[daniel1212]

Christ gave the authority to St. Peter. How many times is Peter’s name in scripture? More than all the other apostles put together.

That is another example of the exaggeration Rome engages in as she preaches herself, and by your logic you have just negated the authority of Peter as supreme and crowned the apostle Paul as pope.

"Peter" is mentioned 162 times in all of the NT. and "Cephas" 6 times, for a total of 168, but which includes duplicate accounts.

Using just the synoptic gospel in which he is mentioned most (24), Matthew, and John thru Revelation the rest of the NT (105), then Peter and Cephas occurs 129 times total.

However, Paul is mentioned 163 as "Paul" and 26 times as "Saul" giving him a total of 189 times.

In addition he wrote 13 books of Scripture, nearly 50 percent of the New Testament, and mentions Peter after James in Gal. 2:9, and the latter gave the definitive final decree in Act 15, and Peter is not even heard of after Acts 12, nor in Paul's extensive list of acquaintances in Rm. 16, nor is submission to or prayers for Peter or mention of him as the supreme head in Rome ever seen in any of the church epistles.

While i am not arguing against holy Peter being the brethren-type leader of the apostles and initially of the church, and who served in a general pastoral role (the perpetuation of his office, and assuredly infallibility, and the demi-god aspect of the historical papacy of Rome are the real issues), yet in contrast to Rome thinking of men above that which is written, (cf. 1Cor. 4:6), and if one wanted to make a case for the primacy of Paul, consistent with Rome's logic, then,

Here are the 51 Biblical proofs of a Pauline papacy and Ephesian primacy, using popular Catholic reasoning:

 

1. Paul is the only apostle who is called God's chosen vessel who will bear His name before Jews and Gentiles (Acts 9:15).

2. Paul is the last apostle chosen by God, apart from the other twelve.

3. The resurrected Christ appears to Paul in a different way than He appeared to the other apostles (Acts 9:3-6).

4. Paul is the only apostle who publicly rebukes and corrects another apostle (Galatians 2:11).

5. Paul is the only apostle who refers to his authority over all the churches (1 Corinthians 4:17, 7:17, 2 Corinthians 11:28).

6. Paul is the only apostle to call himself "father" (1 Corinthians 4:15).

7. Paul is the steward of God's grace (Ephesians 3:2). This means that Paul is the overseer of salvation. Fellowship with Paul and his successors is necessary for salvation.

8. Paul is mentioned more in the New Testament than any other apostle.

9. The book of Acts, which mentions all of the apostles, discusses Paul more than any other apostle.

10. Paul was the first apostle to write a book of scripture.

11. Paul wrote more books of the New Testament than any other apostle.

12. Paul is the first apostle to be taken to Heaven to receive a revelation (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

13. Paul is the only apostle Satan was concerned about enough to give him a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7).

14. Paul seems to have suffered for Christ more than any other apostle (2 Corinthians 11:21-33).

15. Paul seems to have received more opposition from false teachers than any other apostle did, since he was the Pope (Romans 3:8, 2 Corinthians 10:10, Galatians 1:7, 6:17, Philippians 1:17).

16. Paul seems to have traveled further and more often than any other apostle, as we see in Acts and his epistles, which is what we might expect a Pope to do.

17. Only Paul's teachings were so advanced, so deep, that another apostle acknowledged that some of his teachings were hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16). Peter's understanding of doctrine doesn't seem to be as advanced as Pope Paul's. Paul has the primacy of doctrinal knowledge.

18. Paul was the first apostle whose writings were recognized as scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16).

19. Paul singles himself out as the standard of orthodoxy (1 Corinthians 14:37-38).

20. Only Paul refers to himself having a rod, a symbol of authority (1 Corinthians 4:21).

21. Paul initiates the council of Acts 15 by starting the debate with the false teachers (Acts 15:2) and delivering a report to the other church leaders (Acts 15:4).

