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The Papacy in Scripture – More Than Matthew 16
Tim Staples' Blog ^ | March 26, 2014 | Tim Staples

Posted on 05/01/2014 3:25:30 AM PDT by GonzoII

The Papacy in Scripture – More Than Matthew 16

In an earlier blog post, I made the point that the role of St. Peter and his successors is made remarkably clear in Matthew 16:18-19 and its immediate context:

And I tell you, you are Peter (Gr.—petros—‘rock’), and on this rock (Gr.—petra—‘rock’) I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus here promises infallible authority to Peter that would empower him to speak in the place of Christ, or as his vicar on earth. Catholics believe just what the text says. When St. Peter (and his successors) “binds” something on earth, it is “bound” in heaven. That’s definitive authority–infallible authority–with the power of heaven to back it up!

A response I get fairly regularly in response to this is to claim the Church is using “this one text” to try and establish a dogma.

My first thought in response is always to say, ”How many times does God have to tell you something before you will believe and obey it?” After all, Jesus only gave us the proper form for baptism one time in Matthew 28:19, and yet all Christians believe it to be the proper form nonetheless.

Nevertheless, I do think this is a valid question that deserves an answer: Is Matthew 16 the only text that demonstrates the truth of Peter’s primacy and of the papacy in Scripture?

The answer is a resounding no!

The List Goes On and On

Below is a list of biblical texts all related to the primacy of St. Peter and the Papacy. Word count limitations prevent me from quoting all of them; you’ll have to do some homework and look up some of these texts yourself. But when you do, you’ll notice there is not a single “rock” to be found among them.

Mind you, this is not an exhaustive list. There are more biblical texts we could take a look at. Consider this my top 18 list:

1. Matt. 14:23-27: St. Peter is uniquely and miraculously empowered by Jesus to walk on water, and when his faith begins to falter, our Lord does not allow him to go under. This is a prelude to Jesus promising to communicate his authority that can never fail to Peter in Matt. 16. The gift of the papacy is here assured not to depend upon the person of St. Peter or of his successors, but on the promise and power of Christ.

2. Matt. 17:24-27: After receiving the promise of authority in Matt. 16, St. Peter is once again given supernatural power, and this time to provide for both himself and Jesus when the first-century equivalent of the I.R.S. comes calling. Peter acts as Christ’s “vicar,” or, in the place of Jesus, in miraculous fashion, once again, guaranteed by Jesus not to fail. He “pays the tax” for both Jesus and himself. If you don’t think this is miraculous, it’s almost April 15 right now. God ahead down to the closest fishin’ hole, cast a line in, catch a fish, and let’s see if there’s enough money in the fish’s mouth to pay your taxes, let alone yours and someone else’s.

3. Luke 5:1-10: The multitudes that gather to hear Jesus at the shore of Lake Gennesaret press in on him so that he has to step off shore into one of two boats that are there docked. The boat he steps into just happens to be Peter’s boat. Hmmmm. Jesus then proclaims the gospel from the barque of Peter (5:1-3)! Sound familiar? Then, Jesus tells Peter to put out into the deep and let down his nets for a catch. Can you imagine the people present? They must have been thinking that Jesus was nuts! Multitudes have to just stand there and watch St. Peter go fishing? St. Peter then says, “We have toiled all night and caught nothing” (vs. 5), yet he lets down the nets at the command of Jesus. When they catch so many fish they need to bring out the other boat to haul in the load, Peter realizes that Jesus is calling him to more than just catching catfish! These fish are metaphors for Christians. Peter says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (vs.8)! But Jesus responds, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”

Thus, St. Peter receives a unique and singular calling from Christ to be the fisher of men. And once again, Peter receives supernatural power that cannot fail to fulfill his unique calling.

4. Luke 22:24-32: In this text, Jesus teaches the apostles the true nature of authority, especially in verses 24-28. True authority in the New Covenant is commanded to be servant of all. He will speak with infallible authority just as Christ did, but he must also wash the feet of his brothers just as Christ did. In this context, Jesus said to the apostles:

[A]s my Father appointed a kingdom for me, so do I appoint for you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you (Gr.—humas, plural—“you all”), that he might sift you (Gr.—plural again) like wheat, but I have prayed for you (Gr.—sou, singular—Peter alone) that your faith (Gr.—singular again) may not fail; and when you (Gr.—singular) have turned again, strengthen your brethren.

In the context of committing his kingdom authority to the apostles to govern the church (the “Israel of God”—see Gal. 6:16), Jesus especially prays for Peter so that he may be the source of strength and unity for the rest of the apostles. If the apostles want to be protected from the devil’s attempts to divide and destroy them and the Church, they must be in communion with Peter. And notice, Jesus says specifically to Peter, that, literally from the Greek text, “the faith of you [Peter] will not fail.” This is precisely what the Catholic Church has been teaching for 2,000 years!

