“The Church preceded the Bible. Jesus refers to His Church in the gospels —the church which the gates of hell would not prevail against.”
Not so much. When Paul reasoned with and converted some of the Thessalonians he used “the Scriptures” which, at least, would been the Hebrew Scriptures.
So it would be more correct to say the church preceded the Bible as we have it today.
——So it would be more correct to say the church preceded the Bible as we have it today.——
That’s correct.
But, since some NT books were as yet unwritten, How could Luther’s doctrine have been begun by Jesus in His earthly ministry? The doctrine would have had to have been qualified in some way, such as, “pending the final writing and canonization of Scripture.” But written and canonized by Who, or What, earthly Divine Authority?
The solution can be found simply by studying the early Church and Scripture, simply considered as a historical document. The early Church taught authoritatively by letter AND by word of mouth, as St. Paul writes.
A “pillar and foundation of truth,” the Church which Christ founded,existed from the Crucifixion. The early Christians had a reliable Authority to guide them from the very beginning. This Authority also wrote, preserved, and canonized Scripture.
Finally, to return to the topic of the thread, consider that Christ is Truth Itself, so it is impossible for His Church to teach error. Christ Himself founded His Church. One Church. A visible Church (”take it to THE church”).