He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…
Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of God. Since God is infinite and the ultimate being, the only essential existence, we finite creatures cannot grasp God. Our reason cannot reach Him, nor can our experience embrace Him. Creation gives us a glimpse of the Creator, but knowledge of God comes as a gracious gift of the One who has chosen to reveal Himself. Furthermore, God has chosen to reveal Himself ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus reveals to us true Humanity. Jesus is the Second Adam revealing to us the “glory of God” in the “living man.” (Against Heresies, 4.XX.7) In Christ we see the perfect model of what it means to be the image of God. “This is the truth about humanity; this is what Adam is meant to be. I desire a creature made in my own image, the image of the Divine Charity…” (Underhill, The School of Charity, 26)
Jesus also discloses true Divinity. Christ shows us the Father. He spoke “as one with authority” correcting the misunderstandings of the law, forgiving sins, making promises. His life shows us who God is. As Martin Luther said, “Jesus is the only God we know.”
The Scriptures are the unique witness to the God revealed in Jesus Christ and the “infallible rule of faith and practice. (Confession of Faith, 1.05) The authority of Scripture is not in the book itself, but rather “is founded on the truth contained in them and the voice of God speaking through them.” (Confession of Faith, 1.06) In the Scriptures, the Father speaks the Word that is heard through Spirit inspired writings and by Spirit illuminated readers. Just as in Creation, all Persons of the Holy Trinity participate in the act of Revelation.
Yet the Book cannot be severed from the Church, God’s voice is not separated from Christ’s Body. The community, which wrote the pages as well as recognized God’s voice through the canonization process, also maintains the appropriate understanding and interpretation of the Bible. The authority of the Tradition is that of interpreter of Scripture, rather than any prerogative separate from the Word of God. Through Tradition, the Church continues to be built upon “foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20) rather than a new foundation based upon the whims and prejudices of each age.
The authority of Tradition as interpreter of Scripture is best expressed by the rule of St. Vincent of Lérins, “that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” Therefore in divergent issues, antiquity is given priority over innovation, consensus over novelty, and catholicity over local. With all Tradition understood as radically based in the Word spoken through the Scriptures. “We must, the Lord helping, fortify our own belief in two ways; first by the authority of Divine Law, and then, by the Tradition of the Catholic Church.” (St. Vincent)
At the same time, to truly be in the Church catholic, we must be in a particular body of believers, therefore my understanding of authority is also as a Minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In my ordination vows I have made a commitment to a particular community with a particular confessional statement. Therefore, even though the Confession of Faith is recent document and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is only a fraction of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, my vows obligate me to recognize my particular church and her statement with a greater leverage of authority. In other words, for my vows to have integrity, I must also yield to the authority of the particular church that I serve.
