To say that God no longer speaks to His children and that spiritual revelation has ceased is akin to saying that you can have a close relationship with someone by only reading their autobiography and personal letters. Can you imagine if your father came home and you wanted to crawl up in his lap and talk with him? And his response was simply, "Here kid, read this book. Once you understand everything in it, then I may come talk with you." What kind of loving parent would ever take this attitude toward his child?
While the Bible is no ordinary book (it is the very word of God), the Holy Scriptures are not God. And some people seem to have a hard time telling the difference. It is possible to make a stumbling block out of the Scriptures. Look at what the Pharisees did during Jesus' earthly ministry. If all you ever need to know about God can be found in the Bible, then man has just limited God. The Bible is meant to declare and open up the majesty and glory of God not contain it or even explain all of it.
God is beyond just a good Father. He's the best. And He desires a relationship with those He has called to be adopted into His family. Jesus said, "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!(Luke 11:13) "
The Father desires to give the gift of His Spirit to us. Why? Well, the Holy Spirit helps us understand the spiritual things of God. Jesus said, The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26).
Some might say that Jesus was only talking about the original disciples. But does that make sense if we live in the age of deception and many antichrists? Don't we need spiritual discernment and guidance now more than ever?
Consider the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, he wrote, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things" (1 Corinthians 2:11-15).
Paul seemed to believe that the Holy Spirit still speaks to men and helps them discover who God is and how He desires them to live. I believe the Spirit and the Holy Scriptures go hand-in-hand. The Holy Spirit helps us have the mind of Christ as we read the Bible. I tend to think of the Holy Spirit as spiritual glasses for those who could not otherwise read the words on the page. In my case, I can't read the words on the page of any book if I am not wearing my glasses. Although the words are there and I may be able to barely see a few of them, I can't really make sense of the book. The person of the Holy Spirit takes the deep things of God revealed in the Scripture and makes them come alive. The Holy Spirit helps me see clearly.
Well how do you know that it is the Spirit at work in your "revelation" and not your own will or bias? Well, that's a great question. I start out with comparing all thoughts and "impressions" to the clear truths covered in the Bible. There are a group of godly men who help me process through the things that I am learning. And I am quick to repent if I discover that I make a mistake. God wants me to get it right. And He will provide the necessary direction if I only take the time to listen. Part of getting truth right is being willing to make a mistake and correct it when I discover my error.
Those who hold up the Bible as the only authority for the Christian miss a major point of why Jesus came. Christ came as a man to usher in the new and living way - a way of life where men were quickened and enlightened by the power and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus arose in the clouds and eventually left the disciples so that they would begin to walk in the Spirit. It is the spirit of a man that makes a man what he is for all eternity. Why then would God make this part of a man void just because the Scriptures are complete?
