Highlights from "Rome's Audacious Claim" - Chapter 8

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We have already seen that Paul listed James before Peter in his list of those “reputed” to be pillars (Gal. 2:9). Not only did he list James first, but his use of the word “reputed” suggests he did not necessarily agree with the estimation others had made.

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Paul could not have said that he did not care what Peter was if he thought Peter had “full, supreme, and universal power over the whole church.” In fact, dismissing the reputation of James, Peter, and John implies that he saw a “full, supreme, and universal power” over all three. Paul assigned all his actions and opinions the one “full, supreme, and universal” authority that Scripture does mention: Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18).

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Paul gives not a hint that Peter carried any legitimate authority in the Corinthian church, attributing all authority and power to God and warning them not to “boast about human beings” (1 Cor. 3:21).

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To Titus he [Paul] writes, “You must say what is consistent with sound doctrine,” and, “Say these things. Exhort and correct with all authority” (Titus 2:1, 15).

Despite this emphasis on sound doctrine and on how to live as a member of God’s family, he mentions neither Peter nor Rome. It is not plausible that Paul knew that Peter had “full, supreme, and universal power,” was “pastor of the entire church” and sole possessor of the keys of the kingdom, yet he never mentioned this in a letter emphasizing the things consistent with sound doctrine.

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We need to add in the testimony of Paul’s companion, Luke, who wrote the book of Acts. At the end of Acts, we find Paul in Rome under house arrest. He taught from there for two years. Although Paul was in Rome and teaching, Luke finds it unnecessary to mention Peter or the authority of the church of Rome.

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We cannot find arguments against Peter or Roman bishops having “full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church” because no one protests something that does not exist. Since neither Peter nor the bishops of Rome made any such claim in the early history of the Church, we will never find anyone writing against the claim.