22. Peter's comments in Acts 15:7-11 are accepted only because Pope Paul goes on to confirm them (Acts 15:12).

23. When the Corinthians were dividing over which apostle to associate themselves with, Paul's name was the first one mentioned (1 Corinthians 1:12).

24. Paul was the only apostle with the authority to deliver people over to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:5).

25. Paul had the best training and education of all the apostles (Philippians 3:4-6).

26. Paul is the only apostle to call the gospel "my gospel" (Romans 2:16).

27. Paul writes more about the identity of the church than any other apostle does (1 Corinthians 12, Colossians 1, Ephesians 4-5), which we might expect a Pope to do. Paul is the standard of orthodoxy and the Vicar of Christ on earth, so he has the primary responsibility for defining what the church is and who belongs to it.

28. Paul writes more about church government than any other apostle does, such as in his pastoral epistles.

29. Paul discusses church unity more than any other apostle does (1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4), suggesting that he was the one responsible for maintaining church unity because of his papal authority.

30. Paul writes more about the gospel than any other apostle does (Romans, Galatians). As the leader of Christianity, Paul was most responsible for explaining the gospel and other Christian doctrine.

31. After Jesus, Paul speaks more about the kingdom of God than anybody else does (Acts 14:22, 19:8, 1 Corinthians 4:20, Galatians 5:21, 2 Thessalonians 1:5). After leaving earth, Jesus passed on the responsibility of teaching about the kingdom of God to Paul, the king of the church on earth.

32. Paul speaks of revealing mysteries more than any other apostle does (Romans 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:51, Ephesians 5:32, 6:19, 2 Thessalonians 2:7), since he was the chief teacher of the church.

33. Paul was the only apostle other people tried to impersonate (2 Thessalonians 2:2), since he had more authority than anybody else.

34. Paul's clothing works miracles (Acts 19:11-12).

35. Paul is delivered from death more than any other apostle (Acts 14:19, 28:3-6, 2 Corinthians 11:23).

36. The Jewish exorcists in Acts 19:13 associate themselves with Paul rather than with any other apostle.

37. The demons in Acts 19:15 recognize Paul's primacy.

38. The Jews in Acts 21:28 recognize Paul's primacy, saying that he's the man they hold most responsible for teaching Christianity everywhere.

39. Paul had authority over the finances of the church (Acts 24:26, 2 Corinthians 9:5, Philippians 4:15-18).

40. Paul acts as the chief shepherd of the church, taking responsibility for each individual (2 Corinthians 11:29). For example, Paul was Peter's shepherd (Galatians 2:11).

41. Paul interprets prophecy (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).

42. Only Paul is referred to as being set apart for his ministry from his mother's womb (Galatians 1:15).

43. Jesus Christ is revealed in Paul (Galatians 1:16), meaning that Paul and his successors are the infallible standard of Christian orthodoxy.

44. Paul is the only apostle who works by himself, only later coordinating his efforts with the other apostles (Galatians 1:16-18).

45. Only Paul is referred to as bearing the brandmarks of Christ (Galatians 6:17).

46. Every Christian was interested in Paul and what was happening in his life, looking to him as their example and their encouragement (Philippians 1:12-14).

47. Christians served Paul (Philippians 2:30).

48. Paul worked more than the other apostles (1 Corinthians 15:10), since he had more responsibilities as Pope.

49. Paul was to be delivered from every evil deed (2 Timothy 4:18), meaning that he was infallible.

50. Only Paul is referred to as passing his papal authority on to [Ephesian] successors who would also have authority over the church of God (Acts 20:28).

51. Among the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2-3, the church of Ephesus is mentioned first, since the bishops of Ephesus have primacy as the successors of Paul. The church in Ephesus "cannot endure evil men" (Revelation 2:2), meaning that the bishop of Ephesus is infallible when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals. The Ephesian church puts false teachers to the test (Revelation 2:2) by exercising its papal authority. The bishop of Ephesus has the responsibility of evaluating all teachers and declaring which are orthodox and which are not. None of the other churches in Revelation 2-3 are described as having this authority.

