I consistently hear from those who want to justify that experiential special/fresh revelation supersedes what is written in the Bible because the “books” of the New Testament were not compiled until after 324 AD. Therefore, because the Disciples in the first century had to rely on hearing the ‘rhema’ (spoken) Word from God, the Church today should as well, because God still speaks today which supersedes His ‘logos’ (written) Word. After all, they say, “God’s sheep hears His voice constantly and they follow Him” (see John 10:27).
I often hear people say one of two things; that God speaks to them, or they wish God would speak to them. Those who say God speaks to them often pull the ‘god card’ to validate something they have done, or a message they have given, or the way they have interpreted the Bible.
This is a generation that is made up of biblically illiterate people because the church is full of immature pretentious pontifical polyester pretzel preachers of pablum and taradiddle teachers that focus on touchy-feely felt needs and sensory spirituality while they twist God's Word to make it say what they want it to say instead of what it actually says.
The question that remains is ‘does God still speak today?‘ The short answer is a resounding, Yes! God did not become silent at the close of the first century.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Heb 1:1-3 ESV)
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27-28 ESV). He also said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20 ESV). The Bible tells us that when we hear His voice, we should not “harden” our heart (Heb 4:7).
However, the question that remains is, how does He speak to us?
There are also those who believe that the 66 books, divided into 1,189 chapters, and 31,000 verses of the Bible are not enough, so they continuously look for private prophetic words, dreams, or visions for a more meaningful personal experiential revelation from God. This belief is being used to validate and justify teaching that is contrary to traditional orthodox Christianity. The biblical reality is that if a private “revelation” given to (or by) someone does not agree or align with Scripture, it is false, and if it does, then it is not needed.
A simple word study of the original Greek language used in the New Testament (NT) quickly reveals that there is no significant difference between the words ‘rhema’ and ‘logos.’ Also, the Bible often uses the Greek word ‘graphe’ to refer to the written Word of God and ‘logos’ to refer to that which Jesus had spoken (Matt 21:42; 22:29; John 2:22, 5:39, 14:23-24, 17:6,14; Acts 17:11; 18:24; Rom 1:2).
The Greek word ‘logos’ refers to a word, decree, the act of speaking, teaching, reason, account; first sense of collection, counting, conversation; expression of thought, statement; thoughts expressed in words, relates to speaking and thinking, a divine declaration recorded in the Old Testament (OT); systematic and formal treatment of a subject, the content of what is preached'; pertaining to matter.
'Logos' also refers to the gospel as preached by the Apostles, and not to all the Scriptures (Acts 4:4). It is used regarding the supernatural gifts of prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, and tongues (1 Cor 12:8, 14:9). The ‘logos’ is also ‘spoken’ by angels (Heb 2:2, 12:19) and also refers directly to Jesus (John 1:1,14).
The Septuagint translates both ‘logos’ and ‘rhema’ from the Hebrew word ‘dabar,’ which means ‘that which is uttered in speech, or writing; speech, discourse, the subject matter of speech; a minimal unit of discourse, a single word, a focus on the content of the communication.
The words "rhema" and "logos" overlap in their definitions. The actual difference between the words is simply a matter of writing style and expression. The word "logos" occurs 330 times in the NT. The word "rhema" occurs 70 times in the NT. There are 218 times when the word "logos" occurs, and it is translated simply as "word." ”Rhema” is translated 56 times as "word." The word "logos" occurs 50 times and is translated "saying." Nine times "rhema" is also translated as "saying." The words "logos" and "rhema" are equally associated with "word" and "saying."
Jesus spoke the ‘logos,’ and all that exists came into existence (John 1:1-3). Both ‘rhema’ and ‘logos’ are meant to be synonyms and are equated with each other (2 Pet 3:5). The word ‘rhema’ can be seen referring to what was written. Although the prophets ‘spoke’ words from God, they were written to the people (1 Pet 1:25; 2 Pe 3:2,5; Heb 12:19,11:3; Jude 1:17).
