The Authority & Sufficiency of Scripture: Pt. 10 Authority, Sufficiency and Dependency in our lives.

Good morning Dear Readers...

We are praying for the health and safety of all our Readers in the more than 30 nations where this Bible study has been read. We are thankful for each one of you and know that our Father in heaven sees each one of us, knows who we are and that He cares for us. 

Isaiah 40:10-11  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 11  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 

Jehovah knows when a sparrow drops to the ground and the number of hairs on our heads, therefore we know that Jehovah is a relational God who truly loves the sheep of His pasture. No matter how great our problems may be, let us anchor to what we know to be true of God. Faith in the Living, True God of heaven and earth will not disappoint us in any way. 



At this point I think that we have thoroughly covered the authority of God's Word. Now, I would like to think with you about the sufficiency of scripture. 

What do we mean by the "Sufficiency of Scripture?"

Don Stewart stated the following: "The sufficiency of Scripture can be simply defined as follows: In the Bible alone God has given humanity all things that are necessary for the proper understanding of who He is, who we are, how He has acted in the past and what He expects from us.

The basic idea behind the sufficiency of Scripture is that nothing else needs to be revealed to humanity about God or His plan for the human race. The Bible is the record of all of the things that God thought humanity needed to know about Him. In other words, Scripture is complete and sufficient for belief and behavior. Nothing needs to be added to them." [Stewart, D. (18 Jul 2018). What Is the Sufficiency of Scripture? by Don Stewart. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/bible-special/question25-what-is-the-sufficiency-of-scripture.cfm]

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines "sufficiency" as meaning that something is more than adequate to do what needs to be done. It refers to having an ample supply that can meet all needs. It means having power and ability to accomplish whatever task the resources are being used for.

The "dependency" of the believer.

Another word that we must consider in light of the sufficiency of Scripture is the word "dependency." You probably noticed that I have used this word many times since I began the blog to remind us that the believer is created to live in dependency upon our Mighty God. 

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines the word "dependent" as meaning that we are subject to the power of God who can choose to use us as He deems best. It means that all humanity cannot exist or sustain itself apart from the sufficiency of Almighty God. 

Our own children depend upon us as parents to provide food, clothing, shelter and a safe environment as well as moral guidance. This is exactly how the born again Christian is related to God. He is the One who will supply most importantly for our spiritual needs but also for our physical needs.

Both of these words go together and cannot be separated. God's Word is sufficient to meet all of our needs and we are created to live dependent upon Jehovah's ability to sustain us. 

The Doctrine of the Sufficiency of Scripture.

This following useful quote is from "Got Questions.org"

"The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is a fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. To say the Scriptures are sufficient means that the Bible is all we need to equip us for a life of faith and service. It provides a clear demonstration of God’s intention to restore the broken relationship between Himself and humanity through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior through the gift of faith. No other writings are necessary for this good news to be understood, nor are any other writings required to equip us for a life of faith."

This is a very good quote about the sufficiency of scripture and what this means to believers. 

The two main ideas that I hope we all take away is first, that the Word of God is abundantly sufficient for our spiritual needs and for helping us rightly relate to the world in which we live. Second, that we embrace the fact that our Loving Father in Heaven made us to be creatures who depend upon Him for all things both in this life and for eternal life. 

Authority, Sufficiency & Dependency woven together. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 

This is not a new text for us but I want to show you how both the authority of scripture and its sufficiency are placed together by the apostle Paul. 

The verbal inspiration of scripture is the basis for its authority. God has spoken to man and He literally breathed out the scriptures for us. That means we hold authoritative truth from God in our hands when we open our Bible. We do not have to guess if God spoke to man. Rather, we know that He did communicate to us through His eternal word. 

The sufficiency of scripture is shown where the text tells us what God designed His Word to do. It is profitable to do 4 tasks in the life of a born again believer. 

The word "profitable" is very similar to the word sufficient. It means helpful, serviceable and advantageous. Those words of definition are synonyms for the word sufficient. 

First, it is profitable or sufficient for doctrine. Doctrine is truth based teaching and instruction in the things of God. If you cannot draw a clear line connecting a doctrine to the scripture that supports this doctrine then it is probably a false teaching. 

Second, scripture is sufficient for reproof. Reproof means that God uses His Word to confront us when we have sinned. His Word is like a mirror that shows us who we truly are and how we fall short of His standard (James 1:20-25). 

Third, scripture is sufficient for correction. After the Word reproves us for our sin, it shows us what we must do to make things right with God, as an example, the correction for sin in our life is to confess and forsake them. (Think in terms of 1 John 1:5-10 & 2:1). 

Fourth, the scripture is sufficient to provide us good instruction so that we learn not to repeat the same error or sin. It shows us the path forward in our life for Christ. (Psalm 119:105).

Next, Paul shows us our dependency upon the sufficiency of scripture to do a mighty work in our hearts. Scripture  shows us how to be restored and brought back into fellowship with God so we can be used by Him again. 

As we maintain a posture of dependency upon the sufficiency of God's Word to transform our lives, God does a work that equips us to be ready to minister to others and to serve Him with our lives. 

What have we learned?

We learned what sufficiency is. God has an abundant supply that is more than sufficient to meet the needs of all who put their trust in Him. Our Father has chosen His eternal Word to communicate with us the sufficiency of His provision in every area of life, physical and spiritual. 

We learned what dependency is. It is choosing to live recognizing that Jehovah is the source of life and the sustainer of life. He is sufficient to meet our needs and He wants to meet them. He is our Father and He loves and cares for each born again believer. 

We learned the Authority and Sufficiency of scripture go hand in hand with our need to live dependently as we run to our Father in heaven and seek His provision. 

Bob