In an army there must be authority; else there would be a helpless mob and no army. In a nation there must be authority somewhere. It may be in a constitution made by the people, or elsewhere, but there must be the source of final appeal or anarchy (lack of authority; no common standard or purpose) and chaos would reign. In a court, there must be authority; else no such thing as a court could exist. In that the law is the authority. The judge himself must keep to the law, judge by it, and be judged by it.
In religion likewise, there must be authority else there could be no religion. There must be a guide, a source of knowledge, which is final, to which men may go for sure guidance, accurate knowledge and final appeal. This authority for Christianity rests in the scripture-the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
There are two kinds of authority. There is primary authority, such as rests in God, and there is delegated authority. Just like the constitution (primary authority) delegates or assigns certain authority to our President, who may, in turn, delegate certain authority to one whom he appoints; i.e. Captain of the Army.
It is plain in the Bible, that God the Father gave Jesus all authority (John 5:25-27; Matthew 28:18), He (Jesus) gave certain authority to the apostles; it stops there. Their word is final, and that word WE have in the Scriptures.
The authority of the Scriptures rests on the fact that they were produced by inspired men. The writers of the New Testament were directly guided by the Holy Spirit, sent by Christ (2 Peter 1:20-21). Since God gave Christ All Authority and since the almighty God is the Final Authority, beyond whom there is and can be none other, we can rest assured that when we have learned the Scriptures, we know the will of the one God.
Let us not add nor take away from God’s Word.