Can You Pray For Me?

Often I get flack for praying to Mary by protestants who falsely understand how intercessory prayers work or understand what prayer is.  The verse that gets quoted to a lot in a rebuttal against my Marian devotion and countless other people’s”

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,”

– 1 Timothy 2:5

Protestant, prepare to be surprised.  Are you holding on to your seat, good you’ll need to!! Contrary to popular belief this is exactly what the Catholic faith teaches that there is only one mediator between God and man.

Earlier in the chapter St. Paul demands that supplications, prayers and intercessions are to be made for all men.”  A synonym for intercession is mediation. Hebrews 7:24-25 states this to further proof my point:

“but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

This verse refers us back to Jesus being our one mediator ad the right hand of the father but it lists him as an intercessor.  Christ has his high priesthood forever because he is eternal.

Christ is only one mediator but St. Paul demands that all Christians to be mediators or intercessors for one another, alive on earth or in heaven.   Let us examine carefully the first word in verse five when it stats “For there is only one God and mediator.  This word for is being used again in the seventh verse, he states “For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle.” According to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, is “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.” An essential part of that is being a mediator. St. Paul says we are all called to be mediators because Christ is the one mediator and for this reason he was called to be a mediator of God’s love and grace to the world! What is an apostle if not a mediator? Doesn’t the word state we are all apostles?

This is not a contradiction! Let us look at another example, the Bible says  “But you are not to be called Rabbi, for you have one teacher, (Gr. – didaskolos) and you are all brethren.”  On the contrary we can look at two verses

1.  James 3:1

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

2. Ephesians 4:11

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,”

These two verses tell us that we have many teachers.  The green noun for this is didaskoloi. These many teachers do not take away from Christ as one teacher and mediator, they are Christ on this earth and they are teachers and mediators in him.  It is as if we are mediators of salvation sometimes too when we witness and bring someone to faith, it isn’t us but its him who works through us.    As members of the body of Christ graced with a specific task by Christ they can say with St. Paul in Galatians 2:20, “It is not I, but Christ who [teaches] in me…”

The church is one united body as we profess in the creeds.  There is no one dead who is in Christ Jesus.  If you are a believer you have eternal life.

Romans 8:35-38 tells us, among other things, “neither death nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ.” Thus, those alive on earth can still benefit from—they are still connected to—the other members of the Body of Christ in heaven.

Is Christ our one, true mediator? Absolutely! And it is this same Christ who has chosen to use his Body to mediate God’s grace to the world in and through him.

In conclusion, we are commanded to pray for one another. Praying for someone is showing that you love them.  Praying to a saint especially Mary is biblical as well because we are all alive in Christ and there for we can ask a saint to pray for us and then the saint prays to God and the prayers of a just man are heard.

The title of mediatrix in terms of Mary however arises from her yes in the incarnation and the redemption of man (Luke 1:38). Wills are not raped, people are not forced, we are not coaxed.  God is not a violator of man or wills.  Mary was so so intimate with God in such a special way.  She became the Theotokos or God barer and the new Eve.  The mother of all living.  We can see this more concretely when Jesus said “Behold your mother” and gave everything he had yes including his life and his mother to us and adopting us as part of his entire family as God as our father, Mary our mother, and Jesus our elder brother who is the first born of all creation.

“Therefore, he calls her Eden or virgin earth, because this virgin (the earthly paradise) is a type for another Virgin. Just as the original earth produced paradise’s garden for us without any seed, the Virgin gave birth to light which is Christ, for us and without any seed from man”  

“A virgin expelled us from paradise, and through another Virgin we arrive at eternal life.”

“As by a virgin the human race had been bound to death, by a virgin it is saved, the balance being preserved, a virgin’s disobedience by a virgin’s obedience”

-Irenaeus (A.D. 120–200) wrote, (Against Heresies, 3, 22, 19).

Eve gave way to the fall and Adam caused the fall in the same way Mary made it possible that we may be redeemed and Jesus caused our redemption.

With out Mary there would have been no mediator.  Mary is a conduit of graces in a special way because she bore the savior and was given the ultimate graces to say yes.  The church always taught that only Christ saves.

As I previously mentioned we are mediators in a sense.  The definition of mediator is someone who goes between.  In 1 Timothy 2:5 it refers to Jesus as the “ONE mediator.”  The greek for one is heis, the significance of that in English is first or even primary.  This does not denote anything.

