go
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and teach all nations everything he had enjoined upon them.
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That word everything is key. Nothing more, nothing less.
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And this adherence to the principle was so absolute that
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Christ even applied this law to himself.
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Which demonstrates that the restriction is divine in its
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origin. Yes, he said.
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My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me the Father's.
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If Christ, the eternal Counselor of the Father, performed His
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teaching ministry under that strict rule of dependency.
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Then he was setting the eternal standard that all his subsequent
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ministers have to follow. It is the perfect model of
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obedience. If the master limits himself to
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the message of the sender, the servant must do so even more
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strictly. So the conclusion is firm.
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The spiritual authority of the Church, whether it's in doctrine
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or custom, is not infinite. Not at all.
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It is entirely subject to the Lord's Word, and, as the source
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puts it as it were enclosed within it.
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It can't exceed those boundaries without its own legitimacy just
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collapsing. That's right.
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OK, so that sets the necessary boundary condition.
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Let's move to Section 2. From shadow to radiance.
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This is about the completeness and finality of Christ's
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revelation. We've established that the
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authority the messengers from Moses to the apostles came
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entirely from the Word. Right now we look at the source
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of that word and why we have to see it as complete.
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And the source has always been the single eternal fountain of
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wisdom. Yep, Christ Himself.
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Even though the means and clarity of revelation varied
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over time. Yes, the subject was always the
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same. Calvin points to Matthew 11.27.
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No one sees the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the
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Son chooses to reveal him. So if you're seeking knowledge
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of the Heavenly Father, you must always be directed by that
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eternal wisdom which is Christ. So even the patriarchs like Adam
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and Abraham, before there was a written law, they only knew God
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by seeing him. And the sun is in a.
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Mirror. They were drinking from this one
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fountain, even if the methods were, you know, secret or
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transient revelations. And God often confirmed these
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with miraculous signs. Yes, to make sure they
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understood it was God speaking, not just human speculation.
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And then that knowledge was faithfully handed down.
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But this all changes dramatically when God
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established which is a more visible, organized church
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structure. In the Old covenant.
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It does, the source says. God willed his Word to be set
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down and sealed in writing. Why was that step so crucial?
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It was the ultimate preventative measure against human deviation.
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The written document, the law, became the immediate and
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universal standard. So the priests were then
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commanded to teach from the mouth of the Lord.
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Which meant they didn't dare teach anything strange or
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foreign to the doctrine that was in the law.
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It became unlawful for them to add to it or take away from it.
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The written word formalized the boundary.
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It did. What about the later prophets?
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They brought new revelation, new articles, but they didn't negate
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the law. How did the source material
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define their function? They acted as interpreters.
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They published new oracles that flowed from the law and always
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pointed back to it. So they were adding predictions
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or maybe providing necessary exposition of the existing law.
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Exactly, applying it to new historical situations because
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God desired A clearer and fuller doctrine over time.
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These prophecies, along with the histories and Psalms, all
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composed under the Holy Spirit's dictation we're committed to
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writing. So that whole body, law,
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prophets, Psalms, histories was the complete sufficient word for
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the ancient people it. Was and Malachi instructs them
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to remember the law and give heed to it right up until the
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preaching or the gospel. That instruction from Malachi is
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basically a cease and desist order against new doctrines for
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the time between the Testaments. It is.
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It doesn't permit them to turn aside even a hair's breadth.
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And you see in David's famous praises of the law in Psalm 19,
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that he saw all spiritual perfection contained in it.
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Even if the light was still a bit dim compared to what was
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coming, right? And that brings us to the big
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shift, the final testimony of the Sun of Righteousness.
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The written word was sufficient in the Old Covenant, but the
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light was restricted when Christ, the eternal wisdom of
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God, was revealed in the flesh. The dim light became the perfect
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radiance of divine truth, like The Wanted brilliance of midday.
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This is the peak of Revelation. The apostle in Hebrews describes
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this transition perfectly. He does in many, in various
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ways. God spoke of old to the fathers
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by the prophets, but in these last days He has begun to speak
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to us through His beloved Son. That phrase in these last days,
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that's the key concept of finality, isn't it?
