“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing
you may have life in his name.” … “Now there are also many other things that
Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world
itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 20:30-31; 21:25,
ESV)
The last two chapters of John conclude with a statement by
John that what he wrote is only a portion of what Jesus said and did. He wrote
of only a fragment of what we could know about God, and as he wrote in the last
verse of the book, there is more that could be written than even the rest of
the Bible itself contains. He supposed that the world, as vast as it is, could
not contain the books that could be written. John knew he was writing about the
infinite God who loves finite man, and that man in his limitedness could only
absorb so much. Just as the Jews were clamoring for another sign, he and the
other authors could have continued to have been moved by the Spirit to record
so much more. But God in His infinite wisdom knew what we needed, and what He
has given us is His true and complete Word, and by being complete we know that
it is what He intended.
Years ago in an evangelism training program I was taught how
to get to the heart of the matter with people. When sharing Christ and
receiving one objection after another, there was to be a point when I was instructed
to ask, “Suppose all of the objections that you mentioned were not objections,
is there any other objection that you have not mentioned that would keep you
from making a decision?” I don’t remember the exact wording, though I could
look it up, but you get the idea. Sometimes people throw out objections or
demands for more proof not out of a desire to know, but out of a resistance to
know. For them there is simply not enough that could be said for them to
believe. For them, their hearts are still hardened to the truth and no amount
of words are going to change that.
But for those of us who believe, we have been given the
living Word of God that is powerful to change lives. Yesterday I quoted Romans
10:14-15 about the need for someone to be sent with the good news in order for
others to hear and believe. That was not the end of what Paul had to write. He
went on in verse 17 to say, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through
the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17, ESV)
This is because our Bible is not a collection of the
writings of a bunch of God followers, but it is the combined writings of a
group of men moved by the Spirit speaking from God. This is what Peter tells us
in “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the
Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:21, NASB95) The writer of Hebrews wrote
that the word of God is more than the static writings on people who died long
ago. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged
sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints
and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
(Hebrews 4:12, NASB95) And, the apostle John writing about the end of things
added that this last book of our Bible is indeed from God and not to be altered
by either addition or subtraction by man. “I warn everyone who hears the words
of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the
plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the
book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in
the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these
things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation
22:18–20, ESV)
While we are told to study the word of God, to hide it in
our hearts, to be ready to give an answer to the testimony which we have, and
to seek to understand it as fully as we can, we are restrained from adding to it
or taking away. God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave us His Word. He
saw the fullness of it from the perspective of eternity, outside of time, and
was not hindered by those things which may not have been conceived of by man at
the time of their writing. God’s Word is not archaic or obsolete. It is not naïve
concerning the issues of man today. It is as true, accurate, and powerful today
as it was the day it was written. And when we go out to share it we can do so with
the great confidence that what we have is truly God’s Word for man—even us. And
from it we can learn more of Him as we worship our infinite God who knows all
that we don’t. We can live with the certainty that He will indeed give us
wisdom to negotiate uncertain times.
“Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6,
NASB95)
“How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than
honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate
every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm
119:103–105, NASB95)
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