A common fear or over reaction is that us mediating diminishes the role of Christ as the supreme mediator.  It actually glorifies the the entire trinity.  Not only does us being mediators and the saints mediating glorify the entire trinity but it pleases them because it shows love and Christ is love and he shows love through praying for us as he did in the garden and he teaches us to love and furthermore it fulfills Christ.   Not only is the earlier glorifying or pleasing or what have you, but the scriptures also say that he who loves intensely covers a multitude of his sins so it is also good for us. Another reason why this glorifies Christ is because he gave us his mother in the end as our own mother showing his ultimate selflessness mercy.

For further resources on Mary please look at

1. Catholicism Delivers the Truth on Your Mom
2. The Assumption of Mary
3. Mary’s perpetual virginity

What The Purgatory is This About?

You guessed it folks, this post is all about the doctrine of purgatory.  Recently I had posted up a story on Instagram and my Facebook messenger app and snapchat asking others to ask questions about the true faith Catholicism.  One person reached out to me and asked me what is the proof of purgatory.

We must first define what is purgatory before ever defending it to set a premise.  We must set the premise, most often Catholic doctrine and things of Catholicism are so badly misrepresented that often the wrong definition is given, this is a sad thing.  In order to defend something right we must rightly define that thing in which we are defending.

The following is from the Baltimore Catechism which is organized as a series of questions followed by answers.

Q. 1381. What is Purgatory?

A. Purgatory is the state in which those suffer for a time who die guilty of venial sins, or without having satisfied for the punishment due to their sins.

Q. 1382. Why is this state called Purgatory?

A. This state is called Purgatory because in it the souls are purged or purified from all their stains; and it is not, therefore, a permanent or lasting state for the soul.

Q. 1383. Are the souls in Purgatory sure of their salvation?

A. The souls in Purgatory are sure of their salvation, and they will enter heaven as soon as they are completely purified and made worthy to enjoy that presence of God which is called the Beatific Vision.

Q. 1384. Do we know what souls are in Purgatory, and how long they have to remain there?

A. We do not know what souls are in Purgatory nor how long they have to remain there; hence we continue to pray for all persons who have died apparently in the true faith and free from mortal sin. They are called the faithful departed.

Q. 1385. Can the faithful on earth help the souls in Purgatory?

A. The faithful on earth can help the souls in Purgatory by their prayers, fasts, alms, deeds; by indulgences, and by having Masses said for them.

Q. 1386. Since God loves the souls in Purgatory, why does He punish them?

A. Though God loves the souls in Purgatory, He punishes them because His holiness requires that nothing defiled may enter heaven and His justice requires that everyone be punished or rewarded according to what he deserves.

The following is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church compiled under St. Pope John Paul II.

Purgatory Is Necessary Purification

Before we enter into full communion with God, every trace of sin within us must be eliminated and every imperfection in our soul must be corrected

At the General Audience of Wednesday, 4 August 1999, following his catecheses on heaven and hell, the Holy Father reflected on Purgatory. He explained that physical integrity is necessary to enter into perfect communion with God therefore “the term purgatory does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence”, where Christ “removes … the remnants of imperfection”.

1. As we have seen in the previous two catecheses, on the basis of the definitive option for or against God, the human being finds he faces one of these alternatives:  either to live with the Lord in eternal beatitude, or to remain far from his presence.

For those who find themselves in a condition of being open to God, but still imperfectly, the journey towards full beatitude requires a purification, which the faith of the Church illustrates in the doctrine of “Purgatory” (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030-1032).

To share in divine life we must be totally purified

2. In Sacred Scripture, we can grasp certain elements that help us to understand the meaning of this doctrine, even if it is not formally described. They express the belief that we cannot approach God without undergoing some kind of purification.

According to Old Testament religious law, what is destined for God must be perfect. As a result, physical integrity is also specifically required for the realities which come into contact with God at the sacrificial level such as, for example, sacrificial animals (cf. Lv 22: 22) or at the institutional level, as in the case of priests or ministers of worship (cf. Lv 21: 17-23). Total dedication to the God of the Covenant, along the lines of the great teachings found in Deuteronomy (cf. 6: 5), and which must correspond to this physical integrity, is required of individuals and society as a whole (cf. 1 Kgs 8: 61). It is a matter of loving God with all one’s being, with purity of heart and the witness of deeds (cf. ibid., 10: 12f.)

