Church Before Scripture

Catholics teach the church came before the scriptures, that it gave the scriptures, therefore the church has authority over the content. They miss the real issue.

All scripture is inspired of God, and God came before the church. Thus, God controlled the content.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Scripture did not come by the inspiration of the church, but by God's inspiration working in the church. Holy men spoke as moved by God, not as they themselves chose.

Also scripture furnishes the man of God for every Good work. The Church was not and  is not sufficient on its own without scripture. The church is incomplete without scripture. How could an incomplete church give something that made it complete. It did not have the capacity within itself.

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Catholic body did not have the capacity to translate oral tradition into scripture on its own, without God's intervention.

Consider how the apostles quoted scripture from the Old Testament in its first work in Acts 2. The church was not born when those scriptures were written. All three necessary entities were present in Acts 2 and the Church did not preceed the scriptures used. The scriptures gave them the ability to be the best witnesses possible, perfecting their work for that time. The New Testament scriptures were not necessary for that work so they were not given yet. Three entities were present,

• • Church

  • Holy Spirit

  • The necessary Scripture for that work.

The church did not give that particular group of scriptures, the church explained them with the Holy Spirit's guidance. Thus, history or tradition was formulated by the scriptures and not the scriptures by tradition. The scriptures used were given hundreds of years earlier.

The Father brought all together in unison. All were present in Acts 2. The Church did not function before scripture. Nor did tradition guide the churches understanding, it was guided by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, not through a college of local Bishops, they did not exist yet..

Therefore the church does not control the content of scripture.

Catholics have changed the Bible in multiple ways over the centuries, claiming to have the authority. They are simply lying to themselves and others.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The Catholics can argue the New Testament scriptures were given by the church, but they too are inspired of God. In Acts 2 the Old Testament scriptures were sufficient to bring faith in the hearers. Miracles alone did not confirm the word, but the Old Testament confirmed the word of the New. It worked together.

The New Testament was written to confirm the faith for later generations.

Timothy was instructed out of New Testament documents. From a child he had known the scriptures. This was not just Old Testament but New Testament documents as he grew older.

Paul delivered the Jerusalem letters around AD 48,, James was written near AD 50, therefore Timothy had access to James and all the Pauline letters for some 15 years prior to the writing of II Timothy. Thus Paul's statement that scripture could make him wise unto salvation included the New Testament documents then in hand.