Trinity, Revelation, and Reading by Swain Scott R

Author:Swain, Scott R.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Published: 2011-02-26T16:00:00+00:00

III.c. The Sufficiency of Scripture

III.c.1. The meaning of the sufficiency of Scripture

Through his prophets and apostles, God has revealed “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1.3). Consequently, the God-breathed writings of his authorized spokesmen are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3.16). These two verses encapsulate the fundamental claim regarding “the sufficiency of Scripture.” In Holy Scripture, God has revealed all things necessary to know him in a saving way and to serve him in a pleasing way, both in our individual lives and in our corporate worship. In other words, Scripture is sufficient for communicating Christ and covenant.

Whereas confessional Protestants and Roman Catholics may find much agreement on the inspiration, authority, and truthfulness of Holy Scripture, the doctrine of Scripture’s sufficiency (and Scripture’s clarity) is a topic of longstanding disagreement and dispute between these groups.42 The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture received its clearest articulation at the time of the Reformation, as Protestants were compelled to counter Rome’s claim that the church bears authority to promulgate articles of faith—articles that must be believed for salvation—beyond what is written in Holy Scripture. Article Six of the Thirty-Nine Articles offers a representative statement of the Protestant doctrine: “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to 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 Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.” A similar, if slightly more comprehensive statement, appears in the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 1, Paragraph 6): “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.”

In affirming the sufficiency of Scripture, Protestants have been careful to make certain important qualifications. First, the sufficiency of Scripture does not exclude “the ecclesiastical ministry (established by God for the setting forth and application of the word).” As Turretin states: “A rule is not . . . imperfect because it requires the hand of the architect for its application.” Indeed, the Bible itself authorizes the ministry of the Word (Eph. 4.11ff). Second, the sufficiency of Scripture does not exclude “the internal power of the Holy Spirit necessary for conversion.”43 Again, the Bible itself teaches the necessity of the Spirit’s work of regeneration and renewal (Jn 3.3, 5; Tit. 3.5). As in the case of the Bible’s authority, so with the Bible’s sufficiency, sola Scriptura does not mean solo Scriptura. What the sufficiency of Scripture does rule out is the notion that Scripture requires an external supplement to revelation from the church’s teaching office, or even from the Holy Spirit, if we are to know God and his gospel in an adequate and reliable manner.

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