One of the key doctrinal principles of the Protestant Reformation was sola Scriptura. This principle emphasized Scripture rather than tradition as the final authority in faith and practice. The Protestant Reformers and their immediate theological heirs affirmed sola Scriptura because they believed that the Bible, as God’s very Word, was sufficient for the doctrine and practice of the Church. They affirmed the sufficiency of Scripture because they believed it contains everything necessary for the Christian life and church governance.[1] These convictions are enshrined in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century confessions of faith (some of which I will briefly consider below). But British pastor and theologian Timothy Ward rightly notes, citing the Dutch Reformed theologian G. C. Berkouwer, “The claim that the Bible is ‘sufficient,’ says one writer, ‘is the dominating tone for the entire chorus of the church.’”[2]
Following the convictions of the Protestant Reformation, Baptists also emphasized the sufficiency of Scripture, particularly in their affirmation of the regulative principle of worship (the principle that our worship should be regulated by what we find prescribed in Scripture). In previous posts, I and other HSF contributors have advocated for the sufficiency of Scripture, particularly the way in which the doctrine should shape the governance and worship of the church. We have contended that Scripture, as God’s Word, sufficiently reveals to us everything necessary for salvation and fitting worship.
Yet the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture has a component we can lose sight of: namely, the accompanying work of the Holy Spirit. The Reformers and their theological heirs did not conceive of the sufficiency of Scripture in isolation from the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in and through the written Word. Scripture is sufficient because it is God’s Word, inspired by God’s Spirit. But that same Word, inspired by the Spirit, is accompanied by the ongoing work of the Spirit Who illuminates Scripture by working in the hearts and minds of men and women. In this way, God continues to speak by the Spirit through that which He has spoken by the prophets and apostles. A robust doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture must include the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. However, before examining that point particularly, this essay will consider the sufficiency of Scripture generally.
The Sufficiency of Scripture Broadly Considered
Statements on the sufficiency of Scripture in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century confessions tend to focus on at least three elements: (1) Scripture is inspired by God—it is His Word; (2) as God’s revelation of Himself to man, Scripture contains everything necessary for salvation; and (3) tradition should not be viewed as an equal authority with Scripture. Consider the following statements from the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) and the English General Baptist Orthodox Creed (1678).
The Westminster Confession of Faith states (Chapter 1, Article 4): “The authority of the holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the Author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.” In this statement, we see the first of the three elements listed above (inspiration). Article 6 focuses more on the sufficiency of Scripture and highlights the second and third elements listed above:
The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.[3]
The English General Baptist confession An Orthodox Creed (Article 37) echoes the Westminster Confession and the Thirty-Nine Articles:
The authority of the holy Scripture, dependeth not upon the authority of any man, but only upon the authority of God, who hath delivered and revealed his mind therein unto us, and containeth all things necessary for 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 Christian faith, or be thought requisite to salvation.[4]
In An Orthodox Creed, we also see the three elements listed above.[5]
However, the Protestant confessions do not limit the sufficiency of Scripture to personal salvation.[6] The Second Helvetic Confession (1562) states, “We judge, therefore, that from these Scriptures are to be derived true wisdom and godliness, the reformation and government of churches; as also instruction in all duties of piety; and, to be short, the confirmation of doctrines, and the rejection of all errors . . . .”[7] Here, we see that the sufficiency of Scripture extends to personal piety, church governance (including worship), and orthodox doctrine.
In summary, Scripture, which is God’s Word and a form of divine revelation to man, reveals everything necessary for man’s salvation, gives us instruction for Christian piety, serves as the foundation for Christian doctrine, and governs Christian worship. Christian tradition can (and should) aid us in our interpretation of Scripture, but Christian faith and practice must ultimately conform to the Bible. Some basic implications of the sufficiency of Scripture follow.
The Spirit and the Sufficiency of Scripture Considered
But many of the Protestant confessions also point to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in and through the Word, which is the primary point I want to make in this essay.[8] We cannot lose sight of the work of the Holy Spirit in our doctrine of the sufficiency (and efficacy) of Scripture. The reason for this emphasis is that the sufficiency of Scripture is tied to the ongoing work of the Spirit in and through the Word. This same Spirit Who inspired Scripture (2 Pet. 1:21) continues to speak in and through Scripture to ensure its sufficiency and efficacy (Heb. 4:12).
