Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
Revelations are great. In fact, revelations of God are the life-blood of every believer. Hopefully all our revelations are coming from God, just as the Lord Jesus proclaimed to Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven". (Matt 16:17)
Unfortunately, the Lord Jesus is no long with us in the flesh. We no longer have the luxury of having him tell us what is and what is not a revelation from God. But we do have the next best thing...the precious Word of God in writing, which has been preserved for us by the blood, sweat and tears of many devout and courageous men and women of God down through the ages.
Revelations are great. Yet they must be compared and contrasted with the Word of God which he has preserved for us in written form. When revelations become detached from the written Word of God, especially when these revelations are disseminated by a so-called apostle or Minister of the Age, there is great potential for much damage to be wreaked upon a large number of God's people. Such is the case in the Local Church of Witness Lee. And such is the case with Witness Lee's teachings on the Triune God.
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Very true. Revelation should never contradict the plain words of scripture or extent beyond scripture. However, if we solely rely on scripture then by who's interpretation are we going to go by? Scripture still has to be interpreted. When you get down to it, scripture interpreting scripture is circular reasoning.
God's word, first and foremost, is alive and active. Even though we can read scripture, the truth that is in it still has to be revealed to us on a personal level otherwise all whom have read scripture would be saved, even the atheists.
You need to first have the foundation of revelation in your own life. Even thought you may have been raised to know about God, that doesn't mean you actually know God. He still has to be revealed to you individually through a tested faith and granted repentance.
Sola Scriptura is the mainstream philosophy in Christianity but I personally strive for Sola Scriptura through the revelation of the living word. If I don't understand something in scripture, my first inclination is not run to the commentaries. I store it up and ask God to help me understand. He has been faithful to reveal things to me in scripture in His perfect timing. You just have to be patient. But many desire to be spiritual giants so they try to quickly absorb as much knowledge as they can and in doing so lean on their own or someone else's understanding. Then they go on to create abhorrent Christian groups that are rooted in half truths.