
In Islam, there's a weird doctrine about the eternality of the Quran. The hadith teach that the Quran wasn't created in the 7th century. They believe the Quran, in it's verbalized or written form, has always existed, from eternity. However, they also believe in the tawid, that Allah is one and shares eternal existence with nothing else. How do you reconcile these things? You don't. If you try, you get condemned for blasphemy. Christians don't have this view of the Bible...sort of. Many actually do tend to fall into the issue of making the Bible the sum-total of your entire Christian walk. In many cases, you end up with just as strange a metaphysic as the Muslims, where there seems to be an equating of Jesus, the Word, with the Bible, the written Word.
Here's the recent video blog from J.D. Greear giving his (and the SBC) position on whether God speaks to people today. The real question isn't whether God speaks to His people but how He does this. Does God ever speak to us independent of Scripture or is 100% of all God's communication with His people only through the Bible? Greear quotes Hebrews 1:1 as a sort of proof-text for his idea that God speaks to us through the Bible. However, it's not a great or even compelling proof-text. What Hebrews 1:1 says is that, in the past, God spoke to His people through the prophets (which can easily be assumed to point to Tanakh) but in these last days God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus. Greear says this clearly represents Scripture since everything we know of the Son is in Scripture. But that's not the question, nor is that what this text is saying. First, with regards to what the writer of Hebrews is saying, read the rest of this pericope:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. -- Hebrews 1:1-3 (I added the emphasis)
I don't think Hebrews 1:1 was written to be a proof-text the way Greear is using it. But aside, this, I think the over-all implication of that interpretation is off too. Does reference to the powerful word refer to the written word or the Word in the sense we get from the opening chapters of John's Gospel?
Is the universe sustained by the Bible? No. That's nonsense. The Bible teaches Christ sustains all things through his powerful word...but t equate 'word' with written Scripture just doesn't make any sense.
Is Jesus the Bible? No. The Bible is about Jesus...it points us to Jesus, but it is not Jesus. That, also, would make no sense at all.
I am in no way saying Greear would answer yes to these things. But I do think he's trying to walk an impossibly thin line with this position...and really doesn't need to. He's trying to stay away from the extreme cessationist view that God stopped talking after the canon was compiled....and the other extreme of crafting God's will to suit his own gain. There's a third rail response to this question. Before explaining that, I want to show three things wrong both extremes as well as the mistaken middle ground, as expressed by Greear in the video.
There's no question the Bible is God's Word in all that it affirms for us (putting aside the apologetic for those who don't buy into this). There's no question the Bible is the ultimate authority for us in determining God's voice. Should we be bold enough to listen for God's voice, outside of studying Scripture....does God speak only through Scripture or in other ways? Greear says, basically, he's open to that but doesn't know....and that it's much safer here on the guard rails of being open but cautious about the idea. Many hold this view, which is sort of the middle path. Others go farther and state Scripture is the Word in every sense of how it's referred to within the Bible. There becomes a muddled equivocation between Scripture and Jesus, as a result.
Why the equivocation between the Bible and Jesus? I think it has much more to do with a reaction against doctrinal abuse than it is a hermeneutic from Scripture. Even Greear admits so much to this. There clearly are violations of morality and common sense among many who start off saying, "God told me...". But to use a reaction against a scriptural abuse to form doctrine is as wrong-headed as getting fast and loose with "God told me..." stuff. Why is it wrong-headed? Wouldn't Greear's position simply be a sensible, conservative one? No, and I'll tell you why.
