Did God speak outside of Scripture? Does He still? Can we speak His (new) words?
Speaking is a big focus of the New Testament, though I think we have overlooked it. Many of the spiritual gifts have to do with verbal communication. Are those gifts supernatural (spiritual) or not? Can speaking gifts come from God, but not the words? What about this verse from Peter? “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…” Have you ever thought about Paul’s admonition to take up the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”? Did you know that Paul follows with a request that his friends pray that “utterance may be given unto [him]”?
Maybe you’re like me, fascinated by how casually the Old Testament refers to God speaking to men. God spoke to Cain. God told Noah. God visited Abraham. He interrogated Job. Was it like in the movies, where light streamed from heaven and men heard a voice? How often did men have experiences like Abraham, who entertained God and a couple of angels in his tent? Was the voice audible or not? Did God come in dreams like He did for Joseph, instructing him to go ahead with his marriage to Mary? Why doesn’t the Bible go into more detail about these fantastic communications? Why do the authors seem to think we know what they mean when they simply say, “God spoke”? Did they expect us to have similar experiences? Does God still speak?
Did you know that the Bible never says anything about the end of the writing of Scripture? Did you know there is no biblical instruction for determining a Canon?
Catholics ascribe authority to the words of the Pope (when he is speaking as Pope). That way they have one universal authority to which all members of the church must submit. Protestants rejected the Pope because they observed the fruit of his edicts, in the sixteenth century and before, that they were worldly. Perhaps they also claim that the New Testament does not teach apostolic succession or the spiritual authority of popes.
But Protestants claim similar things about the Bible. We use it as the universal and exclusive authority over the Church. Now, the Bible does mention authority. It says that men will live by the words of God, and I am fairly certain that the writings of the Bible fit into that category. All Scripture, Paul wrote, is profitable for doctrine and rebuke and instruction in righteousness. I’m willing to at least suggest that he had the Old Testament in mind.
The problem is that the Bible itself also teaches about the Church, and who has authority over it. What it says is that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. He is its authority, to which every member must submit.
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