The need for integrity obviously becomes necessary after death, for entering into perfect and complete communion with God. Those who do not possess this integrity must undergo purification. This is suggested by a text of St Paul. The Apostle speaks of the value of each person’s work which will be revealed on the day of judgement and says:  “If the work which any man has built on the foundation [which is Christ] survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3: 14-15).

3. At times, to reach a state of perfect integrity a person’s intercession or mediation is needed. For example, Moses obtains pardon for the people with a prayer in which he recalls the saving work done by God in the past, and prays for God’s fidelity to the oath made to his ancestors (cf. Ex 32: 30, 11-13). The figure of the Servant of the Lord, outlined in the Book of Isaiah, is also portrayed by his role of intercession and expiation for many; at the end of his suffering he “will see the light” and “will justify many”, bearing their iniquities (cf. Is 52: 13-53, 12, especially vv. 53: 11).

Psalm 51 can be considered, according to the perspective of the Old Testament, as a synthesis of the process of reintegration:  the sinner confesses and recognizes his guilt (v. 3), asking insistently to be purified or “cleansed” (vv. 2, 9, 10, 17) so as to proclaim the divine praise (v. 15).

Purgatory is not a place but a condition of existence

4. In the New Testament Christ is presented as the intercessor who assumes the functions of high priest on the day of expiation (cf. Heb 5: 7; 7: 25). But in him the priesthood is presented in a new and definitive form. He enters the heavenly shrine once and for all, to intercede with God on our behalf (cf. Heb 9: 23-26, especially, v. 24). He is both priest and “victim of expiation” for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 Jn 2: 2).

Jesus, as the great intercessor who atones for us, will fully reveal himself at the end of our life when he will express himself with the offer of mercy, but also with the inevitable judgement for those who refuse the Father’s love and forgiveness.

This offer of mercy does not exclude the duty to present ourselves to God, pure and whole, rich in that love which Paul calls a “[bond] of perfect harmony” (Col 3: 14).

5. In following the Gospel exhortation to be perfect like the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5: 48) during our earthly life, we are called to grow in love, to be sound and flawless before God the Father “at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1 Thes 3: 12f.). Moreover, we are invited to “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit” (2 Cor 7: 1; cf. 1 Jn 3: 3), because the encounter with God requires absolute purity.

Every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and indeed this is precisely what is meant by the Church’s teaching on purgatory. The term does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence. Those who, after death, exist in a state of purification, are already in the love of Christ who removes from them the remnants of imperfection (cf. Ecumenical Council of Florence, Decretum pro Graecis:  DS 1304; Ecumenical Council of Trent, Decretum de iustificatione:  DS 1580; Decretum de purgatorio:  DS 1820).

It is necessary to explain that the state of purification is not a prolungation of the earthly condition, almost as if after death one were given another possibility to change one’s destiny. The Church’s teaching in this regard is unequivocal and was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council which teaches:  “Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed (cf. Heb 9: 27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where “men will weep and gnash their teeth’ (Mt 22: 13 and 25: 30)” (Lumen gentium, n. 48).

6. One last important aspect which the Church’s tradition has always pointed out should be reproposed today:  the dimension of “communio”. Those, in fact, who find themselves in the state of purification are united both with the blessed who already enjoy the fullness of eternal life, and with us on this earth on our way towards the Father’s house (cf. CCC, n. 1032).

Just as in their earthly life believers are united in the one Mystical Body, so after death those who live in a state of purification experience the same ecclesial solidarity which works through prayer, prayers for suffrage and love for their other brothers and sisters in the faith. Purification is lived in the essential bond created between those who live in this world and those who enjoy eternal beatitude.

To the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors the Holy Father said: 

I am pleased to greet the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present at today’s Audience, especially those from England, Ireland, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. Upon all of you I invoke the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Happy summer holidays to you all!

 

Now we have properly defined the doctrine of purgatory the proving of the doctrine must commence by first examining the scriptures and the church fathers for we do not attest the scriptures to be sufficient and the sole authority in faith and reason.  We sit on a three legged stool of tradition, scripture, and magisterial teachings.

The Biblical Proof:

Scripture is blatantly clear on the state of who enters heaven.  It states that nothing unclean shall enter heaven.  Here are the chapter and verses:

1. Hab 1:13

“Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,
    and you cannot look on wrongdoing;
why do you look on the treacherous,
    and are silent when the wicked swallow
    those more righteous than they?”

1. Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

1. Revelation 21:27

“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

The first place to look: Old Testament 

We make some interesting discoveries if we scan the Old Testament.  We find  2 Maccabees 12:39-46:

“ And the day following Judas came with his company, to take away the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen, in the sepulchres of their fathers. And they found under the coats of the slain some of the donaries of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbiddeth to the Jews: so that all plainly saw, that for this cause they were slain. Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who had discovered the things that were hidden. And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, forasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain. And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection,  (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them.  It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”

In this section of sacred scripture we find that Maccabeus and members of his hebraic military forces were collecting dead rotting bodies that have been slaughtered in battle.  They find that the bodies were carrying idols that jews were forbid to wear (v40), Judas and his friends came to the realization that through prayer they died as an atonement or offering for their sin.  As a result the men turned to prayer asking that their sin may be blotted out.  He provided a sin offering (which today is still being offered in the church through the mass when we represent the unbloodied sacrifice of calvary) and sent it to Jerusalem (in which we send the sin offering Jesus Christ to the heavenly Jerusalem).  The scripture commends this and says they acted very well and honorable.

There are immediately two objections that the anti-catholic makes.

1. They do not accept the inspiration of Maccabees

2. The men in Maccabees committed idolatry, which in Catholic theology is a sin and if you are Catholic you would suffer the eternal pains of hell and there for purgatory must be eliminated.

The Catholic Counterstrike: 

1. Rejection of the canonicity of Maccabees

Rejecting the inspiration of Maccabees does not take away from the historical value at all.  This book of scripture helps us in seeing that the jews believed in praying and making atonement for the dead before the coming of Christ.  The Jewish faith is what Jesus and the apostles believed in, cherished, loved, and were raised with.  The Holy Spirit was leading the faith.  This is what Jesus says:

“Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

• Matthew 12:32

The words of our lord state that there are most sins that can be forgiven in the next life to a people who already believed. Let us say Jesus was trying to condemn the teaching, he was doing a terrible job at it.  He would have gone out and said something blatantly.

2.    The men in Maccabees committed idolatry, which in Catholic theology is a sin and if you are Catholic you would suffer the eternal pains of hell and there for purgatory must be eliminated.

Careful exegesis and reading will lead us to the fact that these men were carrying sacred tokens of Jamina.  A modern day example of this would be so close to a Christian athlete preforming some sort of ritual of the superstitious realm before going into a game. Even this would be idolatry which would be a mortal sin for us.  For the jews this was a venial sin.  The Jewish frame of thought in this time period was that there were multiple gods but there was a God who was above all other gods.  Anyway, good Catholics like a good Jew would know to pray for the souls of who have died.

The poofs of purgatory continued in the New Testament 

1. Plainer Text

Jesus is so crystal clear in Matthew 5:24-25 when he talks about purgatory when he states:

” leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.”

One interpretation we could look to is Terullian’s interpretation  in De Anima 58 written in AD 208:

” it is most fitting that the soul, without waiting for the flesh, be punished for what it did without the partnership of the flesh . . . if we understand that prison of which the Gospel speaks to be Hades, and if we interpret the last farthing to be the light offense which is to be expiated there before the resurrection, no one will doubt that the soul undergoes some punishments in Hades, without prejudice to the fullness of the resurrection, after which recompense will be made through the flesh also.”

(The Soul, 58,1)
This teaching parabolic, utilizing prison and the necessary and dire need for penance as it shows forth a metaphor for suffering of the purgatorial kind for lesser offenses or transgressions represented by the “kodrenates” in the original language which is penny for verse 26.  Most protestant traditions will state that Jesus is giving an example for life and has nothing to do with purgatory.

Protestantism as a whole like its arguments are week especially when put into fuller context.  In this chapter Jesus is going through the Beatitudes or the blesseds and is talking either about heaven (v 20), hell (vv 29-30) and laying down the framework for the theology of mortal and venial sins  mortal being (v 22) and venial being (v 19), in this context heaven is the goal (vv3-12).   Jesus makes this very and abundantly clear when he says if you do not love your enemies what rewards will you have (V46).  These rewards are so painstakingly obvious that the rewards are not for this life but the next.   (Vv 6:1 and 6:19) and this is later echoed through the letter of St. Peter who tells us that our treasures are in heaven.

Scripture in at least two places states that we must view it in its full context which is life to come in the next world.

