correct and that authority is Jesus Christ not the catholic church.
I'm sorry, but that is not what scripture says:
Matt. 16 [sup]18[/sup]And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Notice the first promise that Jesus makes regarding the Church. This is the first instance of the word in the NT. Jesus promises to build a Church and it will not be prevailed against by the gates of hell. So it is Jesus Who states that He is building a Church. And that Church is called what? The Body of Christ. Notice the close association between Christ and His Church!
Matt. 18 [sup]17[/sup]And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Notice also that Jesus states that if one does not hear the Church, one is like unto a heathen and publican. This is no small thing. Jesus does not defer all honor to Himself, but to the Church on earth. And how would people hear the Church unless it were on the earth and had a mouthpiece, such as the councils of bishops who met and determined Truth?
1 Cor. 12 [sup]28[/sup]And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Notice again that the Bible speaks of the Church as being earthly. That is where you would find the gifts of apostles, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, and tongues. It is not some "invisible church" as the Protestant Rebels made up.
Col 1 [sup]18[/sup]And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Jesus is the Head of the Church. Notice therefore the intimate connection between Jesus and the Church, analogized by the relationship of a head to a body.
1 Tim 3 [sup]15[/sup]But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Scripture states that the Church is the "pillar and ground of Truth" Therefore, when the Church speaks on doctrinal or moral issues, you are hearing the Truth. That is why the Church continues to oppose homosexual behavior while all the "mainline Protestant denominations" are caving left and right. That is why the Church cannot allow for women to be priests. That is why She is against stem cell research that destroys unborn life. That is why when the Church speaks on doctrine, She is the final arbiter of Truth. When you believe that Jesus Christ is the Word of God, 2nd Person of the Blessed Trinity, you do so because the Church defended this Truth against the heretic Arias and his contention that Jesus was merely created. When you speak of Jesus' nature in orthodox terms, you do so because the Church defined Who Jesus is in Her councils.
Jesus established one and only one Church on earth. Somewhere in the first couple of centuries, it was called "katholicos" (universal) because it was one in doctrine and practice. Everything that this Church believed was universally believed whether you were in Egypt, Jerusalem, or Rome. No matter where you went, the Church taught the same thing.
When Jesus established His Church, He established the Kingdom of God on earth. It is the duty of all men to enter that Church, seeking salvation through repentance from their sins and baptism into that Kingdom. Those who rebel against Her rebel against Jesus Himself, just as those pagans and heathens who opposed the Kingdom in the days of National Israel were opposing God Himself. God has had a congregation (qahal or eklessia) for Himself since He called out Abraham and began this work with him. He brought His people out of Egypt through many mighty miracles, gave them a specific worship pattern (Heb. 8:5), and promised them a Messiah Who would be David's Son and the King of the world. When the Jews rejected Him, God took the Kingdom from them and gave it to the mixed nation consisting of Jew and Gentile who accepted and believed in the Savior Who came (Matt. 21: 33-46) As you trace the word "church" throughout the Bible, it becomes apparent that it is speaking of a congregation of those who are "God's people" a "peculiar people", and a nation of kings and priests unto God.
Those who listened to the Protestant Rebels defied that congregation which God had set upon earth and turned against the authority which is His Kingdom on earth. No country which is established in rebellion can expect blessing from God, for as the scriptures state, "the sin of rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" in God's sight!!