The word ‘rhema’ is also used of the gospel of Christ being preached, and not the written word that is used to sanctify and cleanse, or the spoken word (Ro 10:8, 17; Eph 5:26; 1 Pet 1:25). The ‘logos’ word is equated to the ‘rhema’ word that was delivered on the day of Pentecost (Acts 10:44). The ‘rhema’ words of Peter were seen as ‘logos.’
During the early years of preaching the Gospel, it was not written down yet, but the Gospel is just as well contained in the OT as it is in the NT. The word of faith is ‘preached’ and not ‘written.’ Whether the Bible uses the word ‘rhema’ of God, or ‘logos’ of God, it still points to that which is spoken in the majority of cases. The word ‘logos’ cannot be interpreted as only the written Word (example Eph 6:17; Heb 6:5).
The Bible Timeline
The historic church has had the complete written “logos/graphe” Word since no later than 95 AD as all 27 books of the New Testament were written by then. Below is a reliable timeline of each book:
James - 40-46 AD
1 Thessalonians - 50-52 AD
2 Thessalonians - 51-53 AD
Galatians - 53-56 AD
1 + 2 Corinthians - 56-57 AD
Romans and 1 Peter - 57-58 AD
Philippians - 59 AD
Matthew - between 35-60 AD
Titus, Philemon, Mark - no later than 61 AD
Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy - 61-63 AD
Hebrews 61-63 AD
2 Peter, 2 Timothy, Luke, Jude - 58-67 AD
Acts - 58-67 AD
John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John - 63-80 AD
Revelation - 89-95 AD
Both the Old Testament (OT) and the entire New Testament (NT) could be reconstructed from the writings of the early Church Fathers such as Clement of Rome who wrote a letter to the church at Corinth in 95 AD that contained numerous OT Scriptures as well as the writings of the Apostles Jesus had hand-picked, that were considered as sacred Scripture.
The OT Scriptures were completed by 400 BC+-. The NT Scriptures were compiled into one book in 144 A.D. by Marcion of Sinope (85 AD -160 AD), the son of the Bishop of Pontus.
Another early church father was Irenaeus, who lived from 130 AD to 202 AD. In his writings, he quoted from 24 books of the NT over 1,800 times.
Justin Martyr wrote a letter known as his first Apology to the Roman Emperor around 150 AD in which he described what happened during a typical Sunday church service. He wrote that the Scriptures of the OT (the writings of the Prophets) and the writings of the NT were read out loud and then a message (discourse) was preached, songs were sung, people prayed together and took communion. Then, an offering was taken, part of which was used to help those who were sick, as well as for widows and orphans, and all those that were in need (First Apology, 67).
There was also Origen Adamantius who lived from 185 AD - 254 AD in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a theologian and scholar who made over 18,000 references to the books in the NT in his writings.
The Bible is Reliable
The Bible has been translated numerous times in a one-step process from the original languages into multiple languages throughout history. However, it has never been rewritten. There are approximately 5,700 copies of the Greek manuscripts that were made very close to the time of the originals, and they all agree with each other to 99.5% accuracy. The .5% variation would include textual misspelling or minor word alternations. There are also over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages which bring the total supporting New Testament manuscript purity to over 24,000 copies.
God the Father, just as He spoke in the past in the OT through His prophets, continues to speak to His people today through the NT by using His Words spoken to Jesus, who then spoke to His Apostles, who wrote them down, which are the books of the NT (Heb 1:1-3; Luke 10:16; Jn 13:20, 17:17-20). The writers of the NT always appealed to the Scriptures alone as their base of authority in declaring what was, and was not, actual biblical teaching (Matt. 21:42; John 2:22; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; 1 Peter 1:10-12, 2:2; 2 Peter 1:17-19; Acts 17:11).
