The Written Word Of God Versus Fresh Revelation

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).