Posted by Jason Engwer at 8:43 PM

From 51 Biblical Proofs Of A Pauline Papacy And Ephesian Primacy

[SeaHawkFan]

That is an impressive argument.

[CynicalBear]

Well isn’t that interesting. Thanks for posting that daniel1212.

[Alamo-Girl]

Fascinating! Thank you so very much for sharing that, dear daniel1212!

[Bellflower]

Paul decried the idea of being held supreme over the Church. He also decried the idea of anyone else being followed and thought of as a supreme leader of the Church. This whole topic is perfectly clearly written about in 1 Corinthians. There were disputes among believers because they were separating themselves off as followers of certain men in the Church. Namely mentioned were Paul himself, Cephas or Peter, and also Apollos.

Paul told the believers that there was no other foundation laid, but Christ. This was in answer to the fact that people were putting emphasis on particular men, instead of putting their whole faith and attention on Christ. This was causing division in the Church. Paul said that he, Apollos and Cephas were mere ministers, which in the Greek means servants of Christ.

Paul emphasized that each believer was complete in Christ, therefore not needing to elevate any other person between themselves and God. Everyone is the temple of the living God. Everyone owns all things. All have access to unspeakable knowledge given by The Holy Spirit. All have the mind of Christ. All are Saints. The whole idea of anyone being lifted up as some lift up Peter and the Popes was obviously anathema to Paul. No man should glory in any person, but only in God was his ardent message.

Everyone, open up the Bible and read the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians. This topic is spelled out here. No man should be lifted up and gloried in. Anyone who has an honest heart and cares about the truth cannot read these chapters and come away thinking that anyone should be lifted up and glorified other than God. God is there for each one of us, Himself, through Jesus Christ our LORD. Therefore, we should not divide off under particular human leaders.

____________________________________________

1Cr 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

____________________________________________

1Cr 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

3:23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ [is] God's.

[wesagain]

Great stuff (daniel11212) - you saved me a lot of time refuting some of the Peter stuff, thanks

Just an aside to some who have given too much reverence to "Saint" Peter. I believe the veneration of Peter is misguided. As the "Rock" his seminole declaration of Jesus; "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," was the point of eternal salvation and the "foundation stone" was this declaration, not the elevation of Peter over any other saint.

The whole thing gets off on the wrong foot without this understanding, and therein a diminuation of the reality of Grace and the expanse of anti-semitism evidenced from the beginning of the Catholic church. JMHO

[wmfights]

(the perpetuation of his office, and assuredly infallibility, and the demi-god aspect of the historical papacy of Rome are the real issues),...

The evolution of the centralized hierarchy with all power focused through it has led to most of the heresies we see in Christianity today. The worship of Mary, the control of God's grace through men, the belief you can take the good works of one person and impute then to another, the belief that individuals must work their way to salvation are just some of these heresies. Really what we are seeing is the self perpetuation of an institution.

The Biblical model of governance was always a decentralized, congregational approach. The Jerusalem Council is a perfect example of this. In this case the ultimate decision was arrived at by the members of the church, not one autocrat.

[ravenwolf]

What did Jesus say about it? how many times does Jesus mention Paul.

Who besides Paul himself refer to him being an apostle.

This is not about the Gospel but only about authority and notoriety.

There is no real proof that any one was to be a pope, Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you.

It is what we do with the Gospel of Jesus in our every day lives that we need to think about.

Any one can put scripture together that they choose and come up with what ever they want but it does not make it a fact.

History is full of things that may or may not be true depending on whos eyes it is seen through or how much was added to it for notoriety.

Billy Bonny for instance is now known as a desperado and leader of an outlaw gang and had killed twenty one men, but the facts show that he may have killed four men in the Lincoln county war which he had nothing to do with starting.

I realize this may be a poor example but Peter or Paul nor the Church is not where are salvation is, but only the Gospel of Jesus.

[roamer_1]

Here are the 51 Biblical proofs of a Pauline papacy and Ephesian primacy, using popular Catholic reasoning:

HA! Great post!