Cessationism - Episode 13, The sufficiency of Scripture

Our next Episode in the cessationism series.

Additional Episodes:

• Episode 1, the Perfect.
• Episode 2, the apostles.
• Episode 3, prophecy.
• Episode 4, the closed canon.
• Episode 5, extra biblical reasons.
• Episode 6, only the apostles had all truth.
• Episode 7, there were only limited periods of miracles.
• Episode 8, tongues.
• Episode 9, the work of the Holy Spirit.
• Episode 10, does God speak only through the Scriptures?
• Episode 11, what about impressions?
• Episode 12, what is discernment? 
• Episode 13, the sufficiency of Scripture.
• Episode 14, Was the purpose of miracles restricted to the authentication of the apostles?
• Episode 15, Is revival excluded because of apostasy?
• Episode 16, is prophecy subjective?
• Episode 17, Could only the apostles confer miraculous powers or gifts?
• Episode 18, are charismatics functional cessationists?

Our criteria for the cessationism debate is that the argument must

1. be from the Bible
2. not appeal to contemporary expressions of charismata
3. not appeal to silence
4. not appeal to events or practices of history

That is, any defense of cessationism must be Sola Scriptura.
****

Introduction

A cessationist is a Christian who believes that the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit, including prophecy, tongues, words of knowledge, as well as signs and wonders, did not continue after the death of the last apostle. This is contrasted with a charismatic, or perhaps, a continuationist, who is a Christian who believes the Bible's descriptions of the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit apply to today's church and should be embraced.

Cessationists also believe that the supernatural existed largely or solely to validate the apostle's ministries, so that their teaching, eventually contained in the NT, would be attested to. With the completed canon of the Bible, there would be no longer a need for these supernatural validations, and thus these things ceased. The reason, they say, is that since signs and wonders had the sole purpose of validating the ministries of the apostles, they are no longer needed because the apostles are gone and we have the completed Bible.

From this they conclude that the Bible is the complete and final revelation of God, and thus He speaks only through the Scriptures today.

Part of the reason they make this claim is if they can restrict the supernatural only to the apostles' ministry, they can invalidate the idea that the supernatural persists to present day.

This series will examine these and other claims.

Sufficiency, What is it?

In our ongoing process of examining cessationism, we have often come come across those who would defend cessationism by reason of the sufficiency of Scripture. We would therefore suggest that the sufficiency of Scripture is probably the lynchpin around which the entire perspective of cessationism revolves. 

The meaning of the word "sufficiency" might seem pretty clear to the casual reader. The dictionary definition of "sufficient" is enough to meet a need or purpose; adequate. By this definition we might reason that the Bible is simply enough. It does the job. It's good for the purpose.

Saying the Bible is adequate is not a slight. The Bible, of course, is the magnificent, supernatural, written word of God. In it is the perfect plan of God to bring salvation to a fallen race. It is the indispensable, flawless revelation of a Holy God to sinful humankind. Here we discover God's character, justice, mercy, and compassion. It is the only place where we might find testimony of the God of heaven and earth offering His only Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

It is matchless. And it is good enough. Sufficient.

Both charismatics and cessationists believe in the sufficiency of the Bible. They simply understand sufficiency differently. And this difference is the cause of a huge divide. 

How Cessationists Understand Sufficiency

We would assert that if a person was not acquainted with cessationist thought he would not arrive at cessationists conclusions naturally. That is, a person reading the narratives and letters of the NT without preconception would not conclude the supernatural has ceased or that there is no more prophecy, tongues, or words of knowledge. Thus, cessationist doctrine is a presumption, a template which necessarily contextualizes one's approach to the Bible.

Our theory is in part that cessationism is needed to explain the supposed lack of supernatural occurrences in the church today. Thus it requires an approach to the Bible that explains one's experiences, or actually, one's lack of experiences. The non-supernatural cessationist brings his non-supernatural experience going into the situation, and his resultant doctrinal position requires him to seek out explanation and confirmation of his observations.

Cessationists present sufficiency as 

the biblical teaching that the Bible is all the revelation that is needed to equip believers for Christian life and service. 

The Bible 

is all we need to hear, and the Scriptures are His voice, completely and utterly sufficient.

