Jun 25 Thu
Who decides what the gospel truth is?
The Church, the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, which is the Catholic Church, decides what the gospel truth is.
In Catholicism, neither “the Church” nor “the Bible” holds primacy over the other. The Church and Scripture have a mutual relationship: the Magisterium is the servant of the Word, not its rival, while Scripture is the written Word of God that the Church faithfully receives and guards.
Still, Catholic teaching insists that Scripture is genuinely the Word of God and that it must be read in the Church’s faith.
Catholic teaching also explicitly warns against interpretations that treat Scripture as if it were to be interpreted by merely human methods to the exclusion of the Church’s mind.
The authors of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the authors of the Gospels especially so. But it was the Church—the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ—that decided which books are legitimate and form part of the Bible, and which are apocryphal and should be set separately. The apocryphal books might contain truths, but they're not the absolute gospel truth.
Also, Vatican II presents Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium as inseparably connected, working together toward salvation, so Scripture is not treated as secondary material.
Thus, the Church (through her Magisterium) has the authority to interpret the Word of God authentically.
“Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant… it listens… guards… and expounds it faithfully.”
Thus, the Magisterium does not judge God’s Word, but the correctness of its own interpretation—and it is “at its service.”
In Catholicism, Church teaching authority (the Magisterium) and Sacred Scripture are not rivals. They are inseparably linked parts of one divine “deposit of the Word of God”, entrusted to the Church, and the Church’s authority exists to interpret the Word authentically for the sake of salvation.
Scripture is truly God’s Word—but it is not self-interpreting.
The Church teaches that Sacred Scripture is God’s speech written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is the “supreme rule of faith” in the sense that it is God’s Word and must nourish and regulate preaching.
But Scripture is not treated as a text whose meaning is guaranteed by private reading alone. Scripture is meant to be read and interpreted “in the Church,” in the “sacred spirit” in which it was written, with serious attention to the whole Scripture and its living ecclesial context, and reading it with the eyes of Christ.
In sum:
- Primacy of Scripture: Scripture is the Word of God and the primary content the Church hands on and interprets.
- Primacy of authority (in interpretation): the Church’s Magisterium has the authoritative role to ensure the meaning of Scripture is interpreted authentically within the living faith of the Church.
- Not “either/or”: one cannot rightly set them up as “Bible vs Church.” Catholicism insists the three (Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium) belong together.
Scripture has primacy as God’s Word; the Church has primacy of authoritative interpretation—but only as servant of that Word, not as something above it.
True Catholic and Christian identity is defined by adherence to the truth of Church doctrine rather than selective belief.