Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

Ses s i on 4: Chur ch Mat ter s and Go i ng Back to the Future 83

C. The Great Tradition was anchored on an apostolic witness and faith (apostolicity), 1 Cor. 15.1-8.

1. It was the norm that governed its view of Scripture and the canon.

2. It was their preferred connection with the things of God (i.e., in terms of whom they preferred to listen to and follow, e.g., Papias [c. 150] preference for a “living and abiding voice” of oral tradition above the texts then circulating among the apostolic churches). 3. It was the rule whereby practical decisions were made in terms of lived spirituality and doctrinal emphases, note Paul’s statement in 2 Cor. 11.28 (ESV) – And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 4. It determined for them the roots and ground of legitimate authority in the body of Christ (i.e., apostolic succession and informed practice), “Study, therefore, to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles” (Ignatius, c. 105 [cf. David W. Bercot, ed. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998, p. 28]).

D. Summary: The Great Tradition gave clarity and primacy to the canonical story of God outlined in the Scriptures and climaxing in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.