Saint Peter
Was Saint Peter the first pope?
The Roman Catholic Church sees Peter as the first pope upon whom God had chosen to build His church (Matthew 16:18).
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The Roman Catholic Church sees Peter as the first pope upon whom God had chosen to build His church (Matthew 16:18).
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It holds that he had authority (primacy) over the other
apostles.
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The Roman Catholic Church maintains that sometime after the
recorded events of the book of Acts, the Apostle Peter became the first bishop
of Rome, and that the Roman bishop was accepted by the early church as the
central authority among all of the churches.
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It teaches that God passed Peter’s apostolic authority to
those who later filled his seat as bishop of Rome.
This teaching that God passed on Peter’s apostolic authority
to the subsequent bishops is referred to as “apostolic
succession.”
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The Roman Catholic Church also holds that Peter and the
subsequent popes were and are infallible when addressing issues “ex cathedra,” from their position and
authority as pope.
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It teaches that this infallibility gives the pope the ability
to guide the church without error.
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The Roman Catholic Church claims that it can trace an
unbroken line of popes back to St. Peter, citing this as evidence that it is
the true church, since, according to their interpretation of Matthew 16:18,
Christ built His church upon Peter.
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But while Peter was central in the early spread of the gospel
(part of the meaning behind Matthew 16:18-19), the teaching of Scripture, taken
in context, nowhere declares that he was in authority over the other apostles,
or over the church (having primacy). See Acts 15:1-23; Galatians
2:1-14; and 1 Peter 5:1-5.
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Nor is it ever taught in Scripture that the bishop of Rome,
or any other bishop, was to have primacy over the church.
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Scripture does not even explicitly record Peter even being in
Rome.
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Rather there is only one reference in Scripture of Peter
writing from “Babylon,” a name sometimes applied to Rome (1 Peter 5:13).
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Primarily upon this and the historical rise of the influence
of the Bishop of Rome come the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of the primacy
of the bishop of Rome.
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However, Scripture shows that Peter’s authority was shared by
the other apostles (Ephesians
2:19-20).
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The “loosing
and binding” authority attributed to him was likewise shared by the
local churches, not just their church leaders (see Matthew
18:15-19; 1 Corinthians
5:1-13; 2 Corinthians
13:10; Titus 2:15; 3:10-11).
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Also, nowhere does Scripture state that, in order to keep the
church from error, the authority of the apostles was passed on to those they
ordained (the idea behind apostolic succession).
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Apostolic succession is “read
into” those verses that the Roman Catholic Church uses to support this
doctrine (2 Timothy 2:2; 4:2-5; Titus 1:5; 2:1; 2:15; 1 Timothy
5:19-22).
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Paul does NOT call on believers in various churches to
receive Titus, Timothy, and other church leaders based on their authority as
bishops or their having apostolic authority, but rather based upon their being
fellow laborers with him (1 Corinthians
16:10; 16:16; 2 Corinthians
8:23).
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What Scripture DOES teach is that false teachings would arise
even from among church leaders.
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Christians were to compare the teachings of these later
church leaders with Scripture, which alone is infallible (Matthew 5:18; Psalm 19:7-8; 119:160; Proverbs 30:5; John 17:17; 2 Peter
1:19-21).
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The Bible does not teach that the apostles were infallible,
apart from what was written by them and incorporated into Scripture.
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Paul, in talking to the church leaders in the large city of
Ephesus, makes note of coming false teachers.
To fight
against their error does NOT commend them to “the apostles and those who would
carry on their authority”; rather, Paul commends them to “God
and to the word of His grace” (Acts 20:28-32).
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It is Scripture that was to be the infallible measuring stick
for teaching and practice, not apostolic successors (2 Timothy
3:16-17).
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Was Peter the first pope?
The answer,
according to Scripture, is a clear and emphatic “no.”
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Peter nowhere claims supremacy over the other apostles.
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Nowhere in his writings (1 and 2 Peter) did the Apostle Peter
claim any special role, authority, or power over the church.
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Nowhere in Scripture does Peter, or any other apostle, state
that their apostolic authority would be passed on to successors.
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Yes, the Apostle Peter had a leadership role among the
disciples.
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Yes, Peter played a crucial role in the early spread of the
gospel (Acts chapters 1-10).
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However, these truths about Peter in no way give support to
the concept that Peter was the first pope, or that he was the “supreme leader” over the apostles, or
that his authority would be passed on to the bishops of Rome.
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Peter himself points us all to the true Shepherd and Overseer of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:25).
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Peter himself points us all to the true Shepherd and Overseer of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:25).
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