Doctrinal Development
The concept of Doctrinal Development was something that I never gave much thought to because, for me, the lie of “Protestant’s don’t have this” was at the forefront of what I was taught throughout my time at college. Now, I had no reason to ask questions, I believed what I believed…even though I spent hours disagreeing and debating other protestants (ie., no protestant agrees with another).
When I was investigating Catholicism this obviously came up. The protestants in my life told me that Catholic theology changes all the time, and they add new dogmas all the time. That they come up with novel things to believe that were never thought of in the early church and that protestant theology doesn’t do that (the immediate flaw I saw was that there are many protestant theologies…so which one did they mean?)
Therefore, like anything else, I wanted to take this into consideration and investigate it thoroughly starting with the lens of the Old Testament, then the New Testament, and into the Early Church.
Let’s begin.
1. Doctrinal Development in the Old Testament
A. Covenant Evolution
• Abrahamic Covenant: The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 15) was primarily based on faith, promising descendants, land, and blessings without detailed law.
• Mosaic Covenant: When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, God established a covenant based on the Law at Sinai (Exodus 19-20). This was a more structured, communal covenant that introduced specific laws to govern Israel’s social and religious life.
• Davidic Covenant: God’s covenant with David added a messianic promise, establishing the idea of an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-16), further developing the concept of Israel’s kingship as part of God’s plan.
B. Development in Understanding God’s Nature and Worship
• From Patriarchal Worship to Temple Worship: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped God through altars in various locations. This decentralized worship evolved with the establishment of a permanent temple in Jerusalem under Solomon (1 Kings 6-8).
• Prophetic Adjustments: Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah called Israel to moral righteousness and inner conversion beyond ritualistic observance (Isaiah 1:11-17, Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jeremiah spoke of a “new covenant,” foreshadowing the covenant of grace fulfilled in the New Testament.
Scholar Perspective: Geerhardus Vos, a Reformed biblical theologian, notes, “Old Testament revelation moves in an ascending line, while ever coming nearer to the point of completion” (Vos, Biblical Theology, 1948).
Therefore, in the Old Testament we see clear “ascension” in doctrinal understanding, we see that everything from understanding God, to covenants, to laws and even liturgical modes changed and developed.
Looking into the New Testament, we obviously see Jesus bring complete fullness to many things, though not everything.
2. Doctrinal Development in the New Testament
A. Fulfillment and Transformation of Old Testament Doctrine in Christ
• Law and Grace: Jesus reinterprets and fulfills the Mosaic Law, emphasizing love and mercy as the fulfillment of the law (Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 10:4). The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) expands moral teaching, moving from outward compliance to inward purity and love.
• Establishment of New Covenant: At the Last Supper, Jesus institutes the New Covenant through His blood (Luke 22:20). This covenant emphasizes forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ’s sacrifice, contrasting with the Old Testament’s animal sacrifices (Hebrews 9:15).
B. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Further Revelation
• Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to guide the church “into all truth” (John 16:13), implying an ongoing understanding of doctrine.
• The Apostles develop early Christian doctrine through the Spirit’s guidance, shown in their interpretations of Jesus’ teachings and Old Testament prophecies (Acts 2, Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15).
Early Church Father: St. Irenaeus states, “The apostles, like a rich man depositing his money in a bank, lodged in her [the Church] most copiously everything which pertains to the truth” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 4).
C. Things That Were Not Fully Fulfilled in Understanding
1. Trinitarian Doctrine
• Jesus frequently referenced the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (e.g., Matthew 28:19), indicating a triune relationship but without a fully developed explanation of the Trinity. The Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, would later clarify the Trinity through councils (e.g., the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople) and creeds that defined the consubstantial nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. The Nature and Practice of the Eucharist
• Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, saying, “This is my body” and “This is my blood” (Luke 22:19-20), but He didn’t provide a detailed theological explanation of His real presence.
3. Ecclesial Structure and Authority
• While Jesus appointed Peter as the “rock” of the Church and gave the Apostles authority to “bind and loose” (Matthew 16:18-19; 18:18), He did not fully explain how this authority should be structured or transmitted.
4. Salvation of Non-Christians
• Jesus emphasized the necessity of faith in Him for salvation (John 14:6), but He did not clarify the fate of those who never hear the Gospel or who live outside explicit Christian faith. This question led to theological reflections, such as the Church’s teachings on “baptism of desire” and “invincible ignorance,” concepts developed later to address these theological nuances.
5. The Role and Status of Mary
• Jesus showed reverence for Mary and recognized her importance (John 2:1-11; 19:26-27) but left no explicit teaching on her in writing.
6. Interpretation of the Old Testament Law
• Jesus stated He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), yet He left open questions about specific Old Testament laws. For instance, debates in the early Church, such as those at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), addressed whether Gentile converts were bound to follow Jewish dietary and ceremonial laws.
7. Eschatology and the End Times
• Jesus provided descriptions of the end times but often in parables or symbolic language (Matthew 24, Mark 13). He said that even He did not know the exact “day or hour” (Mark 13:32). This left space for the Church to develop a fuller understanding of eschatology, including doctrines on resurrection, judgment, heaven, and hell.
8. The Doctrine of Justification and Sanctification
• While Jesus emphasized repentance and faith, He didn’t provide a systematic theology of justification or sanctification. Paul and other Apostolic writings developed these teachings further, distinguishing concepts of grace, works, and faith, which would later be more fully articulated in theological terms by the Church.