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It is. It signifies the end of that
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process of revelation. God will no longer speak
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intermittently through various prophets or add successive
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revelation. He has so fulfilled all
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functions of teaching in His Son that this has to be seen as the
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final and eternal testimony. Absolutely.
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The entire New Testament era, from Christ's appearance until
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the Day of Judgement, is specifically called the Last
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Hour and the Last Days. And that's not just a metaphor
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for a late historical period. No, it's a theological
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designation. It signifies that the revelatory
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clock has stopped. We are commanded to be content
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with the perfection of Christ's teaching.
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We must not fashion anything new beyond this.
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So the Father's command hear him is the mechanism for this
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cessation. It is.
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It leads us away from all doctrines of men to seek all
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saving teaching from Christ alone.
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I mean, if the word of life is intimately and openly disclosed
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himself to us, what more could we possibly expect or hope for
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from any human minister? The source says it's so
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forcefully Once Christ has spoken, the mouths of all men
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should be closed on matters of revelation.
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He is the one in whom the Heavenly Father willed all the
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treasures of knowledge and wisdom to be hid.
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And Christ spoke as the wisdom of godfully and seamlessly, and
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left nothing for others to say by way of adding new doctrine.
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So if the master has spoken, the Church's job description becomes
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simple. Listen and apply what was said.
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This brings us right to Section 3, the boundaries of doctrine,
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and this is the critical distinction between the
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foundational authority of the apostles and the ongoing
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authority of their successors. We have to hold fast to the
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principle we've just established, which is no word is
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to be held as the Word of God and given a place as such in the
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Church, except what is contained in the Law, the prophets, and
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the writings of the apostles. So the only authorized way of
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teaching in the Church is by the standard of this written, sealed
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word. The only one.
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So the Apostles authority then was also limited.
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Their task was to expound ancient Scripture and show its
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fulfillment in Christ. Yes, and even their exposition
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was restricted. The sources are careful to
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mention this was done by Christ's Spirit dictating the
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words. So they were genuine primary
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sources of revelation, yes, but their Commission was very
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strictly defined. Very teaching all that Christ
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had commanded them, and when Christ promised the Spirit of
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truth to guide them, we have to notice the specific restriction
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placed on the Spirit. He was to bring to mind all that
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he had previously taught by mouth.
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The Spirit's job theologically is inspiration, illumination and
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recollection, not the creation of new content.
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And this distinction is so crucial for understanding the
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Church today. The sources clarify that the
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apostles were sure and genuine scribes of the Holy Spirit,
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making their writings oracles of God.
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They established the foundation that was their special,
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unrepeatable office. But the sole office of their
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successors, pastors, bishops, ministers and every generation
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that follows. Is simply to teach, maintain and
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exposite what is already provided and sealed in the Holy
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Scriptures. Which means that faithful
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ministers are not permitted to coin any new doctrine
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whatsoever. No, the foundation is laid.
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They must only build upon it. And this restriction isn't just
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for individuals, it applies to the whole church structure,
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right? The source uses Paul as the
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model of restraint. Even as an apostle, he denied
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having dominion over the Corinthians faith.
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So if an apostle who had genuine revelatory authority refused to
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exercise dominion over belief, who today could legitimately
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claim such a right? No one, and furthermore, Paul
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established this this stunning regulation that explicitly
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subjected the authority of all prophets, even those speaking by
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revelation in the service to the judgement of the congregation.
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He told the Corinthians that when two or three prophets
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speak, let the others discriminate.
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It's a radical concept. The spoken word, even if
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inspired, is not the final judge.
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God's existing, established word is the ultimate judge over all
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spoken teaching. And the ultimate ground for this
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incredibly strict restriction on human authority, whether
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individual or collective, is rooted in the very nature of
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saving faith. It is, we read Paul's
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declaration. Faith comes from what is heard,
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but what is heard comes from God's Word.
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So if saving faith depends on God's Word alone and must rest
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in it alone for certainty. What legitimate role is left for
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the word of the whole world, or even the decisions of a Council?
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None that binds the conscience. Kelvin argues that faith
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requires A firmness that can stand unconquered against Satan
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and all the devices of hell. And human decisions are
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fallible. They're mutable.
