The Sufficiency of Scriptures:                                                                                         2011 by Jack Kettler

The self-evident testimony of the Scriptures is that they are sufficient. The Scriptures are completely adequate to meet the needs of the believer. This teaching is all over the face of the Scriptures. The believer can have confidence in the Scriptures. God's Words are described as "pure," "perfect," "a light," and "eternal." This conclusion is one that can be drawn from or deduced from the Scriptures by good and necessary consequence.

For example, consider the testimony from the following passages:

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalm 12:6,7

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Psalm 19:7,8,9

Because the Scriptures are true, they are "righteous altogether." Moreover, if the law of God were incomplete, the conversion of the soul would be tenuous at best. The necessary Biblical conclusion is that the Scriptures are complete.

The Scriptures have more to say more along this line of reasoning:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26

This promise of Christ to his apostles tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach them "all things," and bring to their remembrance all things that he said unto them. This is a promise by God to the apostles that important information (i.e., revelation) would be given to them. It is a justifiable Biblical conclusion that this revelation would be complete and sufficient because Jesus said "all things." The wording "all things" is used in a qualified sense, but admitting this in no way contradicts the conclusion that this apostolic revelation (now Scripture) would be anything less that complete and sufficient. The "all things" pertain to whatsoever God intended to reveal and His revelation necessary for salvation.

Along this same line of thinking, consider Paul's ministry to the church. Did Paul leave anything out of his words to the church? Absolutely not, listen to the apostle:

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shown you, and have taught you publicly, from house to house... For I have not shunned to declare to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Acts 20:20,27 (underlining emphasis mine)

Paul did not believe that God's Word was insufficient. This is proved by his use of the phrase "all the counsel of God." Paul believed that he had this counsel for the Church. This whole "counsel of God" was the same message that Moses and the prophets spoke. See Acts 26:22 for proof of this.

The Scripture tells us that what is written will lead us to God that we might have life. This would again be tenuous at best if parts of Scripture have been lost, corrupted, or were insufficient.

Consider the further testimony of Scripture:

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:31

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever, And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 1 Peter 1:25

It is clear that Peter had confidence in God's word. The Scriptures were given so that we might obtain life, and they endure forever. The believer does not need anything more than the written Word of God. In the next verse notice how God says; "All Scripture is given… that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

The implications of this for the doctrine of the sufficiency of the Scriptures are enormous:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. II Tim. 3:16,17

The Greek word translated "inspiration" means "God-breathed," or that God is the source of the Scriptures. God's inspiration of the Scriptures sets them apart from all other writings of men. They came from him. God used men to write His Word in the Bible. He did it in such a way as to make sure that what was written was exactly what He intended or designed. This means the Scriptures are divinely inspired.

What if the Scriptures were incomplete? If the Scriptures were incomplete, the "man of God" would never be able to "be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Paul's instruction here would not be true if portions of the Scriptures were lost or some other standard needed. That is because the Scriptures are connected to this process of the perfecting of the man of God.

In a similar fashion, the next verse clearly sets forth the sufficiency of Scripture:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5:17

Jesus said that the least part of the law would not pass away. One implication is that nothing would be lost. If the least is to be preserved, then surely, the weightier things will not be lost. Consequently, we can have confidence that God's Word is complete. There are not books missing from the Bible nor do we need some kind of nebulous oral tradition interpreted exclusively by church leaders.

The next passage from Isaiah warns us about those who will go beyond Scripture:

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20

Isaiah sets God's Word forth as the standard. In preparation for the close of the apostolic era, Like Isaiah, Paul sets forth the Scriptures as the objective source that must be the final court of appeal.

By apostolic command believers are bound to the written word:

Now brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, Do not go beyond what is written.... I Cor. 4:6 (NIV)

In the Tyndale New Testament Commentary on First Corinthians, Leon Morris makes the following comment about the above verse:

"not beyond what is written" was a catch-cry familiar to Paul and his readers, directing attention to the need for conformity to Scripture. (1)

The above passage in First Corinthians clearly condemns all forms of extra-Biblical revelation including an oral tradition that is allegedly on par with the written Word of God. There is no need to go beyond Scripture. Why? Because it is complete.

The Biblical test of a prophet found in Deuteronomy 12:32 - 13:4; Deuteronomy 18:20-22; and Isaiah 8:20 clearly sets forth Scripture as the standard and a sufficient guide. Remember, Jesus used this standard to stop the mouths of His adversaries when He said "Have ye never read" in Mark 2:25 regarding David actions. What did the Pharisees say in response to this? Nothing! Some religions actually teach that you are suppose to pray about the purported prophet and his message, then see if it rings true by getting a confirming sensation after prayer. The Old Testament believer in contrast was to compare the purported prophet and his message with what had been revealed and written by God in His Word.

In the book of Galatians, Paul continues this same pattern for testing purported revelation:

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you that that ye have received, let hem be accursed. Galatians 1:8, 9

Hopefully the reader has discerned the clear pattern in Scripture. This pattern is appealing to what has been written. As mentioned previously, when Christ said, "It is written" this denotes finality and certainty because there was nothing more authoritative than God's Word. It should be noted that Christ's commentary on the Scriptures is infallible, ours is not.