5. John 10:16: Jesus prophesied:

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, and one shepherd (emphasis added).

Who is this prophetic shepherd? The answer seems simple. And on one level it is. Jesus declared himself to be “the good shepherd” (Gr.—poimein—“shepherd” or “pastor”) in John 10:14. Yet, if we dig deeper into the text we discover another meaning as well. In the context of prophesying about this “one flock” and “one shepherd,” Jesus says he must gather “other sheep” referring to the gentiles. Who does our Lord use as the shepherd to bring this prophecy to pass? The answer is found in our next two texts.

6. John 21:1-17: Here, we find another example of Jesus aiding the fishing of the apostles who “caught nothing” all night long (vs. 3). At the command of Jesus they let down their nets and catch an astonishing 153 “large fish” (vs. 11). When Jesus commands the net to be hauled ashore, St. Peter heaves the entire net of fish to shore by himself. No man can lift that size of a catch out of the water and on to the shore by himself. If you take these words literally to mean Peter actually did this, it seems Peter was given supernatural strength to do what no man could naturally accomplish. Fish are symbols representing the faithful (recall Luke 5:8-10). And the symbol of “the net” is used elsewhere in the New Testament for the Church (see Matt. 13:47). Not only is Peter’s ability to carry these “fish” (all the faithful) a miracle, but the fact that the “net” is not broken is also extraordinary. The message seems to be that the Church Jesus establishes containing all of God’s faithful with Peter packing the power will never be destroyed!

It is in this context that Jesus then asks St. Peter three times, “Do you love me… Do you love me… Do you love me?” When Peter responds in the affirmative the second time, Jesus responds by commanding Peter to “tend (Gr.–poimaine—’shepherd’) my sheep” (vs. 16). Jesus the shepherd here commissions Peter to be the prophetic shepherd of John 10:16 to shepherd the entire people of God!

How do we know Peter was called to shepherd the entire flock? I would only ask this: How many of the sheep belong to Jesus? Answer? All of them. So how many of his sheep did Jesus entrust to St. Peter to shepherd? Answer? All of them.

7. Matt. 10:2: In the context of the calling and listing of the twelve apostles, Peter is referred to as “the first” apostle. We know he was not the “first apostle” chronologically. John 1:37-41 tells us Andrew believed Jesus was the Messiah first and told his brother Peter about him. Andrew would be the “first” chronologically. Peter was “first” in primacy.

Though the Greek word, protos (first), can certainly mean “first” chronologically, it can also denote “chief,” “superior” or “the first in rank.” In Acts 28:7, for example, protos is used to describe “the chief man of the Island, Publius.” In Matthew 20:27, we discover, “Whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” Luke 15:22 adds: “Bring forth the best robe…” And I Tim. 1:15 provides: “And I am the foremost of sinners.” All of these texts use protos in the sense of “chief” or “superior.”

Moreover, Christ is referred to as prototokos, or “first-begotten” in Col. 1:15. Here St. Paul uses protos in order to teach us about Christ’s eternal generation, which has been accomplished outside of time. He is; therefore, the creator and the one who has “preeminence” over all things, according to the text. Colossians 1:15-18 reads:

[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born (Gr.—prototokos) of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth…He is before all things…He is the head of the body, the church…that in everything he might be pre-eminent (Gr.—proteuon, a verb with the same root as protos and prototokos).

Thus, in a notably direct and overt manner, by referring to St. Peter as the “first” apostle, St. Matthew presents Peter (and his successors) just as we see him represented in the rest of the New Testament; he is revealed to be “chief” of the apostles, or to have a primacy of authority over all the apostles and, by extension, over the entire church.

8. Acts 1:15-26: 

During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place).  He said, “My brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus … For it is written in the Book of Psalms:  “Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it” (citing Psalm 69:25).  And: “May another take his office” (citing Psalm 109:8). Therefore it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us … become with us a witness to his resurrection.  So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.  Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two you have chosen …”  Then they gave lots … and the lots fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

It is St. Peter who is clearly in charge in choosing and ordaining a new apostle to replace Judas. He stands in the midst of the apostles and gives an authoritative interpretation of Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. And mind you, these are not exactly obvious interpretations of these texts. Psalm 69:25 uses the plural, yet Peter applies it singularly to Peter. The context of Psalm 109:8 also uses the plural (see verse 20). This is not exactly self-evident. Yet, St. Peter then declares the apostles must choose a successor of Judas based upon these two texts. And there is nary a question from the rest of the apostles like, “Hey, Peter, that’s a pretty shaky interpretation of those two texts. What hermeneutical principles are you using, anyway?”

