Just three thoughts:
- Since the Scriptures are God-breathed, they are necessarily true and, therefore, authoritative (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). Because God is the author of the Gospel, it carries the weight of its author.
- The authority of the Gospel is acknowledged, not created, by the Church. The Church gains its authority from the Scriptures, not vice versa. Authority is intrinsic to God and His Word. All other authority, including the Church and its leaders, is derivative (Rom. 13:1-12, Matt. 28:18-20).
- Jesus’ entire life here on earth was testifying to absolute truth and he claimed that “everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Pilate responds, like most today, with a sneer of skepticism “What is truth?” (Jn. 18:37-38).