 

1. John 20:31

“ But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,^[b] the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

2.  James 1:17

“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

We can know that scripture does not contradict its self and that the entire net frame of scripture comes together and supports one another.  Coming to that conclusion we may see that the sermon on the mount had an “heavenly” emphasis.

Another proof text is I Peter 3:19

“ in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison”

The catholic position makes even more sense.  He ascended into the prison or the holding place in which he detained the souls of the Old Testament.  Phulake which is Greek for a temporary holding place is used so many a numerous times in the New Testament.  The ENTIRE New Testament is clear in stating that this is peaking in the next world not this world.

2. Plainest Text

^“11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. ¹⁴ If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.”

                                                        –   1 Corinthians 3:11-15

It would be most honest in all meanings of the word not to reject that this text speaks of God’s judgement.  The works of the faithful are to be tested after death through a flame as an agent which purifies.  We can see this in multiple places of scripture.

1. Mal 3:2-3
2. Matthew 3:11
3. Mark 9:49

We can also see that scripture attests to the fact that the fire consumes in atlas two places off of the top of my head.

1. Matthew 3:12
2. 1 Thessalonians 7-8

Therefor an individual may come to the proper conclusion that this is all a symbol or metaphor for God’s right and just judgement.  Some of the works here are being burned up, consumed, or purified.  According to what is it being purified? It is being purified according to (greek hopoiov- of what sort) or quality.

This most certainly can not be heaven because there are various forms of imperfections and stated earlier the scriptures clearly attest that nothing unclean shall enter heaven. This can not be hell because souls are being saved and hell is eternal.  This is clearly and painstakingly obvious purgatory.

Usually in my dialogue if it can be called that with protestants the main rebuttal is that there is no mention of the word purgatory in scripture as well as the purifying of sin.  The only thing that can be texted is the works.  They attest that St. Paul or scriptures try to place the emphasis on the rewards or the unperashable crown of glory the believer will attain. The main contradiction is that their WORKS go through but they escape it.

For every rebuttal they throw we’ve got a good answer and then some.

Sins are bad and even worse wicked works.  Examine the scriptures look at Therese three texts:

1. Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” 

1. John 8:40

“As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.”

1. Galatians 5:19-21

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Why would these works need purification if they do not represent sins and imperfections?  Why would they need purification? A work must be cleansed with the human person for the works and the words show forth what is stored up in the heart and where they reap from.  We are in one sense what we do when it comes to morality. Works are not detatched from the person.

The idea that works being burned up separate from the soul or the worker that commits that act contradicts the text.  A clear reading of the text states plainly in the plainest matter that the works will be tested by fire and if the worker survives or is burned up he may have eternal life or suffer loss.  The kicker is when St. Paul states: HE will be saved as only though a fire. (greek diapuros)- the works of the individual and the individual its self will be go through that cleansing fire that “HE!!!!!”  might definitely have salvation and enter into heaven.  That sounds exactly similar to purgatory.

 

CHURCH FATHER QUOTES ON PURGATORY:

1. Tertullian (155-220) “We offer sacrifices for the dead on their birthday anniversaries [the date of death—birth into eternal life]” (Tertullian, The Crown 3:3).
2. Chrysostom (349-407), “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5], why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them” (Homilies on First Corinthians 41:5).
3. Augustine (354-430), “Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment,” (The City of God 21:13).

 

Refuting a Claim For Sola Scriptura

I was recently on an online forum debating Sola Scriptura with a protestant and the protestant quoted this verse as a claim for Sola Scriptura being biblical and accurate.  The quote was:

“Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.”

                                                            – 1 Corinthians 4:6

Here are some reasons why this verse was never used to promulgate Sola Scriptura

1. Reformers 

None of the reformers tried to attempt to use this verse for the promulgation or vindication of the case of Sola Scriptura.  John Calvin in his commentaries never stated that this was scripture, in fact he stated what the statement “what is written” was in reference to an old testament quote.

  2.  Commentaries

Most commentaries refer to the “going beyond” as what is in the book of life (Ex. 32:32-33, Rev. 20:12).  This would be in consistency of the rest of the teachings of scripture especially if one were to enact typology or covenantial theology.  With in the context of 1 Corinthians this would mean divine judgment because St. Paul does exhort the Corinthians to let it be left up to the book of life and not how people are to be judged.  He urges the Corinthians to stop speculating on how people will be judged.

