God's Word Is Sufficient

Good morning. I'm Dan Bielman. I'm an assistant pastor here at Church of the Advent.

Also, you saw on the chancel this morning the Reverend Jeffrey Simpson,

who was just ordained to the priesthood last week, right?

Jeff will be celebrating communion for the first time today. Really looking forward to that.

Neither of us claim to be Tommy Henson or want to pretend like we are.

That would be for my 14-year-old who was dressing as Tommy Henson for Halloween this year.

So look out for Instagram and see how that goes.

We're on week three of a sermon series called Read, Mark, Learn.

We're exploring the doctrine of Scripture, asking questions such as, what is the Bible?

What makes it the Word of God? Can I understand it?

Is it reliable?

Does it tell us everything we need to know about God, the world, and ourselves?

What should my relationship to it be?

What makes it different than any other written book?

So three weeks ago, Tommy took us through Psalm 119,

and he gave us an overview about the nature of Scripture.

God's Word, rightly apprehended, inspires our love and delight,

because it gives us the truth, goodness, and beauty of God Himself.

Two weeks ago, Tommy talked to us about Scripture's clarity,

or as theologians would put it, Scripture's perspicuity.

Though some things in the Bible are hard to understand,

it's clear enough that we who read it can understand what it is saying

about the most important things it has to say about God, about us, and about the world,

and our relationship to God, and God's purposes in the world.

Last week, we took a week to celebrate the ordination of Jeff Simpson to the priesthood,

and now we're back to the sermon series on Scripture.

And we're going to look today at Hebrews 1.

It was the first passage read this morning.

We're going to see what this very important passage has to say about the Bible,

and how it all relates to Jesus.

We're going to first see what it has to say about the history of God speaking to His people.

Second, how He has spoken through Jesus.

And third, what that all means for Scripture's sufficiency and completeness.

So the first, the history of God speaking to His people.

Second, God speaking through the person of Jesus.

And third, Scripture's sufficiency.

But before we do that, let's pray.

Not on riches, we will fix our eyes.

Lord Jesus, it would be our prayer that Your Word would be our delight this morning.

As we sang earlier, and as we heard preached three weeks ago,

that when we hear Your Word, when we read it,

we could experience joy.

Lord, that we who would be thirsty when we come to Scripture would be filled.

Lord, that we who come to Scripture hungry could be satisfied.

Even more so, Lord, that it would fill us with delight.

Lord, could You even surprise us this morning through hearing Your Word preached.

Lord, forgive the sins of the preacher,

and may Your words, Lord Jesus,

be made clear through the working of Your Holy Spirit right now.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, so the writer of Hebrews begins

with a fairly compact summary

of how God has spoken to His people.

Long ago, at many times,

and in many ways,

God spoke.

Long ago,

at many times,

and in many ways,

God spoke.

That God has spoken at all

is because He is quite simply

a person.

equally,

His having spoken

is in part evidence of His personhood.

This is important

and crucial to our faith

and beliefs.

Much of philosophy would tell us

that the attempt

of finite minds

like ours

to comprehend

the mind and nature

of an infinite supreme being

would either be futile

or idolatrous.

Futile

because the incompatibility

between a supreme being

and ourselves.

idolatrous

because any claim

to understand

that supreme being

would actually be

a recreation

of ourselves

and we would just be giving it

human characteristics

and not understanding

and comprehending

that being

as He is.

Well, Christians resolve

this question

of incompatibility

by means

of personhood.

Human beings

are created

in the image

and likeness

of God.

created in the image

and likeness

of God

and what that means

exactly would require

its own sermon series

but this morning

we can say

at least this

that we are the only

material creatures

made in this manner

and that image

and likeness

make communication

possible.

We have personhood

because He does

and that common ground

established a link

between God

and humanity

which allowed

for communication

from the very beginning.

God spoke

with Adam

and Eve

in the Garden

of Eden

and why did He speak?

Why did He speak

at all?

Because God

created human beings

to be in relationship

to them.

Relationships

don't exist

without communication

between the persons.

So how did God speak

according to the writer

of Hebrews?

He spoke at many times

and in many ways.

He spoke with Adam

and Eve

in the Garden.

He would later speak

to Noah

and then Abraham.

Now it's unclear

if and when

such communication

was oral.

It is certain

that at times

He would communicate

through visions

and dreams.

Now when we move

from the book of Genesis

to the book of Exodus

we see God

for the first time

employing writing

in order to communicate

with His people

and that happened

on Mount Sinai

with the Ten Commandments

when He gave them

to Moses

to give to the people

of Israel.

