Let us listen to the APOSTLE Paul concerning what he taught, whether by word of mouth, traditions or epistles & FROM WHERE THIS CAME.
I Cor 4:6 Now, brethren, I have applied these things to myself & Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us THE MEANING of the saying, "Do not go BEYOND what is written." Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.
I Cor 4:16-18 I appeal to you therefore, be followers (imitators) of me. That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved & faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I TEACH EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH.
I Cor 7:17 Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him & to which God has called him. This is what I PRESCRIBE IN ALL THE CHURCHES.
Gal 1:1ff Paul, an apostle—NOT FROM MEN NOR THROUGH MAN, but through Jesus Christ & God the Father...I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ & are turning to a different gospel—
As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
For I would have you KNOW, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is NOT man’s gospel. For I did NOT RECEIVE IT FROM ANY MAN NOR WAS I TAUGHT IT, BUT RECEIVED IT THROUGH A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.
Acts 26:14-16 I heard a voice saying to me in the HEBREW LANGUAGE, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I AM JESUS whom you are persecuting.
16But rise & stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant & witness to the things in which you have seen me & to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people & from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you--
18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light & from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins & a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Acts 22:9ff ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied...Then I asked, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up & go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’
‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him.
14Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will & to see the Righteous One & to hear His voice. YOU WILL BE HIS WITNESS TO ALL MEN OF WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN & HEARD.
As you can see from Scripture, Paul did NOT receive TRADITIONS handed down to him from any man concerning the gospel. He received direct revelation from the Lord Himself & from the prophetic OT Scriptures, given by God to the prophets.
The other APOSTLES all agreed with Paul concerning what He taught (the 12 APOSTLES' TEACHING was directly SEEING & HEARING FROM CHRIST--just as Paul had)--and they offered him the right hand of fellowship & Paul didn't learn from them or had anything added to what the Lord revealed to him concerning the gospel message of the faith once for all delivered to the saints. (Gal 2:1-10; Jude 1:3)
Heb 1:1,2 IN THE PAST God spoke to our ancestors THROUGH THE PROPHETS at many times & in various ways,
BUT IN THESE LAST DAYS HE HAS SPOKEN TO US BY HIS SON, whom He appointed heir of all things & through whom also He made the universe.
3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory & the exact representation of His being (substance, nature), sustaining all things BY HIS POWERFUL WORD.
Here is another excerpt from brother John MacArthur, internationally well known Bible expositor & preacher.
Grace to You
I Thess 2:13; 2 Thess 2:15
"It is fair to point out that the Thessalonians were at a disadvantage compared to Christians today. They did not have all the written books of NT Scripture. Paul wrote both of his epistles very early in the NT era—about 51AD.
The two letters were probably written only a few months apart & are among the very earliest of all the NT writings.
The Thessalonians’ primary source of gospel truth was Paul’s teaching. As an apostle, Paul taught with absolute authority. When he taught them, his message
was the Word of God & he commended them for recognizing that:
“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as THE WORD OF MEN, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (I Thess 2:13).
Elsewhere he said that the commandments he gave them were “by the authority of the Lord Jesus.” (I Thess 4:2)
The
substance of what he taught them represented the same body of truth that is available to us in the NT. How do we know? Paul himself said so.
Even as he was recording his inspired epistle to them, he reminded them, “Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?” (2 Thess 2:5)
The written Word simply confirmed & recorded for all time the authoritative truth he had ALREADY TAUGHT THEM IN PERSON. These epistles were a written reminder of what they had already heard from Paul’s own mouth. (I Thess 4:2)
2 Thess 2:15 confirms this: “Stand firm & hold to the traditions which you WERE taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”
There he declares, first of all, that his epistles to them are authoritative, inspired truth. This verse is a clear statement that Paul himself regarded these epistles as inspired Scripture.
But notice also that this verse joins the apostolic “traditions” with the written Word of God. The “traditions” necessary for Christians to be discerning are recorded for all ages in the text of Scripture.
Those who claim that apostolic tradition is
other truth
in addition to Scripture often attempt to use this verse for support. Note, however, that Paul is not saying that “the traditions [they] were taught” are
different from the written Scriptures.
Rather, he links the two, affirming that the written Word of God is the only permanent & authoritative record of the apostolic tradition. He is specifically suggesting that the Thessalonians should not trust “word of mouth” or letters pretending to be from apostolic sources.
Only what they had heard firsthand from Paul’s own lips or read in authentic letters from him were they to treat as authoritative, divine truth.
That is why Paul usually signed his epistles “with [his] own hand.” (I Cor 16:21; Gal 6:11; Col 4:18; 2 Thess 3:17; Philemon 1:19)
With this in mind, 2 Thess 2:15 cannot be used to support the claim that extrabiblical, spiritually binding “apostolic tradition” is passed down VERBALLY through popes & bishops.
Paul’s whole point was that the Thessalonians should treat as authoritative only what they had heard from his own mouth or received from his own pen. That body of truth—the Word of God—was to be the measuring stick they used to examine all things.
Two other verses confirm this. In 2 Thess 3:6 Paul writes, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life & not according to the tradition which you received from us.”
And in verse 14 he adds, “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person & do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.”
Therefore, Paul is affirming that the Bible is the only reliable criterion by which believers in this age can evaluate messages claiming to be truth from God."