Author: Bryan Gibson

Weekly Bulletin
October 11, 2020

Has All Truth Been Revealed In Scripture?
by Bryan Gibson
To the question asked in the title, some say no; they argue that God is continuing to reveal Himself to certain individuals today. A few red flags should be raised, even before we examine the Biblical evidence. First, these supposed revelations often conflict with each other, and secondly, these supposed revelations often conflict with what is found in the Scriptures. This should be enough to create at least a little skepticism on our part, but let’s examine the Biblical evidence, because that’s what we need to stand on.
Before Jesus returned to His Father, He promised His apostles He would send the Holy Spirit to guide them into ALL truth (John 16:13). If truth is still being revealed today, then Jesus lied to His apostles. Anyone comfortable with that conclusion? Later New Testament passages describe the gospel as something once hidden, but now revealed (Rom. 16:25-26; 1 Cor. 2:7-13; Ephesians 3:3-5; Colossians 1:26-27; 2 Timothy 1:9-10). This, of course, is further evidence that the Holy Spirit did exactly what Jesus said He would do—guide the apostles into, or reveal to them, all truth.
Obviously, the apostles did not keep what was revealed to themselves. Jesus told them they would “bear witness” of the things revealed to them (John 15:26-27), and that’s exactly what they did. They, along with New Testament prophets, not only preached the truth revealed to them, but also wrote it down in the Scriptures for all future generations to read and understand (Ephesians 3:1-5). What they “received” they “delivered”—that’s how it’s worded in both 1 Corinthians 11:23 and 15:3. All truth has been revealed in the Scriptures, and so we need not look for any further revelations. The real death blow to continuing revelation is found in Jude 1:3, where Jude exhorts us to “contend earnestly for the faith (gospel) which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Once for all—that’s the very expression used in reference to the sacrifice of Jesus (Hebrews 7:27), where the point is made that Jesus would never have to repeat this sacrifice, that this one time would be effective for all time. God has revealed His will to us in the Scriptures, and that is sufficient for all time.
According to the New Testament, Christians in the first century could believe the truth, know the truth, and walk in the truth (1 Timothy 4:3; 1 John 2:21; 3 John 1:3-4). It doesn’t sound like they were missing anything that would only be made available to future generations. The truth is, they were given “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Epaphras even prayed for his brethren that they “may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12). Why pray that if all of His will had not been revealed? Admittedly, it was not until near the end of the first century that the New Testament was completely written, but they at least had the will of God in oral form. Was there any difference between what the apostles and prophets preached by inspiration and what they wrote by inspiration?
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

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	P.O. Box 680872 / Prattville, AL 36067
	(334) 365-5887 / (334) 868-0801
	prattmont@gmail.com / prattmontchurchofchrist.org

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The Prattmont Church of Christ is just what the name suggests, a church that belongs to Christ. We are not a denomination; we are simply a group of Christians trying very hard to practice the teachings of our Head, Jesus Christ. The New Testament offers a complete pattern for what each local church should be like—its organization, its worship, its work, etc. We are committed to following that pattern. We cordially invite you to attend our services. We would also welcome any comments or questions about this bulletin.

TIMES OF SERVICES:
(temporary during pandemic)
Sunday
Worship 10:00 A.M.
Wednesday:
Bible Study 7:00 P.M.