And from the time

of Moses onward

God's revelation

to His people

through the prophets

and others

was recorded

in written form

for posterity.

The first five books

of the Bible

are called

the five books

of Moses

or in Hebrew

the Torah.

Moses lived

in the 15th century B.C.

and it seems

God doesn't speak

through a prophet

for another 400 years

after that

until the time

of the prophet Samuel.

And then for 700 years

He would speak

through prophets

such as Elijah

and Elisha

Isaiah

and Jeremiah

up until around

the year 400 B.C.

And the messages

delivered through

the prophets

were sometimes intended

for specific

individuals

often kings

sometimes to an

entire nation.

Sometimes a prophet

would be asked

excuse me

be told

to go to foreign lands

to deliver a message.

At first prophecies

would be delivered

orally

but at around

700 B.C.

prophecies were

written down

and preserved

as distinct collections

like Amos

Micah

Joel

Nahum.

Now in addition

to the prophecies

in the Old Testament

there's other writings

found.

There's histories

there's poetry

there's wisdom

literature.

Now next week

Jeff is going to

talk to us

about the reliability

of all of these

texts

from antiquity.

But this morning

we're just going to

note three things

about the Old Testament.

The first

is that Christians

have viewed

all of these texts

of the Old Testament

to be equally inspired.

Paul writes

that all scripture

is God breathed.

The apostle Peter

wrote

no prophecy

was ever produced

by the will of man

but men spoke

from God

as they were carried

along by the Holy Spirit.

So that was first

Christians have viewed

all texts

to be equally inspired.

Second

even though they're

all equally inspired

we weren't meant

to read

and interpret them

all in the same way.

I'm so glad

we have

in our Bibles

the writer

of the Hebrews

saying this very

simple thing

that he spoke

in many ways.

It's like a key

to interpreting

scripture.

We don't read

direct commandments

like do not murder

in the same way

we read poetry

celebrating

intimacy between

husband and wife

as we do

in Song of Songs

nor do we read

it the same way

as we read

vivid,

mysterious,

apocalyptic visions

recorded

in the book

of Daniel.

Okay?

So

equally inspired

we don't read

them all equally

the same way

we interpret them

based on their

genre.

Third

everything in the

Bible

I would suggest

is a love letter

from our creator.

First John

1 John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

tells us that

God is

God is what?

Love.

Thank you.

God is love.

If God is love

then from the

very beginning

starting in the

Garden of Eden

we would expect

him to speak

to listen

to react

and to speak

again.

Imagine a God

who didn't

communicate

anything

at all

ever.

What would that

be like?

Imagine the fear

and anxiety

and despair

that we would

have if God

were never

to have spoken

if he had

never revealed

his mind

and purposes.

Imagining this

when you think

about it

isn't so hard

because we can

just look at

our own

relationships.

Some of you

may have seen

a video

perhaps on

YouTube

called the

silent face

excuse me

the still face

experiment.

it shows

a mother

with her

baby

face to

face

and the

baby is

communicating

with his

mother

and the

mother is

constantly

giving

feedback

both

verbal

and expressive.

The baby

points

and the

mother

looks

and looks

back at

the baby

smiles

speaks

and the

cycle

continues

until at

one point

the mother

turns away

for about

five seconds

and then

when she

turns back

she gives

the baby

a completely

still face

and it

doesn't change

and it's

super interesting

what happens

next.

The baby

tries to

communicate

and gets

nothing in

response.

The baby

flaps its

arms

makes that

really high

pitched

shrill voice

you might be

familiar with

then exhibits

like all

kinds of

negative

feelings

turns away

loses

control

of his

posture

and then

completely

melts

down.

The baby's

nervous system

just goes

haywire

because human

beings

can't handle

complete

unresponsiveness.

We weren't

made that

way.

Humans

of all

ages

we need

loving

contact

like we

need

oxygen.

We really

don't have

many ways

to deal

with

disconnection

at any

age.

I think

it would

be fair

to say

that what

is true

for

individual

humans

and human

relationships

is probably

true

the entire

human race.

Humanity

needs

loving

contact

like we

need

oxygen.

God

spoke.

You see

God's

speaking

is an

act

of

love.

Whether

it's a

command

or a

poem

or an

apocalyptic

vision that

you're

reading in

the Old

Testament

when you

read through

the Bible

you are

getting

God's

love for

you poured

out onto

the page.

And his

verbal

outpouring

of love

reaches its

fullest

expression

when Jesus

is born

of Mary.

So let's

continue that

statement from

the Hebrews.

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.

This

verse

reveals to

us

the purpose

of scripture

actually

which is

to reveal

God.

