# Ephesians 4 and Sola Scriptura



## danmpem (Apr 17, 2008)

A few months ago I heard that some Roman Catholics teach that Ephesians 4:11-14 is the Biblical case for dual authority in the church - scripture and apostolic tradition. What do ya'll think about this?



> And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (ESV)


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## greenbaggins (Apr 17, 2008)

That would be a very odd exegesis of the passage, which isn't talking about these groups of people being on a level with the authority of Scripture, but is rather talking about why God gave these groups of people to the church. It is not talking about authority, but about function. It is much more plausible (but still illegitimate) to get their doctrine from 3:20. In 3:20, it is fairly obviously (I would say) the Scriptural teaching that is foundational, not the men themselves.


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## DTK (Apr 17, 2008)

danmpem said:


> A few months ago I heard that some Roman Catholics teach that Ephesians 4:11-14 is the Biblical case for dual authority in the church - scripture and apostolic tradition. What do ya'll think about this?
> 
> 
> 
> > And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (ESV)



Well, I suppose that is precisely how a Romanist would approach such a passage, ignoring the reality that it is Holy Scripture itself that norms for us submission to the teaching gifts of subordinate authorities which are only derivative in nature. That's why we must affirm _Sola Scriptura est norma normans non normata_, "Scripture alone is the norm that norms but is not normed by any other authority" because what Scripture says God says. 

DTK


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## SolaGratia (Apr 17, 2008)

*Sola Scriptura*

Dan,

Highly recommend this excellent 3 volume work by (our one and only) David T. King and William Webster called Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of our Faith

Link:
Alpha and Omega Ministries


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