The Bible Is Secondary

[votivesoul]

When I am being led of the Spirit and/or God speaks to me personally, 9.99 times out of 10, He gives me direction from the written Word and/or quotes the written Word when talking with/to me, respectively.

In fact, I think an argument can be made that the whole reason God has preserved a written oracle and canon for all time is because being "led by the Spirit" only is a disaster waiting to happen. Notice the quotes. Millions of supposedly "led by the Spirit" people have contradicted the written Word of God to their own destruction.

Some "led by the Spirit" folk even say the Holy Spirit led them to body slam and drop kick seekers in the face so that they could be healed.

It's all about balance. The other side of the scale is not secondary; it's essential to the mechanism. It doesn't work without both.

Prax is correct. The 1st century church had plenty of written Word, enough to be saved and live a moral life of righteousness.

In Samuel's day, there was no open vision. The word of the Lord was precious, meaning rare. Most didn't have access to any written documents, only oral tradition.

And guess when Samuel's day was? At the end of the book of Judges, when every man did "that which was right in his own eyes".

And if many of the events of the Book of Judges don't shock and dismay you, then phew...I don't know what to say. Same with those who disregard the written Word for a feeling after of the Spirit only type mentality.

1 Timothy 4:13-15,

13. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
15. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Wonder what Timothy was commanded to read and give himself wholly to?

[renee819]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

I never said they had a bible, except for the OT.

Im pointing out they DID have the teachings of the Apostles and others verbally and written which includes some of what are in our NT today

AMEN!

We are told, in God's Word, that every knee shall bow at the name of Jesus. Yet we read,

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name

If every knee shall bow before Jesus, how could He honor His Word above His name? I believe it is because we will be judged by the Word.

Proverbs 13:13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded

.

Gods Word, the Bible is the only stable Truth in the world. There are deep levels that most do not attain to, or have any idea, what is being taught, therefore they take a superficial glance and dismiss it as old fashioned or not relevant for today.

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Without God's Word, man would have no idea how to be saved, or how to live a righteous and holy life. On his own, mankind are heathens.

[Aquila]

We can have both... personal relationship and the Bible. However, I do think that one can make an idol of the Bible. It's been over 2,000 years now since Christ walked the earth. The Gospels were written years after his death and contain some discrepancies based on each author's humanity, but nothing tragically serious. The Epistles reflect guidance given to the early church on various matters. From them we glean how our churches should function. The only problem with the Bible is that it is a written document. Which means that it is largely left open for the reader's interpretation. The more led of the Spirit one is, the greater chance of proper interpretation.

I believe that the Spirit revealed something to me a couple years ago. God is love. That is the very essence of His nature. Therefore, when examining interpretations of Scripture consider which interpretation is the most loving. Most merciful.

Lastly, the Bible is vague on some subjects. Others aren't mentioned at all. In these areas we do well to seek guidance from the Spirit as to what course of action God desires us to take as individuals with regards to a given subject.

That's my take on it.

[seekerman]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

When I am being led of the Spirit and/or God speaks to me personally, 9.99 times out of 10, He gives me direction from the written Word and/or quotes the written Word when talking with/to me, respectively.

I don't discount that at all. But the more intimate the relationship, the less one has to write to convey their feelings. Many many many many years ago when my wife and I were dating but I was away in college, I cherished receiving her letters. They brought comfort to me and helped until I could see her. But those letters, however precious, were nothing to compare to our relationship with each other. An "I love you" in a letter is wonderful, but nothing captures the depth and meaning of "I love you" when the person in your embrace says it.

Likewise, it's nice to read the love letters of the bible, but it's an entirely different matter to have a personal intimate relationship with the person revealed in the letters.

Lay the bible down. Development a relationship with God. The bible will become less and less important for you simply have a relationship with God instead of reading about God.

In fact, I think an argument can be made that the whole reason God has preserved a written oracle and canon for all time is because being "led by the Spirit" only is a disaster waiting to happen. Notice the quotes. Millions of supposedly "led by the Spirit" people have contradicted the written Word of God to their own destruction.

Some "led by the Spirit" folk even say the Holy Spirit led them to body slam and drop kick seekers in the face so that they could be healed.

Could it be that the most egregious acts within Christianity occurred because of the bible? For example, growing up, my closest friend's dad was a minister, probably the meanest man I've ever personally known. His son, my friend, was terrified of him literaly shaking if his father looked at him a certain way. I lived a couple of houses down the street from him and could literaly hear his dad beating him. Sadly, as soon at my friend graduated high school, he left and has never darkened a Church door again.

Forget the bible, would a person being led by the Spirit do such things? Of course not. Now, take the bible at it's word....

Pro 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Those are allegedly words of wisdom from God Himself. Now, does the Spirit of God lead people to obey that or does the Spirit of God lead people do disobey that passage?

Just be careful with the bible. It's useful, but it's far from the most important thing in serving God.

It's all about balance. The other side of the scale is not secondary; it's essential to the mechanism. It doesn't work without both.

But it does work without them both....if a person has the correct relationship with God. I don't have to read my wife's love letters, I've had an intimate relationship with her for about 50 years now. I know her. She knows me. Far better than any words on a page could explain it.

1 Timothy 4:13-15,

Wonder what Timothy was commanded to read and give himself wholly to?

Yes, I wonder. There was no books of the bible at the time, so what was he referring to? Could it be possible that the readings were letters not included in our bible?

Get to know the author instead of reading about the author. That would result in not needing letters. Why would I write a letter to my wife when she's sitting right next to me?