Why it is not advocating Sola Scriptura

St. Paul was not laying down the frame work of Sola Scriptura nor was he condoning it.  He would be going against scripture by doing so because he gives the church authority and claims that the church has all truth and is the pillar of truth.  4 of the premises would have been inconsistent with his theology

(1) Accept as authoritative only the Old Testament writings.

No one would agree either Protestant or Catholic that the Old Testament is all that we need or sufficient in authority for all matters in doctrine.  Besides, the Protestants would be condemned double because the Apostles and the first century church used the deuterocanonical texts that are present in the Catholic bible that protestants removed.  We see that the first century church used the deuterocanonical texts as an authority in documents such as the didache and other first century patristical writings that were present in that time, besides all first century Christians knew that outside of the Old Testament the jews had a magesterium filled with a high priest, san hedron, rabbis, scribes, and pharisees and used the Talmud.

 

(2) accept as authoritative only the Old Testament writings and the New Testament writings penned as of the date Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (circa A.D. 56).

this would mean all New Testament books written after the year 56 would not qualify under the 1 Corinthians 4:6 guideline. Hence, John’s Gospel, Acts, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Titus, 1 & 2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation would all have to be jettisoned as non-authoritative.

(3) accept as authoritative orally transmitted doctrine only until it has been reduced to writing (scripture) and only while the apostles are alive, then disregard all oral tradition and adhere only to what is written. 

This premise or option fails for one of many reasons, one being that in order for the doctrine to be biblical there must be a clear and blatant understanding definition in the Bible that the Bible is sufficient and everything else is to be disregarded.  The other definition must be present in a bible verse that  the scripture is superior to oral tradition. There are no such verses. 1 Corinthians 4:6 is not an acceptation.

(4) the most extreme position, accept as authoritative only doctrine that has been reduced to writing.

This option or premise is indefensible because it contradicts St. Paul’s other writings when he says

“Stand fast and hold firm to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours” (2 Thess. 2:15).

In order for 1 Corinthians 4:6 to be true and support the doctrine of Sola Scriptura St. Paul would be contradicting himself.

If there would be an ounce of truth as this being St. Paul using this to promulgate the doctrine of Sola Scriptura there would be a few major contradictions and this wouldn’t fit the frame work of history.

1. Unity 

Paul went to the apostles after his redemption and time in Saudia Arabia and presented his gospel to the apostles to see if it was acceptable. This shows that the church did not run off of a book but rather that the foundations of the church is apostolic and that Christ did not find a church based off of the apostles.

In 1 Corinthians the entire overlying theme of the epistle was unity. If Paul would have advocated for Sola Scriptura he would be in conflict with the rest of the apostles.  Most of the apostles did not write a single line of scripture.  The deposit of faith was not by words on a page but by oral deposition.   St. Paul wouldn’t even be at unity with himself or his letter than.

The flimsy case that sola scriptura is promoted and laid down and out by Paul is furthermore weakened by his comments in 1 Corinthians 11:2

“I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.”

He praised the Corinthians because they held fast to oral traditions just as he had commanded them to as a bishop.  The church of Corinth never ever had received at that time New Testament scriptures.  Prior all of the deposit of faith comprised of oral traditions.

 

2. None of the Apostles taught sola scriptura 

St. John stated in his first epistle   “I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon when we can talk face to face” (3 John 13). A few questions to ask is, why would the apostle emphasize his preference for oral Tradition over written Tradition (a preference he reiterates in 2 John 12) if, as proponents of sola scriptura assert, Scripture is superior to oral Tradition?

 

If St. Paul included sola scriptura with the other doctrines which were part of the entire plan of God (in sense of  accepting as authoritative orally transmitted doctrine only until it has been reduced to writing [scripture] and only while the apostles are alive, then disregard all oral tradition and adhere only to what is written. ) why didn’t he state it?  “Now that I’ve written you this letter, you can disregard my two years worth of oral teachings and consider this document to be your sole authority”? Nowhere in his epistles does Paul even hint at such a thing.

Think about this:

St. Paul said, “I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God” (Acts 20:27). This statement destroys sola scriptura. St.Paul remained in Ephesus for over two years teaching the faith as it states:

“all the inhabitants of the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10) Although this is true the epistle to the Ephesians is only a small three or four page epistle.  It would be asinine  to think we should just go off of that when that epistle could not even scratch the surface of all the doctrines he taught.

