Papal Inspiration?

This article is a copy of a message I sent to Patrick Madrid, in response to a program he aired on EWTN.

I was watching your program on EWTN yesterday and heard you refer several times to the guidance of the pope by the Holy Spirit.  I was intrigued by this proposition and thought I'd look to the word of God for confirmation.  Here's what I found:

Question #1:  Does the Bible tell us to whom the Holy Spirit revealed the word of God?  As I was searching for the answer to this question, I discovered that it truly does tell us who was/is inspired by the Holy Spirit.  In Ephesians 3:4-7 we read, "He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power."  So, the word of God tells us that inspiration of the Holy Spirit was limited to apostles and prophets.

Question #2:  If the Holy Spirit inspires the pope, he must be either an apostle or prophet, since inspiration was limited to these two groups of people.  The next question, therefore, is, "What characterizes an apostle and a prophet?"  If we can find characteristics of these two groups of people in the word of God, then the pope must meet the characteristics of one or the other.  As I searched the word of God I did find recorded for our edification and application characteristics of apostles and prophets.  First, the apostles.  As the apostles were searching for one to fill the vacancy left by Judas, Peter lists these qualifications:  "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."  (Acts 1:21-22).  These qualifications are going to be very difficult (actually impossible) for any living human being today to meet!  An apostle is one who lived during the time of Christ, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up into heaven!  That would make any apostle today 2000 or more years old!  Of course, we know nobody today can meet these strict requirements.  That means that no true apostles live today!

Question #3:  Well, we know the pope is not an apostle.  Therefore, if he is truly inspired, he must be a prophet.  What characterizes a true prophet of God?  I thought I would start by trying to learn more about prophecy.  I turned to 1 Corinthians 12.  Here Paul gives us a list of spiritual gifts, which he calls manifestations of the Spirit (verse 7).  I studied this list and found that prophecy is included as one of these manifestations of the Spirit (verse 10).  It is included among other manifestations, such as speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healings, and miracles.  So, prophecy is a miraculous manifestation of the Spirit.  I turned to chapter 14, where Paul tells us more about prophecies.  He tells the Corinthians that prophecy is a gift they should especially desire (verse 1), since prophets speak edification, exhortation, and comfort to men (verse 3).  However, before reading chapter 14, I read chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians.  Here Paul tells us something puzzling:  He tells us that prophecies, tongues, and knowledge are going to cease (verse 8).  I turned back to chapter 12, and found all 3 of these listed among the spiritual gifts.  But not everything is going to cease.  He closes chapter 13 saying that faith, hope, and love are not going to cease (verse 13).  He actually tells us when prophecies will cease:  When that which is perfect is come (verse 10).  So, the key to determining whether the pope is a prophet or not is determining when that which is perfect would come.

Question #4:  What was that perfect thing which would come and end prophecies?  I had to include this question as part of the study, since Paul tells us that prophecies would not endure past this event.  So, before looking for the characteristics of a true prophet, I thought I should determine what that perfect thing was.  If it's already come, then there can be no true prophets today.  If it hasn't come, then I'll continue looking for characteristics of a true prophet.  I had heard others say that the perfect, which was to come, referred to Jesus.  We know He was sinless, and we also know He is going to come at some point in the future.  But something bothered me.  Paul tells us that faith, HOPE, and love would remain AFTER that which is perfect had come.  I turned to Romans 8, to learn more about hope.  Paul tells us, "Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption the redemption of our body.  For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."  (verses 23-25)  But what is going to happen when Jesus comes again?  Our bodies will be changed in the twinkling of an eye!  (1 Corinthians 15:50-57)  But Paul tells us that we hope in eagerness, waiting for the redemption of our body.  Once we see this, our hope will become actuality.  At that time, hope will end, since that we hope for will have come.  Therefore, as long as this hasn't happened, Jesus hasn't yet come.  But he tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that we are still hoping, even after that which is perfect had come, ending the age of prophecy.  This could only mean that the perfect thing to come is not Jesus.

Question #5:  I had to take yet another path on my search to answer the question about prophets.  I now knew what the perfect thing was not, but still didn't know what it was.  I then asked myself, "What was the purpose of prophecy?"  If I knew the answer to this question, then I could determine whether it's purpose had ended, and know with certainty whether prophecies had ceased.  I looked in 1 Corinthians 12-14 again.  It gives us several purposes of the gifts (edification, comfort, exhortation, signs), but doesn't directly tell us its purpose.  It does tell us that prophecy was in part (chapter 13, verse 9), and that something which is complete (perfect) would come and end prophecy.  So then I thought, "What did prophets reveal?"  I reconsidered Ephesians 3:5.  Paul tells us that prophets had revealed to them by the Holy Spirit the mystery that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs.  Later in Ephesians he asks for prayers that he might open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel (chapter 6, verse 19).  So the apostles and prophets had mysteries revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, and Paul prayed for strength as he proclaimed the mystery of the gospel.  So, the purpose of prophecy was to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, revealed to the apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit.

