Apostolic Tradition: Is it Practical? (prt. 2)

My aim in this post is to establish that Christ gave authority to His apostles to such an extent that their words were to be received as His words. The apostles’ teachings, then, constituted a tradition that was to be preserved and handed down in all churches through all ages. In particular, I want to argue that the authority of this tradition extended to and included the apostles’ instruction, not just on doctrinal and moral issues, but also on the practical inner-workings of the churches.

First, the scriptures are clear that when Christ chose and commissioned His apostles, He endowed them with authority over His church. In Matthew 16, we see that Christ gave Peter (and by implication the rest of the apostles) the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the power to bind and loose; that is, the authority to declare Christ’s will for His people. In the Great Commission (Matthew 28), we see that this authority He gave them was His own authority that He had received from the Father “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore...” Thus does Paul say that the church is founded upon Christ, the cornerstone, and then upon the apostles and the prophets (Eph 2:20).

The apostles, then, went out on their mission as if in the very person of Christ, “He that receiveth you receiveth me” (Matt 10:40), and their words were to be received as His words. “If they kept my word, they will keep yours also” (John 15:20). As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord” (II Cor 14:37).

The teachings of the apostles, therefore, which we have recorded in the pages of scripture, make up an authoritative tradition which the apostles expected the church to keep. “Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast to the traditions, even as I delivered them to you” (I Cor. 11:2). “So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours” (II Thess 2:15). It is also clear that this tradition was not just for that first generation of Christians. As Paul commanded Timothy, “the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (II Tim. 2:2). This tradition does not appear to have been optional for the New Testament churches. It was the God-inspired, Christ-ordained standard for all they were to believe and to do. Nor was it only for the Christians living in the days of the apostles, but rather was intended to be passed down from generation to generation.

Now the real question at hand is whether this authoritative enduring tradition was limited merely to the apostles’ doctrinal or moral instruction, or whether it also encompassed the more practical matters of how the churches were to conduct themselves. The scriptures make it plain, to me at least, that the latter were also included. Take for example Paul’s words in I Cor. 11:2 and 14:37 quoted above. To what traditions was he referring? What words was he declaring to be the commandments of the Lord? These two verses serve as book ends to a large section of practical instruction concerning various practices within the church. In chapter 11, he addresses corporate prayer and the practice of the Lord’s Supper. In chapters 12-14 he answers the Corinthians’ questions about the use of spiritual gifts and the function of various members within the assembly.

Nowhere in these passages do we get the idea that Paul is merely offering his suggestions or giving commands relevant only to one particular church. Instead he says that contrary practices are not to be found “in the churches of God” (11:17) and that his instructions apply to “all the churches of the saints” (14:34). These phrases of universal application, in combination with Paul’s statements that these are traditions to be held fast and the very commands of the Lord, should lead to the conclusion, that even when the apostles are teaching on these practical matters, their instruction is to be considered part of the authoritative tradition delivered once for all to the saints (Jude 3).