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Course 11 · Lesson 4.4

Protestant principles of authority: Scripture, confessions and the priesthood of believers

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 11 outline

Module 1: What the Church Is

  1. Biblical images of the church: body, people, temple and bride
  2. One, holy, catholic and apostolic: the four marks
  3. The mission of the church
  4. The visible and invisible church in Augustine, the Reformers and the East

Module 2: Ministry and Apostolic Succession

  1. Ministry in the New Testament: apostles, elders, overseers and deacons
  2. The bishop in the early church: Clement, Ignatius and Irenaeus
  3. Apostolic succession: three meanings (a line of bishops, the teaching, the mission)
  4. Ordination in the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions

Module 3: Scripture, Tradition and Church Authority

  1. Scripture and tradition in the early church
  2. The Catholic account: Scripture, tradition and the magisterium
  3. The Orthodox account: the living tradition of the church
  4. The Reformation and the question of sola scriptura

Module 4: Three Systems of Authority

  1. The bishop of Rome in early history
  2. Papal primacy and infallibility in Catholic teaching
  3. Orthodox conciliarity and the role of the patriarchs
  4. Protestant principles of authority: Scripture, confessions and the priesthood of believers
  5. The strongest objections each tradition raises against the others

Module 5: Sacramental Theology

  1. Mystery and sacrament: the words and their history
  2. Augustine and the definition of a sacrament
  3. How many sacraments? Seven, two, or none
  4. Validity, efficacy and the role of faith

Module 6: Baptism and the Eucharist

  1. Baptism in Scripture and the early church
  2. Infant baptism and believers baptism
  3. The Eucharist in the early church
  4. Real presence: transubstantiation, the Orthodox mystery, Lutheran, Reformed and memorial views

Module 7: Reconciliation and Liturgical Worship

  1. The forgiveness of sins in Scripture
  2. Confession and penance in the history of the church
  3. Confession across the traditions: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed practice
  4. Liturgy, word and table, and the church year
  5. Worship without a fixed liturgy and its principles

Module 8: Schism and Christian Unity

  1. Early schisms: the Donatists and the churches after Chalcedon
  2. East and West: the long division and the events of 1054
  3. The Reformation divisions
  4. Ecumenism and the prospects for unity

All courses

Program / Course 11: Church, Sacraments, and Authority / Lesson 4.4

What you will learn

  • Describe the three principles of Protestant authority: the supremacy of Scripture, the standing of confessions, and the priesthood of all believers.
  • Distinguish episcopal, presbyterian and congregational forms of church government.
  • Explain how Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Baptist traditions differ in practice.
  • State the main Catholic and Orthodox objections and the Protestant replies.

The big idea

Protestant churches differ widely, but most share three principles of authority. Scripture is the supreme norm. Confessions and creeds are secondary standards that summarize and guard its teaching. Every believer has direct access to God through Christ, which is called the priesthood of all believers. These principles are carried out through different forms of church government: bishops in some churches, councils of elders in others, and independent congregations in others. Critics say that the result lacks unity. Defenders say that unity of faith is deeper than uniformity of structure.

Key terms

Confession
A formal statement of belief adopted by a church, such as the Augsburg Confession or the Westminster Confession.
Priesthood of all believers
The teaching that all baptized Christians have access to God through Christ, without a priestly go-between, and share in the work of the church.
Polity
The form of church government.
Episcopal polity
Government by bishops, found in Anglican, Methodist and some Lutheran churches.
Presbyterian polity
Government by elders (presbyters) in local sessions and wider councils, found in Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Congregational polity
Government by the local congregation, found in Baptist, Congregational and many independent churches.
Book of Concord
The 1580 collection of Lutheran confessions.

Background

The Reformers of the sixteenth century rejected the claim that final authority lies in the pope and the church’s teaching office. They did not reject all authority. Luther held that the church needs the preaching of the Word, ministers who are called, and creeds that confess the faith. Calvin built a church order of pastors, teachers, elders and deacons. Cranmer and his successors in England kept bishops and the liturgy but placed them under Scripture and the crown.