His

speech

is

a person.

The person

of Jesus

is

himself

the

speech

of

God.

John

John 1:1

chapter

1

verse

1

which

we

read

earlier

in the

beginning

was

the

word

and the

word

was

with

God

and the

word

was

God.

Jesus

is

himself

the

word

of

God.

Jesus

is

the

speech

of

God.

That

can be

true

if the

purpose

of

scripture

all along

was

God's

self

revelation

to

humanity.

The

purpose

of

scripture

was

for

God

to

reveal

himself

to

humanity.

But

too

often

readers

of

the

Bible

think

the

Bible

is

primarily

this

list

of

instructions

for

how

to

get

through

life

or

it's

a

collection

of

stories

about

spiritual

heroes

that we're

supposed

to

emulate.

It's

neither

of

those

things.

The

Bible

is

meant

to

disclose

to

humanity

who

God

is,

his

character,

his

attributes,

his

will,

and

the

means

by

which

we

have

relationship

with

him.

And

then,

in the

fullness

of

time,

God

speaks

the

most

clearly

by

just

showing

up.

God

comes

in the

person

of

his

son,

Jesus

Christ.

To

make it

extra

clear

to

the

readers

of

the

Hebrews

that

Jesus

is

God

himself,

the

writer

says

the

following

things

about

Jesus,

starting

with

verse

two

on the

next

slide,

that

Jesus

is

appointed

the

heir

of

all

things.

That

means

Jesus

is

king

and

lord

of

all

things.

Who

else

but

God

has

the

right

to

rule

everything

that

was

made?

We

read

that

Jesus

was

an

agent

in

the

creation

of

the

world,

but

who

else

but

God

creates?

Of

course.

We

read

that

Jesus

is

the

radiance

of

the

glory

of

God.

So

the

readers

to

remember

were

given.

The

writer

is

saying

that

Jesus

is

the

exact

imprint

of

his

nature.

The

author

is

evoking

the

engraving

on a

coin,

the

stamp,

the

character.

Jesus

provides

a

true

and

trustworthy

picture

of

who

God

is.

Next

slide

says

Jesus

upholds

the

universe

by

the

word

of

his

power.

Again,

who

else

but

God

can

sustain

the

cosmos.

Finally,

Jesus

is

God's

salvation

for

us.

He

made

purification

for

sins

and

sat

down

at

the

right

hand

of

the

majesty

on

high.

So

to

summarize

everything

so

far,

since

the

creation

of

the

world,

God

spoke.

He

spoke

in

order

to

reveal

who

he

is.

His

revelation

comes

to us

in

written

form

until

God's

revelation

of

himself

culminates

in

the

sending

of

his

son,

Jesus

Christ.

There's

writings

about

Jesus,

both

eyewitness

accounts

of his

life

and

his

teaching,

and

letters

to the

church

written

by those

who

witnessed

his

resurrection.

And

those

writings

we call

the

New

Testament.

All

of

these

writings,

the

Old

Testament

and the

New

Testament,

we call

the

Bible.

Bible

being a

word that

means simply

a collection

of books.

We call

these writings

also the

Word of

God

because we

believe that

God,

through the

Holy Spirit,

intervened and

influenced the

words,

message,

and collation

of the

Bible.

And we

also call it

Scripture,

a word that

describes the

writtenness of

God's Word.

word.

So what can

we say about

Scripture based

on what we've

discussed so

far?

Two things.

Scripture is

complete and

Scripture is

sufficient.

It's complete and

sufficient.

So what do

those mean?

Well, if the

purpose of

Scripture is for

God to reveal

himself and he

has fully revealed

himself in the

person of Jesus,

then Scripture is

complete and there

is nothing more

that needs to be

revealed.

This is a huge

comfort.

It's a huge

comfort when you

think about it.

You may know

someone who

married a person

and after getting

married learned

something big

about their

spouse that had

remained hidden

before the wedding

day.

That can cause a

lot of destruction

and trauma and I

know it's happened

to a few of our

folks here at

Advent.

But there's no

danger of that

happening with

God.

Everything we need

to know about

our Maker has been

revealed in the

Bible.

There will be no

new information

that completely

changes his

posture towards

you.

Nor will there be

anything new

revealed to

Christians in

later generations

that has so far

been withheld

from you.

Does the Holy

Spirit then,

as an aside,

does the Holy

Spirit then speak

or not speak to

Christians?

Well, he certainly

does.

He's still a person

and you're still

a person.

He leads and he

prompts and he

can give special

insights into

certain situations.