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They can't withstand that kind of assault.
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This certainty is found solely in God's Word, because God alone
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is true and cannot lie. So the rule is universal across
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the entire church structure. God deprives men of the capacity
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to introduce new doctrine so that He alone can be our
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schoolmaster. And this applies equally to the
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largest council and to every individual believer.
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If God's feignable soldiers are to demolish spiritual
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strongholds, they have to wield their spiritual weapons only by
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operating in and with God's perfect written Word.
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That sets a very high theological bar.
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It does. Let's transition now to Section
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4, rejecting unwarranted claims to doctrinal license.
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When we compare this scripturally bound authority
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with the claims made by what the source material calls spiritual
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tyrants, the chasm is enormous. It's a huge gap.
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The opposing view just takes it for granted that a universal
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council is the visible image of the Church on earth.
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And building on that assumption, they conclude that such councils
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are governed directly by the Holy Spirit.
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And therefore cannot air. This claim is the hinge upon
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which the entire system of human authority turns.
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And since the men who rule the Council's assume this
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infallibility for themselves. They claim the right to
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establish faith-based on their decision.
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Whatever they affirm must be established in our minds.
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The danger here seems absolute. It is when they're unbound by
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the written word. These men feel entitled to coin
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dogmas after their own whim and then require everyone to
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subscribe to them as if they were new articles of faith.
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And the requirement isn't just explicit acceptance of known
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dogmas. No, it's also implicit faith in
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everything they might determine, even if it hasn't been codified
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yet. They assert the right to
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fabricate new articles of faith that bind the conscience.
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And their defense rests on arguing that the church has
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these excellent promises. Right.
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Christ will never forsake her. He will guide her by His Spirit
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into all truth. They say we have the Spirit, so
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we can't be wrong. So how do the sources respond to
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these promises? Well, Calvin readily concedes
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that the Lord is always present with His people and governs them
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by His Spirit. The Spirit is the Spirit of sure
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truth. But believers, even the most
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gifted apostles, only receive the first fruits and a taste of
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the Spirit in this life. They are not perfected.
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So if they're imperfect, then relying on their subjective
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grasp of the Spirit's guidance apart from the external rule of
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the Word has to be dangerous. It has to be because believers
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are imperfect. The best and only safe course
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for them is to keep themselves carefully within the limits of
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God's Word. If they wander according to
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their own production, they stray immediately, right?
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All sincere believers confess with Paul that they have not yet
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reached the goal. They strive for daily
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advancement, acknowledging their present weakness.
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This leads directly to the core objection against that claim of
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present corporate infallibility. Opponents will cite Ephesians 5,
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where Christ cleanses the church, that it might be without
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wrinkle or spot, and they claim this means the church is
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perfected now. But Calvin argues that this
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passage actually teaches what Christ is doing daily in the
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church. It's a process of cleansing, not
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something he has already perfected.
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So if Christ cleanses and polishes his people daily and
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wipes away their stands. It's obvious that they are still
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currently sprinkled with defects and spots.
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To claim the Church is completely holy and spotless
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now, when all its individual members are confessedly spotted
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and impure, is described as absurd and foolish reasoning.
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And the sources point out that this pretense of present
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perfection, that the Church is utterly flawless, now it opens
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the door. Or to some ancient theological
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errors. Like the Pelagians?
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Yes, who wrongly said that the righteousness of believers is
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perfected in this life? Or the Katharian Donatists who
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insisted on a flawless, visible church made-up only of true
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Saints. So the Church is sanctified by
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Christ, but only the beginning of that sanctification is
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visible here. The full perfect completion will
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appear only when Christ returns. Until then, humility and the
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daily removal of spots and wrinkles are necessary.
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This brings us to the second passage opponents misuse.
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The church is called the Pillar and ground of Truth in First
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Timothy. Right.
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If the Church is the pillar, surely it holds the authority to
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define and invent truth even apart from the written word.
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How does the source material explain that passage?
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It has an entirely different function.
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Paul is instructing Timothy on proper conduct, and he adds that
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the church is the pillar and foundation of truth to give
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weight to Timothy's office. But what is the Church's
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function as a pillar? It means God's truth is
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preserved in the church by the ministry of preaching.
