Sola Verbum Dei > Sola Scriptura
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Why in the world are there thousands of denominations all who claim to adhere to the idea of sola scriptura (scripture alone)? This might be the most difficult question I get asked. It's right up there with the problem of evil (why bad things happen).
Except in some ways this is more difficult. Because there's really no way to justify it. I still remember back as a Lutheran pastor when we had Reformation Day one year (On October 31) and we were singing a lot of triumphant songs, the mood was celebratory.
Then something hit me. It was Jesus' words in John 17. It's what's called Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer," it's the prayer he gave shortly before his betrayal arrest.
First he recognizes that He'd given all of God's Word to the disciples, and prays that they may be unified in their witness after he's gone.
But then Jesus prays for all subsequent generations of Christians... that includes you and me...
"“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-22).
Jesus prayed that we'd be ONE... just as He and the Father are ONE... so that we could share in their unity (the unity of the Father and the Son) and also so that the world may believe!!!
Yet there we were, on Reformation day, celebrating a schism in the church.
Then here's the kicker. If the church is the body of Christ... by dividing amongst ourselves, it's like we are doing violence to the body of Jesus. After all, how can he be divided against himself?
That insight got into my head that day, and I really struggled to get through the service. Yet, how quickly are we to divide, all the while claiming that we're doing so because our interpretation of Scripture told us so...
The Word Beyond Words
The Protestant Reformation rightly emphasized sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone") against ecclesiastical structures that sometimes obscured biblical authority. In other words, if church authorities contradict the Scriptures, we should go with the Scriptures.
Seems simple enough. But it's not always so easy. Not every "contradiction" with the Scriptures is a clear contradiction. Well-meaning people can disagree on interpretations.
In addition, this formulation, while addressing critical abuses, may inadvertently restrict our understanding of how God communicates. A more comprehensive theological category—Sola Verbum Dei ("by the Word of God alone")—deserves thoughtful exploration.
When we examine the biblical language itself, we discover something remarkable. The Greek term γραφή (graphē), referring specifically to written text, appears 51 times in the New Testament. However, λόγος (logos), denoting God's communication more broadly, appears 330 times with theological significance that transcends mere written expression.
The Primacy of the Living Word
The Gospel of John opens with a profound declaration about the nature of God's self-revelation: "In the beginning was the Word [λόγος], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn 1:1). The Evangelist deliberately chooses λόγος rather than γραφή. This Word—personal, living, and divine—"became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14).
This incarnational principle establishes a theological precedent: the λόγος precedes Scripture chronologically, ontologically, and functionally. The written text serves the living Word, not vice versa. As Augustine reflects, the divine Word exists independently of physical medium or human inscription—it is reality, not merely representation (Tractates on John, 1.8).
The author of Hebrews amplifies this understanding: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Heb 1:1-2a). The Greek verb λαλέω (laleō, "to speak") emphasizes the various modes of divine communication throughout salvation history, culminating in the incarnate Christ.
The Word Before Any Text
Genesis reveals that before any sacred text existed, God spoke creation into existence: "And God said [וַיֹּ֥אמֶר, wayyomer], 'Let there be light'" (Gen 1:3). The Hebrew verbal form indicates divine speech as the primary means of God's creative action. The divine word necessarily preceded any written record of it.
This pre-textual word continued throughout Israel's history. The prophets received the "word of the LORD" directly before communicating it orally or in writing. The formula "thus says the LORD" (כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, koh amar YHWH) appears hundreds of times, indicating the primacy of divine speech over text.
Christ: The Word to Whom Scripture Points
Jesus himself makes a striking distinction in John 5:39-40: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."
The Greek construction [I'll spare you the details this time] emphasizes a contrast between scrutinizing texts and encountering the living Person to whom they point.
It's one thing to have the Bible. But if you're reading it apart from Christ at its center, you're not reading it rightly.
Scripture, Jesus teaches, is instrumental rather than ultimate—it directs us to him.
This distinction appears throughout Jesus' ministry. When confronting religious leaders who privileged textual interpretation over divine encounter, he declares: "You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you" (Jn 5:37-38). The possession of Scripture without recognition of its subject results in spiritual blindness.
The Apostolic Proclamation as God's Word
The early Christian community recognized divine authority in the apostolic proclamation before any New Testament texts existed. Paul writes: "When you received the word of God [λόγον θεοῦ, logon theou] which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God" (1 Thess 2:13).
The apostolic κήρυγμα (kērygma, "proclamation") carried divine authority prior to inscripturation. In other words, what they preached was the Word of God! No New Testament had yet been inspired or received!
