Except for the "sola" aspect, I have always regarded these distilled teachings of the reformers as undeniably true. How can a Christian deny that only Christ can save, or that grace and faith and scripture and the glory of God are not vital in His redemptive process? However, these five principles are incomplete, not providing the full picture of the process of salvation. I believe that this incompleteness has created conflict in the universal Church. This situation should not be surprising, since these solas were formed in the first place in the crucible of religious conflict, in order to protest the grievous errors of the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th and 16th centuries.

These points were made in my previous article entitled The Seven Solas: Completing the Reformers (which can be found in the VOL archives). But today I wish to add an 8th sola, which of course does not stand alone, for none of them really do. As anyone will know who has read my sometimes halting attempts on VirtueOnline to share what God is teaching me, I am very big on the authority of scripture- versus the authority of church leaders, organizations, or traditions, which unlike the Word of God, are all fallible.

Word and Spirit

So let's get to the point. I must admit that there is one clear weakness in the sola scriptura principle: scripture is only half the story. It is like the right hand, but we cannot ignore the left. The divine revelation regarding redemption is equally concerned with both Word and Spirit. They go together, inseparably, in God's divine economy. They came together in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word-made-flesh, who in His ministry, spoke nothing without the Holy Spirit's unction and nothing without the Father's direction. This fact is observed in His anointing baptism in the river Jordan: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17) This Word-Spirit anointing was further confirmed at the Transfiguration: While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him." (Matt 17:5; cf. Luke 9:28-36) Of course we should listen to Him. Note Peter's exclamation: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68b, NKJV)

There are many possible metaphors, none of which can capture the fullness of the eternal, divine relationship between Word and Spirit. The Word of God (contained in scripture) is like the bread and the Spirit is like the wine. The Word is like the body, the Spirit is like the blood. Scripture is like the temple, the Spirit is like the priest within the temple. Scripture is like the earth, the Spirit is like the wind. Scripture is like the kiln, the Spirit is like the fire that refines the gold. Our use of scripture is like the foundation and superstructure of the building, our spirituality is like living within the building.

No one can pin down the Spirit, neither can we easily prove what is of the Holy Spirit and what is of the ego-flesh (or of the world or even of Satan)- except that we have the Spirit-inspired scriptures to help us know the truth and our Spirit-inspired consciences to confirm it. This is why 'progressive revelation' is both true but also a dangerous idea because it is so easily misused. Without the confirmation of scripture, anyone (like TEC leaders) can claim to have a Holy Spirit inspired idea (no matter how crazy it is) and who can prove that they did not get this from God? Similarly, anyone can say that I have the Holy Spirit but you don't, or my church is in the Apostolic Succession but yours isn't, or use some other criteria for judging others and elevating one's favorite tradition. But fortunately, God gave us the scriptures to allow us to discern truth from lies. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit; it is a two-edged sword that not only confirms the truth of Spirit-inspired thinking but also disconfirms falsehoods.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

The written Word of God, as scripture, contains boundaries. In this age, knowledge of spiritual things cannot go beyond these boundaries and still be truth. This reality protects us from heresies, from the lies of Satan. Listen to these words of Jesus:

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:35)

"The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63b)

"... everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. (Matthew 7:24-29)

Authority indeed. As the prologue to the Gospel of John proclaims, as the Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ was Co-Author of creation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him; and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend it. (John 1:1,3-5, NKJV)

The second person of the Trinity spoke only from the mind of the Father. As I mentioned earlier, this certainly was so in the Incarnation.

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me." (John 8:28, cf. John 14:10b-11a, 24)

Jesus revered the Old Testament and regarded it as both prophetic (especially about Himself) and authoritative. This truth is clear from His words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-21) Jesus has a high view of the Pentateuch, don't you think.

Here is a sample from both Paul and Peter's views of scripture; these should cement our acceptance of the Bible's role as our ultimate earthly authority:

Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from who your learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16)

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21, my emphases)

And when we examine our Anglican Eucharistic service, our celebration of the Last Supper instituted by Jesus, it brings home to us the point that the Word and Spirit of God are so intertwined that we cannot fully separate them. In the Invocation (1928 BCP), the celebrant prays: "And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us; and, of thy almighty goodness, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood." Note that the God-given means for sanctifying the bread and wine is with His Word and Holy Spirit. He is present in both, and we celebrate our unity with Him through our reception of both, by the act of taking in the bread and wine.

As the Holy Scriptures become a part of us, "written on our hearts," we begin to grow into the image of Christ. Hebrews 8:10 (revisiting Jeremiah 31-33): This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

As the Holy Spirit is received by us through the grace of God, we begin to receive His power and His gifts. Acts 2:18 & 33 (revisiting Joel 2:28): Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

This is exactly where the life-giving power comes from when we are convicted of sin, drawn to Christ in faith, and baptized "from above." We cannot come to Christ without hearing the Word ("faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ"– Romans 10:17), nor can we be saved without the sealing of the Holy Spirit ("and you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit" –Ephesians 1:13).

Great quote from John R. W. Stott: "There are two safeguards against error - the apostolic Word and the anointing Spirit (cf. Is. 59:21, John 16:12). Both are received at conversion ... The Word is an objective safeguard, while the anointing of the Spirit is a subjective experience; but both the apostolic teaching and the heavenly teacher are necessary for continuance in the truth. And both are to be personally and inwardly grasped. This is the biblical balance which is too seldom preserved. Some honor the Word and neglect the Spirit who alone can interpret it; others honor the Spirit but neglect the Word through which He teaches. The only safeguard against lies is to have remaining within us both the Word that 'we heard from the beginning' and the 'anointing' that we received from Him. It is by these old possessions, not by new teachings or teachers, that we shall remain in the truth." --- John R.W. Stott, from "The Letters of John" (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries)

In Conclusion

After all of this evidence of the Bible's self-witness, it seems absurd to me that some Christians would want to diminish these divinely inspired words and make them less than authoritative in our personal and ecclesiastic decision-making. If you agree with these scriptures and the arguments presented above, then you will agree: Sola Scriptura is not really "sola" at all; it is one with the other solas, including the proposed Sola Spiritus. Word and Spirit go together. It also is clear that the Holy Bible is authoritative, powerful, and designated by God to be the final arbiter of Truth. Any so-called truth that does not conform to the boundaries of scripture must be suspect.

Dr. Bruce Atkinson has an MA in theology and a PhD in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He works in the Atlanta area and is a member, lector, and Bible teacher with Trinity Anglican Church (ACNA) in Douglasville, GA. He has an abiding interest in New Testament theology, integrating psychological science with biblical truth, and reconciling the different streams within the Anglican Church (Reformed, AngloCatholic, evangelical, charismatic, etc.).