SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY: REVELATION AND GOD Week Six: Biblical Clarity and Sufficiency. Introduction

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1 SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY: REVELATION AND GOD Week Six: Biblical Clarity and Sufficiency Introduction Sixth session in a twelve-week study of the doctrines of revelation and God Last session: biblical inerrancy Today: biblical clarity and sufficiency What s the Big Idea? Wayne Grudem defines biblical clarity and sufficiency: The clarity of Scripture means that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who will read it seeking God s help and being willing to follow it. 1 The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly. 2 At the end of the day, does the Bible provide us with what we need to know and does it do so in a way we can understand and apply? What Do the Scriptures Say? The Israelites were expected to have a basic understanding of Scripture and possess the ability to discuss God s Word and teach it to their children: 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deut 6:6 9). The law can be understood by the simple and lead them in the path of spiritual wisdom: 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple (Psa 19:7). 130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple (Psa 119:130). God reveals truth to us in Scripture and familiarity with God s Word helps us to avoid sinning and to pursue growth in holiness: The Doctrine of Revelation Page 1

2 29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut 29:29). 1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! (Psa 119:1). 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you (Psa 119:11). Paul s letters were addressed to entire congregations and were to be read publicly before them: 1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 1:1 3, emphasis added). 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea (Col 4:16). We have all the words from God that we need in the Scriptures, so we are not allowed to claim new words are God s words: 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you (Deut 4:2). 5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar (Prov 30:5 6). 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Rev 22:18 19). Scripture tells us how to be saved and equips us for how to live before God once we have been saved: 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:14 17, emphasis added). Though Scripture can be understood, some parts are more difficult to comprehend than others: 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures (2 Pet 3:15 16, emphasis added). Among God s new covenant people, the Holy Spirit lives within us and teaches us what the Scriptures mean and how to apply them: The Doctrine of Revelation Page 2

3 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Ezek 36:26 27). 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie just as it has taught you, abide in him (1 John 2:26). Though the Spirit is our ultimate teacher, God has also called elders (or pastors) to teach his people how to better understand Scripture and defend biblical truth against false doctrine: 1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, selfcontrolled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach (1 Tim 3:1 2, emphasis added). 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Tit 1:9). What Has the Church Said? Patristic era ( AD): Bible is clear enough so that anyone could understand the most important truths; help of the Holy Spirit; Christ-centered story of creation, fall, promise, redemption, and consummation; elders help the people to interpret Medieval era ( ): Roman Catholics claimed that ordinary Christians couldn t understand Scripture; personal Bible study discouraged; clergy interprets for the people; modern Catholics encourage personal Bible study within boundaries Reformation era ( ): Protestants argued laypeople could understand the gist of Scripture (especially the gospel); Reformed tradition reemphasized the role the Holy Spirit plays; God calls pastors and other leaders to help teach the Scriptures to the church Modern era (1650 present): Evangelicals generally agree with the reformers, with some variations from tradition to tradition What Should We Believe and Why? The Bible is clear, the Holy Spirit helps us, Scripture interprets Scripture John Frame on the sufficiency of Scripture: [I]n Scripture we have all the words of God we need. We should not try to add to them, and we dare not subtract from them, since we live by every word that comes from God. The basic point to be remembered here is that no kind of knowledge from outside the Bible is worthy to be added to Scripture. That includes the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, claims of contemporary prophets, and even the confessions and traditions of Protestant denominations. 3 The Doctrine of Revelation Page 3

4 John Piper offers a helpful clarification about sufficiency: The sufficiency of Scripture does not mean that the Scripture is all we need to live obediently. To be obedient in the sciences we need to read science and study nature. To be obedient in economics we need to read economics and observe the world of business. To be obedient in sports we need to know the rules of the game. To be obedient in marriage we need to know the personality of our spouse. To be obedient as a pilot we need to know how to fly a plane. In other words, the Bible does not tell us all we need to know in order to be obedient stewards of this world. The sufficiency of Scripture means that we don t need any more special revelation. We don t need any more inspired, inerrant words. In the Bible God has given us, we have the perfect standard for judging all other knowledge. All other knowledge stands under the judgment of the Bible even when it serves the Bible. 4 The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) and the Confessional Statement of The Gospel Coalition: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. 5 God has graciously disclosed his existence and power in the created order, and has supremely revealed himself to fallen human beings in the person of his Son, the incarnate Word. Moreover, this God is a speaking God who by his Spirit has graciously disclosed himself in human words: we believe that God has inspired the words preserved in the Scriptures, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which are both record and means of his saving work in the world. These writings alone constitute the verbally inspired Word of God, which is utterly authoritative and without error in the original writings, complete in its revelation of his will for salvation, sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do, and final in its authority over every domain of knowledge to which it speaks. We confess that both our finitude and our sinfulness preclude the possibility of knowing God s truth exhaustively, but we affirm that, enlightened by the Spirit of God, we can know God s revealed truth truly. The Bible is to be believed, as God s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God s pledge, in all that it promises. As God s people hear, believe, and do the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel. 6 How Should We Then Live? Studying Submitting Applying Teaching The Doctrine of Revelation Page 4

5 Recommended Resources Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Zondervan, 1994), David S. Dockery, Christian Scripture: An Evangelical Perspective on Inspiration, Authority, and Interpretation (B&H Academic, 1995). Mark D. Thompson, A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture, New Studies in Biblical Theology (IVP Academic, 2006). John Piper, Thoughts on the Sufficiency of Scripture: What it Means and Doesn t Mean, Desiring God Ministries (February 9, 2005), available at Gerald Bray, The Clarity of Scripture, available at Andy Davis, The Origin, Purpose, and Effectiveness of the Scriptures, (11/22/98), a sermon from 2 Timothy 3:14 17, available in the Media Library at the FBC Durham website ( Coming Next Week... Nathan Finn will be teaching on the existence of God Notes: 1 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Zondervan, 1994), p Ibid., p John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (P&R, 2006), pp John Piper, Thoughts on the Sufficiency of Scripture: What it Means and Doesn t Mean, Desiring God Ministries (February 9, 2005), available online at 5 The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), Article I: The Scriptures, available online at 6 Confessional Statement of The Gospel Coalition, Article II: Revelation, available online at The Doctrine of Revelation Page 5