Hi Mike,

Thank you for your quick reply. I would like to clarify what I said, perhaps saying it in a different way.
I am in no way denying the need for the Scriptures, nor am I trying to belittle it. I am merely trying to assign it its proper place. As you have pointed out, they indeed serve a very important function. According to Joh 5:39, they serve as a means of testifying to Christ, as Scripture speaks of him from Genesis to Revelation. This same function is also brought out in Act 17 where the Bereans examined the Scriptures to make sure that the Word spoken was indeed the truth.
Although not explicitely stated, the Scriptures are the means by which we test the spirits, comparing what is said against what the Scriptures teach. As you rightly pointed out, if we didn’t have the Scriptures, anyone could claim to be speaking for God, and it would be up to everyone’s own thinking to accept it or not.
Yes, you did understand me correctly when I say that the Scriptures are not the Word of God. However, I again must clarify that by saying that I certainly believe that the Word of God is all throughout Scripture. In other words, God’s very own words are recorded innumerably in Scripture. But I believe that it would be incorrect to say that the Scriptures in total are the Word of God. I say that simply because not only are God’s words recorded there, but also Satan’s and man’s and those of heavenly messengers. The Scriptures are the sum total of God’s revelation to mankind. Because they are complete as such, any revelation we receive will not be new, as in to add to the Scriptures, but will simply be revelation that the Spirit of God teaches us that will be found in Scripture, the verifyer of revelation.
I know that you will probably still disagree with my premise. I hope you do not think I was writing it to argue, but simply to share a conviction of mine for you to consider, which you did. I thank you for that. Most people as you know doubt are aware, will not even truly listen to what you have to say, and will not see things that you see when you try to explain something to them, no matter how plain they seem to be to you. We all suffer from that to some degree, and our Lord destroy that part out of our lives.
And don’t be concerned. I was not offended in the least. We are brothers in Christ, and in him there is no cause for offense.

In him,

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question and I am happy that you were not offended when I pointed out that we would have no idea what is the true word of God if we say that there is revelation that is “above what is written.” I reiterate that I am not saying that we are not constantly being given revelation of God’s Word. But that revelation, if it is of God, will be able to withstand a trial by fire, the fire of the fiery sword of the Word of God which keeps the way of the tree of life; the fire of “what is written.”

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and t he sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

What has kept that ‘way’; what has kept complete heresy from literally blotting out the Truth for thousands of years, is “that which is written.”

1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [ to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think [ of men] above that which is written , that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

I am pleased to see that you understand the function of scripture, and I pray that you will come to see that in God’s sovereignty, Satan cannot lift a finger or wiggle his lying tongue unless God sends him to do so.

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Ki 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

That is just another of the many truths “hidden” in Him whose words “will not pass away,” hidden in Christ, who is the word, hidden in “that which is written,” in the scriptures which bring us to “know God” and thus “have eternal life.”

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect [ Greek, ‘being perfected’]: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [ in scripture] they are spirit, and they are life. <.

According to Proverbs, Christ is that “hidden wisdom.”

Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [ they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Christ is not the least bit ashamed to tell us that the evil spirit that troubled King Saul was from Him. He loudly proclaims that the lying spirit in the mouths of all of Ahab’s prophets was from Him. Satan could not touch anything Job owned but by Christ’s word. Then when Christ decided it was to be done, He sent Satan to torment and to try Job with boils from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. This is all in the Word of God. So when you say:

“But I believe that it would be incorrect to say that the Scriptures in total are the Word of God. I say that simply because not only are God’s words recorded there, but also Satan’s, and man’s, and heavenly messenger’s.”

