What the Thirty-Nine Articles Teach About Scripture and Authority

One of the defining marks of the English Reformation was its insistence on the supreme authority of Holy Scripture. The Thirty-Nine Articles address this directly in Articles VI through VIII, laying out a robust doctrine of Scripture that remains one of the most important contributions Anglican theology has made to the broader Protestant tradition.

Article VI: Scripture Contains All Things Necessary for Salvation

Article VI makes a sweeping and definitive claim: "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." This is the Anglican principle of sola scriptura — not that tradition is worthless, but that Scripture alone is the ultimate authority in matters of faith and salvation.

The Canon of Scripture

Article VI also addresses the canon, listing the books of the Old and New Testaments and noting that the Apocrypha, while read in the church "for example of life and instruction of manners," is not used to establish doctrine. This was a careful middle position: neither dismissing the Apocrypha entirely nor granting it the same authority as Scripture.

Article VII: The Old Testament and the New

Article VII affirms the unity of the two Testaments. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; both bear witness to the same God and the same plan of salvation. The ceremonial and civil laws of Moses do not bind Christians, but the moral law — including the Ten Commandments — remains in force.

Article VIII: The Three Creeds

Article VIII affirms the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, and the Athanasian Creed — not as independent authorities, but because "they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture." This is a significant theological move: the ancient creeds are honored, but their authority is derived from and accountable to Scripture.

Together these articles set out an Anglican epistemology for theology: Scripture is the primary authority, the ancient creeds are faithful summaries of Scripture, and tradition has a real but subordinate role. It is a position that remains distinctively Anglican — neither the Roman Catholic elevation of tradition to equal status with Scripture, nor a bare biblicism that ignores the Church's historic wisdom.