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That’s not the implication at all. No one (not me anyway) is comparing the authority of God with that of men, rather, I am acknowledging that Christ gave His Church real, derived authority to teach in His name.

The bible doesn’t interpret itself, so the question becomes: who decides what is consonant with the Word of God? Is it every individual reader? That has to be the case absent a magisterium, which is why Sola Scriptura has led to thousands of competing interpretations, each claiming to follow Scripture alone.

True unity requires not only God’s Word, but the teaching authority Christ Himself established to preserve it faithfully.

freeborn | ἐλεύθερος | 8r0gwg 2mo ago

I agree that the authority of our teachers / fathers / brothers in the church is derived from authority, and (thus) inferior to it. And what happens when those teachers / fathers / brothers disagree? They appeal to Scripture, make their arguments from Scripture. Yes, sadly, there are those who misinterpret the Scriptures - whether from ignorance or malice - and Paul warned us of them in Acts 20.

That derived authority is not vested in individuals or even offices directly--but to the whole church, as a church. And then men are chosen to fill those offices--but they can be removed for unfaithfulness. But there's only one "kind" of authority in the church.

And, when I say that the Scriptures interpret themselves, what I mean is that we can interpret the more difficult passages by the more clear passages, and follow what comes out "by good and necessary consequence." I also mean that the Scriptures are _sufficient_ for teaching us "all things necessary for life and godliness," etc.

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Discussion

DRE 2mo ago

appreciate the thoughtful reply. I agree that all authority in the Church is derived from Christ, but He clearly established that authority through visible offices, not just the collective body of believers (see 1 Timothy 3, among other places). The Church doesn’t ordain itself afterall; it receives leadership through apostolic succession.

And while “Scripture interprets Scripture” sounds good, someone still has to decide which passages clarify others. I would say that’s already interpretation. The early Church settled those disputes through councils guided by apostolic authority, not by individual consensus.

I think we probably agree more than we disagree on loving Scripture, we just differ on how Christ intended His Church to guard it.