So now thou seest that in the kingdom of Christ [Scripture is the chiefest of the apostles], and in his church or congregation, and in his councils, the ruler is the scripture, approved through the miracles of the Holy Ghost, and men be servants only; and Christ is the head, and we all brethren. And when we call men our heads [we give the ministers reverence, not for themselves, but because of the word that they minister], that we do not because they be shorn or shaven, or because of their names, parson, vicar, bishop, pope; but only because of the word which they preach. If they err from the word, then may whomsoever God moveth his heart, play Paul, and correct him (cf. Galatians 2:11). If he will not obey the scripture, then have his brethren authority by the scripture to put him down, and to send him out of Christ’s church among the heretics, which prefer their false doctrine above the true word of Christ.
—William Tyndale
The Works of William Tyndale (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1849), 1:251.
Comments are closed