The church has long understood the
Bible to be the unique and authoritative source for knowing God through the
power of the Holy Spirit, and for understanding God’s plan for his people. The story of God speaking and communicating
with his people is not a new phenomenon.
Scripture itself testifies to God’s desire to reveal himself, and so his
will to his people, through his Word.
The
Reformed tradition, through its confessions, has a long history of upholding
and adhering to this understanding of the nature of Scripture—usually referred
to as Sola Scriptura. Sola Scriptura was
not a new teaching at the time of the Reformation; rather, it was one that had
been reclaimed from the past. It
was Irenaeus of Lyon who stated that while the Apostles at first preached
orally, their teaching was later committed to writing (the Scriptures), and the
Scriptures had since that day become the pillar and ground of the Church’s
faith. He wrote, “We have learned from none other the plan of our salvation,
than from those through whom the gospel has come down to us, which they did at
one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed
down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.” [1]
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| Ireneaus of Lyon |
The Gnostics may have been the
very first group to suggest and teach that they possessed an Apostolic oral tradition
that was independent from Scripture. Irenaeus
and Tertullian rejected such a notion and appealed to Scripture alone for the
proclamation and defense of doctrine. Church historian, Ellen Flessman-van Leer
affirms this fact,
For Tertullian, Scripture
is the only means for refuting or validating a doctrine
regarding its content… For Irenaeus, the Church doctrine is certainly never
purely traditional; on the contrary, the thought that there could be some
truth, transmitted exclusively viva voce (orally), is a Gnostic line of
thought… If Irenaeus wants to prove the truth of a doctrine materially, he
turns to Scripture, because therein the teaching of the apostles is objectively
accessible. Proof from tradition and Scripture serve one and the same end: to
identify the teaching of the Church as the original apostolic teaching. The
first establishes that the teaching of the Church is this apostolic teaching,
and the second, what this apostolic teaching is.[2]
The Bible was the ultimate
authority for the Early Church. It was materially sufficient, and the final
arbiter in all matters of doctrinal truth. As J.N.D. Kelly has pointed out,
The clearest token of the prestige enjoyed by Scripture
is the fact that almost the entire theological effort of the Fathers, whether
their aims were polemical or constructive, was expended upon what amounted to
the exposition of the Bible. Further, it
was everywhere taken for granted that, for any doctrine to win acceptance, it
had first to establish its Scriptural basis.[3]
Another example of the early church’s
faithfulness to the principle of Sola Scriptura is clearly seen in the writings
of Cyril of Jerusalem. He is the author of what is known as the Catechetical
Lectures. This work is an extensive series of lectures given to new believers (catechumens)
instructing them concerning the principle doctrines of the faith. It is a
complete explanation of the faith of the church of his day. His teaching is
thoroughly grounded in Scripture.
He states in explicit terms that if he were to
present any teaching to these catechumens which could not be validated from
Scripture, they were to reject it. This fact confirms that his authority as a bishop
was subject to his conformity to the written Scriptures in his teaching.
The following excerpts are some of his statements on the final authority of
Scripture from these lectures.
This seal have thou ever on thy mind; which now by way
of summary has been touched on in its heads, and if the Lord grant, shall
hereafter be set forth according to our power, with Scripture proofs. For concerning the divine and sacred
Mysteries of the Faith, we ought not to deliver even the most casual remark
without the Holy Scriptures: nor be drawn aside by mere probabilities
and the artifices of argument. Do not then believe me because I tell thee these
things, unless thou receive from the Holy Scriptures the proof of what is set
forth: for this salvation, which is of our faith, is not by ingenious
reasonings, but by proof from the Holy Scriptures….But take thou and hold that
faith only as a learner and in profession, which is by the Church delivered to thee, and is established from all Scripture. For since all
cannot read the Scripture, but some as being unlearned, others by business, are
hindered from the knowledge of them; in order that the soul may not perish for
lack of instruction, in the Articles which are few we comprehend the whole
doctrine of Faith…And for the present, commit to memory the Faith, merely
listening to the words; and expect at the fitting season the proof of each of
its parts from the Divine Scriptures. For the Articles of the Faith were not
composed at the good pleasure of men: but the most important points chosen from
all Scriptures, make up the one teaching of the Faith. And, as the mustard seed in a little grain contains many branches, thus also
this Faith, in a few words, hath enfolded in its bosom the whole knowledge of
godliness contained both in the Old and New Testaments. Behold, therefore,
brethren and hold the traditions which ye now receive, and write them on the
table of your hearts.”[4]
Gregory of Nyssa shared this
understanding with Cyril of Jerusalem (and so Ireneaus and Tertullian) when he
wrote,
The generality of men still fluctuate in their opinions
about this, which are as erroneous as they are numerous. As for ourselves, if
the Gentile philosophy, which deals methodically with all these points, were
really adequate for a demonstration, it would certainly be superfluous to add a
discussion on the soul to those speculations. But while the latter proceeded,
on the subject of the soul, as far in the direction of supposed consequences as
the thinker pleased, we are not entitled to such license, I mean that of
affirming what we please; we make the
Holy Scriptures the rule and the measure of every tenet; we necessarily
fix our eyes upon that, and approve that alone which may be made to harmonize with
the intention of those writings.[5]
Augustine of Hippo thought so
highly of Scripture that he wrote an entire book on how to properly study it
titled Teaching Christianity (De Doctrina
Christiana)!
