Expert: Sal - 1/10/2007

Question
My daughter's question was, how did the early church decide which scriptures were divinely inspired and should be included in the canon?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

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Hi, I'm a Catholic doing a multidenominational Bible Study, and I was woedering if you had any scripture references for intercession. I've got scripture that says Jesus interceeds for us, as does the Holy Spirit, but i've always been taught that the saints and Mary interceed for us as well. I know that when a protestant uses the word "saint" , it refers to any saved Christian...a little different from the way we define sainthood...but if you have references it would be helpful. Thanks!!
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Dear Karen:

Thanks for the questions. I will first look at the question is it biblical to pray for one another? Then I will explore the question is it biblical to ask saints to pray with us to God? Having established those two points, I will consider the particular intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Catholics view Christians as one family (Romans 12:5) with God as our Father (Ephesians 4:5-6). What father would not be pleased when his children help one another? Catholics believe that this unity shared by Christians is very profound. “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all members share its joy” (1 Corinthians 12:26). The fact that God’s children can and should help one another by prayer is beyond dispute. “I beg you brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf” (Romans 15:30). “But you must help us with your prayers, so that on our behalf God may be thanked for the gift granted us through the prayers of so many” (2 Corinthians 1:11). Other examples of intercessory prayer for other Christians may be found in Ephesians 6:18-20; Philippians 1:19; Colossians 4:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; 3:1-2; Philemon 22; James 5:13-16, and 1 John 5:16. We even have biblical examples of praying for those who are not united with God’s family (Matthew 5:44 and 1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Catholics do not pray to the saints in the same way as we do to God. All prayer is directed to God. However, Catholics do ask for saints to pray with us to God. We believe in the communion of saints. That means that those Christians who have died are still in communion with Christians still here on earth. They still care about our needs from heaven just as they did while here with us. The Bible gives us clear examples of believers who have left this life still caring for, and interceding for, other believers.

In the Old Testament we read of Judas Maccabeus who related a vision that God had given to him concerning deceased believers. “What he saw was this: Onias, the former high priest…was praying with outstretched arms for the whole Jewish community. Then in the same way another man appeared…Onias then said of him, ‘This is God’s prophet Jeremiah, who loves his brethren and fervently prays for his people and their holy city’” (2 Maccabees 15:12-14). So here we have evidence of deceased believers, a high priest and a great prophet, continuing their intercession for God’s people even after their deaths.

Also in the Old Testament which did not have the full revelation of God (see Hebrews 1:1-2) we find an understanding that one may pray for another. “If a man sins against another man, one can intercede for him with the LORD” (1 Samuel 2:25).

Jesus informs us that the faithful that have left this life are still alive to God. “Moses in the passage about the bush…called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. All are alive to Him” (Luke 20: 37-38). Jesus graphically demonstrated this truth on the Mount of Transfiguration where he spoke to Elijah and Moses (Matthew 17:3). Elijah may never have died since he was taken up to heaven while apparently still alive (2 Kings 2:11). Moses, however, had certainly died long ago (Deuteronomy 34:5-8). In the New Testament we read of Christians in heaven interceding for those on earth. “Along with their harps, the elders were holding vessels of gold filled with aromatic spices which were the prayers of God’s holy people” (Revelation 5:8).  

Catholics believe that the Bible would not so strongly recommend and show the practice of intercessory prayer if it were not of great benefit to us. One such benefit is that the strong faith of the saints can serve to support our weaknesses. The saints can supply what is so lacking in our own faith. Jesus illustrated this by helping someone based on the faith of others. Examples of this can be found in Matthew 8:5-13; 15:22-28; Mark 2:1-5; 9:17-29; Luke 8:41-42, 49-55.

Catholics reason that if we are to pray for one another while here on earth (I Timothy 2:11), and our brothers and sisters who have left this life are alive before God (Mark 9:4), and if the prayers of a holy person are very powerful (James 5:16), and if those Christians in heaven have been made perfect (Hebrews 12:22-23; Revelation 21:27), then it follows that the prayers of the saints in heaven must be infinitely more powerful than the prayers of the sinners here on earth. Therefore, we rightly and wisely seek the intercession of the saints.

Catholics see Mary as the “Queen of the Saints”. She is the greatest of the saints. This is so not just because she is the only mother of the only God, but because of her great faithful obedience to the will of God. “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She is the humble servant that God has exalted. “For He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness; all ages to come shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). Catholics view the Virgin Mary as the most powerful intercessor of all the saints. We believe that she sits at her Son’s right hand (the place of honor, cf. Luke 22:69; Acts 7:56; Hebrews 8:1; 10:12) in heaven and from there makes intercession for her other children (Revelation 12:17; cf. John 19:26-27).

While this belief is not explicitly taught in the New Testament we do have strong support for it in Old Testament typology. Bible scholars agree that the kingdom of David was a type of the heavenly kingdom. The king was a type of Christ. The kingdom of David always had a queen mother who possessed power and authority only second to her son, the king. The queen mother was a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1 Kings 2:19-20 we read how the queen mother was honored above all others by her son. The king bowed to her in a show of great respect. He commanded that a throne be set up at his right for the queen mother. From there she would intercede for the people of the kingdom with her son. So we can logically expect that Mary as the king of kings’ mother to be in heaven at her Son’s right hand interceding with unique power for her other children, the people of God. We can also expect that her Son will say, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

Mary’s intercessory powers are graphically shown in John 2:1-11. Here we see Mary intercede for the groom at a wedding feast when the wine ran out. She gives us, what could be the most important advice in the Bible, “Do whatever he tells you” (v. 5). Even though his hour has not yet come (v. 4), Jesus cannot refuse his mother’s request (v. 7f). Our Lord’s statement in v. 4 indicates that when his hour does come his mother can intercede with great power.

I believe that I have shown that prayer to the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary is biblical.

If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to let me know.

God Bless You,
Sal  

Answer
Dear Karen:

The Church was in no hurry to define what was inspired Scripture. It was not until about 400 A.D. that the Church decided what was to be in the Bible. The reason for the delayed decision was that Jesus left us with a teaching Church (Mt. 16:17-19; Jn. 21:15-17). It was only when heretics began to appeal to books that were not part of the accepted canon of the Bible that the Church met in council to determine exactly what was inspired and what was a forgery. The Church did this concerning both the Old and New Testaments.

Concerning the Old Testament the Church asked what has always been read by the Church as inspired? Since Jesus and the Apostles usually quoted a certain version of the Old Testament the Church decided that that must be the inspired version. This Old Testament, called the Septuagint (Greek for '70' the number of Jewish scholars that supposedly translated the Hebrew into Greek),
contained seven more books than the Palestinian version that the Protestants use. Martin Luther rejected the Septuagint because it contain 2 Maccabees which obviously supported the Catholic belief in Purgatory. A belief that he denied. Therefore, he chose the shorter version of the Old Testament. Today Protestant scholars admit the Luther was wrong to omit the seven books.  

Concerning the New Testament the Church looked at whether the particular book had always been viewed as inspired. The Church basically said, "Which books do we know were written by our Bishops in the past?" So the Church determined that the Catholic Bishop St. Matthew did write the Gospel that bears his name so that book was included in the Bible. The Church did that for every book that claimed to be from and Apostle or claimed to have the backing of an Apostle. Many more books were rejected as forgeries than were accepted.    

I hope that this was helpful to you.

God Bless You,
Sal