GOD HAS SPOKEN HIS WORD IN SALVATION HISTORY vis-a-vis TRADITION IN THE EARLY CHURCH

  • a Catholic fundamental truth –
  • HOW DID GOD SPOKE HIS WORD IN SALVATION HISTORY?
  1. He made his voice heard; by the power of his Spirit “he has SPOKEN THROUGH THE PROPHETS” (Hebrews 1:1-2). God’s word (Psalm 33:6; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12) is thus spoken throughout the history of salvation, and most fully in the mystery of the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God.
  2. Then, too, the word of God is that word PREACHED BY THE APOSTLES in obedience to the command of the Risen Jesus: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
  3. The word of God is thus HANDED ON IN THE CHURCH’S LIVING TRADITION (Acts 4:31, 6:7, 16:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6; 1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Timothy 2:2; 4:6-8).
  4. Finally, the word of God, attested and divinely inspired is SACRED SCRIPTURE (2 Timothy 3:16), the Old and New Testaments.
  • HOW DID THE APOSTLES CONDUCTED THEIR TEACHING MISSION?
  1. In a PURELY ORAL FORM. Peter preached a sermon on Pentecost. He did not issue a pamphlet.
  2. By TEACHING ORALLY, the apostles followed the example of Jesus, who didn’t author any books, letters, or treatises. Only once do the Gospel mention Jesus writing, and that was with his finger on the ground (John 8:6, 8).
  • WHY IS COMMUNICATING GOD’S WORD ORALLY WAS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO IT?

The great majority of people – even in Israel – were illiterate. If you wanted to reach them with the message of salvation, it had to be ORALLY.

  1. This is why the New Testament describes Jesus and the apostles as SPEAKING “the word” to people (e.g., Mark 2:2; 4:3; Acts 4:31; 6:2; 8:4; 11:19).
  2. It’s also why the New Testament emphasizes the response of those who HEAR “the word” (e.g., Matthew 13:19; Luke 5:1; John 14:24; Acts 4:4; 10:44).
  3. St. Paul emphasizes the IMPORTANCE OF ORAL PROCLAMATION FOR SALVATION by asking, rhetorically: “But how are men to CALL UPON HIM in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they never HEARD? And how are they to HEAR without a PREACHER? And how can men PREACH unless they are SENT? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'” (Romans 10:14-15; cf. Isaiah 52:7).

The fact that Christian message was GIVEN ORALLY RATHER THAN IN WRITING means it was a matter of TRADITION. Certainly, parts of Christian teaching could be found in the Old Testament scriptures that pointed forward to Jesus, but the ACTUAL STORY of who he was, what he taught, and what he did for us by his cross and resurrection WENT BEYOND WHAT HAD BEEN WRITTEN BEFORE. Tradition was the means by which the core message of our faith was preached.

•WHY IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH NOT A “RELIGION OF THE BOOK?”

All this help us to see that, while in the Church we GREATLY VENERATE THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, the Christian faith is not a “religion of the book”: the Christian Tradition is the “RELIGION OF THE WORD OF GOD”, not of “a written and mute word, but of the INCARNATE AND LIVING WORD.” Consequently the Scripture is to be PROCLAIMED, HEARD, READ, RECEIVED AND EXPERIENCE as the word of God, in the stream of the APOSTOLIC TRADITION from which it is inseparable.