Ward captures the relationship between the Word and the Sprit in the Reformers well when he writes concerning the authority of Scripture: “[T]he Reformers insisted, the Scripture the Holy Spirit authored in the past receives its authority in the present from the fact that God the Holy Spirit continues to speak in it and through it the same message he once uttered.”[9] Ward goes on to note that John Calvin insisted that the Church was governed by the Holy Spirit through the Word. Calvin was correcting those who appealed to the Spirit apart from the Word. He responded by connecting the work of the Spirit with the Word. Calvin wrote, “[God] declared that the Church is indeed governed by the Holy Spirit, but in order that the government might not be vague or unstable, he annexed it to the Word.”[10] In other words, the Church is indeed governed by the Spirit but not in an arbitrary way. The Church is governed by the ongoing work of the Spirit in and through the sufficient Word.
For all that the Protestant Reformers and their immediate theological heirs had to say regarding the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture, it was never intended to minimize the ongoing work of the Spirit. The Spirit continues to speak and work though that which He has spoken (the Word). To quote Ward again, “[T]he key issue at stake in the Protestant doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is the nature of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing activity in relation to Scripture. . . . One might even say that these Protestant doctrines of the Word are in fact aspects of the doctrine of the work of the Holy Spirit.”[11] We should recognize and affirm this vital connection as well.
Practical Import
Applying the sufficiency of Scripture to gathered worship might make its practical import more readily apparent. A common mantra concerning gathered worship is that our primary responsibility is to read the Word, preach the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, and see the Word (ordinances). This approach attempts to put the Bible at the center of gathered worship because of certain convictions about the sufficiency of Scripture. But someone might reasonably ask, “Why? What does this approach accomplish? And how does it accomplish anything?” The simple answer to these questions is that our affirmation of the sufficiency (and efficacy) of Scripture is directly tied to our belief that the Holy Spirit works primarily in and through the Word. As Calvin contended, we believe that the Spirit governs and grows the Church in and through the Word. Put another way, the Spirit continues to speak and work in and through that which He has spoken (the Word).
Contending for the ongoing work of the Spirit in and through the Word is simply an affirmation of passages like Hebrews 4:12 (ESV), which sates, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (italics added). Or consider the promise of the Lord in Isaiah 55:11 that His Word will achieve what He intends: “[S]o shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” These passages point us to the sufficiency and efficacy of God’s Word to achieve God’s purposes by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Some might object that the passages above do not explicitly mention the work of the Spirit regarding the sufficiency and efficacy of the Spirit. Though the Spirit is not directly mentioned in the passages above, it is consistent with the teaching of the rest of Scripture. Perhaps the two most pertinent texts for this claim are found in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Yet Paul highlights the work of the Spirit through the work even more directly in 2 Corinthians 3:12–18 when he states:
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Again, these passages point us to the sufficiency and efficacy of God’s Word to achieve God’s purposes by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
We must be careful to connect the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. We should not separate Word and Spirit. The same Spirit Who inspired the Word continues to work in and through the Word. We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture because we believe in the inspiration of Scripture and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in and through that same Word.
[1] J. Matthew Pinson traces this out well in his pamphlet “Free Will Baptists and the Sufficiency of Scripture” (Nashville, TN: Free Will Baptist Historical Commission, 2014).
[2] Timothy Ward, Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009), 107.
[3] Chapter 1, Article 6 goes on to say: “Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”
[4] The first part of Article 37 echoes the Westminster Confession of Faith on the inspiration of Scripture (Chapter 1, Article 4), and the second part mirrors The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (Article 6).
[5] The same can be seen in the Belgic Confession (Articles 5 and 7).
[6] That the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is not limited to personal salvation is particularly true of those traditions that are the theological heirs of figures such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli.
[7] The Second Helvetic Confession, Chapter 1.
[8] This connection between the doctrines of the sufficiency of Scripture and the Holy Spirit can be seen in various confessions as they discuss the clarity (or perspicuity) of Scripture and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit illumines the hearts and minds of those who read the Word and enables them to understand and obey it. Some of the confessions also point to the witness of the Spirit in affirming the trustworthiness and truthfulness of Scripture.
[9] Ward, Words of Life, 110.
[10] Ward, Words of Life, 110–11.
[11] Ward, Words of Life, 111.
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