The Sufficiency of Scripture

8.1 What is the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture?^[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 everything we need God to tell us for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly." (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 127)

“The doctrine of the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures declares that everything necessary for saving faith and spiritual life is taught in the Bible. There is no warrant or need for the church to base its doctrine or directives on anything else, be it church tradition, the opinions of men, or the wisdom of this world.” (Beeke and Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology Vol.1., p.398)

"The Bible’s sufficiency should also not be understood to exclude the use of the church’s helps, such as the ministry and works of teachers and scholars, ancient and modern, or the creeds and confessions. These are not to be rejected, but welcomed as means that the Holy Spirit uses in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11–13). However, they are subordinate to the Bible in such a way that they have divine authority to direct our faith and obedience only insofar as they faithfully reproduce and apply the teachings of Scripture." (Beeke and Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology Vol.1., p.399)

8.2 What have others written about the sufficiency of Scripture?

• Irenaeus wrote, “We have learned from none others 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.” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.1)
• John Calvin said, “All our wisdom is contained in the Scriptures, and neither ought we to learn, nor teachers to draw their instructions, from any other source.” (John Calvin, Commentaries, on 2 Tim 4:1)
• Geneva Confession (1536/1537): "For the rule of our faith and religion, we wish to follow the Scripture alone, without mixing with it any other thing which might be fabricated by the interpretation of men apart from the Word of God; and we do not pretend to receive any other doctrine for our spiritual government than that which is taught us by the same Word, without addition or reduction, according to the command of our Lord." (Reformed Confessions 1:395)
• William Perkins wrote, “The sufficiency is that, whereby the word of God is so complete, that nothing may be either put to it, or taken from it, which appertaineth to the proper end thereof.” (Perkins, The Arte of Prophesying, 5)
• Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6: "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. (2 Tim. 3:15–17, Gal. 1:8–9, 2 Thess. 2:2)"

8.3 What does the Bible say about the sufficiency of Scripture?^[2]

• The sufficiency of Scripture is asserted in the biblical prohibitions against adding to or subtracting from God's Word (Deut 4:2, 6–8; Prov 30:5–6; Rev 22:18–19).
• The sufficiency of Scripture correlates to its uniqueness as divine revelation and to its many warnings against drawing spiritual wisdom from any other source (Isa 8:20; 29:13; Mark 7:6–7; Col 2:22).
• The Bible bears witness to the completeness of its revelation and being sufficient for moral instruction (Mic 6:8; Luke 16:27–31).
• The Word became flesh and made known the invisible God; through Christ and his apostles we have the final word from God (John 1:14, 18; 1 John 1:13; Heb 1:1–2).
• The Bible is sufficient for the church and its ministries (2 Tim 3:15–17; 4:1–2).

Other passages to consider: 2 Peter 1:3

8.4 What does the sufficiency of Scripture not mean?^[3]

• Scripture’s sufficiency doesn’t mean its coverage is exhaustive. Scripture’s sufficiency doesn’t mean it covers every possible theological topic. But it does cover what humans need in order to be saved and live a life pleasing to the Lord. Even the topics Scripture does address, including those about our salvation and God’s expectations for our behavior, don’t say everything that could be said.
• Scripture sufficiency doesn't mean it teaches everything Jesus taught. In fact, John 20:30 says that there were things Jesus taught and did that the Holy Spirit didn’t inspire the NT writers to include in their books.
• Scripture sufficiency doesn't mean it describes all the practices of a local church. While Scripture speaks of various church officers and their duties and gives general descriptions of what often happens in actual worship services in local churches, none of that describes everything a given church (or set of churches) did in organizing and running its local assembly.

8.5 What are some practical implications of the sufficiency of Scripture?^[4]

The sufficiency of the Bible implies that for whatever question or trial we may face as individual Christians, we must go to the Word of God for answers. The world cannot offer us real solutions to the problems of guilt, bondage to sin, alienation from God, spiritual coldness and drowsiness, lack of spiritual joy and communion with God.

Church leaders must also be careful to build their churches upon the Bible alone. Even in noncharismatic evangelical circles, the sufficiency of God’s Word has been significantly undermined by those who look to man’s wisdom in order to build the church.