The May, 1996 issue of Episcopal Life posed the question as to whether God's revelation is complete or on-going. If the revelation is on-going, then God may call the church to do new things, such as ordain women, bless same-sex marriages, and make our language for God inclusive. If the revelation is already complete, then these new things could be seen as "innovations."
According to the Nicene Creed, Jesus Christ is "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God." These affirmations are made of Jesus and only of Jesus. He is the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians), "God's one and only Son" (John), and the "exact representation" of God's being (Hebrews). He is the definitive, complete, revelation of God.
The Creed also says that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. This means that the Spirit works now to reveal anew what is already given in Jesus by the Father. As the Spirit reveals the Father through the Son, the Spirit forms the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church," and the Spirit's work will be completed with the "resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."
The revelation may have been complete in Jesus, but its realization by the Spirit in subsequent history and in a sinful church is not complete. For example, Jesus' relations with women were quite revolutionary. He spoke with the woman at the well, and Mary sat at his feet and learned from him as a disciple from a teacher. But the New Testament contains passages that reflect the inequality of women, although these unequal relations were already being transformed by the revelation in Jesus. Similarly, in the Old Testament, God revealed in the Exodus that slavery was wrong. Nevertheless, the Hebrews had slaves, although their system of slavery was unusually humane because it was shaped by the event of the Exodus. Only later, as the Spirit interpreted the full significance of the Exodus, was slavery understood as radically wrong, and even now, it appears in new forms.
The task of the church is to realize in history the revelation begun in Jesus. He is the anchor, the source, the germ, the authority, for these subsequent developments. Under the guidance of the Spirit, the church can deepen, develop, or widen the original revelation, but it cannot deny or leave behind what began in him. If the church could develop new revelation, then the church should be designated as "God from God, Light from Light, very God from very God."
Therefore, any new thing proposed by the church must have its origin in Christ. For example, I can see no original authority for the present thrust of our economic system, nor for inclusive language for God, nor for the sexual revolution including the blessing of same sex unions. Christ fulfilled the economic vision of the Old Testament, he called God "Father," and he grounded sexuality in the male/female relationship of God's will for creation. I can, however, see authority for the full dignity of women and the abolition of modern-day market slavery.
This, as I understand it, is the Anglican position. At the time of the Reformation the Anglican Church stood against the Roman Church which claimed an on-going revelatory authority. Against this, Anglicans affirmed the authority of Scripture which enshrines the original revelation (Article VI), as well as the authority of the Church in matters of faith, provided the Church does not "ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written." (Article XX). God is revealed by Word and Spirit, Scripture interpreted by the Church. (Plenteous Harvest, July 1996)
Comments
I am not fully sure of all of this. The overall idea is sound, God's revelation is essentially complete and nothing qualitatively new will happen until the Spirit brings in the "life of the world to come," to quote the Creed.
As it is now, there have been two great acts of God, creation by God the Father and salvation given in Jesus Christ the Son. These two acts involve all three persons of the Trinity. Creation, however, is especially assigned to the Father, salvation to the Son. God's original intent for creation, as well as the revelation of salvation in Jesus Christ, are revealed in Scripture and only in Scripture. The church cannot go beyond Scripture until God's third great act occurs. It will be obvious when it happens. Christ will reappear "on the clouds of heaven" and everyone will see him. At that time, we will have new knowledge of God, knowledge that goes beyond present knowledge, although it will preserve and fulfill what is already given in Scripture. As Paul says, now we see only dimly as in a glass, then we shall see fully, face to face.
I am not sure on the matter of the inequality of women in the New Testament. Clearly, men and women are equal in terms of salvation, in dignity and honor before God. But men and women are not equal in all respects. Woman have possibilities that men do not have and vice-versa. There are two forms of humanity, Genesis 1:26, and the revelation in Christ does not deny our created nature but fulfills it. Therefore, the statement that "New Testament contains passages that reflect the inequality of women" needs to be qualified. Some of those New Testament statements may reflect inequalities given in creation and maintained by salvation in Christ, rather than inequalities redeemed in Jesus. This is a thorny subject and will require fuller treatment in another place.
In regard to Scripture denying the "present thrust of our economic system," I am not assailing the institution of private property. The distribution of the land as narrated in the book of Joshua affirms private property. What Scripture does not endorse is unlimited accumulation, and this can be seen in Joshua and throughout Scripture. Wealth without limits is strikingly censured by Jesus, by his words and way of life. The engine of the present economic order is the relentless drive for endless wealth. In regard to this, and the idea that slavery "appears in new forms," please see the essay entitled Scripture and Economics.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
July, 1996
