Bible and Church Belong Together

For over forty years I've acted as celebrant at many, many, many weddings – how many is many? 

Two common statements about weddings kind of “ring in my ruminator” when thinking about the title line to this stuff I’m writing.

“The two were just meant for each other . . . “

“What God put together, let no person put apart . . .

Not woman and man - Bible and Church, or if you prefer it the other way … Church and Bible. They are meant for each other, and belong to each other.  To the Church the Bible is “community property”.  Split from the Church, you don’t get to take the book away as part of the “settlement”.

The Bible’s role within the church has always been central to its life.  Church is the book’s birth place and natural habitat.  This “tradition” flows from Jesus’ own shaping by the scriptures he knew.  From the Hebrew Scriptures earliest Christians developed their understandings of what the living God was accomplishing through Jesus, and the reshaping of their lives.   The earlier Hebrew scared writings expanded with the emergence of the New Testament, which enjoyed the same reverence and status as the existing Hebrew writings, the church continued in its growth, expansion and life.  Church fathers and mothers over the first 1500 years of Christian history never considered any division between theology and biblical studies. 

The Bible as “common property amongst the People of God” provides an authoritative voice.  Not just because it’s there in an old book in black and white – it’s also there in flesh-n-blood, incarnated in the new community (aka “church”).  Hey, not very “Kiwi” (read “PC” if you don’t live in New Zealand) to think in terms like that, readily accepting authorities other than me and my opinion!  

The authority of scripture is from God.  Recently the Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright put responding to authority of the Bible’s voice this way; “in responding to the Bible we are responding to the exercise of the authority of God and the risen Lord Jesus the Son of God.”  Bible, Jesus, God the Father and church are linked; they belong together, because they are together.  

Church and Bible, the two were just meant for each other … Bible and Church, God put them together, let’s not be silly enough to think any person could really put them apart …” 

  

Oh, by the way … Bible and Church are not marriage partners.

I’m not really talking about marriage . . . really, I’m not . . . hey, read my title!