The Sufficiency of Scripture: What Does That Mean?

Definition

The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture teaches that through His Word, God has revealed all that is needed (1) to know Him through the salvation received by faith in Jesus Christ and (2) to live a faithful, godly life, fully equipped for fruitful service.

Avoiding Misunderstandings

The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is often misunderstood. Here is what this doctrine does not teach.

• This doctrine does not teach that Scripture is a complete and full revelation of God. God Himself is infinite and no created thing, not even His divinely inspired book, could contain His infinity. However, it does truly, comprehensively, adequately reveal Him such that those made in His image can know Him. We can truly know Him through the Word, even if we cannot fully know Him in all His infinitude.
• This doctrine also does not teach that the Bible contains a complete revelation of all knowledge outside of God. While it does speak of many things—and everything upon which it speaks upon truly and authoritatively—Scripture does not give, for example, the street directions on how to drive from home to church or the step-by-step instructions on how to assembly a piece of furniture. I pity the fool who opens his Bible trying to find how to make a fruit salad (of the fruits of the Spirit!).
• This doctrine also does not teach that the Bible alone is the only source of truth on all subjects. Mathematics textbooks, computer manuals, cookbooks, etc. give true and authoritative information beyond what Scripture says. In fact, other sources of knowledge outside of the Bible, in so far as they accord with the reality created by God and the revelation contained within Scripture, are helpful and useful to consult on a variety of manners.
• This doctrine also does not teach that other Christian material (i.e. linguistic, archaeological, historical, sociological, studies; commentaries, theologies, sermons, etc.) are not profitable for understanding the Scriptures themselves. In their proper place, such tools are extremely useful for bridging the temporal, historical, and linguistic gap between the modern reader and the ancient text. (I’ll speak more on this below.)

Rather, the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture teaches that with the Word of God alone, someone has everything necessary to know God through the salvation provided in Jesus Christ and to be equipped to live a godly life for Him.

A Derivation and Defense of the Definition

The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is intertwined with the other attributes of Scripture, namely Scripture’s divine-origin, supremacy, inerrancy, and clarity.

• Divine-origin: because Scripture is a revelation ultimately from God—His very breath—it is the very Word of God and thus has the authority of God Himself. In other words, what Scripture says, God has said.
• Supremacy: because God Himself is the Creator and King over all creation, He has supreme authority. Therefore, what He says (i.e., His Word) comes with the highest authority, not simply over the church and believers, but also over all reality.
• Inerrancy: because Scripture is an inerrant revelation, that means it is absolutely true and trustworthy regarding all that it says (John 17:17). Thus, any claim that contradict the Scripture is a falsehood by definition.
• Clarity: because Scripture is a clear revelation, by the power of the Holy Spirit a regenerate mind can truly understand God’s intended meaning of each text (1 Cor 2:11-16). After all, God wrote His Word in order to reveal, not to hide, obfuscate, or confuse. This doesn’t mean every part of the Word is clear to every reader (2 Peter 3:15-16), or that every text is equally clear, but that the author (both God and man) writes with the intention to be clearly understood.

Because the Scripture is a revelation from God, supremely authoritative, trustworthy in all regards, and comprehensible to the regenerate mind, it a sufficient revelation from God. By itself, it is able to both save and sanctify the believer.

An Explanation of 2 Timothy 3:14-17

While there are many texts that teach this, the most foundational is 2 Timothy 3:14–17.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NASB)
14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Verse 15 says that the Scriptures (i.e., “the sacred writings”) are “able to give... the wisdom that leads to salvation.” In other words, Scripture reveals the knowledge and understanding necessary for a sinner to be saved, namely by unveiling the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 10:13-17). And having received the promise of eternal life, the sinner knows God (John 17:3). **This accords with the first part of the definition, namely the Scriptures—by themselves—are sufficient to reveal all that is needed to know God through the salvation received by faith in Jesus Christ. ** Put succinctly, Scripture is sufficient to save.

Verse 16 continues by describing some attributes of the Word of God. First, 1:16 says it is inspired by God (θεόπνευστος, theopneustos, literally “God-breathed”). This is the foundation for the doctrine of the inspiration/inerrancy of Scripture. Psalm 19:7-11 also adds that Scripture is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, enduring forever, true, righteous altogether, more desirable than all riches, sweet to the taste. This Word is the beautiful, wonderful, desirable revelation of God!

Second, 1:17 says it is profitable (ὠφέλιμος, ophelimos, meaning to be beneficial, to be of use for) for a host of spiritual disciplines:

• teaching: instruction, intellectual training, informing the mind in order to influence behavior
• reproof: rebuke, strong disapproval intended to tell someone to cease from wrong and go the right direction
• correction: for the sake of improvement, making adjustments to grow in some area
• training in righteousness: upbringing unto right and good behavior and living

The goal of these four means is that every Christian would be “adequate, equipped for very good work” (3:17). This is the third attribute of the Word. The word “adequate” (ἄρτιος, artios) has the meaning of competent, capable, proficient. ESV translates it as “complete” (CSB, ESV). **This accords with the second part of the definition, namely that the Scriptures—by themselves—are sufficient to give the knowledge needed for the believer to live a complete life, equipped for every work of service in this age. ** Put succinctly, Scripture is sufficient to sanctify.