The Apostle Paul follows this same pattern of appealing to Scripture:

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15

The written word is the standard and it has not changed. Consider the importance of the following verse:

...which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. I Timothy 3:15 (NIV)

Hopefully, nothing said by this writer in this study on the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures would cause anyone to think that the church is unimportant. The church is very important. How is this so? The church today like a pillar or foundation defends and supports the gospel. How does the church do this? 1- by "Holding forth the word of life..." Philippians 2:16; 2- by "...rightly dividing the word of truth" II Timothy 2:15; 3- by "teaching all nations..." Matthew 28:19; 4- and by "guarding the good deposit" II Timothy 1:13, 14 (NIV).

The church should do these things with all the resources in its power. These tasks would be impossible if Scriptures were incomplete or corrupted. Why? Because you could not know if you were "holding forth the word of life" or the word of men. God commands us to "rightly divide the word of life." God would not command us to rightly divide something, which we did not possess. Why? If we did not possess the Scriptures it would be an impossibility to rightly divide them. The Biblical conclusion is that Scripture has been preserved. Listen to the apostle Peter:

...by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1 Peter 1:23

Can anything be clearer? Peter is not talking about anything other than the written Scriptures.

Peter goes on to say:

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. II Peter 1:3

As Peter instructs us there are a great number of spiritual blessings that God has given us. We can have confidence that "all things" would have to include Scripture as one of those things. There is not any limitation expressed here because the passage is dealing with what God has given us for salvation. Consequently, we have confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture.

Consider the following examples on Jesus' view of the accuracy of the Old Testament Scriptures and their prophetic fulfillment concerning himself: Matthew 26:31; Matthew 26:54; Mark 9:12, 13; John 13:18 John 17:12. Jesus referred to Old Testament individuals in the following verses: (Abraham) John 8:56, (Noah and Lot), Luke 17:26-32, (Isaiah) Matt. 3:3, (Elijah and Elisha) in Luke 4:24-27. The case is irrefutable, Jesus believed in the reliability of the written word of God. Consequently, the believer can have confidence in the reliability and trustworthiness of Scripture. Reliability and sufficiency go hand in hand. An insufficient or incomplete document is not reliable.

There is no evidence that Jesus believed the Scriptures to be anything less than complete. The tremendous spiritual corruption of Israel in Christ's day, which culminated in the destruction of the

Jewish nation in 70 A. D. (Matt.23: 34-36) did not affect the Old Testament canon. The canon was intact in Christ's say, and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls confirms the accuracy of the Hebrew Masoretic Text used by the King James translators many centuries later. In fact, there is virtually no difference between the First Century copies of Old Testament Dead Sea copies and the Masoretic text that is one thousand years older.

The New Testament books were brought into the canon of Scripture as the church bore testimony to the fact that our present New Testament books claimed to be by their very nature the Word of God. This was a process in which the testimony of the Holy Spirit bore witness by and with the Scriptures in the hearts of men. This was not a process where the church as a divinely inspired entity determined what the canon of Scripture would be. The Scriptures themselves bore this testimony of their inspiration.

Some teach that the church in and of itself made this decision. The Word of God does depend upon man or the church. The Scriptures do not come from the church. They come from God. The Scriptures do not need our confirmation to be true. Their truthfulness is independent of man and even the church. In regards to New Testament revelation, there is more manuscript evidence for the New Testament than any other writing from antiquity. Therefore, we can have the same confidence that corruption during the New Testament Church age did not alter the New Testament canon of Scripture in any way. God is LORD of heaven and earth. He is Sovereign and ""…none can stay his hand..." Daniel 4:35. Preserving His Word is a small matter for Him.

In conclusion, we can say, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the infallible Word of God and a sure rule of faith. In addition, they are the final court of appeal to settle religious disputes and the Bible includes everything we need to know to receive salvation and to live a godly life.

"You have Scripture for a master instead of me; from there you can learn whatever you would know."- John Chrysostom

The Sufficiency Of Holy Scripture

We believe that this Holy Scripture fully contains the will of God and that all that man must believe in order to be saved is sufficiently taught therein.1 The whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written in it at length. It is therefore unlawful for any one, even for an apostle, to teach otherwise than we are now taught in Holy Scripture:2 yes, even if it be an angel from heaven, as the apostle Paul says (Galatians 1:8). Since it is forbidden to add to or take away anything from the Word of God (Deuteronomy 12:32),3 it is evident that the doctrine thereof is most perfect and complete in all respects.4

We may not consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with the divine Scriptures; nor ought we to consider custom, or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God, since the truth is above all;5 for all men are of themselves liars, and lighter than a breath (Psalm 62:9). We therefore reject with all our heart whatever does not agree with this infallible rule,6 as the apostles have taught us: Test the spirits to see whether they are of God (1 John 4:1). Likewise: If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting (2 John 1:10).

1 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 1 Peter 1:10-12. 2 1 Corinthians 15:2; 1 Timothy 1:3. 3 Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Acts 26:22; 1 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 22:18, 19. 4 Psalm 19:7; John 15:15; Acts 18:28; Acts 20:27; Romans 15:4. 5 Mark 7:7-9; Acts 4:19; Colossians 2:8; 1 John 2:19. 6 Deuteronomy 4:5, 6; Is 8:20; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 4:4-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:14, 15. - Article 7 from the Belgic Confession of Faith

Note:

1. Leon Morris, The Tyndale New Testament Commentary I Corinthians, (Leicester: Inter-

Varsity Press, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), p. 78.

                               
Mr. Kettler is an ordained Presbyterian Elder and the owner of http://www.Undergroundnotes.com where his theological, philosophical and political articles can be read. He has worked in corporate America for over 30 years and is now realizing his dreams as a successful home business entrepreneur.