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The Church is the faithful custodian of truth, holding it
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up for the world to see. So it's a witness to the truth,
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not the generator of it. Precisely, and this safekeeping
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depends wholly on whether the word of the Lord is faithfully
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kept and preserved in its purity.
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The custody rests in the prophetic and Apostolic
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ministry, which is defined by the existing written.
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Word. OK, let's get to the most
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critical point of the whole debate, the inseparable bond of
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word and spirit. This is the core opposition.
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Opponents argue that since the Church is governed by the
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Spirit, it can proceed safely without the Word.
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They disconnect the 2. And we must maintain that the
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church can proceed safely only in so far as it allows itself to
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be taught by the Holy Spirit through God's.
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Word they locate the church's authority outside the.
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Word, and we insist it must be firmly attached to it.
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The Church is Christ's pupil. She must submit to her teacher.
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She should set the limit of her own wisdom, where Christ has
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made an end of speaking. When trusting in God's written
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Word, the church rests in firm constancy, right?
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When relying on the promises, it never doubts the Spirit is its
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guide, but it must always be mindful of how God uses the
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Spirit. We're back to the specific
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nature of the promise. The Spirit was sent to lead them
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into all truth. But how?
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By recalling all that Christ had said to them, the Holy Spirit
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does not introduce new doctrine. The source quotes Chrysostom
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here. Yes, many boast of the Holy
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Spirit, but those who speak their own thoughts claim him
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falsely. To claim the Holy Spirit just to
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commend strange doctrines for into God's word is entirely
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wrong. Because the Spirit wills to be
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conjoined with God's Word by an indissoluble bond.
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And the cessation of revelation is secured by that principle
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from deuteron. Nothing be added to or taken
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away from His word. That soberness is willed to be
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preserved forever. Which leads directly to their
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final defense, the claim that the apostles failed to write
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down certain essential doctrines, supplying them later
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by a living voice. They use Christ's words in John
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16. I have many things to say to you
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which you cannot bear now. And the source material calls
23:41
this sheer effrontery. It is.
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The argument is fundamentally illogical.
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If the disciples were LED into all truth by the Spirit when
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they put forth their writings, what possibly hindered them from
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leaving a perfect knowledge of gospel doctrine in written form?
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The writings themselves are the final testimony.
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Augustine's counter question seems to settle this.
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It does when the Lord said nothing.
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Who of us may say these things are or those things are?
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The answer is obvious. Only God speaks with divine
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authority. No man may invent on God's
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behalf. All the promise revelation is
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already contained in the writings of the Apostles.
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We've established the theological limits, now we can
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move to Section 5. Case studies and doctrinal
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exposition. Opponents always try to use
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specific scriptural passages or historical events to claim
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authority that goes beyond the written word.
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Let's address their misuse of Matthew 18 first.
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This passage is cited often. Praise commands us to regard
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anyone who contradicts the Church as a Gentile and a
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publican. And the claim is that this
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grants the Church infallible doctrinal authority.
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If you disregard the Church's decree, you are cut off.
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But when you actually read the passage in its context, it makes
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no mention of doctrine. No, it's entirely focused on
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church discipline. It asserts the Church's
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authority to correct vices and moral misconduct by censures.
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It deals with a brother who sins and refuses to be admonished or
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reconciled. It's about conduct, not
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language. Down articles of faith.
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And this is a critical distinction.
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While the consensus of the church is to be respected, that
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respect rests solely in the church's faithful upholding of
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God's Word. If we grant man such broad
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doctrinal authority based on this passage.
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It opens a dangerous window to what Calvin calls impious quips
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and cavils where human opinion gets confused with divine law.
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The sources then moved to two specific historical counter
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examples. Infant baptism and the language
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of the Nicene Creed. Let's start with infant baptism.
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Opponents argued that the practice of infant baptism arose
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not from a clear mandate of Scripture, but from a mere
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decree of the Church or some oral tradition.
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And the sources counter that it would be a very poor refuge to
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defend infant baptism by fleeing to the mere authority of the
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church. Why is it a poor refuge?