Indulge me in a silly thought experiment. Let’s say that I believed my pastor’s sermon this past Sunday was so trustworthy, so exalted, so supremely authoritative that I put it on the same level as Scripture, and therefore assert that Scripture plus this Sunday’s sermon are necessary for salvation and sanctification. Thus, I would imply that Scripture by itself is not sufficient to save and to sanctify; rather, I am implying that this sermon makes up for Scriptures lack.

By doing so, I would condemn all of the Christians for the past ~2000 years who did not hear this sermon because they were not yet alive, and all of the Christians who will never understand this sermon because they don’t understand English. If they need this sermon because Scripture is not sufficient by itself, they did not—indeed could not—have all they needed for salvation and sanctification.

Of course, I don’t believe that about this past Sunday’s sermon, nor have I ever heard anyone assert this about any sermon. But, many assert that Christians need the creeds, the councils, the Church’s interpretation for salvation and sanctification. Some might tout a favorite Christian leader, book, podcast, ministry, commentary, biblical theology, etc. as if it were the key to unlocking salvation and sanctification. But is that true?

The Magisterial Authority (Scripture) and Ministerial Authorities (Everything else)

The Reformers rightly taught that Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) has magisterial authority (supreme authority, kingly authority, the authority above all other authorities), whereas all other authorities have ministerial authority (servant authority, inferior authority). This doesn’t mean that ministerial authorities are worthless. A cookbook is very helpful for making cookies! The Chalcedonian creed is very helpful for elucidating biblical Christology and defending against heresy!

But the truthfulness and usefulness of the ministerial authority must be evaluated by and measured against the one supreme, sufficient authority—the Scriptures. Scripture alone is supreme. And, because Scripture by itself is sufficient, while these ministerial authorities can be helpful, they are technically not necessary for salvation or sanctification.

Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Creed, or 1 Clement, or Augustine’s Confessions, or The Pilgrim’s Progress, instead? All of these texts are wonderful, but they do not rise to the level of Scripture; they are not necessary because Scripture, by itself, is sufficient.

Applied to the Church Fathers and Other Authorities

This informs how we think about the church fathers and their teachings. Roman Catholics erroneously exalt them to the same level as Scripture. On the surface, it seems logical that the closer one is to the time of Jesus, the closer to the truth one would be. However, this would imply that those who knew Jesus in the flesh would have the most truth and the least error. Yet many who knew Jesus in the flesh erred—even the apostles.

For example, Peter was prejudiced against the Gentiles, despite knowing better. He was taught by the Spirit Himself that the gospel must go to the Jews (Acts 10) and was part of the church council that left the Gentiles unhindered by the Mosaic law (Acts 15). Yet, Peter stood condemned by his own hypocrisy for removing himself from eating/fellowship with the Gentiles because he feared the Jews (Gal 2:11-13). He even led others into sin with him, even noble Barnabas (2:13)—one of the first missionaries to the Gentiles (c.f. Acts 13)! Thus, this error of the earliest church leaders invalidates the notion that temporal proximity to the origin of the Scriptures makes one more authoritative. If apostles can err, certainly church fathers can, too.[^1] And the same goes for councils, traditions, commentaries, studies, and the like.

The standard of truth against which all must be measured and examined is the Word of God. If the teaching accords with Scripture, then it is a trustworthy, ministerial authority. If it contradicts Scripture, it is not to be trusted. If it goes beyond Scripture, for its teaching cannot be reasonably deduced from Scripture, then it has no binding authority on the church. I don’t have space here to refute infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, transubstantiation, or other aberrant doctrines, but these are either in direct contradiction to Scripture’s plain teaching or beyond Scripture’s revelation—or both.

Thank God for a Completed Bible

The apostles James, Peter, Paul, and John were blessed to be the authors of Scripture. But, they were not blessed with a completed New Testament; they were still writing it! And even second-generation Christians likely did not have individual, ready access to all of the New Testament writings due to the difficulty of replication and travel. For decades, even most local churches probably went without a complete canon. (Of course, the Church as whole had all of the books collectively, and took special care in replicating the original manuscripts/autographs.) Yet, even as their copies of the Word of God were incomplete, they would have cherished the sufficient Word of God, even more than their very lives (Job 23:12).

Today, we have unparalleled access to the Scriptures and complete access to the completed Scriptures. It is available in printed form for less than the price of a meal, readily available online, easily analyzed digitally. But do we treasure the completed Scriptures? Do we run to the sufficient Word again and again, which alone is able to both save and sanctify?

Hebrews 2:1 (NASB95) 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

Revelation 1:3 (NASB95) 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Psalm 119:97 (NASB95) 119:97 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

May God help us to give thanks to Him for a completed, sufficient Word.

[^1]: This interacts directly with the doctrine of inspiration. People are not inspired by God; rather certain texts written by those certain people are inspired by God. For example, it is admitted by most Christian scholars that Paul wrote four letters to the Corinthians (because he references a prior letter in 1 Corinthians 1 and yet another letter in 2 Corinthians). Yet we only have two letters to the Corinthians in our Bibles, because only two are actually Scripture. The other two were not incorrectly excluded from the canon; rather, they are not in the canon because they were not inspired by God. Not everything Paul or Peter wrote or did was inspired. (Otherwise, even their shopping lists would be inspired!) Rather it is the writings that the Holy Spirit moved the apostles to write—and only these writings—that are inspired (c.f. 2 Peter 1:16-21, esp. v21).