Protestantism grew into many families: Lutheran, Reformed and Presbyterian, Anglican and Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and many others. They hold common principles but apply them differently. A fair description must say Protestants in the plural, and must avoid treating any one church as typical.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Scripture as supreme norm

The first principle was studied in the previous module. For Protestants the Bible is the inspired word of God and the final standard for doctrine and life. Churches differ on how they understand inspiration and interpretation. Some hold that Scripture is inerrant in all it teaches. Others use different language, such as infallible in what it teaches about salvation. Both groups appeal to the same principle of supremacy.

Scripture is meant to be read by all. The Reformers translated it into the languages of the people, and Luther’s German Bible and the English Bible of William Tyndale are famous examples. The teaching that the main message is clear (perspicuity) goes with the idea that ordinary believers can read it with profit. Protestants also hold that the Spirit enlightens the reader, and that interpretation should be tested in the church.

Step 2: Confessions and creeds

Confessions serve as subordinate standards. Lutherans subscribe to the Book of Concord, including the Augsburg Confession and Luther’s catechisms. Reformed and Presbyterian churches use the Heidelberg Catechism, the Westminster Confession and others. Anglicans hold the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer. Many Baptists have historic confessions, such as the London Confession of 1689, though some churches decline to adopt any confession and say they have no creed but the Bible.

A common Protestant idea is that confessions are normed by Scripture, and that they guide teaching and discipline in the church. A minister in many churches promises to teach in agreement with the confession. The difference from Catholic and Orthodox authority is that the confessions can in principle be revised if found contrary to Scripture. Some churches have revised or added to them.

Step 3: The priesthood of all believers

The phrase draws on 1 Peter 2:5 and 2:9 and on Revelation 1:6. Luther used it against the idea that clergy are a higher class of Christians. He taught that every Christian can approach God, pray for others, and share the gospel, and that ordinary work can be a calling from God. Calvin and the Reformed tradition held the same.

The principle is sometimes misunderstood as meaning that no ministers are needed. The Reformers kept a distinct ministry of Word and sacrament. Luther wrote that all are priests, but not all can publicly preach, and the Augsburg Confession (Article 14) forbids anyone from teaching publicly or administering the sacraments without a regular call. The priesthood of all believers describes access to God and shared service, while the ordained ministry has a particular task in the church.

Step 4: Three forms of government

Episcopal churches such as the Anglican, Methodist and some Lutheran churches have bishops who oversee regions, with synods or conferences that include clergy and laity. Presbyterian churches are governed by elders: a session in each congregation, a presbytery over a region and a general assembly nationally. Congregational churches hold that each local congregation is self-governing under Christ, with its own pastors and deacons, and cooperate with other churches by association.

Each form appeals to Scripture. Episcopalians cite the early church and the role of Timothy and Titus. Presbyterians cite the elders in Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5. Congregationalists cite Matthew 18:15-20, where the local assembly decides, and Paul’s letters addressed to whole churches. Many Protestants say that no one form is commanded and that the church may be ordered in different ways, as long as Scripture is honored.

Step 5: Objections and replies

Catholic objection: Protestants lack a final interpreter and have divided into thousands of groups. Protestant reply: The central creeds are shared, and visible disunity does not erase unity in Christ. Catholics and Orthodox also have disputes and divisions. The Reformers argued that unity in the truth is more important than unity in structure.

Orthodox objection: Protestant churches broke the continuity of the church and discard the Tradition that interprets Scripture. Protestant reply: The Reformers claimed continuity with the early church and with the apostles’ teaching, and kept the ecumenical creeds. Many Protestants today study the fathers and the liturgy with respect.

Internal Protestant difficulty: some Protestants themselves worry that individualism, consumer choice and weak church discipline have grown strong. Historians note that these are not simple results of the Reformation principles, and that Protestant churches have also produced strong confessional and communal traditions.

  1. What does this church use as its confession, and what is its status?
  2. How are ministers called, tested and held accountable?
  3. Who decides in a local dispute, and who in a wider one?
  4. How does this church understand the priesthood of all believers in practice?
  5. How does the church respond if a confession seems to conflict with Scripture?
  6. What would a Catholic or an Orthodox visitor notice about its authority?

Examples

A Presbyterian session

In a Presbyterian church, elders elected by the congregation meet with the pastor to decide matters of discipline and worship. A dispute can be taken up to the presbytery, which is made up of ministers and elders from nearby churches. The example illustrates a form of shared governance without bishops. (A constructed example.)