The genitive construction λόγον θεοῦ emphasizes divine origin rather than textual form. This explains why Paul could instruct believers to "stand firm and hold to the traditions [παραδόσεις, paradoseis] that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thess 2:15).
The Greek term παράδοσις (paradosis) here is not a later ecclesiastical development but the authorized transmission of apostolic teaching in various forms. The early church recognized this continuity between Christ's teaching, apostolic proclamation, and eventually written texts.
Scripture as Authoritative Witness
This broader understanding of God's Word does not diminish Scripture's authority but properly contextualizes it. Scripture functions as the divinely inspired, authoritative witness to God's self-revelation in Christ. As the Reformer Martin Luther observed, "The gospel is not really that which is contained in books and composed in letters, but rather an oral proclamation and the living Word" (Brief Instruction on What to Look for in the Gospels (1521), LW 35:123).
Scripture remains the normative and definitive testimony to Christ, but it is not identical with the living Word it proclaims. This distinction preserves both biblical authority and the primacy of Christ himself. The Bible is God's Word in that it faithfully witnesses to the Word made flesh.
The Spirit's Ongoing Illumination
Jesus promised his disciples: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16:13). The preposition εἰς (eis) with the accusative πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν (pasan tēn alētheian) indicates movement toward complete understanding—a dynamic process rather than a static deposit.
This promise suggests that the Spirit continues to illuminate Scripture for believers, deepening their understanding of its witness to Christ. The same Spirit who inspired the biblical authors guides the community of faith in interpreting the text. As Luther affirmed: "The Holy Scriptures require a humble reader who shows reverence and fear toward the Word of God, and constantly says, 'Teach me, teach me, teach me!'" (Exposition of Psalm 101 (1534), LW 13:157).
Implications for Faith and Practice
Christ-Centered Interpretation
Recognizing Scripture as witness to the Word requires a consistently Christ-centered hermeneutic. Jesus himself taught this approach: "Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Lk 24:27). The entire biblical narrative finds its coherence and fulfillment in Christ.
This principle transforms biblical interpretation from mere historical or moral analysis into an encounter with the living Christ. The text becomes a means of grace through which believers meet the Word made flesh. "Scripture is to be read," as Augustine noted, "until the heart's eyes are fixed on the Lord" (Confessions, 7.21).
Interpretive Humility
Understanding Scripture as witness to the Word fosters hermeneutical humility. Since our knowledge remains "in part" until Christ's return (1 Cor 13:9), our interpretations remain provisional and open to the Spirit's continued illumination.
This perspective mitigates against interpretive dogmatism while maintaining biblical authority. Scripture remains the definitive testimony to Christ, but our understanding of that testimony deepens through the Spirit's ongoing work in the community of faith.
Renewed Appreciation for Worship
The Word of God comes to us not only through private Bible reading but through the proclaimed word in worship, the visible word in the sacraments, and the living word in the community of believers. As Isaiah prophesied: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (Isa 2:3).
The liturgical context provides a comprehensive encounter with the Word—heard in Scripture and sermon, seen and tasted in baptism and communion, and experienced in fellowship. This holistic engagement with divine communication enriches and deepens faith beyond what isolated textual study.
What is the Pillar of Truth?
I sometimes ask this question to people in my classes. They invariably say, "the Bible." Then I say, turn to 1 Timothy 3:15... and they read as follows...
"...if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth." (ESV)
The Bible actually says that the church is the pillar of truth! There are a few ways we can take this, and I'm not going to get into some of the Protestant/Catholic arguments on this point.
What I will say is that it's clear that the use of Scripture was never supposed to be just "me and my Bible," as if my calling as a believer is to ignore all wisdom from other mature believers, or the wisdom of 2,000 years of faithful witness and study, and come up with whatever interpretation suits me best.
We can all read the bible for ourselves, and we should. But we don't read the bible only as ourselves. We read it as a member of the body of Christ. We read it with the humility to recognize that people smarter than me have struggled with it in the past. Rather than say, "Well, I prayed and the Spirit told me" that it means x, y, or z... we recognize that the Spirit moves through the entire Church, preserves the truth in the Church which the Bible itself calls the pillar... that is... the part of the structure that holds everything up!
There's a lot to wrestle with here, and I'll leave some of it to you to try and work through. I've certainly been working through these ideas a lot lately. One thing I will say is this: the Bible is best honored when we use it the way God intended it to be used.
You don't honor a shovel by trying to use it to hammer a nail into a board.
You don't honor a hammer by using it to dig a hole.
The Scriptures are honored when they're used not in whatever way suits us, but in the way they were intended. To point us to Christ, to bring us together as His people, as His One Body, and to proclaim his Hope into the world. They are a part of the pillar of truth, but they are not the pillar of truth alone.
In Jesus' name,
Judah