In the first two parts of this series I covered John 5:39, 40 when Jesus he said, – “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
And
John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
These passages from the bible have been used against the bible by suggesting that:
- We don’t need the Bible because the Spirit will teach us everything we need to know.
- The Bible is a lower form of revelation and not as authoritative as the higher and more direct personal revelation from God.
- There are many who have an unhealthy reliance on a book.
- Objective, propositional, written, and absolute truth are invalid concepts
- Immature or ignorant Christian are separating the scriptures from the Spirit.
- The church engages in too much bible study.
- Many within Christendom are involved in bible idolatry.
- Spiritually Born again saints are not relying on the Spirit.
- The concepts of Sola Scriptura are all invalid.
- Adherence to the concept of absolute truth is untenable.
- Propositional truth from the scriptures is ineffective.
- The manner is which bible books were assembled is suspect.
- The written words of scripture are not as authoritative as Christianity Claims.
You can see Part I HERE and Part II HERE
In this, he third part of the series we will consider -
John 21:25 – ”Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
and
John 20:30 – “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.”
This verse has been used to suggest that:
- The Bible is insufficient to establish a real relationship with God
- There are many possible revelations apart from scripture which are just as authoritative as scripture.
- That if we are not open to receiving these extra-biblical revelations, we are close minded, spiritually.
- That the scriptures are not the “final authority” on faith life and practice.
- That subjective, mystical, and existential spirituality are more mature expressions of faith.
- That we can not know all that God intended us to know.
The statement by John is to be taken as it would be understood among the persons to whom it is addressed; and as no one supposes that he meant it literally, so there is no deception in the case, and consequently no impeachment of existing scripture, its inspiration, or any indictment of what later would become scripture. John is not setting the stage for a mystical hodgepodge of data that supersedes scripture. Even if this were not hyperbole, which it is, John is in no way giving credit to the notion that there was information “out there” that wasn’t subject to being searched for and filtered through the bible.
I am not saying that God doesn’t speak through various means, nor that He is limited in His communication to us solely through scripture. But, I am saying that we simply have no other measure by which we can determine whether those communications are from God other than searching the scriptures to see if those revelations are true. But, and like always, a few questions:
1. Does the possible existence of things not revealed in scripture imply that those things may contradict and supersede scripture?
2. Can scripture still be written?
3. What can be known of God and his relationship to us apart from scripture?
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I don’t even get this one. How does “Jesus did” translate to anything other than a bunch of actions of His? The main subject of these verses is “Jesus did things” and “Jesus did signs”. I don’t even see where unknown or unknowable information enters the picture.
When I get a chance, I’d also like to attempt to answer Q #3. It keeps popping up without getting any answers, and I do think it deserves one. I believe there is plenty we can learn by God’s revelatory Word that isn’t necessarily in the Scriptures. It’s almost supper time though, and the answer will take some time and work, so, I’ll get to it as soon as I can.
BTW….the name of the blog….what exactly is it we are deviating from?
Actually, as far as Q#3 is concerned, I’ll just say this: We can learn more detailed information about His nature, things about how we should live our personal lives, and, at His whim (not ours), I believe we can have revealed to us mysteries and secrets just like the disciples in the Bible did. They, to an extent, are our example, Jesus is definitely our example, and if we are to be Christlike disciples, I see no reason why we should expect any less. Naturalchurch below made some good points that I agree with, and scripture (Q#2) is complete the way it is. There is no Biblical call to add to it, and the people who wrote it (for the most part) didn’t know at the time that they were writing it, so why should it be any different now?
Thanks for digging into this topic. I am glad people are sorting out their faith for themselves and not just accepting everything they have been taught. And I recognize as we do this we will encounter differences. When this occurs I believe we need to take a look at how much Scripture speaks to the topic we are discussing. If there is less Scriptural support for our position than there is for Unity and love, we need to deal humbly and respectfully with each other. I have no doubt you have a strong faith and relationship with our Lord. We may have to wait for one of both of us to mature in our understanding before we agree on everything.
I would like to rephrase some of what you say others are suggesting. Here is what I think :
- The Spirit will teach us everything we need to know, we need the Spirit. The Spirit will likely make use of the Bible as it teaches us.
- The Bible does not claim to be God.
- There are some who have an unhealthy reliance on a book treating it like a book of rules to be kept and not as a guide to know our Lord personally.
- It is unlikely anyone has interpreted the whole thing perfectly. I have to admit though I’m getting pretty close.
- The church often engages in more bible study than Spirit filled living.
- Many within Christendom focus more on the Bible than on their relationship with God.
- I don’t see Sola Scriptura clearly taught in the Bible. I doubt Paul was referring to our New Testament cannon when he wrote 2 Tim 3:16.
- God is the “final authority” on faith life and practice. When God speaks, however He chooses to do so, we’d better listen.
- The Bible is the best collection of books ever written describing our God and His desire to care for us. I trust that the men who wrote it and compiled it were trustworthy and accurate. And I have no reason to doubt God’s hand was involved in the process.
1. V31 is equally important: “…But these are written that you may a believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” This is why some things make it into the canon of Scripture. The rest is immaterial. Why doesn’t the Bible tell us what Jesus looked like? Or what he did in his twenties. Or something about his profession? Or every single other miracle that he performed. Because the aim of the New Testament is to proclaim Christ as the Christ, the Son of God. Once that is done all the rest is pretty irrelevant. And so it is ludicrous to claim that the possible existence of things not revealed in scripture imply that those things may contradict and supersede scripture.
2. No, for the very reason above. The point has been made.
3. Quite a lot, but at a personal, subjective level that is appropriate for growing in one’s relationship with Christ and finding the specific calling for one’s life. None of this can ever be made absolute truth or passed of as having the same authority as Scripture. “What if I want him to remain alive until I return?You follow me…” as we also read in John 21.