When the cessationist says the Bible is all we need, he is telling us that the Bible is God's final revelation, and that revelation ceased 2000 years ago. Apart from Scripture, God does not speak to the individual believer in these days. The gift of prophecy is no longer in operation. Tongues and words of knowledge have ceased. The Bible is the last revelation of God's word to men, and no further revelation is needed or possible.

As mentioned, the central issue here is what cessationists think "sufficient" means. The big issue is, cessationists change the definition of the word. They redefine it to bolster their cessationism. Cessationists want "sufficient" to become "ended." "Enough" to become "nothing further." "Adequate" is changed to "exclusive." Therefore, the cessationist idea of "sufficient" does not actually mean "sufficient."

By way of example, if you tell your dinner host that you are sufficiently full, it does not mean there is no more food. Having enough does not exclude the existence of more, especially if dessert has yet to be served. This is a crucial understanding. We can now see how this would skew discussion. Redefining the word leads cessationists to the wrong conclusions and false doctrine. 

However, this redefinition is definitely useful for the cessationist. Why? Because 

• it allows cessationists a way to explain away or refute supernatural manifestations by simply appealing to a single word
• it gives cessationists some theological cover for some of their other doctrinal perspectives
• it elevates their particular doctrines for the purpose of defending them against perceived heresy 
• it allows cessationists to claim that those who believe in the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit do not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture and thus are in error or even heretics.

So "sufficiency" actually becomes a bludgeon. If you believe in prophecy, you don't believe the Bible is sufficient. You aren't satisfied with the Bible. You think it lacks something. You have itching ears. God's word isn't enough for you. You must think the canon isn't closed, because you want to add to the Bible.

Perhaps the reader can see how far this error goes by redefining the word.

The Scriptural Basis for Cessationist Sufficiency

We now turn to examine some of the Scriptures used by cessationists to document their case. There are four principle Scriptures cessationists invoke:

2Ti. 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Jude 1:3 Although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

2Pe. 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 

1Co. 13:8-10 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Much can be learned from these Scriptures, but those implications are beyond the scope of this post. We will note that a cursory examination of these Scriptures reveals that none of them actually indicate that revelation has ceased. None of them speak to the closing of the canon, the finality of the Bible, Only one actually refers to Scripture itself. 

We discuss these Scriptures in more detail here, but to summarize:

2Ti. 3:16-17 is a wonderful statement about the great and unique value of Scripture, but in actual fact says nothing about its exclusivity. It also does not address the gift of prophecy, nor does it speak about anything ceasing.

Jude 1:3 isn't even about Scripture! Jude is writing about the salvation we share. He wants us to contend for the faith. The faith is the way of salvation, holiness, and fruitfulness. The faith is the full Gospel message delivered by the apostles to the saints. The faith is the complete, non-lacking teaching provided to the early church and written down for our benefit. This is not the same thing as Scripture, since the NT did not yet exist. This is not about the Bible at all. Nothing here addresses prophecy or the supernatural. 

2Pe. 1:3 also does not address Scripture, the canon, or prophecy. In fact, neither revelation, prophecy, nor the Bible are the topic. It is specifically about God's divine power. 

1Co. 13:8-10 is a somewhat obtuse reference to the doctrine of sufficiency. Some, though not all cessations assert that "perfection" is the Bible. That is, when the perfect Bible appeared, prophecy, knowledge, and tongues ceased. We believe this to be a faulty understanding. We discuss the issues involved here.

Sola Scriptura

500 years ago the Catholic church was the dominant religious power. But its traditions and doctrines were coming under scrutiny, and its excesses and errors were being exposed. This became the fodder for the Reformation. The reformers, sometimes at great peril, asserted that the Catholic church had polluted or suppressed biblical truth.

The reformers were attempting to reform the Catholic church, but the Catholic church would have none of it. Thus, the Reformation became a protest against the Catholic church and its errant and destructive doctrines. This protest is where we get the word "Protestant."

Besides Luther's theses, other concepts and affirmations were coming out as the protestant movement began to spread. One of those was Sola Scriptura. Sola Scriptura is one of five solas that developed out of the Reformation: 

The term sola scriptura is from the Latin language meaning "only Scripture" or "Scripture alone." It consists of the words sola, meaning "only," and scriptura, referring to the Bible.