When contending with the religious leaders, those who abused God’s law, as well as the devil, Jesus, responded: “It is written,” and NEVER “it was said” (Matt 4:4-10, 21:13; Mark 7:6, 10:5). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would bring to mind all that He had said, as well as what He taught the 12 Apostles, thereby confirming that what was written in the NT was inspired and authoritative (John 14:25-26, 17:17-21). Jesus warned that anyone who claims to be a Christian and does not keep or believe in the complete sufficiency of His Word is deceiving themselves, and are of their father the devil (John 14:25-26, 17:17-21).
The Bible is the absolute perfect revelation of Jesus Christ and the only infallible, inerrant, inspired source of knowledge about Him and the single reliable source to hear His voice. Everything in the Cosmos is sustained by His Word (Heb 1:1-3).
The writers of the NT fully believed that they were recording the very inspired words (Scriptures) of God (John 14:26, 16:12-13). Because the Bible is already inspired, it does not need any church traditions or fresh revelation to be relevant. Dreams, visitations, or prophetic words are not reliable. The Bible says that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of any personal or private or special interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20 NIV).
That is why the rules of biblical hermeneutics have been used by every Born-Again translator of the Bible since the first century after they had “received the word with all readiness, on every day examining the Scriptures, whether these things were so” as the only reliable way to translate them from the original language, with all of the grammatical and historical meaning of each word used in context of what was said, and then in context with the entire written Word of God (Acts 17:11 ESV).
The Bible must not be used as just a source of inspiration for anecdotal stories in ‘feel good’ messages, or consulted and used merely to support an idea, tradition, or pet belief. It is the ultimate authority for the Christian and must point directly to the character and work of the Triune God. The Bible warns that there will be ignorant, uneducated, and unstable people who will try and distort the Scriptures by bringing in meaning that forces it to conform to their opinions, thoughts, ideas, and agendas (2 Peter 3:16).
The Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture
The Bible is the absolute perfect revelation of Jesus Christ and the only infallible, inerrant, inspired source of knowledge about Him and the only reliable source to hear His voice. Everything in the Cosmos is sustained by His Word.
“In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” (Heb 1:1-3 NIV)
It would appear evident that the writers of the NT fully believed that they were recording the very inspired words (Scriptures) of God. Because the Bible is already inspired, it does not need any fresh revelation to be relevant. Dreams, visitations, or prophetic words are not reliable. Only the written Word of God is. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. The Father is God. All three are ONE. Their Word can be trusted, and it does not need extra-biblical help to be interpreted. The Bible only needs the Bible to do that.
The Bible says that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of any personal or private or special interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20 NIV). It must not be used as only a source of inspiration for anecdotal stories in ‘feel good’ messages or consulted and used merely to support an idea or pet belief. It is the ultimate authority for the Christian and must point directly to the character and work of the Triune God. The Bible warns that there will be ignorant, uneducated and unstable people who will try and distort the Scriptures by bringing in meaning that forces it to conform to their opinions, thoughts, ideas, and agendas (2 Peter 3:16).
There are modern translations and paraphrases of the Scriptures that change God’s Word in such a way as to water down the message. There are even some translations that have led people to the belief that Jesus is merely a “son” of God, inferring that He is God’s offspring.
There is no need to seek God in any other place, including the traditions of men. It must be the foundation and center of all teaching and preaching in the life and worship of the church and within the daily lives of every Christian through reading, study, and sincere contemplation. Christians need to be continually taught how to become a true Berean and learn how to understand what is written clearly. They must be encouraged each week from the pulpit to daily read, search and study the Bible rather than to rely on anecdotal stories, testimonials, and extra-biblical sources, or expect a fresh direct revelation, dreams, and supernatural words of knowledge or personal prophecies.
Every Christian should be hungry for more of Jesus and less of themselves and not the have the aberrant desire or compulsion to experience something “fresh” from Heaven to “feel” filled with Holy Spirit. They have already been given “fullness” in Christ. The Bible warns Believers about being seduced through “hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority” (Col 2:8-10 NIV).
