Prof. Gregg Allison, Ph.D.: "Historical Theology, Ch.7: Sufficiency & Ne...

7. Sufficiency, 142-159. The ancient church believed emphatically in the sufficiency and necessity of Sacred and Canonical Scriptures—that the Bible sufficiently teaches what people are to believe concerning God and what duties God requires of them. 2 Tim. 3.14-17; Dt. 4.2; Rev. 22.18-19; Mt.4.4; 1 Pet. 2.2. See Appendix 1, variously: Clement of Alexandra, Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Theonas of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Vincent of Lerins. As for the medieval period, the sufficiency and necessity of Scripture was postulated by Gabriel Biel, surprisingly Thomas Acquinas, Rupert Deutz, Othlo of Sankt Emmeram, Jan Huss, Adalger, Hugh of St. Victor, and Lanfranc of Canterbury As expected, the Reformation recovered the primacy, necessity, and sufficiency of Scriptures, obscured by ancillary novelties of the late medieval period. See Appendix Three. Appendix Three: Sufficiency and Necessity of Sacred Scripture in the Reformation and Post-Reformation Period Luther: “A simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or council without it. As for the pope’s decree on indulgences, I say that neither the Church nor the pope can establish articles of faith. These must come from Scripture. For the sake of Scripture, we should reject pope and councils.” The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, in Three Treatises, trans. A.T. W. Steinhauser (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1970), 223. Luther: “Those things that have been delivered to us by God in the holy Scriptures must be sharply distinguished from those that have been invented by men in the Church; it matters not how eminent they are for saintliness or scholarship.” The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, in Three Treatises, trans. A.T. W. Steinhauser (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1970), 223. Luther: Scripture is “incomparably superior to the Church and in this Word, the Church, being a creature, has nothing to decree, ordain and make, but only to be decreed, ordained, and made.” The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, in Three Treatises, trans. A.T. W. Steinhauser (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1970), 223. Calvin: “Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit. Just as nothing is omitted that is both necessary and useful to know, so nothing is taught except what is expedient to know.” Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.21.3. John Owen: The Holy Spirit of God has prepared and disposed of the Scripture so as it might be a most sufficient and absolutely perfect way and means of communicating unto our minds that saving knowledge of God and his will that is needful which we may live unto him and come unto the enjoyment of him in his glory.” The Causes, Ways, and Means of Understanding the Mind of God as Revealed in His Word, with Assurance Therein (London, 1687), chap. 6, in The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, 16 vols. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), 4: 187. Francis Turretin: Scripture is “a total and adequate rule of faith and practice.” Institutes of Elenctic Theology, 2nd topic, 16th q., sec 16.2, 1:135.