When Paul pens his last words for his spiritual son Timothy, he commends Timothy’s consistent study of the Holy Scriptures.
Paul writes:
“…from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim 3:15
The Scriptures Paul refers to are what we know as the Old Testament. Paul is convinced, as Timothy’s testimony of salvation proves, that a diligent study and knowledge of the Old Testament is sufficient for man’s salvation.
The fact that even the Old Testament (OT) alone is able to make us wise unto salvation is worth thinking over.
Indeed Jesus taught that if we studied and understood Moses, we would come to Him for salvation, and grow thereby. He in effect says:
“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.” John 5:46
Now the question I have for you is this: are you persuaded beyond doubt that what is written is enough for your redemption and godliness? Are you content and secure in what the prophets and the Apostles penned for our instruction and communion in Christ?
Or do you still yearn for other sources of revelation?
Do you trust God enough to believe that the Bible reveals everything you need to know now about God in Christ by His Spirit?
I say ‘His Spirit’ because the Bible is the Holy Spirit’s Word for us. If you desire the guidance of the Spirit of God, open your Bible. The voice of the Spirit of God is resting on your shelf.
Let me restate this: God’s written word is enough for all our spiritual needs. God never gives us what is not enough for us to know and obey Him. And we can wholly depend on the God’s written revelation even in the OT because even there Christ is the center. That is why Jesus said ‘Moses wrote about Me.’
The Bible is reliable because it is God’s Word to us. To neglect it is to neglect God, to make little sense of it is to make little sense of God. Your reverence for the Bible reveals your reverence for God, and you will not meet God in human prophecies if you fail to meet Him in scripture.
Now, the New Testament is an exposition of the Old Testament. As some would rightly say, the NT is a fulfillment of the OT, not its replacement.
And with the instructions of the OT made more evident by the NT, the man of God is fully furnished with every requirement for ministry, with no other need for any prophetic instruction beyond what is written.
For this reason, the Apostle Paul instructs the Corinthians in these words:
“Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written…” (1 Cor 4:6).
To content ourselves with what is written is God’s command for you and me.
And not only this, but also because Paul is convinced as is Timothy, Peter, and Jesus that what is written is enough for every godly work, he goes ahead to instruct the instructor of the church in Ephesus that:
“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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3:16-17.
In other words, you do not need to look for another authoritative voice. You must not submit to a view that claims to proclaim mysteries apart from what is written.
Paul in effect is saying that if what you truly want is complete teaching about God; if your desire is correction and reproof in the way of God; if you’re going to be instructed in righteousness; the Bible alone is enough.
Paul insists that if you want to be complete in ministry, equipped for every good work, look no further than Scripture.
If scripture is sufficient for everything we need, then what we need are People who explain what the Bible says. You and I should not look to a man who claims to hear new instructions directly from God apart from the Bible. If the Bible is enough, then we need to learn what it says.
What the Church of Christ needs are expositors of scripture, not purveyors of new and strange doctrines.
If one requires equipment for ministry, the Bible already sufficiently does that, says Paul. If it is for instruction in righteousness, scripture does that fully.
I think the dangerous hunger for more than what God provides is sure proof that it is not God that we seek. Paul precisely says this to Timothy. Just after instructing him about the sufficiency of scripture, the next verses (2 Timothy 4:1-5) warn of those who do not submit to sound doctrine but move from scripture to human fables. Paul writes:
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
The practice of searching for God’s voice in fellowships when your hard paper Bible is gathering dust on your shelf is a sure recipe for disaster. And the most loving and truthful instruction now would be for you to open your bible and close your prophets if you have them.