Principle 21

HERMENEUTICS

Principle 21

Submit to the Hierarchy of Scripture

What’s the “Hierarchy of Scripture”? Hierarchy is a system or organization in which people or items are ranked one above the other according to status or authority.

You may think it’s strange that some books of the Bible can be considered “subordinate” to other books of Scripture. Although it sounds odd, and maybe even sounds wrong, there is indeed a “hierarchy of Scripture”!

But don’t confuse the hierarchy of Scripture with the inspiration of Scripture! Every book of the Bible is equally inspired by God the Holy Spirit. However, every book doesn’t carry the same weight, or degree of authority, for the Christian today.

Old Testament versus New Testament

Let’s start with the Old Testament. Leviticus 5 and other Old Testament Scriptures teach that God’s people should sacrifice lambs and goats. Obviously, Christians don’t sacrifice lambs and goats today. Why? Because we recognize the principle of the “Hierarchy of Scripture.” The regulations of Leviticus 5 were part of the Mosaic Law, and those regulations ended with the coming of Christ (Romans 10:4). So for Christians today, the Old Testament ceremonial laws are subordinate to the doctrines of the New Testament. While we can draw many principles and lessons from the legal and ceremonial portions of the Old Testament, the teaching of the New Testament is our current-day doctrinal authority. For believers today, the Old Testament Scriptures are subordinate to the teaching of the New Testament.

Consider the subject of divorce. Christians who justify divorce on the basis of Old Testament regulations are not following the hermeneutical principle of the hierarchy of Scripture. Although God’s original plan for marriage has never changed, during Old Testament times He allowed certificates of divorce in certain situations. In the New Testament, however, the guidelines for divorce and remarriage are more strict. While there are still certain conditions where divorce and remarriage are open for discussion (see Matthew 19:3-9 and 1 Corinthians 7:10-16), Christians should uphold a New Testament position on divorce, rather than using the regulations of Old Testament days. The principle of the hierarchy of Scripture principle demands it.

Some might suggest that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 can be used against this principle. However, when Paul refers to “all Scripture” he includes the Old Testament and those parts of the New Testament that were already written. In 1 Timothy 5:18 Paul quoted Luke 10:7 as “Scripture” and Peter speaks of Paul’s letters as “Scripture.” From the way it’s worded, we can apply this verse to the entire Bible.

Gospels versus Epistles

It’s easy for most Christians to understand the concept that the Old Testament should be subject to the New Testament in the hierarchy of Scripture - but is there a hierarchy among the books of the New Testament? Yes! When any kind of doctrinal differences are under consideration, the Gospels are subordinate to the Epistles. Why? Because the Scriptures that directly address the Church come after the time and circumstances of the Gospels.

In the Gospels, the Church was only predicted. It hadn’t yet been established when the Lord Jesus said, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18, emphasis added). Notice - He used the future tense! When Christ came, an offer of the kingdom of God on earth was made only to the Jewish people (Matthew 10:5-7). The Church was formed after the King and His kingdom on earth were rejected by the Jewish people (Acts 2). The Church, therefore, isn’t identical to the kingdom. Jesus is never identified as the “King” of the church. The Church is not a theocracy. The Church doesn’t have the responsibility to establish the kingdom of God as the government of the United States or throughout the whole earth. The Church is a spiritual entity. It’s the body and bride of Christ, established at Pentecost. The Church’s responsibility is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples for Jesus Christ in all nations. Notice the great change in the message that will be proclaimed by the church In Matthew 28:18-20 (in contrast to Matthew 10:5-7).

The Church is specifically subject to the doctrines of the Epistles. So for Christians today, when we find doctrinal differences between the “kingdom of God” passages in the Gospels and the teaching of the Epistles (which are directly addressed to the Church), the teaching in the Gospels is subordinate to the teaching of the Epistles.

And what Scriptures control the doctrine of Christian baptism? The Gospels? No, and if they did, we might still be practicing John the Baptist’s “baptism of repentance” today!

