Question: “Pastor Ronald, without apostolic succession, how does Protestantism stay true to the apostles’ Church and teachings?”

Answer:

Excellent and thoughtful question, and one that goes straight to the heart of the Catholic–Protestant debate over authority and continuity. Let’s unpack it carefully, using biblical theology, church history, and reasoned apologetics to show how Protestantism maintains true apostolic continuity, not by physical succession of hands, but by faithful succession of truth.

Apostolic Succession Is About Faithfulness, Not Fleshly Lineage

The core of the question assumes that apostolic succession is a biological or institutional chain of ordination that which authority is passed down almost mechanically from bishop to bishop, guaranteeing authenticity. But Scripture and history reveal that apostolic authority was never about physical succession; it was about doctrinal fidelity. In the New Testament, apostolic authority came directly from Christ (John 20:21; Gal. 1:1), and the apostles did not pass on their unique, eyewitness authority to new “apostles.” Instead, they passed on the apostolic teaching, the “faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Paul did not tell Timothy to create a new chain of popes and bishops; he told him to “guard the deposit” (1 Tim. 6:20) and entrust the teaching to faithful men (2 Tim. 2:2). The focus was not on succession of office, but succession of sound doctrine.

Apostolic continuity, therefore, is not about who laid hands on whom; it’s about who continues to teach what the apostles taught. As the early reformers put it:

“The true Church is wherever the Word of God is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered.” (Belgic Confession, Article 29)

That means the church’s legitimacy flows from truth, not from institutional pedigree.

The Early Church Fathers Agreed: Apostolic Authority, Apostolic Teaching

Ironically, even the Church Fathers understood apostolicity as primarily doctrinal continuity. For instance:

• Irenaeus (2nd century) defended the faith by appealing to apostolic doctrine, not by claiming unbroken hands-on succession:

  “We have learned the plan of our salvation from those to whom the Gospel was delivered.” (Against Heresies, 3.1.1)

• Tertullian argued that any church teaching differently from the apostles’ doctrine had already cut itself off from the apostles, regardless of lineage:

  “If they are not of apostolic doctrine, they cannot be reckoned as apostolic churches.” (Prescription Against Heretics, 32)

That means even if someone could trace his ordination back to Peter himself, it would mean nothing if his teaching contradicted apostolic truth. Apostolic succession is therefore not a chain of hands, but a chain of truth, and that’s precisely what the Reformation reclaimed.

The Protestant Church Has True Apostolic Continuity by the Word and the Spirit

Protestantism does not reject the apostles’ authority; it rejects the misuse of that authority. When reformers like Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli broke from Rome, they did not create a “new” church. They restored the old one, purging it of centuries of unbiblical traditions. They were not rebels; they were reformers, calling the Church back to her foundation: “built upon the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20). The Reformation claim is this: We have the same authority the apostles had, because we have the same message, the same Scripture, and the same Holy Spirit. Authority in the Church does not depend on ecclesiastical lineage, but on Scriptural faithfulness. 

This aligns directly with Paul’s solemn warning in Galatians 1:8, where he declares that even if “we,” referring to the apostles themselves or an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel contrary to the one already delivered, they are to be rejected and considered accursed. This striking statement underscores a foundational truth: the authority of apostolic succession is not grounded in ecclesiastical position, lineage, or institutional continuity, but in fidelity to the apostolic gospel itself. Paul does not appeal to office or title as the safeguard of truth, but to the content of the gospel message. The implication is clear: any claim to apostolic authority must be measured against the doctrinal integrity of the original gospel, not merely by historical succession or hierarchical status. This principle dismantles the notion that institutional continuity alone guarantees doctrinal purity. Instead, it elevates the primacy of revealed truth over human office. The true mark of apostolic continuity is not who holds the position, but who faithfully proclaims the same gospel once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Therefore, any church, leader, or tradition that deviates from the apostolic message forfeits its claim to authentic authority, regardless of its historical pedigree or ecclesial prestige.

“But who ensures authentic interpretation without a magisterium?”

This is a fair question, but it assumes that unity must be institutionally enforced, not spiritually preserved. Christ did not promise that His Church would have a single centralized earthly office. He promised that His Spirit would guide His people into all truth (John 16:13). The New Testament model is not of one bishop controlling the faith, but of a community of believers who test every teaching by Scripture (Acts 17:11) and submit to the apostolic Word (1 Thess. 2:13). Yes, human denominations differ but those who truly submit to Scripture still share core apostolic doctrines:

• The Trinity

• The deity of Christ

• The incarnation and resurrection

• Salvation by grace through faith

• The authority of Scripture

These essentials unite global Protestantism across cultures and denominations. Theological diversity does not destroy unity; it refines faith and forces believers to return continually to the Word of God. By contrast, the claim of Rome to be the “infallible interpreter” has led to centuries of dogmatic development that contradict early apostolic teaching, Marian dogmas, indulgences, purgatory, and papal infallibility, none of which existed in the first two centuries of Christianity. So if “apostolic succession” leads to doctrines the apostles never taught, what good is that succession?

The Authority to Teach Was Never Exclusive to an Institutional Hierarchy

When Jesus commissioned His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, He gave the Great Commission to the Church, not to a clerical elite. The authority to teach, preach, and make disciples is a shared apostolic mission, not a restricted succession of ordinations. In Acts, we see ordinary believers spreading the gospel (Acts 8:4), and local elders appointed in every church (Acts 14:23), not a single global hierarchy ruling from one city. This is exactly what the Reformation restored: the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet. 2:9), under one High Priest, Christ. Our authority to teach does not come from Rome; it comes from the same Christ who said,

“My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27).

True Apostolicity Is Measured by Truth, Not Titles

If apostolic authority means fidelity to apostolic truth, then Protestantism, not Roman Catholicism, stands in closer alignment with the New Testament church. Rome may have the hands, but the Reformers had the heart and the message of the apostles:

• Scripture alone is the final authority.

• Grace alone for salvation.

• Faith alone is the means of justification.

• Christ alone is the mediator.

• Glory to God alone.

That is what the apostles preached. That is what the early church believed. And that is what the Reformation recovered.

In Summary

• Protestants do not reject apostolic succession; they redefine it biblically. It is not the succession of bishops, but the succession of truth.

• The Church did not create authority; it received it through the apostolic Word.

• Unity comes from the Spirit and the Word, not from institutional hierarchy.

• Authority remains in the Gospel itself, not in any office claiming infallibility.

So yes, Protestants can and do claim continuity with the original apostolic Church, because we hold fast to what the apostles actually taught, not what later institutions added to it.

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Former Adventists Philippines

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