First, Scripture clearly teaches us that God, Himself, makes His home within us when we accept Jesus as Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:19, Ezekiel 36:27, 2 Timothy 1:14, Ephesians 5:8, Romans 8:11, John 16:13, Galatians 5:18, Romans 8:15, to name just a few). The Godhead, an independent agent, dwells within the believer. What does that look like? Well, clearly, it involves communication that goes beyond just reading the text. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul tells us we have the very mind of Christ. In 2 Timothy 1:14, Paul states that the Holy Spirit guards the good treasure given to Timothy. That implies more than a book or a proof-text. Romans 12:1-3 states that we submit ourselves to God as an act of worship (far more than studying or memorizing scripture), we can begin to discover the will of God, through the renewing of our minds. Not only will Scripture aid us in that, but submitting all of our life as our act of worship will give us new insight and a new way of thinking. This teaching simply cannot be reduced to only Bible study. It is far more encompassing than that....and the Scripture about Christ and His Spirit is also far more encompassing too. The Spirit teaches us, speaks to us, guides us, convicts us...many times that is through Scripture. But, it would be a huge mistake and a misreading of the same Scripture to say the Spirit does this EXCLUSIVELY through Scripture.
Second, you can't judge a philosophy based on its abuse. If Kenneth Coplan says things like Jesus was the first born-again human, or that Creflo Dollar tells us God told him to buy a new jet plane, that doesn't mean it is dangerous to consider God speaking to us outside of Scripture. What it means is that Coplan and Dollar obviously have fallen far from the entire mind-renewal process Paul tells us about. Instead of discovering God's will, they'll turn over all the cards and tell us what it is...which usually benefits them, at our expense. The problem isn't seeking God's voice in every day life, outside of Scripture. The problem is with false teachers who decide to remain ignorant about Scripture in order to serve their own interests, which is really what Christ died to save us from. But, it would be an over-reaction...throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, to decide it safer to stick only with the Bible to find out God's will about things. What is God's will about you buying a microwave? How about God's will on leaving or staying at a current job? You need the Bible as a continual resource to help mold your thinking, but if you don't think the Spirit has anything to say to you in the moment or about the more mundane things, you are missing the boat on all that the Spirit offers you.
Lastly, Scripture doesn't say God only speaks through Scripture. But in the examples given by Greear, as well as many others, when the this topic arises, it's always in the context of a big, miraculous event. God speaks more in the mundane moments than He does in the more spectacular events. There is also nothing that says God will stop speaking to us outside of Scripture either. God still speaks to us outside the Bible, but God never says anything to us that would ever contradict what He's revealed in the Bible. In fact, the Bible is the resource to test and see if what we hear is from God...or not. We need to do that, many times, because learning to distinguish God's voice from all the others (especially our own) is a process that takes time. He's given us His Spirit and the Scripture. It would be as big of a mistake to reduce that down to Scripture-only as it would Spirit-only. All the sola's of the Reformation period probably open the door on going way too far on this sort of dilemma.
So, how do we listen for God's voice in a responsible way? I think J.P. Moreland has cornered the market on how to do this, in his book, The Kingdom Triangle.
First, we study Scripture and learn to replace the junk we have believed with truth.
Second, we practice spiritual disciplines, using means of grace, through the Spirit, to make our bodies, our social context and our circumstances serve Jesus, rather than being a slave to them. Means of grace are very diverse and even individualized, depending on the person's own struggles or habits.
Third, we remain open to God moving, speaking, revealing....all the time, every day, every moment, even (and especially) when times are awful. One way of helping encourage us in this is to read testimonies of people who credibly reveal how God revealed or acted in their situations. It encourages us.
But, if you miss out on either of these three things, you will go awry, as many have. For those who are way too careful to listen, watch or wait to discern God outside Scripture, they grow cold and controlling. For those who neglect study of Scripture, you will go off into believing all sorts of harmful things that will harm yourself and others. And for those who neglect the disciplines, you'll have a hard time hearing God because you keep getting in the way due to your own impulses and desires. You can see this play out in all sorts of ways. There's a plethora of examples.
Say it another way: If you neglect study, you'll remain ignorant to the things of God. If you neglect the disciplines, your desires and impulses will continue to enslave you, rather than you getting a handle over them. Lastly, if you are not open the the miraculous...to God's communication to you, you close yourself off from an incredible amount of joy and wonder that could fuel you to continue making His Name known enthusiastically.
I like Greear, but he's too good of a Southern Baptist on this topic and has decided to stay very safe and secure in the tight margins of the predictable (sort of) open but (overly) cautious view of hearing God.