[seekerman]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

When I am being led of the Spirit and/or God speaks to me personally, 9.99 times out of 10, He gives me direction from the written Word and/or quotes the written Word when talking with/to me, respectively.

I don't discount that at all. But the more intimate the relationship, the less one has to write to convey their feelings. Many many many many years ago when my wife and I were dating, but I was away in college, I cherished receiving her letters. They brought comfort to me and helped until I could see her. But those letters, however precious, were nothing to compare to our relationship with each other. An "I love you" in a letter is wonderful, but nothing captures the depth and meaning of "I love you" when the person in your embrace says it.

Likewise, it's nice to read the love letters of the bible, but it's an entirely different matter to have a personal intimate relationship with the person revealed in the letters.

Lay the bible down. Develop a relationship with God. The bible will become less and less important for you simply have a relationship with God instead of reading about God.

In fact, I think an argument can be made that the whole reason God has preserved a written oracle and canon for all time is because being "led by the Spirit" only is a disaster waiting to happen. Notice the quotes. Millions of supposedly "led by the Spirit" people have contradicted the written Word of
God to their own destruction.

Some "led by the Spirit" folk even say the Holy Spirit led them to body slam and drop kick seekers in the face so that they could be healed.

Could it be that the most egregious acts within Christianity occurred because of the bible? For example, growing up, my closest friend's dad was a minister, probably the meanest man I've ever personally known. His son, my friend, was terrified of him literaly shaking if his father looked at him a certain way. I lived a couple of houses down the street from him and could literally hear his dad beating him. Sadly, as soon at my friend graduated high school, he left and has never darkened a Church door again.

Forget the bible, would a person being led by the Spirit do such things? Of course not. Now, take the bible at it's word....

Pro 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Those are allegedly words of wisdom from God Himself. Now, does the Spirit of God lead people to obey that or does the Spirit of God lead people do disobey that passage?

Just be careful with the bible. It's useful, but it's far from the most important thing in serving God.

It's all about balance. The other side of the scale is not secondary; it's essential to the mechanism. It doesn't work without both.

But it does work without them both....if a person has the correct relationship with God. I don't have to read my wife's love letters, I've had an intimate relationship with her for about 50 years now. I know her. She knows me. Far better than any words on a page could explain it.

1 Timothy 4:13-15,

Wonder what Timothy was commanded to read and give himself wholly to?

Yes, I wonder. There were no books of the bible at the time, so what was he referring to? Could it be possible that the readings were letters not included in our bible? I'm not sure if you wish to go down this slippery slope.

Get to know the author instead of reading about the author. That would result in not needing letters. Why would I write a letter to my wife when she's sitting right next to me?

[ILG]

Originally Posted by seekerman

The early Christians didn't have a bible to use but were led by the Spirit. What's the problem today, can't people be led by the Spirit as those in the early Church?

The bible has caused divisions among Christians because most Christians would rather have a relationship with a book than with the Spirit of Good. Lay aside the bible for a few weeks, you may actually learn that God will speak to you personally.

I agree with this 100%!!!

[ILG]

Originally Posted by Aquila

We can have both... personal relationship and the Bible. However, I do think that one can make an idol of the Bible. It's been over 2,000 years now since Christ walked the earth. The Gospels were written years after his death and contain some discrepancies based on each author's humanity, but nothing tragically serious. The Epistles reflect guidance given to the early church on various matters. From them we glean how our churches should function. The only problem with the Bible is that it is a written document. Which means that it is largely left open for the reader's interpretation. The more led of the Spirit one is, the greater chance of proper interpretation.

I believe that the Spirit revealed something to me a couple years ago. God is love. That is the very essence of His nature. Therefore, when examining interpretations of Scripture consider which interpretation is the most loving. Most merciful.

Lastly, the Bible is vague on some subjects. Others aren't mentioned at all. In these areas we do well to seek guidance from the Spirit as to what course of action God desires us to take as individuals with regards to a given subject.

That's my take on it.

I think most fundamentalist Christians have made an idol out of the Bible. Or, I should say parts of it. And have ignored other parts believing their interpretation is the authoritative version.

[kclee4jc]

Originally Posted by seekerman

The early Christians didn't have a bible to use but were led by the Spirit. What's the problem today, can't people be led by the Spirit as those in the early Church?

The bible has caused divisions among Christians because most Christians would rather have a relationship with a book than with the Spirit of Good. Lay aside the bible for a few weeks, you may actually learn that God will speak to you personally.

What's the problem? There are too many God-hating deceivers, such as yourself, purposing to persuade people away from the Gospel.

His Word is the sword with which true believers combat the lies and heresies that spew from the mouths of people such as yourself.

It would only make sense that since you have shown time and time again to utterly despise the principles and truths revealed and God’s Word that you would eventually become bold enough to challenge it’s authority or even it’s value.

[seekerman]

Originally Posted by kclee4jc

What's the problem? There are too many God-hating deceivers, such as yourself, purposing to persuade people away from the Gospel.

His Word is the sword with which true believers combat the lies and heresies that spew from the mouths of people such as yourself.

It would only make sense that since you have shown time and time again to utterly despise the principles and truths revealed and God’s Word that you would eventually become bold enough to challenge it’s authority or even it’s value.

Actually, it's loving God more than a book which consists of paper and ink.

Speaking of heresies, you never revealed who the "children of the devil" according to the sermon the Lambeth fella preached. You were all pumped, ranting how good the conference was, but nothing about what was preached.

[kclee4jc]

he identified no one as the children of the devil

i already answered your question