In the case of St. Peter, the old saying is true, “It is my (Peter’s) way or the highway.”

9. Acts 2:14-41:

It is St. Peter who is in charge at Pentecost and preaches the first sermon whereby 3,000 are baptized. And you’ll notice a theme we are going to often see in the Book of Acts (and in the Gospels as well). Peter is listed as a category all by himself. Acts 2 says, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them.” There’s Peter alone, and then there is “the eleven.”

10. Acts 3:1-10:

Peter and John are “about to go into the temple,” when a man who was “lame from birth” called out to them begging alms. We note that it is Peter who speaks and it is Peter who performs the first miracle in the Acts of the Apostles. Another “first” for St. Peter. We will see more.

11. Acts 4:3-12:

When St. Peter and St. John are arrested and called before the Sanhedrin, it is St. Peter in verse 8, who speaks for both and preaches boldly of Christ and the name of Jesus.

12. Acts 5:1-15: It is St. Peter who clearly depicted as in charge of the Church in collecting funds for world evangelism. And it is St. Peter who pronounces God’s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, speaking for God in the process. And it is then, in verse 15, that after seeing “more than ever” numbers of converts flood into the Church, that the sick were brought to him in hope that even his shadow might pass over them so that they may be healed.

13. Acts 5:29: After the apostles were arrested and then miraculously set free by the angel of the Lord, they are before the Sanhedrin for the second time. St. Luke records:

Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather then men.”

Once again, St. Peter is set apart from the rest of the apostles. If he was just one of the apostles with no special position St. Luke would not set him apart like he does. Why does he do this? Because St. Peter has the keys of the kingdom (cf. Matthew 16:15-19). He is the Shepherd over the whole flock of God’s people (cf. John 10:11-16, 21:15-17).

In fact, every time St. Peter is mentioned in sacred Scripture with the other apostles, he is either listed first (see Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16 and Acts 1:13, etc.), or given a special place apart from the other apostles (see I Cor. 9:5, Mark 1:36, Mark 16:7 and Luke 9:32) except for one example in Galatians 2:9. This one example is often used by non-Catholics to demonstrate absolute equality among the apostles or even to prove St. James to have been the true leader of the early Church rather than St. Peter.

And when they perceived the grace that was given to me (St. Paul), James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.

A closer look at the context clears up this apparent difficulty. In Galatians 2, St. Paul is speaking in the context of the church at Jerusalem. We know from Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History …) that James was the first bishop of Jerusalem after the apostles dispersed throughout the world.  It would not be surprising to list James first in the context of the diocese (or city, as it were then) over which he presides. Even today, if there were a Council held in a diocese other than Rome, the local bishop would normally be given a special place of honor in some distinct manner. This, in fact, has been the case many times in the history of the Church. James should be given a place of honor because he is the head of local Church there in Jerusalem.

This is the context of Galatians 2. However, notice the difference between this second visit St. Paul made to Jerusalem and his first visit fourteen years earlier (cf. Galatians 2:1).

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother (Gal. 1:18-19)… Then, after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas… and when they perceived the grace of God was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship (Gal. 1:18-2:9).

St. Paul originally went to Jerusalem not to see James, though he did see James. He went to confer with St. Peter. After receiving revelation from God, St. Peter is the first man St. Paul wants to see. This was not just a casual meeting. It lasted fifteen days. It was fourteen years later (cf. Gal. 2:1), after St. Peter had gone and established his see in Antioch (cf. Gal. 2:11, Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History), that St. Paul lists James first in the context of the Church of Jerusalem.

An interesting not: There are four lists of apostles given in Scripture. Matthew 10:2-4 (which we saw before), Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16 and Acts 1:13. In every case St. Peter is first and Judas is last (except in Acts, Judas is not listed at all because he had committed suicide). In oriental culture, the listing of names is important. It connotes position and honor. Notice in all the lists the order is generally identical. There is a bit of juxtaposition in St. Mark’s list, but St. Peter’s place is always the same. This is reminiscient of the early Church. There was some juxtaposition in the early Church when it came to the second and third place of honor in the Church, but never a doubt who was at the helm:  The Bishop of Rome.

14. Acts 8:14-23:

In this text we see St. Peter leading when he and St. John confirm the new converts in Samaria because of the evangelistic efforts of St. Phillip. And once again it is St. Peter who takes the helm in pronouncing judgment on Simon the sorcerer who wanted to buy the power to confirm or convey the Holy Spirit (verses 18-23).

15. Acts 9:32:

Here we have an interesting little passage in verse 32 most pass over too quickly.

