"You’re limiting God"! That’s the charge often made against those of us who teach that God’s word revelation has ceased with the full canon of 66 books of Holy Scripture. As Presbyterians we hold to the doctrine of the true orthodox church since the age of the Apostles: the Bible completes God’s word revelations in this age. The canon is closed. God has finished speaking His mind to us. Our Westminster Confession rightly says "those former ways of God revealing His will unto His people being now ceased" (WCF 1:I). We believe that "the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men." (WCF 1:VI).

So we believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. We are thoroughly opposed to the idea of ongoing word revelations from God, be they from self-styled ‘prophets’ or ‘apostles’ or ‘miracle workers’ or ‘tongue speakers’. We do not get any more revelation because we do not need any more. We find no lack or inadequacy in Scripture. On the contrary, we find the Bible alone to be a vast rich deposit of revelation "adequate to equip the man of God for every good work" (2 Tim 3:17). There will be no more revelatory words like those of Moses, Paul, Agabus, and Deborah. It is not my present aim to prove this doctrine of finished revelation: I will take that up in the next edition. Rather I want to answer the charge that it is limiting God. Before doing that, let’s be clear on what this doctrine is not saying.

First, it is not saying that there is no ongoing revelation of God in our day. Obviously there is still "natural revelation". This is the non verbal revelation of God in the things He has made. His footprints are still all over the universe (Psalm 19:1, Rom 1:18-20). Second, there is the enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, by which He graciously opens up the hearts and mind of obdurate sinners, enabling them to believe God’s revelation in both Scripture and creation. Thirdly, it is not merely declaring that there will be no further words or sentences added to the books of the Bible. Not even the most fanatical advocates of ongoing revelation want to enlarge the Bible by adding their "revelations". Rather, it is saying that there will be no more word revelations from God either inside or outside the Bible. God will not come with any more words of guidance or counsel to us beyond what He has said in Scripture. Of course God does graciously provide teachers, preachers, commentators, and others to bring home to us some fresh new light on what God means in the Bible. But this is not new revelation. It is the old revelation applied. All the inspired counsel of God is before us in the Bible. So what do we say against the charge "you’re limiting God"?

Firstly, on purely rational grounds, the charge falls flat. Why should it be a limitation on God to argue that He has so plainly and fully spoken now in the 66 books that He will speak no more? Indeed, if God has to keep on speaking in every age, in every land, in every church, year after year, never having fully expressed His mind, always adding, always supplementing, never reaching completion, sufficiency, or perfection, then we might well wonder if He is limited. It is the view of ongoing revelation which holds a limited view of God. Our orthodox Presbyterian view sets forth the glory of God without limit. We do not marvel that He is finished speaking. Rather, we marvel that He saw fit to speak so long, so often, so repeatedly, and so fully as He did. And we marvel at the blindness of those who find even all of that to be insufficient.

Secondly, the charge implies that we are denying God all of His rights. They say that God has all the right of Deity, including the right to keep on giving word revelation if He wishes. We agree! But for that precise reason we add that God’s rights include the right to seal up revelation, to bring it to a climax in the New Testament writings. God has the right to say "I have spoken long enough! I have said all that I have to say!" It is this second option that our opponents deny. They have stripped God of that right. They are limiting God, not us. In other words God has the right to exercise or not exercise all of His rights. He has the right to limit the amount of word revelation He will give. And He has done exactly that.

Thirdly, the charge implies that our doctrine of revelation is a sad, negative, and burdensome thing. But is the cessation of revelation a sad thing to be mourned like the death of a friend? Not at all! It is the best possible news. It means that all God’s people now have the treasure chest of God’s revelatory jewels filled to the top. We have our full inheritance. We do not lack any advice (counsel) from God on any aspect of life and faith. It is right there before us in the Bible, either expressly written down, or implied by good logical reasoning. We do not have to wait or look for any more. We do not need to find some new ‘prophet’ or ‘messenger of God’ or ‘tongue speaker’ to tell us things where the Bible falls short. All my decisions about who God wants me to marry, what work to do, how to speak and think and spend my money, what His will for my life is regarding my waking, sleeping, eating and drinking, indeed, whatever my hand finds to do, it’s all there in the Bible. This is great news.

So, who is limiting God? In reality it is those who deny the doctrine of the cessation of revelation. It is those who insist on continuing revelation through tongues, dreams, and visions. Their God is limited because He hasn’t even yet said enough. Their Bible is limited because it isn’t enough guidance for them. And their faith is limited because they are robbed of the maturity and joy of gazing with satisfaction on the full deposit of revelation and reaping its fruits. It is aptly summed up by Dr. O. Palmer Robertson: "the people of God should not mourn out of a sense of loss because of the end of the special gifts of revelation any more than the children of Israel should have mourned when the manna stopped as they entered the land of Canaan. They had arrived at their goal! They were in the land flowing with milk and honey! They had the advantage of a full feast from the produce of the land! Should they begin moaning because they had to plough in the morning rather than simply collect the manna?"