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God Disagrees With The Pope
John R. Gentry
Last week we discussed the statement recently approved by Pope Benedict XVI that "Christ ‘established here on earth’ only one church" (URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19692094). We noticed that this is what the Bible teaches (Eph. 4.4; 1.22-23). However, we noticed that the Catholic Church cannot be that one church because they derive much of their authority from man and not from God (Col. 3.17).
The article also mentioned that the Pope approved the statement that said that other religious communities (that is other than the Catholic Church, some Orthodox and Anglican churches) ""cannot be called ‘churches’ in the proper sense" because they do not have apostolic succession — the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ’s original apostles" (ibid.).
God completely disagrees with this statement; and no church can be the one church of the New Testament that practices apostolic succession. First, consider that apostles and bishops are distinct from one another in the Bible. In Eph. 4.11 Paul said, "And Jesus gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers." (In the New Testament the words "pastor," "bishop," and "elder" are used synonymously, for which see Acts 20.17, 28, 1 Pet. 5.1-2) Therefore, bishops are not succeeded from the apostles but are separate from them.
Second, the qualifications of an apostle prove there can be no apostles or their equivalent today. Yes, Acts 1.20 says, "Let another take his office," but this is referring to the fulfillment of a prophecy concerning Judas Iscariot (the his in this passage). The qualifications of an apostle given in this context (Acts 1.21-22) show that no one can claim to be an apostle or their equal today. No one alive today was with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry, and no one alive today witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, we are forced to the conclusion that no one can be an apostle or their equal today.
According to the Scriptures, the apostles served a foundational, not successive, purpose, (Eph. 2.19-22; Rev. 21.10-14). Besides, no scripture states or alludes to a succession of apostleship. Any church practicing such has stepped out of God’s Word!
originally published in the Banner-Gazette
2007.07.25