As Peter was passing through every region, he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda (NAB).

Here we have St. Peter making his pastoral rounds. To what part of the Church?  All of it!  Why?  St. Peter is the shepherd of the whole world.  He then proceeds to do another first.  He raises Tabitha from the dead in Joppa (cf. 9:40-43).

16. Acts 10:1-48:

In this chapter from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus personally sees to the fulfillment of the prophecy of John 10:16, which we saw above. He appears to St. Peter and commands him to bring the gospel to the gentiles by way of Cornelius, the centurion. When Peter then “commanded [Cornelius and his household] to be baptized” in Acts 10:48, the prophecy of John 10:16 was fulfilled. There was now one fold and one shepherd for Jews and Gentiles. That ministry has continued to this day in the successors of St. Peter, the bishops of Rome.

It would be easy to pass over this text and miss its importance. It is most significant that it is St. Peter to whom God gives a vision to allow the gentiles to be baptized and enjoy full membership in the Church. This was a radical move! If you think we have a problem with racism in the 21st century, we have nothing on first century opinion of the gentiles!

If we read further, into Acts 11:18, after the other apostles and other disciples heard Peter declare what God had done, they say, in chapter 11:18:

When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life.”

They heard St. Peter speak and the question was settled. The question would continue to plague the Church with reference to how the gentiles and Jews were to harmonize in the Church. But the question of Gentiles being in the Church was settled by St. Peter and the question would not be raised again. Peter had spoken, the rest of the Church “held their peace.”  Would to God we today would do the same!

17. Acts 12: 3-11:

In this text, St. Peter is arrested again. Notice that the entire Church then goes to ‘round the clock prayer for him until he is released miraculously. This is not recorded to have been the case when St. James or any others were arrested. When the head of a fledgling Church struggling for its existence is put in jail, you better believe everyone is praying!

18. Acts 15: 1-12:

The ministry of St. Peter as “the shepherd” of the Universal Church continues. When there was a heresy spreading in the church at Antioch (and elsewhere) so widespread and problematic that Paul and Barnabas could not quell the resulting confusion, the church there decided to “go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question” (vss. 1-2). The question concerned salvation and the Old Covenant law in relation to the gospel. Some among “believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise…and…to keep the law of Moses’ (vs. 5) or else you ‘cannot be saved’” (vs. 1). In particular, they spoke of the gentiles who were converting to Christ, but the same would apply to all. The real question was: Are Christians saved by the grace of Christ in the New Covenant or must they obey the Old Covenant as well for salvation? The first Church Council (of Jerusalem) was convened and the theological question was put to rest by the pronouncement of St. Peter.

The apostles and elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice…that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe…we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly kept silence… (Vs. 6-12, emphasis added)

Like we saw in Acts 11:18, when the Pope finally speaks on a matter, the rest are silent. And so it should be.

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TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: acts; actsoftheapostles; bible; gogdsword; papacy; pope; scripture; scriptures; stpeter; timstaples
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To: Petrosius
To me and other Catholics it seems clear what our Lord meant when he said "You are Peter (Kephas), and upon this rock (kephas) I will build by church …"

Then you are ignoring what Scripture plainly teaches:

Matthew 16:13-18
 13.  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
 14.  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
 15.  "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
 16.  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,  the Son of the living God."
 17.  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
 18.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades  will not overcome it.
 19.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
 
Chapters and verses were invented later; as we all know...
 
   When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"   They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."   "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,  the Son of the living God."   Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.   And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades  will not overcome it.    I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
 
 
Reading the text we can see that Jesus is talking to the GROUP of disciples; and He is answered by the impulsive one - SIMON Peter.
After dealing with SIMON Peter, He states - to the group -  "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
 
Catholic teaching limits this to SIMON Peter.

341 posted on 05/07/2014 3:51:02 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: motoman
Do you read all scripture with a literal modern day interpretation without the help of a divine teacher?

Last I heard; the Holy Spirit WAS divine...


John 14:26
But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said ...

342 posted on 05/07/2014 3:54:58 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

In John 14:26, Jesus was speaking to his disciples, whom he sent into the world to preach the Gospel. He was not speaking to all mankind who would hear the Gospel FROM those who were SENT.

Jesus promised that his Apostles would receive the Holy Spirit to guide them in matters TEACHING.

“Then He opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures. And He said to them, “Thus it is written; and thus the Christ should suffer, and should rise again from the dead on the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”” Luke 24:45-46

“And GOD indeed has placed some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers...” 1Cor 12:28

“How then are they to call upon Him in whom they have not believed? But how are they to believe Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear, if no one preaches? And how are men to preach UNLESS THEY BE SENT?” Rom 10:14-15

The CHURCH was promised the Holy Spirit for Matters of TEACHING. The Holy Spirit in us should guide us to the teaching authority of the Church in matters of interpreting scripture.


