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Bible Dictionaries
Primacy
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary
or The highest post in the church. The Romanists contend that St. Peter, by our Lord's appointment, had a primacy of sovereign authority and jurisdiction over the apostles. This, however, is denied by the Protestants, and that upon just grounds. Dr. Barrow observes, (Works, vol. 1: p. 557, ) that there are several sorts of primacy which may belong to a person in respect of others.
1. A primacy of worth or personal excellency.
2. A primacy of reputation and esteem.
3. A primacy of order or bare dignity and precedence.
4. A primacy of power and jurisdiction. As for the first of these, a primacy of worth, we may well grant it to Peter, admitting that probably he did exceed the rest of his brethren in personal endowments and capacities; particularly in quickness of apprehension, boldness of spirit, readiness of speech, charity to our Lord, and zeal for his service.
2. As to the primacy of repute, which St. Paul means when he speaks of those who had a special reputation, of those who seemed to be pillars, of the supereminent apostles, Galatians 2:6; Galatians 2:9 . 2 Corinthians 11:5; 2 Corinthians 12:11 . this advantage cannot be refused him, being a necessary consequent of those eminent qualities resplendent in him, and of the illustrious performances achieved by him beyond the rest. This may be inferred from that renown which he hath had from the beginning; and likewise from his being so constantly ranked in the first place before the rest of his brethren.
3. As to a primacy of order or bare dignity, importing that commonly in all meetings and proceedings, the other apostles did yield him the precedence, may be questioned; for this does not seem suitable to the gravity of such persons, of their condition and circumstances, to stand upon ceremonies of respect; for out Lord's rules seem to exclude all semblance of ambition, all kind of inequality and distance between his apostles. But yet this primacy may be granted as probable upon divers accounts of use and convenience; it might be useful to preserve order, and to promote expedition, or to prevent confusion, distraction, and dilatory obstruction in the management of things.
4. As to a primacy importing a superiority in command, power or jurisdiction, this we have great reason to deny upon the following considerations.
1. For such a power it was needful that a commission from God, its founder, should be granted in absolute and perspicuous terms; but no such commission is extant in Scripture.
2. If so illustrious an office was instituted by our Saviour, it is strange, that no where in the evangelical or apostolical history there should be any express mention of that institution.
3. If St. Peter had been instituted sovereign of the apostolical senate, his office and state had been in nature and kind very distinct from the common office of the other apostles, as the office of a king from the office of any subject; and probably would have been signified by some distinct name, as that of arch-apostle, arch- pastor, the Vicar of Christ, or the like; but no such name or title was assumed by him, or was by the rest attributed to him.
4. There was no office above that of an apostle, known to the apostles or primitive church, Ephesians 4:11 . 1 Corinthians 12:28 .
5. Our Lord himself declared against this kind of primacy, prohibiting his apostles to affect, to seek, to assume, or admit a superiority of power one above another, Luke 22:14-24 . Mark 9:35 .
6. We do not find any peculiar administration committed to St. Peter, nor any privilege conferred on him which was not also granted to the other apostles, John 20:23 . Mark 16:15 .
7. When Peter wrote two Catholic epistles, there does not appear in either of them any intimation or any pretence to this arch-apostolical power.
8. In all relations which occur in Scripture about controversies incident of doctrine or practice, there is no appeal made to St. Peter's judgment or allegation of it as decisive, no argument is built on his authority.
9. St. Peter no where appears intermeddling as a judge or governor paramount in such cases; yet where he doth himself deal with heretics and disorderly persons, he proceedeth not as a pope decreeing; but as an apostle, warming, arguing and persuading against them.
10. The consideration of the apostles proceeding in the conversion of people, in the foundation of churches, and in administration of their spiritual affairs, will exclude any probability of St. Peter's jurisdiction over them. They went about their business, not by order or licence from St. Peter, but, according to special direction of God's Spirit.
11. The nature of the apostolic ministry, their not being fixed in one place of residence, but continually moving about the world; the state of things at that time, and the manner of St. Peter's life, render it unlikely that he had such a jurisdiction over the apostles as some assign him.
12. It was indeed most requisite that every apostle should have a complete, absolute, independent authority in managing the duties and concerns of the office, that he might not any wise be obstructed in the discharge of them, not clogged with a need to consult others, not hampered with orders from those who were at a distance.
13. The discourse and behaving of St. Paul towards St. Peter doth evidence that he did not acknowledge any dependence on him, or any subjection to him, Galatians 2:11 .
14. If St. Peter had been appointed sovereign of the church, it seems that it should have been requisite that he should have outlived all the apostles; for otherwise, the church would have wanted a head, or there must have been an inextricable controversy who that head was. But St. Peter died long before St. John, as all agree, and perhaps before divers others of the apostles. From these arguments we must evidently see what little ground the church of Rome hath to derive the supremacy of the pope from the supposed primacy of St. Peter.
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Buck, Charles. Entry for 'Primacy'. Charles Buck Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/cbd/p/primacy.html. 1802.
