Do We Need a Pope?

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Hebrews 4:14

The media is abuzz over the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to America. The visit is highly controversial among some, and the man himself is certainly controversial. I'm not going to wade into the politics of the situation, but I do want to take a closer look at the role of "pope." Rather, I want to look at the Scripture and answer this question: Do we need a pope?

Catholic doctrine teaches that Jesus chose Peter as the foundation of the church, and that the popes, as his successors are the modern day heads of the church. They base this claim on Matthew 16:16-19, claiming that Peter was the rock that Jesus would build the church on. That claim however, doesn't hold up to spiritual cross-examination. Jesus, in fact, is the rock. His church was to be built on the confession of Him, just as Peter did in the conversation in Matthew 16.

Rather, 1 Corinthians 3:11 shows that Jesus is the foundation. This verse goes so far as to say that no other foundation can be laid. Everything we do is built upon Him. Note that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the question isn't whether or not the foundation lasts, but whether or not what is built on the foundation lasts. Only Jesus Christ and things done in His strength can stand eternally.

At this point, the conversation would probably shift to Ephesians 2:20, which speaks of "the foundation of the apostles and prophets." This is another passage supporters of the papacy use to support their claims, but a look at the full verse shows that this foundation is also Jesus Christ. as the verse calls Him the"chief corner stone."

Why then, does the Bible speak about the "foundation of the apostles and prophets?" I think the best illustration I've seen is one found in the history of our nation. Our nation could be said to have been built on the foundation of the founding fathers. Were the founding fathers themselves the foundation? No. The foundation of our nation was a set of principles regarding individual freedom and the role of government. The role of the founding fathers was to lay this foundation. They gave us the foundation, and it's up to us how we build on it.

Moving that to the spiritual realm, if you're saved, it's because someone laid the foundation of Jesus Christ for you. They were able to do that because someone laid it for them. That can eventually be traced back to the apostles and prophets. The prophets told the world about the coming Messiah, and the apostles first spread the news that He had come. From then on, we all build on the foundation they laid. We don't build on them; we build on Jesus.

Is there then, any need for an office such as the papacy? No, there's not. Going a step further than that, there's no need for an organized priesthood. In 2 Peter 2:5, the Bible reveals that all believers are priests with access to the Father. Over us is our High Priest, the greatest of them all, Jesus Christ.

Do we need a pope to be the foundation for us? No. Do we need an earthly authority over the worldwide church? No. Jesus is our foundation and our authority. Do we need a priest to grant us access to God? No. We have that access in Jesus Christ and His work of redemption. Because of that, we can boldly approach the throne, no pope required.