343 posted on 05/07/2014 4:25:32 PM PDT by motoman (")
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To: Elsie

I tried to put the reference on the first post, but it made it blow up for some reason.

It’s from the DuTillet chapter 26, although they used no chapters in the original autographs, so its just for reference.


344 posted on 05/07/2014 6:03:44 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: motoman; Elsie

Yeshua sent his “comforter” to all of his elect upon their confession, and repentance.

That is who his assembly are, not the pagan mess in Rome.
.


345 posted on 05/07/2014 6:08:19 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Elsie
After dealing with SIMON Peter, He states - to the group - "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Thank you for illustrating the problem with private interpretation. Matthew 16:19 in the Greek is as follow:

δὠσω σοι τὰς κλεῖδασ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν δήσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
The three instances of "you" that you indicate in the verse are the following:
σοι: to thee

δήσῃς: thou bind

λύσῃς: thou loose

All three of these are in the second person singular, not plural. Jesus is addressing Peter individually, not the group.

This just shows the need of a trustworthy teaching authority to avoid errors like the one you made. Otherwise you would have to insist that every believing Christian must be a Scripture scholar to truly know the faith.

Catholic teaching limits this to SIMON Peter.

As shown above, in this case Catholic teaching is correct.

346 posted on 05/07/2014 6:08:36 PM PDT by Petrosius
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Comment #347 Removed by Moderator

To: af_vet_1981

There is no scriptural basis for Mathias being an apostle.

Only Yeshua can appoint an apostle. The apostolic age closed 1900 years ago.
.


348 posted on 05/07/2014 6:15:32 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Petrosius; Elsie

Yeshua addressed Peter individually when he said “get thee behind me Satan.”


349 posted on 05/07/2014 6:18:01 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Petrosius; metmom; boatbums; redleghunter; BlueDragon; Alamo-Girl


Rather, what is most manifestly and unequivocally clear is that the One True Church® simply cannot be the church of Rome, as its very foundational premise for its authority is contrary to Scripture, as is its gospel and many of its teachings.

Which proves what? Mormons claim to find their teaching and understanding of history to be consistent Scripture as they operate under the same sola ecclesia premise. Once you submit to Rome, you are called to see all teachings of the Catholic Church in complete agreement with the Scriptures, as per sanctioned Catholic teaching, as said and shown.

No wonder you can see, among other things unseen in the NT church , multitudinous prayers being made to and heard by a distinct class of believers called "saints" in Heaven, even though only God is shown to possess that Divine ability and function in Heaven, and is the only one whom the Holy Spirit ever inspired and recorded prayers to in Heaven out of the approx. 200 in Scripture.

And also as said, you are not to objectively examine the evidence in order to ascertain the veracity of RC teaching, but RCs have and example much liberty to compel Scripture to support Rome. All of which is an argument against Rome.

Nor did it preach or manifest the Lord's supper as being the source and summit of their faith around which all revolved, with NT ministers distinctively titled “priests” turning bread and wine into human flesh as the means of gaining spiritual and eternal life by physically eating, all of which is demonstrably foreign to Scripture.

Which affirms what I said, as this is not even Scripture, but tradition — which still does not provide unanimous consent” for Rome's teachings, and can vary on the meaning of Real Presence, and Justin see different interpretations, including that of Catholic author William A. Jurgenes, “The change referred to here is the change which takes place when the food we eat is assimilated and becomes part of our own body” (Jurgens W, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Volume I, p. 57). Or that at consecration, though the elements are no longer common bread and wine, they do not lose the nature of being bread and wine.

However, what matters is that the literal understanding contradicts Scripture which only speaks of spiritual nourishment as being by hearing/receiving the word of Christ, not even physically eating anything, much less human flesh and blood:

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. (1 Timothy 4:6)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)

That Martyr and others (from the quite limited writings we have from so-called “church father's”) believed this among others is no surprise, as it is another example of erroneous understandings otherwise God-fearing souls can have, which even if not necessarily salvific errors, are usually due to perpetuating a line of tradition over what Scripture contextually teaches in its totality. Worse, they can even compel Scripture to conform to it.

A clear example of this is the perverse reasoning of no less a scholar than Jerome in laboring to justify his imbalanced tradition of celibacy versus marriage.

The same Apostle in another place commands us to pray always. If we are to pray always, it follows that we [priests] must never be in the bondage of wedlock, for as often as I render my wife her due, I cannot pray...Now a priest must always offer sacrifices for the people: he must therefore always pray. And if he must always pray, he must always be released from the duties of marriage.