Look at these quotes:

1. St Irenaeus of Lyons [A.D. 140-202]

A: “When, however, they are confuted from the Scriptures, they turn round and accuse these same Scriptures, as if they were not correct, nor of authority, and [assert] that they are ambiguous, and that the truth cannot be extracted from them by those who are ignorant of tradition. For [they allege] that the truth was not delivered by means of written documents, but vivâ voce.“ – AH, 3, 2, 1

B: “But, again, when we refer them to that Tradition which originates from the Apostles, [and] which is preserved by means of the succession of Priests in the Churches, they object to Tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the Priests, but even than the Apostles, because they have discovered the unadulterated truth. … It comes to this, therefore, that these men do now consent neither to Scripture nor to Tradition.” – AH, 3, 2, 2

C: “It is within the power of all, therefore, in every Church, who may wish to see the truth, to contemplate clearly the Tradition of the Apostles manifested throughout the whole world; and we are in a position to reckon up those who were by the Apostles instituted Bishops in the Churches, and [to demonstrate] the succession of these men to our own times; those who neither taught nor knew of anything like what these [Gnostic heretics] rave about.” – AH, 3, 3, 1

D: “Those, therefore, who desert the preaching of the Church, call in question the knowledge of the holy Priests, not taking into consideration of how much greater consequence is a religious man, even in a private station, than a blasphemous and impudent sophist Now, such are all the heretics, and those who imagine that they have hit upon something more beyond the truth, so that by following those things already mentioned, proceeding on their way variously, inharmoniously, and foolishly, not keeping always to the same opinions with regard to the same things, as blind men are led by the blind, they shall deservedly fall into the ditch of ignorance lying in their path, ever seeking and never finding out the truth It behoves us, therefore, to avoid their doctrines, and to take careful heed lest we suffer any injury from them; but to flee to the Church, and be brought up in her bosom, and be nourished with the Lord’s Scriptures. For the Church has been planted as a garden in this world; therefore says the Spirit of God, ‘Thou mayest freely eat from every tree of the garden’ that is, Eat ye from every Scripture of the Lord; but ye shall not eat with an uplifted mind, nor touch any heretical discord.” – AH, 5, 20, 2

E: Since therefore we have such proofs, it is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the Apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth: so that every man, whosoever will, can draw from her the water of life. For she is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers. On this account are we bound to avoid them, but to make choice of the thing pertaining to the Church with the utmost diligence, and to lay hold of the Tradition of the truth. For how stands the case? Suppose there arise a dispute relative to some important questionamong us, should we not have recourse to the most ancient Churches with which the Apostles held constant intercourse, and learn from them what is certain and clear in regard to the present question? For how should it be if the Apostles themselves had not left us writings? Would it not be necessary, [in that case,] to follow the course of the Tradition which they handed down to those to whom they did commit the Churches?” – AH, 3, 4, 1

(where the arrows are is where there is to be more attention to be payed)

2. Vincent of Lerins in Commonitoria [435]

But here some one perhaps will ask, Since the canon of Scripture is complete, and sufficient of itself for everything, and more than sufficient, what need is there to join with it the authority of the Church’s interpretation? For this reason—because, owing to the depth of Holy Scripture, all do not accept it in one and the same sense, but one understands its words in one way, another in another; so that it seems to be capable of as many interpretations as there are interpreters. For Novatian expounds it one way, Sabellius another, Donatus another, Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, another, Photinus, Apollinaris, Priscillian, another, Iovinian, Pelagius, Celestius, another, lastly, Nestorius another. Therefore, it is very necessary, on account of so great intricacies of such various error, that the rule for the right understanding of the prophets and apostles should be framed in accordance with the standard of Ecclesiastical and Catholic interpretation.

It was not a subject of discussion in any early Church councils, nor was it mentioned in any of the many creeds formulated by the early Church.

We must remember that the notion that just as Jesus ascended the Bible descended is false and we must remember that the entire bible got put together in 397 AD in the Council of Hippo.