You appear to be saying that you think Satan said something in scripture which the Lord did not send Him to lie about. Such is not the case. Would the scriptures be the Word of God had God seen fit to leave out Satan’s lie to Eve saying “Thou shalt not surely die?” Satan cannot lie and you and I cannot even sin without it first being written in “God’s book,” and that ‘book’ was written before the foundation of the world. It is the scriptures “in total” that make them the word of God, the Truth that Christ tells us He is:

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ESV)

Without all “the lies of Satan and all the words of men and of heavenly messengers,” God’s Word would not be Truth, simply because we would not have its “sum.” In Adam we are all guilty of all the sins of all mankind. It was all recorded before the foundation of the world:

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Which days are “ordained for me?” Here they are:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evi l [“In time past ” in you and in me – see below].
Col 3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye [ you and me] also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye [ you and me] walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

It was all written before there were any of them. The fact there were lies and sins written “before there were any of them” does not make it any the less true. It is the fact that they are admitted, and acknowledged that makes them truth.

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye [ are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing .

That verse doesn’t say ‘Without me you can do nothing but sin,’ it says “without me you can do nothing” including sinning, and believing lying spirits ‘which I prepare your heart to receive before I send them to you after I have hardened your hearts.’

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [ have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth.

Christ is “working all things after the counsel of His own will.” It is Jesus Christ who reveals all of this, and that is why God’s written words, which “are spirit and life” are called “the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Gal 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

“To show His servants things which must shortly come to pass” is true simply because man’s life is so very short:

Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Without John writing down all the signs and symbols he saw, the revelation of Jesus Christ would not be complete. And every single symbol and sign in the book of Revelation is taken from the law and the prophets and the Psalms.

Those who claim revelation “above what is written” are adrift in a raging storm without even a rudder, and the sea of mankind with all of His conflicting personal revelations, will devour them.
Here we have the apostles Paul, Peter and John all confessing that they “received… the revelation of Jesus Christ,” through and “not above… that which is written.” Read John’s ‘revelation of Jesus Christ’ which he wrote down in scripture and sent to the “seven churches of Asia.” In it alone you will also hear the lies of Satan and the words of the Nicolaitans and the teachings of that woman Jezebel. But it is all still “the revelation of Jesus Christ.
God has given it to some of us to be able to see Isa 45:7:

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

… and we then all agree, ‘Yes, despite what Mr. Billy Graham told the whole nation in the National Cathedral on the day after the attack on the World Trade Towers, God really does “create evil.” He gives some of us the ability to see Ephesian 1:11

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

… and we all agree, ‘Yes God is, in Christ, working even the evil of this world “after the counsel of His own will.”‘ He gives some of us the ability to see that it was not Joseph’s brothers who sent Joseph into Egypt, it was God Himself. While Joseph’s brothers “thought evil against Joseph,” in reality it was God who was using that evil and working that evil against Joseph, “that many might be saved alive.”

Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it [ the evil was really of God who “creates evil”] unto good, to bring to pass, as [ it is] this day, to save much people alive.

So it is with all evil. “God is working all things after the counsel of His own will.” This has been granted to a few of us to receive and to understand to a great extent.
What has not been give to very many to understand is that the serpent in Moses’s hand was also a type of Christ which will devour all the serpents of Egypt and will, in the end, be placed into the ark of God as a witness against Israel, and will eventually become as a fiery serpent about the throne of God, crying Holy, holy, holy.

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims [ fiery serpents, see the study notes on the metal copper on iswasandwillbe. com]: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

When God’s word to Pharaoh became a serpent, Moses withdrew himself from it:

Exo 4:2 And the LORD said unto him [ Moses], What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
Exo 4:3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

“Moses fled before it” and we also flee from “that which is written” when we read:

Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [ branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

It has been given to but few to believe that there are branches of Christ that do not “bear fruit.” And that is why we must see “that which is written” as “the Word of God.” It is when we separate the lies of Satan and the words of men and messengers, from “the Word of God” that we lose “the sum of thy word” and in so doing we lose Christ, who is the Truth. You are actually saying that if the devil said it or if man said it, and it is written in the scriptures, then it is not the Word of God. But that rod which became a serpent, was placed into the ark of God. What this tells us is the we must all “live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