The skewed conclusion of Jerome is readily apparent in the light of the fact that marital relations are not the only things that may distract from prayer for a time, but eating, driving, shopping, also may. Thus to be consistent, Jerome's logic is that a minister (which are never called priests as a distinct class) cannot eat or drink, or engage in any like physical activity, or that marriage and family is such a superfluous thigh that the dedication of a minister must of a necessity exclude it. Yet while celibacy certainly is advantageous to that, that marriage is by normal necessity excluded is just the opposite we see in Scripture.

In which celibacy is a gift that not all have, and thus in contrast to being a normative requirement for NT clergy, it was normative for both elders/bishops as well as apostles to be married - and was even invoked as a positive preparation — and those that were celibate were free to marry. (1Tim. 3:1-7; 1Cor. 9:5)

Yet in further seeking to use Scripture to support his skewed view of marriage, Jerome next invokes Genesis 2 and 7, incredibly arguing,

"This too we must observe, at least if we would faithfully follow the Hebrew, that while Scripture on the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days relates that, having finished the works of each, “God saw that it was good,” on the second day it omitted this altogether, leaving us to understand that two is not a good number because it destroys unity, and prefigures the marriage compact. Hence it was that all the animals which Noah took into the ark by pairs were unclean. Odd numbers denote cleanness. (Against Jovinianus, Book 1, Cps. 7,13,16,33; http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf206.vi.vi.I.html)

Thus by such reasoning, the Lord sent out unclean disciples, and the two olive trees Scripture (Zech. 4:11; Rv. 11:4) were also.

Similarly, Augustine held a perverse view of marital relations, believing that Heb. 13:4 only means the marriage bed is not defiled if fornication and adultery or relations without the intent to procreate is avoided, and that marital intercourse could not be engaged in without sinful passions, though these were excused for Christians. (On Marriage and Concupiscence (Book I, cp. 27; http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/15071.htm; http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf105.xvi.v.xxvii.html )

Similarly, Tertullian argued that second marriage, having been freed from the first by death,

will have to be termed no other than a species of fornication,” partly based on the reasoning that such involves desiring to marry a women out of sexual ardor. (An Exhortation to Chastity, Chapter IX.—Second Marriage a Species of Adultery, Marriage Itself Impugned, as Akin to Adultery; http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04.iii.vi.ix.html)

Yet Scripture does not teach martial relations requires sinful passion, and positively affirms martial relations even apart from the context of procreation. (Prov. 5:15-19; Sos. 4:1ff; 7:1:-10)

Which again shows how quickly the prophecy of Paul began to be fulfilled of men “speaking perverse things” others would follow, (Acts 20:30) even if these men were not apostates themselves, but influenced by such and be part of the beginning of the deformation of the NT church.

At one time most of the visible church was in the error of Arianism, but while that was largely overcome in time, other errors remained.

However, while you can believe in the Real Presence and yet be saved if holding to the gospel by which one is born again and their heart is purified by faith in the gospel of grace, it is incontrovertibly evident that Jn. 6 is not speaking about literally consuming human flesh to obtain spiritual and eternal life, which the literal interpretation of Jn. 6:53,54 requires. Instead, it is consistent with men being “bread” for Israel, and drinking water being the “blood” of men, and the word of God being “eaten,” (Num. 14:9; 2 Samuel 23:15-17; Jer. 15:16) which the kosher apostles were familiar with and understood the Lord by, rather than unquestionably engaging in endo-cannibalism.

Rather, it remains that is manifest by reading Acts and the rest of the NT, which interprets the gospels, that the Lord's supper was never preached and practiced as being the source and summit of their faith around which all revolved, with NT ministers distinctively titled “priests” turning bread and wine into human flesh as the means of gaining spiritual and eternal life by physically eating, all of which is demonstrably foreign to Scripture. It is as invisible as the Roman papacy, and reformation, while incomplete, was necessary due to the incontrovertible deformation of the NT church.

Wrong conclusion based on superficial and fallacious reasoning. I did not say all their authority was due to just referring to Scripture texts, that it was based upon Scriptural substantiation.

The reason for their authority being such that what they wrote was received by the Church was because it of the established authority of Scripture which confirmed it, as per conformity in text and in power and in principle. Upon which the church began.

Nor does this even militate at all against adding to what was written, any more than prophets could not add more conflative and complementary revelation to what Moses provided.