A Baptist association

A Baptist church calls its own pastor by congregational vote and owns its own property. It joins an association with other churches for missions and fellowship. The association advises and cooperates but does not command. The example shows a congregational polity. (A constructed example.)

Luther’s calling of ordinary work

Luther argued that a farmer, a mother or a magistrate serves God in ordinary work, and that these callings are not lower than the monastic life. This teaching, associated with the priesthood of all believers, shaped Protestant views of work and daily life.

Different perspectives

Protestant

Authority belongs to Christ speaking in Scripture. The church submits to him and orders its life under his Word. Creeds and confessions guide it, and ministers are called to teach. Protestants disagree among themselves on polity, sacraments and some doctrines, but hold the principles together.

Catholic

Catholics respect the Protestant love of Scripture and agree with the early creeds. They hold that the lack of a common teaching authority leads to division, and that the Reformers set aside a ministry that Christ established. They recognize baptized Protestants as brothers and sisters in Christ, in imperfect communion with the Catholic Church.

Orthodox

Orthodox Christians see in Protestantism a break from the Tradition in which Scripture was written and read. They respect Protestants’ devotion to the Bible and sometimes find common ground in the stress on preaching and on the priesthood of the baptized. They hold that the church’s life, not a book alone, is the framework of understanding.

Scholarly view

Historians stress that the magisterial Reformers wanted to reform the church from within and kept strong views of ministry and sacraments. The later fragmentation of Protestantism, and its growth in the Global South, make general statements hazardous. Sociologists note that Protestant churches vary widely in how much authority they give to clergy and to confessions.

Why it matters

More than half a billion Christians belong to Protestant churches, and they hold a wide variety of views on authority. A student who treats Protestants as a single group will misread them. Knowing the shared principles, and the main ways they are applied, makes it possible to describe any particular Protestant church accurately.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Protestants have no authority except what each person thinks.

Correction: Protestant churches have confessions, ministers, discipline and councils. Some stress individual conscience more than others, but the Reformation principle is the authority of Scripture, not of each person’s opinion.

Misunderstanding: The priesthood of all believers means there are no clergy.

Correction: The Reformers kept a distinct ministry of Word and sacrament. The doctrine says all believers have access to God and share in the church’s work.

Misunderstanding: All Protestants reject bishops.

Correction: Anglicans, Methodists and some Lutherans have bishops. Presbyterians and congregationalists do not. Polity varies.

Misunderstanding: Protestant confessions are treated as equal to Scripture.

Correction: In Protestant teaching, confessions are subordinate standards that can be corrected by Scripture. Some churches hold to them more strictly than others.

Knowledge check

What are the three principles of authority described in this lesson?

The supremacy of Scripture as the final norm, the role of confessions and creeds as subordinate standards that summarize and guard the teaching of Scripture, and the priesthood of all believers, which teaches that every Christian has direct access to God and shares in the church’s service.

Distinguish episcopal, presbyterian and congregational government.

Episcopal churches are governed by bishops. Presbyterian churches are governed by elders in a series of councils. Congregational churches are governed by each local congregation, which cooperates with others by association. Each claims scriptural support.

What does the priesthood of all believers not mean?

It does not mean that churches have no ministers. Luther and Calvin kept a regular, called ministry of Word and sacrament. The teaching affirms that all believers have access to God, and that ordinary work and service are callings from God.

State one Catholic objection and the Protestant reply.

Catholics object that without a final interpreter Protestants divide. Protestants reply that they share the central creeds, that unity in Christ exceeds uniformity of structure, and that other churches also have disputes. Each side believes its own account is faithful to Scripture.

Think it through

  1. What is gained and lost when a church has only a local form of authority?
  2. Can a confession be strong enough to guide but not so strong that it replaces Scripture?
  3. How does the idea of ordinary work as a calling affect how a person sees daily life?
  4. Which form of church government seems closest to the New Testament, and what is the evidence?

Independent assignment

One Protestant church described fairly

In your notebook, choose one Protestant tradition (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist or another). Using its own confession or constitution if you can find it, write 350 to 450 words describing how it understands Scripture, its confessions, its ministers and its government. Then write a paragraph saying how a member of that church would respond to the Catholic and Orthodox objections in this lesson. Keep the work in your notebook.

Further study