The Sermon on the Mount, for example, is a “kingdom passage” that presents the moral qualifications of those preparing for the kingdom - but it doesn’t contain a clear message of “the way of salvation.” The mission of the Church is not to preach the Sermon on the Mount to the world, but rather to preach the gospel. The doctrine of the way of salvation is clearly found in the Epistles—in fact, the first four verses of 1 Corinthians 15 present this gospel message more clearly than the entire Sermon on the Mount!

As Christians, we can draw many lessons from the Sermon on the Mount and other kingdom passages in the Gospels, but remember that the gospel (good news) of the kingdom of God on earth was given before Jesus died on the cross. When apparent doctrinal differences arise, the teaching of the Gospels is subordinate to the Epistles.

Acts versus the Epistles

In a similar way, the book of Acts is also subordiante to the Epistles. Acts isn’t a book of doctrine for the Church. Acts is the historical record of the events that took place as the Church emerged out of Judaism. When determining doctrine, biblical narrative (Bible stories) are subordinate to the didactic (teaching) passages of Scripture (Principle #6).

Take baptism, for example. If the events recorded in the book of Acts govern the doctrine of Christian baptism, we could build a pretty good case that water baptism is necessary for salvation. That’s actually how some people interpret Acts 2:38, which says, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” However, the transitional practices of the book of Acts must be subject to the more definitive Church doctrine given in the Epistles, such as, “Since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation” (Romans 5:9), and “Now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago” (Ephesians 1:13). Clearly, these (and other) Scriptures in the Epistles teach that water baptism is not essential for salvation. Can you imagine the apostle Paul writing 1 Corinthians 1:17 if baptism was a necessary component of the gospel? (“For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News.”)

So the book of Acts records the different ways in which God worked to bring diverse groups of people into the Church, the one Body of Christ. For the Jews at Pentecost, it seems that salvation, baptism, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit all took place at about the same time (Acts 2:37-41). When the gospel was brought to the Samaritans, salvation and water baptism took place before they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:12-17). God delayed the bestowing of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans until Peter and John arrived from Jerusalem. He did this in order to demonstrate to the apostles that the Samaritans (whom the Jews disliked and despised) were actually part of the same community as the Jews! At Ephesus, it appears that both water baptism in the name of Jesus and the receiving of the Holy Spirit occurred after those “disciples” became believers in Christ (Acts 19:1-7). But for the Gentile believers at Antioch of Syria (Acts 10:44-48), the gift of the Holy Spirit was part of the package of salvation, and water baptism followed belief.

It’s easy to see that building a doctrine of baptism from the book of Acts can lead to confusion and contradiction, depending on which chapter is emphasized. If we follow the “Hierarchy of Scripture” principle, however, potential problems are eliminated. The Epistles clearly indicate that while water baptism is important, it’s not essential for salvation. The Epistles also imply that all believers were baptized. Baptism was the outward (visible) testimony that naturally followed the inward (invisible) step of faith (see Romans 5:4; Colossians 2:12). So Church doctrine in the Epistles sorts through the differences in Acts, and it indicates that the sequence of salvation and baptism of the believers at Antioch (Acts 10:44-48) would be normative for today.

So, according to the “Hierarchy of Scripture” principle, information and events recorded in the book of Acts must be subject to Church doctrine found in the New Testament Epistles, whenever there might be doctrinal differences.

When interpreting Scripture, most of the time we don’t need to worry about the “Hierarchy of Scripture” principle. We automatically practice it, especially when it comes to the New Testament being authoritative over the Old Testament for Christians today. If someone asks us how to become a Christian, for example, we instinctively quote John 3:16, not Leviticus 5:5-6! And doctrinal differences between the Gospels and the Epistles or the Acts and the Epistles are not overwhelming in number. But as we diligently seek to be “skilled craftsmen” who carefully and correctly handle God’s Word, we’ll occasionally need to use a good and helpful tool—the principle of the “Hierarchy of Scripture.”