From the beginning of written revelation — given under a man whose authority was unmistakably supernaturally manifested to be of God, and which consequently further affirmed the faith of Abraham and his God which Moses upheld — then Scripture became the transcendent standard for obedience and testing and establishing truth claims, as the assured Word of God, which again, is abundantly evidenced. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:20)

Wrong conclusion, as what was New was established upon the Old. “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) (Romans 1:1-2)

The Lord established His truth claims upon existing Scriptural substantiation, thus upon which the church began. Yet the Lord promised He had many more things to say unto them, (Jn. 16:12-15) of which Paul would be the main instrument for, relating to the theology of the gospel, and mystery of the kingdom of God, and the church and of predestination and the end times. (Lk. 8:10; Eph. 5; 5:25-32; Rv. 1:1ff) Which revelation had to be conflative with and complementary to the established revelation of Scripture, which itself promised this further revelation which depended upon the OT, and was explanatory of it. And like as past men and writings essentially became established as being of God, so would the new writings of the NT.

Rather, you have the cart before the horse, as the reason their was a church was because Scripture preceded it as the assured Word of God and supreme standard for testing and establishing truth claims.

In turn, the written form of NT revelation progressively became established and accepted as Scripture because of its foundational Scriptural substantiation, NOT because either the prior revelation or the newer was declared to be so by a infallible magisterium.

It is not circular, as the issue is basis for the establishment of writings of God among those whom they addressed, which was not by a “who” but by a what. That being Divine qualities and attestation, by which men of God were likewise established, though rejected by the magisterium.

And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” (1 Kings 17:24)

And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. (John 6:69)

These believed these person were of God due to Scriptural evidence, though John and the Lord Jesus and apostles were opposed by powers who were supposed to ratify it.

For writings to be established by infallible church decree, it must first be itself established as possessing assured infallibility by the prior established authority its message was based upon, that being infallible Scripture, which writings were not established by an assuredly infallible magisterium. Nor was the establishment of additional writings essentially due to that. Those who “ate” the word found them to be, as Jeremiah, the rejoicing of their hearts and alive and prophetically true, etc. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. (Psalms 19:7)

The authority and teachings of those who sat in the seat of Moses themselves themselves had to rest upon Scripture as supreme, thus the Lord reproved them by Scripture as being supreme, and Scriptural substantiated His claims, though they rejected Him.

By arguing writings must owe their establishment as being of God to the infallible church, then the circular argument is yours, for if Truth is established upon the premise of the authority of the church, then it means that the Truth that Rome is the One True Church® is due her infallibly saying she is. Whereby you have assurance. And indeed, as said, Rome has presumed to infallibly declare she is and will be perpetually infallible whenever she speaks in accordance with her infallibly defined (scope and subject-based) formula, which renders her declaration that she is infallible, to be infallible, as well as all else she accordingly declares.

That is absurd, for it remains that according to this logic, no one could have assurance of any Truth prior to the church, including that a prophet of God really was so, including John the Baptist, and that the Scriptures that the Lord invoked in substantiating His claims were Scripture, and consequently that the church was true!

That argument manifoldly fails, as it remains that your argument is not that the New Covenant provides a more sure basis for assurance, but that without a divinely established Magisterium then one cannot have assurance of Truth. And which to be consistent, logically does not simply apply to what Scripture means, but what is Scripture.

However, as said, since the church began with souls recognizing both men and writings of God as being so, and having assurance of Truth, all without a assuredly infallible magisterium, then it follows that a church which is based upon the premise that she, as being that supreme authority, is necessary to assuredly know what Scripture is and means, cannot be the One True Church® she declares she is.

Furthermore, it was not due to the Spirit being manifest in an extraordinary manner to particular individuals with specific revelations that the people themselves had the discernment to recognize this attestation as being of God, though that made it more apparent. Yet the people held John as a prophet even though he did no miracles, but it was the prior established revelation of the Scriptures that they judged this man in the desert and the itinerant Preacher by, while Gentiles recognized the apostles as being of God due to their Scriptural power and virtue, in conformity with the light God gave them, which in essence corresponds to Scripture and is judged by it.

Moreover, if you want to argue that assurance of Truth under the OT was due to certain individuals in whom the Spirit dwelt, then that still does not mean an assuredly infallible magisterium was necessary, as they were not. But it means Rome must have what they did.

We ourselves do not claim the same degree of attestation (or assured infallibility) for ourselves, but must rely upon manifestation of the Truth, which yet sees “the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen,” (Mk. 16:19) in accordance with the supreme standard for Truth, the Scriptures.

In contrast, it is Rome which requires the like degree of attestation as Moses and the prophets, and more, since the greater the claim, then the greater the corespondent attestation is warranted, and she claims to declare Truth by fiat, with her papal assured infallibility not even resting upon the premise that the supporting reasons being them are themselves infallible. But her doctrine is that whenever the office of the pope defines something on faith and moral for the whole church, then it will always be infallible.