Traditions of Man
The NT speaks of the teaching traditions by the Apostles that are to be passed down and taught to later generations.
“We called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thess 2:14-15 NIV)
“I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.” (1 Cor 11:2 NIV)
The word “teachings” (Gk: paradosis) means a handing down of instructions (doctrine) for everyday conduct like the ordinances of the traditions passed down by the Rabbi’s which were made null and void by the divine teaching of the Apostles (Acts 17:11).
The Bible says that the Scriptures alone, and not church traditions, are divinely inspired. The Bible must be used to verify and test the traditions and teaching of the church and not the other way around. Jesus continually rebuked the Pharisees and called them hypocrites because they made their traditions equal to the written Word of God (Mark 7:6-13). Traditions should support the teachings of the Apostles and not those that contradict or transgress “the commands of God" (Matt. 15:3) or exceed what they say (1 Cor. 4:6; 2 Thess. 2:15).
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17)
Experiential Revelation
It is true that normal Christian life is filled with miraculous and supernatural experiences. God does speak today personally and directly just as He spoke to His people in the past, by using His own words of the Scriptures. That is quickly affirmed by anyone who has heard His call to church ministry. However, He will NEVER contradict or add to what He has already said in the Bible. The authority and sufficiency of Scripture cannot be separated.
Christianity, without the supernatural, has no legitimate power, yet those who actively believe in the miraculous are often held with contempt, and their beliefs ridiculed and even condemned. You will most often find more skeptics in the church than outside of it.
It is my belief that ALL Christians are called to live supernatural lives every day that has the touch and power of God upon them to affect change in those they come in contact with. Living a supernatural life is the most powerful yet practical way for a Christian to live.
The biblical truth is that the supernatural is the natural environment of God. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit lives in, and empowers, every Christian (1 Cor. 6:19). It would be logical to posit that the natural environment of God exists within them as well. Taking that thought a little farther, it would also seem sensible to surmise that God wants every Christian living naturally in the supernatural, with the miraculous accompanying them as they live normal lives. That is purely an ambitious objective because it is a lived reality for only a very little number of Christians who are often scoffed at for their so-called experiences.
The Christian walk cannot be established upon sensory spirituality or experiential interpretation that is based upon the belief in the abstract and subjective “I hear - I see - I feel - therefore it must be real” feelings, emotions and experiences. The five primary senses: taste - feel - hear- see - smell - are all rooted in the flesh of man. Jesus asked; "Have you believed because you have seen (i.e., felt or heard) me?” and then said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29 ESV). In the life of a mature Believer, it must be God's written Word, which is the cognitive, concrete foundation to base all decisions and beliefs.
The relating of experiences or “divine revelation” outside of the Word of God is what the Bible calls “fables” (1 Tim 1:4,47: 2 Tim 4:4; Tit 1:14; 2 Pe 1:16). The minute a person opens the door and begins to teach by anecdotal experience, they lose authority and introduce confusion. They should consider experience, but also note the limits of the knowledge which God has revealed. Experience does not add to the truth of Scripture. Believers are not to be "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14 NKJV).
God’s Word is absolute truth. Human beings hypothesize, theorize, formulate, speculate, and postulate because they do not have the infinite mental capacity of full knowledge about anything in this life. It is the Bible that must be the most important source of authority in a person's spiritual life. The Scriptures say; “Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Cor 13:12-13 NLT).
The Plumbline
The voice of God is the Bible, His written Word, and must be used as the primary source to confirm a person has heard the voice of Jesus. God speaks with absolute authority from the Bible alone. He alone is truth, and Christians must learn to hear His voice. Jesus said in an allegory; “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27 NIV). When Jesus was tempted by the devil, it was not His opinions or experience that defeated him. He was defeated with ‘It is written!”