Sola scriptura became popular during the Protestant Reformation as a reaction against some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. It was the Reformers' way of saying that the Bible contains everything one needs for salvation and godly living...

Sola Scriptura is an ancillary concept of sufficiency. It has morphed to become the rallying cry of cessationists in their reaction against charismatic excesses. both sufficiency and Sola Scriptura are used by cessationists in a particular context to refute charismatic teaching. This means Sola Scriptura no longer references the pushback against the Catholic church, it has been adapted to be a pushback against charismaticism.

Sola Scriptura in cessationist usage is nearly synonymous with "sufficiency," that is, "no tongues or prophecy," or "nothing but the Bible." 

It is important to note that Sola Scriptura was never intended to forbid everything except the Bible. It was intended to subordinate everything to the Bible. Thus Sola Scriptura was a principle designed to elevate Scripture above the ideas and practices of men so that those ideas and practices would be subject to the Bible.

Interestingly, while Sola Scriptura is rhetorically employed by the cessationist to forbid every extra-biblical source of revelation except the Bible, in actual real-life practice the cessationist subordinates every extra-biblical source of revelation to the Bible. The cessationist happily reads commentaries, listens to sermons, reads Christian books, and relies on the counsel of the brethren. Therefore, cessationists are not actually Sola Scriptura, for they pick and choose what extra-biblical sources they will accept.

How Charismatics Understand Sufficiency

Charismatics also affirm the sufficiency of Scripture, albeit with a different understanding of what the word means. Sam Storms, a self-described "continuationist," writes this: 

By the sufficiency of Scripture many things are meant, but at the heart of the doctrine is our belief that the Bible contains every theological truth and every ethical norm that is required for living a Christ-exalting and God-glorifying life. What the Bible contains and teaches is “enough” to enable us to lead godly lives in this present age.

So the "continuationist" (a subset of charismatic) accepts the dictionary definition of sufficiency, the Bible is enough. It is the standard, the final word on the character of God, the nature of salvation, the doctrines we believe, and the way by which can lead a holy life. It is enough. "Sufficient" means the Bible provides us with adequate information.

Yet in those very same pages of the Bible we find lengthy descriptions of how prophecy works and how tongues should function. It is full of supernatural activities. There are accounts of fantastic things being done by a variety of people in the NT.

So it seems the charismatic embraces more of the NT as being applicable today than the cessationist does. The charismatic understands sufficiency does not mean there is no prophecy. In fact, sufficiency does not speak to prophecy at all. They are separate issues.

This also means that contemporary revelation, like prophecy, impressions, and words of knowledge, do not violate the canon. Revelation is not automatically Scripture. No Bible verse says it is.

We discuss prophecy in detail here and here.

What the Bible Says About Sufficiency

Let us turn our focus to the nature of sufficiency, and how the Bible uses the word. The first Greek word is hikanos, which means sufficient, fit... a) considerable, sufficient, of number, quantity, time, (b) of persons: sufficiently strong (good, etc.), worthy, suitable, with various constructions, (c) many, much.

One example of the use of this word is here:

2Co. 2:6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.

In this context Paul is making a judgment of fitness or suitability. The word implies a correct implementation of something for the task at hand, or a proper positioning or qualification.

Another word is arkeó, which means to assist, suffice... I keep off, assist; I suffice; pass: I am satisfied. We find an example of this word here:

2Co. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

So Paul is saying that God's grace satisfies him, it is enough for him.

This word is also used in 2Pe. 1:3, where the phrase "we need" is also arkeó, (sufficient):

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 

"Everything" is pas, which means all, every... all, the whole, every kind of. This word is used to describe something of all-encompassing completeness, every part of a complete set.

So our reading of this would be, His divine power is a complete package, sufficient and satisfying  for life and godliness...

"Scripture" never appears in a sentence with any of these words. There is not a single Scripture that couples the idea of sufficiency with Scripture. The Bible never uses the word in the context of describing revelation or in reference to Scripture itself.

Conclusion

In examining the Bible, we just do not find evidence of any internal claims that the sufficient Bible is the end of God's revelation. It is our contention, therefore, that this cessationist concept is in error.