Here we see that Jesus appointed His apostles, and specifically Peter, to endure these things while being driven to reveal doctrine after Jesus ascended. He promised the Holy Spirit would give them guidance to proceed in all truth, which didn’t mean they wouldn’t have to question things, clearly they did — but seemingly through a miracle, the church dust always settles.
3. Doctrinal Development in the Early Church
A. Apostolic Fathers and the Foundation of Doctrine
• Ignatius of Antioch: Emphasizes unity with bishops as successors to the apostles, marking the importance of ecclesial hierarchy (Ignatius, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Chapter 8).
• Justin Martyr: Clarifies the doctrine of the Eucharist as the real presence of Christ, moving beyond mere symbolism and formalizing sacramental theology (Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapter 66).
B. The Formation of the Canon and Creeds
• Development of Canon: Early Church leaders establish a New Testament canon based on apostolic origin and doctrinal coherence, a process that developed gradually to safeguard true teachings.
• Nicene Creed (325 AD): Addressed Arianism and articulated the doctrine of Christ’s divinity, demonstrating the Church’s role in clarifying and developing doctrine in response to heretical challenges.
Church Fathers on Doctrinal Development: St. Vincent of Lérins writes, “It is proper that understanding, knowledge, and wisdom should grow and advance… yet only in its own kind” (Commonitorium, Chapter 23), highlighting that true development is organic, preserving core apostolic faith.
We can see clearly that even from the Old Testament that doctrine developed, became fuller, more robust, given more understanding as time unravels and God’s plan moves forward.
The idea that dogma remains infant is one of ignorance and the idea that it is solely a Catholic thing in the making is also of ignorance.
Doctrinal Development in Protestant Theology
A. The Reformation and Doctrinal Innovation
• Justification by Faith Alone: The doctrine of sola fide (justification by faith alone) was a central teaching of the Reformation, championed by Martin Luther and others as a reaction against perceived abuses in the Catholic Church. However, this emphasis on faith alone as a stand-alone doctrine was a development rather than a direct restoration of early Church beliefs, which emphasized both faith and works (James 2:24). Yes, even myself when I was a protestant, attempted to show how ancient this thought was— however, it’s novel.
• Sola Scriptura: The concept of sola scriptura (Scripture alone) introduced a novel approach to authority that departs from the early Church’s reliance on both Scripture and apostolic tradition. Protestant reformers developed this as a response to what they saw as abuses in tradition, but early Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus and Tertullian, frequently upheld the necessity of both Scripture and oral tradition to maintain doctrinal integrity.
Scholar Insight: Alister McGrath, a Protestant theologian, writes, “The doctrine of justification underwent considerable development at the Reformation… This can be regarded as a genuinely new theological development” (McGrath, Iustitia Dei, p. 182).
B. Confessional Development in Protestant Denominations
• Westminster Confession and Other Creeds: As Protestantism diversified, each branch developed distinct confessions to articulate its interpretation of Scripture, resulting in a range of doctrinal positions. For instance, the Westminster Confession (1646) codified beliefs central to Reformed theology that were not explicitly outlined in early Christianity, indicating an ongoing development within Protestantism itself.
• Expanding Denominational Differences: From Lutheran to Baptist to Pentecostal teachings, doctrinal positions such as baptismal practices, predestination, and the nature of sanctification evolved uniquely within each denomination, showcasing a diversity in doctrinal development rather than a return to early Christian uniformity.
C. Evolution of Eschatology and Ecclesiology
• Dispensationalism: In the 19th century, Protestant theologians, such as John Nelson Darby, introduced dispensationalism—a theological system that divided history into periods or “dispensations” in which God interacted differently with humanity. This was a new doctrinal approach that developed far beyond the eschatology of the early Church, marking a clear case of doctrinal development within Protestantism.
• Church Structure and Governance: The early Reformation period also saw new models of church governance, such as Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Episcopalian structures, which reflect varying theological principles and interpretations of Scripture, rather than a strict return to early Church ecclesiology.
Early Protestant Theologian Insight: John Calvin himself recognized development within the Reformed movement, stating that some doctrines required “a clearer understanding through prolonged discussion” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.7.5), implying an openness to developing insights.
D. Shifts in Protestant Morality and Social Doctrine
• Modern Reinterpretation of Moral Issues: Protestant communities have witnessed evolving positions on social issues, such as the role of women in ministry, attitudes toward divorce, and interpretations of sexuality. Many of these positions represent a development in moral doctrine that adapts Protestant theology to new cultural contexts while relying on scriptural interpretation and modern understanding.
• Liberal Protestantism and Biblical Criticism: The rise of higher criticism and liberal theology in the 19th century brought new interpretative frameworks that reevaluated scripture, often diverging from traditional interpretations. This methodological development transformed how some Protestant branches understand inspiration, the authorship of biblical texts, and miracles.
Scholar Commentary: Protestant theologian Karl Barth highlighted the necessity of an ongoing, dynamic understanding of God’s revelation, asserting that “the Word of God is not bound to our interpretation… our understanding must always be ready to go further” (Barth, Church Dogmatics).
This approach demonstrates that while Protestant theology initially sought to return to what reformers saw as scriptural purity, it inevitably developed its own doctrinal landscape over time. Protestantism’s evolving doctrines and diverse confessions show that doctrinal development is not unique to Catholicism but is also a defining aspect of Protestant thought and history.