For more resources on refuting the foolish claim of Sola Scripture you may click on this link:

https://defendingrome.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/being-a-weekend-warrior/

 

 

New Proof Of The Papacy

Previously I had wrote about the Papacy in a recent post on the feast day of the Chair of St. Peter.  I had given multiple biblical as well as patristic proofs of the Papacy as well as appearances Christ has made to Martin Luther, which was posted in my previous post titled “The Papacy.”  The quote was:

 “So we stand here and with open mouth stare heavenward and invent still other keys. Yet Christ says very clearly in Matthew 16:19 that He will give the keys to Peter. He does not say He has two kinds of keys, but He gives to Peter the keys He Himself has, and no others. It is as if He were saying: why are you staring heavenward in search of the keys? Do you not understand I gave them to Peter? They are indeed the keys of Heaven, but they are not found in Heaven. I left them on earth. Don’t look for them in Heaven or anywhere else except in Peter’s mouth where I have placed them. Peter’s mouth is My mouth, and his tongue is My key case. His office is My office, his binding and loosing are My binding and loosing.” [Martin Luther, The Keys, in Conrad Bergendoff, ed. trans. Earl Beyer and Conrad Bergendoff, Luthers Works, vol 40, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1958, pp. 365-366]” 

Previously I had done two things.  The first I did was show the proof of the papacy using the Old Testament and showing how the new fulfills it.  The second thing I did was I  mentioned why Peter is “the rock”.   Using typology and covenantial theology I will prove to you the Papacy using the old testament again.

Let us examine Genesis 28:10-22

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the rocks of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ And the Lord stood beside him^[c] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; ¹⁴ and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed^[d] in you and in your offspring. ¹⁵ Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” ¹⁷ And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” ¹⁸ So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”

Jacob as a Jesus figure or a figure of Jesus 

Though out Genesis Jacob represents something different through out time.  He represents the spirit in the battle with the flesh in multiple accounts, us when we approach God the father and he blesses us, and finally he is Israel and Jesus is the fulfillment of all of Old Testament Israel.  Jacob represents Jesus who was sent by his father to go enter into the covenant of marriage with an unknown someone .   Like Jesus, Jacob listens to the summoning of his father to go marry, for the church is the bride groom of Christ.  Jesus like Jacob build something that can be seen that has the visible power of God dwelling in it.  One is a reflection or a veiled reality of the other or a prefigurement.

The Rock 

One of the points of christology I have found in my reading on how Jacob is a figure of Jesus is that in Matthew’s gospel, more specifically our lord says in Luke 9:58:

“⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Jacob was wondering in a strange land that his mother was once in.  In that land he had no place to lay his head but he chose a rock to rest his weary head on.

Jacob, out of all the the objects chose this one rock.  Jesus like Jacob chose a rock, that rock was a person named Peter. When Jacob awoke he took the rock and placed it and made it as a pillar or a foundation for something and then poured oil over it.  Jacob built something upon the foundation of the rock and then blessed it with a holy oil.

In the New Testament Jesus founded a church upon apostolic foundations and blessed it saying that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it and giving it authority something more perfect than the old.

Colossians 1:18 states that Christ is the head.  1 Corinthians 12:27 states that we are the body of Christ.  Going back to the story in Genesis the head that Jacob rested was the representation of Christ’s head and the the rock is the church and the pillar that holds up  Christ but does not diminish it.  The church upholds the risen Christ for all to see.  Christ is in heaven seated at the right hand of the father (Mark 16:19).

“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.” 

The pillar where the rock once rested was called God’s house.  We later see in Scripture in the Old Testament that the church is the pillar of truth and God is truth(1 Tim 3:15), in him there is no lie (1 John 5:20). We also see that the church is apostolic and set upon the foundation of Peter (Matt 16:18)

In this picture we can see the entire body together.  This leads me to my next point, the Theophany.

 

The Theophany

What is a theophany?

The dictionary definition of a theophany is a visible manifestation to humankind of God or a god.

The scriptures in Genesis 28 points out that the lord appeared to Jacob and there were angels going up and down the latter called Jacob’s latter.  The blessing of God rang clearly.  In the new covenant all the nations are included and the offspring were the people reborn of water and spirit (John 3:3) and the blessings come through Jesus as head who blesses us with all spiritual blessings.  The promise is that he will not leave the church.  The church is both comprised of the church triumphant and the church militant in the church we are all joined as one for no one who sleeps in christ dies.

Renaming a place

Jacob like God renamed a place because it had a characteristic something different than its original name.  The place where the pillar covered in oil went from Luz to Bethel.  Bethel means house of God, he did so because he acknowledged God truly was present there.

The changes in days

Night fell and a new day arose and the pillar was erected upon where the stone once lied as a foundation.  The night passed and a new day came about.  The new day is an illusion to the new covenant where we shall walk as if we are in the light in the last days not in sexual access or any misconduct but as children of light blessed with the fellowship and light of the son who is the source of all life.  A new day dawned.