In 1556 Heinrich Bullinger, one of the original co-authors
of the First Helvetic Confession, penned the Second Helvetic Confession. The opening
lines of the Second Helvetic Confession begin,
We believe and confess the canonical Scriptures of the
holy prophets and apostles of both Testaments to be the true Word of God, and
to have sufficient authority of themselves, not of men. For God himself spoke to the fathers,
prophets, apostles, and still speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures.[6]
The
Westminster Standards, that bastion of Presbyterian confessionalism (full disclosure: I am
The Scriptures manifest themselves to be the Word of
God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the
scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; by their light and power
to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto
salvation. But the Spirit of God,
bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able
fully to persuade it that they are the very Word of God.
The
Westminster Confession of Faith clearly articulates the authority of God’s Word
when we read, “The authority of 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.”[7]
Reformation/Reformed confessions and catechisms could be
quoted from endlessly to support the claim that Christians should find God’s
revelation for them in the Bible, but rather than drone on endlessly with
confessional references, let us look to the Scriptures themselves. The Biblical
and theological foundations could take up several volumes of work as the
references are exceedingly numerous. In
the next chapter we will look at a number of Scriptures to help us better
understand the utter importance of relying on God’s Word foremost in
understanding the Truth of God.
Spiritual disciplines such as fasting, solitude, meditation,
study, simplicity, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and
celebration are all useful and wonderful tools in making us more aware of the
presence of God in our lives. Unless they are rooted in the Word of God, though,
they are mostly empty exercises. B.M.
Fanning writes, “Foundational to biblical theology and religion is the
conviction that God has spoken. Through
his word, God has revealed himself, his will and his actions on behalf of his
people and the world.”[8] He
continues later in the article,
Through his word God
reveals what he is like, what he has done and will do in the outworking of his
purposes, and how humankind should respond to him…Through the word God reaches
out to his people and expresses his emotions towards them, and through the word
his people are enabled to know him more fully.
The word of the Lord is thus an extension of his grace and power towards
the people he had chosen and through them towards the nations of the world.[9]
John Calvin adds,
The Scriptures attain
full authority among believers only when men regard them as having sprung from
heaven, as if there the living words of God were heard…It is utterly vain,
then, to pretend that the power of judging Scripture so lies with the church
that its certainty depends upon churchly assent. Thus, while the church receives and gives its
seal of approval to the Scriptures, it does not thereby render authentic what
is otherwise doubtful or controversial.[10]
John Leith, long time professor of theology at Union
Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, offers up support for Calvin’s
position,
 |
| Dr. John H. Leith |
The Holy Scriptures are
both a means of grace and the norm of the church’s life. The Bible is the church’s memory, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, of those events that are the foundation of the Christian life
in history. It is the church’s witness
to the gospel and the content of its preaching…The Bible is the original
witness to and interpretation of God’s revelation and work “for us men and for
our salvation” in Jesus Christ. In this
sense the Bible is the church’s memory reduced to writing by the prophets and
the apostles who were the original witnesses of and believers in God’s
revelation and work that constituted his people. More specifically, the Bible is the
forward-and backward-looking testimony to Jesus Christ and as such sets the
boundaries and is the unique authorization for Christian theology and life.[11]
[1]
Roberts, Alexander and Donaldson, James, editors, Ante-Nicene Fathers
(Peabody: Hendriksen, 1995) Vol. 1, Irenaeus, “Against Heresies” 3.1.1, 414.
[2]
Flessman-van
Leer, Ellen Tradition and Scripture in the Early Church (Assen: Van
Gorcum, 1953), 184, 133, 144.
[3]
Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines (San Francisco: Harper
& Row, 1978), 42, 46.
[4]
A Library of the Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church (Oxford: Parker, 1845), "The Catechetical Lectures of S.
Cyril" Lecture 4.17 and Lecture 5.12.
[5]
Schaff, Phillip and Wace, Henry, editors, Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers (Peabody: Hendriksen, 1995) Second Series: Volume V, Gregory of
Nyssa: Dogmatic Treatises, "On the Soul and the Resurrection", 439.
[6]
“The Second Helvetic Confession” from the Book of Confessions: The Constitution of the
Presbyterian Church (USA), Part 1(Louisville: Office of the General
Assembly, 2004), 53.
[7]
These quotations from the Westminster Standards
were quoted from Book of Confessions: The
Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Part 1(Louisville: Office of
the General Assembly, 2004).
[8]
Fanning, B.M. “Word” in New Dictionary of
Biblical Theology ed. Desmond, T., Rosner, Brian S., Carson, D.A., Goldsworthy,
Graeme (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000), 848.
[9]
Ibid., 849.
[10]
Calvin, John Institutes
of the Christian Religion, ed. John T.McNeill (Louisville: John Knox Press,
1960), 1.7.1, 3.
[11]
Leith, John H. Basic Christian Doctrine (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993),
270.
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