It is virtually impossible for a finite human being to comprehend the infinite God on their own. God can only be perceived as He is manifested in His creation (both the Cosmos and within humankind) and spoken of in His love letter to humanity – the Bible.
The only 100% reliable way to confirm that a word heard is accurate and true, is to compare it to the written Word. When a person hears God’s voice, it must align with His character and nature, and not contradict, His written Word which is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17 ESV). If a person “hears” something that does not align with the written Word then it is a “different gospel” and that ‘source’ should be accursed” (Gal 1:6-9 ESV).
The Bible is the only single special revelation from God that human beings possess today. Experience cannot be trusted, as it is a type of hearsay. Christians are commanded to believe what is written in the Bible because it is the only pure word from God and is unquestionably sufficient in itself (Psalm 119:160).
In the great high priestly prayer of Jesus for every Christian, He said, “Sanctify them by the truth: your word is truth” (Jn 17:17 NIV). The daily sanctification work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of every Christian is to bring them closer to Jesus by pointing out both strengths and weaknesses and reminding them that the blood of Jesus has washed away all past, present and future sin. His job is to illuminate what has already been written in the Bible. He does not provide through Angels or by direct “fresh” revelation anything that would add or change in any way, manner, shape, or form.
Just as food, air, and water are essential and adequate to keep a human being alive, the inspired Scriptures are essential and sufficient to give the "wisdom that leads to salvation." The Bible is more than sufficient to fully equip the Christian for profitable service and “every good work” because it is the very counsel of God.
I once heard it said that the Bible is entirely true about everything to which it speaks, but it does not speak about everything there is to know. The Bible reveals that human beings can acquire knowledge of God by general revelation and draw conclusions about right conduct through observation, rational, reflective reasoning and astute observations of the Cosmos (Prov 24:30-34, 30:24-28; Ps 19:1-4; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 11:14). However, those are just tools to direct a person to the perfect revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Bible is the only special revelation and has the absolute authority to provide ALL sufficient knowledge needed to know Jesus and receive the gift of salvation, as well as what the commands of God are for every Christian. Because the “heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” the sensory experiences of touch, sight, taste, smell, and hearing are not reliable (Jer 17:9 KJV).
The Bible is the only dependable source for humankind to know God’s voice. It alone has the answers to all eternal questions. Jesus and the writers of the NT considered the Scriptures as the final rule of authority.
The Bible is the blueprint of Heaven and the only reliable source of authoritative truth and is sufficient for teaching because it contains all moral and spiritual information by which humans can successfully live each day as well as build a foundation for any endeavor that is needed for “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV). The primary intent of the NT is so that people “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” so that “by believing” they will “have life in his name” (John 20:30-31 ESV).
It is vital that every Christian rely entirely upon the Holy Spirit to direct and guide them in understanding and effectively applying God’s Word in every situation they find themselves in. The Holy Spirit has the responsibility to illuminate the Scriptures so that God’s will can be understood. It is His responsibility to see that the “good work” that was started in each Believer at the moment of salvation “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6 NIV). Christians have the responsibility to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and respond to Him. The Holy Spirit will never give a meaning to a Scripture that is different than what He first inspired the original writer to write down in its grammatical and historical context.
The Bible is also the primary source to interpret the Bible. Without reliance upon the Bible as the infallible and supreme source for knowing God’s voice - and as the authoritative rule of faith and conduct - a large door is opened for the possibility of error and heresy to creep into a person’s beliefs. It must be God’s written Word, which is the cognitive concrete foundation, to base all decisions and belief. The Bible must be studied from God’s perspective. Only the Bible is truly God’s Word, and it declares the author is Jesus Christ, who is the “Word of God” (Rev 19:13 NIV).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 NIV)
Asking God to show a sign through a prophetic word, supernatural manifestation, or personal experience is an act of spiritual immaturity, rejection, and unbelief. God’s eternal will for every Christian is found in His Word alone. If a person wants to confidently hear a word from God, they should read His written Word, the Bible, out loud.