Question #6:  I was beginning to understand more fully the purpose of prophecy as I studied the word of God.  I now understood that prophecy was temporary, its purpose was to reveal the mystery of the gospel, the Holy Spirit was the one who inspired certain people, and these people so inspired were limited to apostles and prophets.  Since the apostles and prophets revealed the mystery of the gospel, I next needed to determine what this gospel was and whether its revelation was complete.  If it was, then the purpose of prophecy had ended, and therefore that which was perfect had come.  If its revelation was incomplete, then the purpose of prophecy had not yet ended.  So, "What is the gospel?"  Paul tells us that he preached the gospel, and it consisted of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).  We know that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).  Therefore, those who are saved have believed the gospel.  We know that the saved are found in Christ's church (Acts 2:47).  Paul tells us that the letter to the Galatians was written to the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:2).  Since the Galatian letter was written to the members of the Galatian churches, it was written to those who had believed the gospel, were saved, and were added to the church by Jesus.  But Paul rebukes the Galatians!  He says, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."  (Galatians 1:6-9)  Wow!  Paul tells the Galatians that anyone, be he man or angel, who preaches anything other than the word preached by Paul, is to be accursed!!  How could prophets continue to reveal mysteries not revealed during Paul's life and avoid being accursed?!  If the purpose of prophecy was to reveal the mystery of the gospel, and the gospel was fully revealed during the lifetime of Paul, then true prophecy had to cease around the time of Paul's death!  Since Paul died more than 1900 years ago, that which was complete had to have come shortly thereafter, ending the era of prophesy.

Question #7:  Things were looking bad for the pope and his claim of inspiration.  I learned that he could not be a true apostle, that the Holy Spirit revealed the mystery of the gospel to only one other group of people, and one that I knew was inspired (the apostle Paul) warned Christians some 1900+ years ago that anyone who preached anything other than that he had already preached to them was to be accursed!  Already knowing that the pope's claim could not be true, I searched for the answer to my earlier question, "What characterizes a true prophet of God?"  I turned to Acts 8.  Philip was part of a group of Christians, scattered about preaching the word (verse 4).  He went to Samaria and preached Christ to them, performing miracles as he preached (verses 5-8).  The multitudes heeded the words spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles that he did (verse 6).  A man named Simon was among the believers, and he was baptized (verses 9-13).  The Bible next states that the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, and sent two apostles to them:  Peter and John (verses 14-15).  These apostles did something that had not yet happened:  They laid their hands on the believers, and they received the Holy Spirit (verses 15-17).  We know from Acts 2:38 that those who were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit, but evidently they did not receive the miraculous manifestations of the Spirit.  Only when one of the apostles laid their hands upon those who had been baptized did they receive the miraculous measure of the Spirit.  I then looked at the list of gifts revealed to us in 1 Corinthians 12.  Yes, prophecy is still listed as one of these gifts.  So, a true prophet became a true prophet by the laying on of the hands of an apostle, who granted to them the miraculous gift of prophecy.  This ended any thought that the pope's claim could be true.  Not only was the gospel fully revealed during the lifetime of Paul, only an apostle could perform the necessary action to grant one the miraculous gift of prophecy.  Since the apostles all died some 1900+ years ago, when the last prophet alive after the death of the apostles also died, so did prophecy.

Summary

The claims of the pope and those following him that he is guided by inspiration of the Holy Spirit are false on several grounds.  The Holy Spirit revealed the gospel to apostles and prophets only.  Qualifications for one to be appointed a true apostle cannot be met by any human being alive today or yet to live in the future.  A true prophet received this ability through the laying on of an apostle's hands.  Since the apostles have been dead for centuries, so has prophecy.  Paul warns the members of Christ's church at Galatia to avoid those who teach something other than the gospel preached by Paul.  He goes so far as to say that those who preach such perversions are to be accursed.  Since any man or angel who preaches anything other than the gospel preached by Paul over 1900 years ago is to be accursed, this condemnation falls upon the pope and any other human being who would dare add to or take away from the pure gospel preached by those truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

Footnote

Catholics with whom I've spoken in the past all turn to "church fathers" and "tradition" to justify their claims.  I published an article on my website dealing with the Bible and authority.  It's entitled "Sola Scriptura:  Why we must use the Bible only."  Please review this study should you have questions as to why I demand proof of papal inspiration be recorded within the pages of the Holy Scriptures.