sufficiency of Christ and his Word

I have often thought of the similarity between the person of Christ and the written Word of God. There is a duality of natures in each: Christ has two natures, divine and human; he is the God-man. The Scriptures have dual authorship, again divine and human. They are at the same time the words of human authors and the word of God as inerrant Author.

Christ himself is called the Word (John 1:1ff) and the Scripture is considered the living voice of God (Heb 3:7; 4:12). Both are the revelation of God's character and will to us. We do not know Christ apart from his recorded word (the Apostles' witness in Scripture; John 17:8), and we do not understand his written Word apart from submission to the Lord himself (John 5:39-40).

Author James White notes that this similarity also relates to the sufficiency of each for the life of the believer:

"I have often preached that Christ is a perfect Savior, that He possesses the power and the nature to save without fail, and that He will share His glory with no other. I have used these truths as a basis upon which to exhort believers to rejoice in Christ’s sufficiency. Look to Him for your every need! Do not allow the world to distract you, to draw you away so as to nibble at the worthless crumbs the world would offer you rather than dine at the Lord’s Table, where there is enough spiritual food and drink to satiate the strongest desires. We have a sufficient Savior, fully capable of doing what the Father has willed Him to do (John 6:38–39).

"In the very same way, our Lord Jesus Christ has provided His Word to His bride, the church. The Word is His voice, and He has chosen to speak with clarity and with sufficiency. He has given this tremendous gift out of love, for He has protected it and blessed those who have remained faithful to its teachings. Its sufficiency is a great encouragement to His people, for without it they would be left wandering in darkness, always casting about for some other source to guide them to the truth in the kind of certainty needed for a life of godliness and service in a hostile world."

~ James R. White, Scripture Alone: Exploring the Bible's Accuracy, Authority and Authenticity (Bethany House Publishers, 2004)

Comments

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Prie...

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

sword and trowel

"From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me." (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ESV) The great London preacher, Charles Spurgeon, published a monthly magazine called The Sword and The Trowel; A record of combat with sin and of labour for the Lord. It was published from 1865 to 1892. The cover of the journal had a drawing taken from Nehemiah 4, which included both a trowel (representing the work) and a sword (representing the fight). The sword was necessary to protect what the men with trowels were building. These citizen-soldier-builders would successfully complete the wall aroun...

my burg

Search This Blog