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Because if you rely on mere church authority for a single
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practice that binds the congregation, you have instantly
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and implicitly granted the church the right to invent new
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articles of faith in general. So the source insists that the
26:11
true defense of infant baptism is found elsewhere.
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In Scripture itself, properly understood in light of covenant
26:17
theology, the church must seek its authority from God's Book,
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not its own pronouncements. OK, the other key example is the
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term consubstantial, used at the Council of Nicaea to describe
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Christ's relationship to the Father.
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Opponents argue that since this word homousios is not found
26:34
verbatim in Scripture, the Council invented doctrine and
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therefore had extra scriptural authority.
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This requires a bit of context it.
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Does the Nicene Fathers did not invent new doctrine.
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They were responding to a new and aggressive heresy, Arianism.
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Arias was teaching that Christ was the 1st and highest of
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created beings, denying His true eternal divinity.
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But the Scriptures assert there is one God, and they call Christ
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the true and eternal God, one with the Father.
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So the Fathers were simply trying to defend an implicit
27:06
truth against the linguistic error that was trying to
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subvert. It precisely they took what was
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implicit, that Christ is of the same divine nature as the
27:14
Father, and defended it explicitly by declaring Christ
27:17
and the Father to be of 1 essence or consubstantial.
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So they weren't coining a new doctrine, but rather
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interpreting the real ancient meaning of scripture against a
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new attack. Exactly.
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And the sources drive this point home by showing that the actions
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of the early church itself confirm this idea.
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This takes us back to the Nicene Council.
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Yes, the historian Theodore relates A crucial statement made
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by Emperor Constantine at the assembly.
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And what did he say? Constantine's statement is
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foundational, He declared. The books of the evangelists and
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apostles, with the oracles of the prophets, fully show us the
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divine will. And then he instructed the
27:53
assembly to take explanations of questions only from the words of
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the Spirit. That was the rule of the
27:59
meeting. And the significance is that no
28:01
one at the Council contradicted him.
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No one. Had the bishops believed they
28:05
had authority apart from the Word.
28:07
Their silence would have been a breach of faith and a betrayal
28:10
of the Church's claimed rights. So their silence confirms that
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the new dogma that the Church could add something of its own
28:17
revelation was entirely unknown at that time.
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They willingly embraced the notion that their authority was
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bound by the written word, which was deemed fully sufficient for
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the task. They saw themselves as
28:29
expositors, not innovators. This has been a deeply detailed
28:32
analysis. Let's try to summarize the key
28:34
takeaways for you, our listener who's seeking that quick but
28:37
accurate understanding. The first core rule is that the
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Church's spiritual authority in doctrine, jurisdiction, and
28:43
lawmaking is entirely constrained by the written law,
28:46
prophets and apostles writings. And that authority is delegated
28:50
to the Ministry of the Word, not the men who hold the office.
28:54
Ministers are messengers. Christ is the only schoolmaster,
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and his words are final. And the second key take away is
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the conditional nature of the Spirit's guidance.
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The Holy Spirit secures the sufficiency of Scripture by
29:07
recalling Christ's teaching. The Spirit does not introduce
29:11
new revelation. So any attempt to locate the
29:14
authority of the Church outside of faithful scriptural
29:16
exposition is a dangerous slippery slope toward human
29:20
tyranny. And away from the certainty that
29:21
faith requires. And finally, we saw that even
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when the church gathers in counsel, like at Nicaea, its
29:27
proper function isn't to invent new doctrines, but if faithfully
29:30
expound the existing meaning of Scripture against contemporary
29:33
errors. The authority is and the
29:35
message, not the messenger. So a final thought for you to
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consider if the goal of Christ's presence and the Spirit's
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guidance is for the cleansing and upbuilding of the church, as
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Ephesians 5 suggests. And if that process of
29:47
refinement and purification is still ongoing?
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How does acknowledging the Church's present imperfections
29:53
affect our understanding of its desperate need for a continual,
29:57
humble submission to the perfect, unchanging written
30:01
word? It seems to mean that every
30:02
generation of the Church must regard itself as needing
30:05
reformation, looking outside itself to the perfect revelation
30:08
crisis. Art provided.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the
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constraints on ecclesiastical authority.
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We look forward to having you with us next time.