Which goes beyond even that of the claims of any prophet or apostle, yet as said, she utterly fails of both the requirements and manner and degree of attestation by which the apostles continually validated and commenced themselves as being apostles.

May that yet be much more the reality among all who name the name of Christ and have His Spirit, including me.

This is excepted, as your first statement was that you find the teachings of the Catholic Church in complete agreement with the Scriptures, which is demonstrably untenable, nor is what it believes constituted by what it professes, but by what it effects and does, which overall remains fostering liberalism. But you may have your opinion, as long as it does not conflict with Rome's.

350 posted on 05/07/2014 6:20:27 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: motoman
I would differ. Protestant Christians are no more rebellious toward God than Catholics. Rebellion and defiance toward God is a willful act rooted in pride, hate, and willful ignorance. Shallow minded, hateful, and spiteful attacks on the Catholic faith while refusing to investigate the truth and facts of the Catholic teaching (e.g. Catechism of the Catholic Church) is a form of sinful rebellion.

But to relegate all who oppose Rome to being due to not investigate the truth and facts of the Catholic teaching, which goes beyond the CCC, which can change, and is not itself infallible, thus examining its foundational premises and claims is required.

And the more i have done that, then the more it drives me away as being in crtical contrast to the NT church, not that i think 'Protestantism" has arrived.

Nowhere in the Catechism is it stated that salvation is exclusive to card carrying Catholics.`

That is subject to varying interpretations as we have seen here.

351 posted on 05/07/2014 6:25:25 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: Elsie

NO, you didn’t show any such thing. Matthew was doing exactly as I said, distinguishing Simon(Peter), from Simon the Canaanite. It is the same as in Mt 4.

For another example of this look at Mark’s list of the twelve you find this....

Mark 3: 19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

Had Judas betrayed Jesus at this point? Of course not! The writer was distinguishing him from the other Judas, son of James.

If you compare Mt 10 and Mk 3 you will see that they are describing the very same event and Matthew, when listing Judas, also distinguishes Judas as the betrayer even though that had not happened at the time.

These were written AFTER THE FACT! Due to similar/same names in order to clarify, the writers added an identifier to some of the names.

That is all.

Hello! Every Scripture commentary and scholar teaches that Jesus gave the name Kephas/Petros to Simon. I am ignoring nothing and holding to the truth that has been known and accepted from the beginning.


352 posted on 05/07/2014 6:47:37 PM PDT by Jvette
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To: Elsie

Yes, Elsie, Simon was Simon bar(son) of Jonah and Jesus here uses his full, given, legal name. Kind of like a parent does when trying to impart to their child the seriousness of what the parent is telling the child.


353 posted on 05/07/2014 6:50:29 PM PDT by Jvette
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To: Jvette; Elsie

>> “Hello! Every Scripture commentary and scholar teaches that Jesus gave the name Kephas/Petros to Simon” <<

.
Yes he called him a throwing pebble!

We all know that.
.


354 posted on 05/07/2014 6:55:08 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: editor-surveyor

LOL,

Jesus gave him the name. NO, NO, No! Jesus didn’t give him the name. Well, Jesus may have given him the name but it doesn’t mean rock, it means pebble. Yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket!

More dodges around the truth than Carter has pills!

Good try.


355 posted on 05/07/2014 7:08:34 PM PDT by Jvette
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To: Alamo-Girl

Bless the Lord.


356 posted on 05/07/2014 7:18:32 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: motoman
In John 14:26, Jesus was speaking to his disciples, whom he sent into the world to preach the Gospel.

And He was ALSO speaking to ME; to do EXACTLY the same thing.

357 posted on 05/07/2014 7:20:26 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: BlueDragon
As with all the rest, to understand what the man is saying would take some time for those not well acquainted with the theology and apologetic concerning differing views-- which dan does cover quite thoroughly.

It does presuppose a comprehension of the context.

There is a reason replies can run so long, along with there having been statements made by a few various persons(?) offered refutation towards, all in the same reply.

And to deal with related points and provide context. But splitting up paragraphs can help.

358 posted on 05/07/2014 7:22:43 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: Petrosius
This just shows the need of a trustworthy teaching authority to avoid errors like the one you made.

At least I've never been called SATAN by Jesus directly.

And I have not been called out in front of folks for being CLEARLY in the wrong; either.


Galatians 2:11

359 posted on 05/07/2014 7:23:04 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Jvette
NO, you didn’t show any such thing.

True; I showed nothing.

The SCRIPTURES show it.

360 posted on 05/07/2014 7:24:36 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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