He comforts,

he consoles,

but he won't

say anything that

reveals something

new about God

or something

different as to

how we can have

relationship with

him.

This is because

Scripture is both

complete and it's

sufficient.

So what do I mean

by sufficient?

I prefer this

definition from an

old professor of

mine, the theologian

John Frame.

he wrote that

Scripture contains

all the divine

words needed for

any aspect of

life.

Right?

Very concise.

Love it.

Scripture is

sufficient in that

it contains all

the divine words

needed for any

aspect of life.

So Scripture

doesn't give us

the precise details

about how to be

an architect

or a plumber

or a scientist,

but it does

give us all the

divine words

needed to follow

God and obey

him as an

architect, as a

plumber, or as a

scientist.

Additionally and

more importantly

it contains all the

divine words we

need to know

about how to have

a relationship

with God.

So let's go back

to Hebrews chapter

one.

Jesus, through

whom God has

spoken, has made

purification for

sins.

He's made

purification for

sins.

The revelation in

the Old Testament

was continuous.

God revealed

himself continuously,

but the revelation

in the Son is

complete once for

all because nothing

can be added to

Christ's redemptive

work.

Nothing can be added

to the revelation

of that redemptive

work.

All right.

So the message of

redemption is found

from the very

beginning in the

opening pages of

Scripture.

God spoke the

universe into

existence.

God spoke and

man was created in

his own image,

male and female.

God spoke and

gave Adam and

Eve clear instructions

about how to live

in obedience and

submission to him.

Adam and Eve

rebelled and then

what happened?

Did God go silent?

I mean that would

be like perhaps my

reaction if I was

God.

Like well hey, if it's

not good enough for

you then I'll just

back away.

But God was not

passive aggressive.

He was communicative.

As a matter of

fact, not long after

they rebelled, he

said one word and it

was a question.

The word is

translated.

Anybody remember?

What does God say to

Adam and Eve for the

very first time after

the fall?

He says, where are

you?

Where are you?

With that one

question.

God communicates that

he seeks out the

lost sinner.

That God welcomes

him to confess.

That God desires his

restoration.

And that God works

his redemption.

That redemption was

finally worked by Jesus

on the cross.

taking on himself all

the sins of the

world and all of its

consequences and

restoring to the

father all that would

come to him.

So I'll leave us with

those words.

Where are you?

Where are you?

Now some of us are

new to church or new

to Christianity and

perhaps are partly

skeptical or partly

curious or both.

Christianity claims God

has spoken through the

person of Jesus.

So it seems to me you

can't really settle your

skepticism or your

curiosity until you've

investigated that claim.

The claim that God has

spoken through the person

of Jesus.

And then in order to

investigate it, you have

to read the Bible.

Bible, you don't need to

read the whole thing.

Not at once.

Not at first.

All right?

But you do have to read

the first four books of

the New Testament or

maybe just one of them.

Those are Matthew, Mark,

Luke, and John.

You can start with any of

them.

But start with what's

called a gospel, which

is an eyewitness account

of the words and deeds of

Jesus Christ.

If you would like to get

started reading the Bible,

we have Bibles we can give

to you if you'd like to

start that.

Now some of you have been

skeptical or curious and

perhaps now you're

convinced of the claims of

Jesus.

The claims he made about

himself.

And you're ready to respond

to him.

And you can speak to me or

with Jeff or with Lisa.

And we'd be happy to help

you as you start your

relationship with him.

My last word is for those

of us who have been

believers for some time

now.

Some of us here are very

sensitive to the Holy

Spirit.

Like we get all those

things that I mentioned

earlier about being

sensitive to his

prompting, his

consolation, his

comfort, his direction,

his confirming the words

of Scripture.

Some of us aren't as

sensitive or as

attentive.

And it causes a lot of

discouragement.

And I'd like, I would

hope that this message,

the idea that Scripture

is complete and

sufficient, I hope that

would be an encouragement

to you.

That you wouldn't confuse

not sensing the Spirit's

leading or its direction

with not hearing from God

at all.

For those of you that

lament not being able to

hear from God or sense his

reality or his nearness,

know that God has spoken.

He has spoken and he has

said everything he needs to

say.

He has said everything you

need to hear.

It's all right there in the

Bible.

Bible.

There's nothing missing.

Nothing missing.

Do you want to hear from

God?

Open your Bible.

Immerse yourself in it.

Immerse yourself in it with

other Christians.

Talk about it.

Discuss it.

Because not only is God's

word complete, it's also

sufficient.

Christian, you have all the

divine words you need for

any aspect of your life.

In the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit.

Amen.