So when God says, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die,” what we were really told was that Adam would eat of that tree and die, simply because those words had come out of His mouth and Adam, and all in him, would live those words. It was “all written in God’s book, as days ordained for us before there were any of them.”
“He shall bruise your heel” becomes a prophecy of Cain’s murdering of Abel. It was “the days ordained” for both Cain and Abel.
The revelation of Jesus Christ does not begin in Rev 1:1. It begins in Gen 1:1

Gen 1:1 In the beginning [ Hebrew, reshyith, ‘firstfuit,’ Christ] God created the heaven and the earth.
Deu 18:4 The firstfruit [ reshyith] also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

God created all things in heaven and in earth by, for and through Christ:

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

God created Christ, and through Christ God created a tree of knowledge of good and evil. He did it all in six days and He, and called it all, including the lying serpent and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “very good.”

Gen 1:31 And God saw e very thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

So why should that keep us from calling scripture, which records the words of Satan, men and messengers, “the word of God.” That is tantamount to saying, ‘ Since the first Adam is to be destroyed, he is therefore not a type of Christ,’ and that is not true.

Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure [ Greek ‘tupos’ – type] of him that was to come.

If sinful Adam is a type of Christ, then why would not Satan’s lies and Adam’s believing those lies, be but a part of that first Adam, who is but a part of the total of “the revelation of Jesus Christ?”
And that is what makes the concept of separating scripture from the Word of God so very wrong. What we are then saying is that if the scriptures contain the lies of Satan, then that is not for you and for me. If scripture contains within its pages the words of men who claim to be “rich and increased with goods” when in reality they are “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,” then that too, is not for me; and if the scriptures contain within them the lies of the principalities and power of the messengers of darkness, then that too, is not for men.
So I will let God’s Word close for me. They are His Words; they are not mine. Again we are told that we will live every word of God, but this time it is at the very beginning and at the very end of the book of Revelation. Here again are those words:

Rev 1:3 Blessed [ is] he that readeth [ written words], and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [ is] at hand.

Do you believe that we do not keep these words written therein because some of them are lies and the evil words of Satan, men and angels? This admonition is repeated at the end of this book, just for those who have such thoughts:

Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Perhaps you believe that since God said not to eat of the tree of the knowedge of good and evil, that therefore you can forgo eating of it. If so then you are “the ninety and nine who need no repentance,” you are the “well who need no physician,” and the elder brother who hates his younger prodigal brother who is given a ring and a robe and a feast. Here is the spiritual condition of all who think that the lies and sins of scripture are for others and have no personal application:

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

If you insist on clinging to a doctrine which teaches that because Satan, men or messengers say it, that it is therefore not personally applicable, then the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God to you, closes its pages with this solemn warning:

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

What part of scripture is not for you? What part of “the things written in this book” have no personal application to you? Which words of Satan, men or messengers, have you never believed? Is it the part where Satan lies to us, where men speak and so display their lack of understanding, or is it where God sends messengers to be lying spirits? Have you never believed a lying spirit? Have you never blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles?
Before you answer that question remember, “the sum of thy word is Truth”, and that “ all scripture is given by the inspiration of God’s holy spirit.”

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Denying that scripture is God’s word, flies in the face of the Truth of this verse, which plainly says that “all scripture is inspired” or God breathed. So be very careful how you answer because Christ has warned us all “out of thine own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.”
I know that I myself have, in the past, refused “the things which are written in this book,” and I have already experienced the wrath of the plagues written in this book:

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath , even as others.

But what if I denied that I had to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?” What if I didn’t even consider the scriptures to be words that proceed out of the mouth of God? What if I didn’t agree with Peter that all scripture is “God breathed… out of His mouth?” What then? It was given to the apostle Peter to write it down and to tell us that judgment begins at the house of God.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God : and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Peter goes on to ask:

1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

The answer to Peter’s question is given in the warning with which the word of God concludes. The warning quoted above:

Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Scripture, as quoted above, is for “instruction in righteousness. But it is “scripture” also which “is profitable for doctrine, reproof, and for correction.”

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

I hope and pray that is how you receive all of this and that you are given the eyes to see that it isn’t worded ‘The word of God is good for…’ all these things, as if there was a difference between scripture and the Word of God.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike