I’ve been wondering if some of the “Word only” (meaning looking only or almost only to the Bible for the voice of God) advocates come to their theological point of view in the same way that cessationists come to the conclusion that spiritual gifts aren’t for today. In my analysis I can’t determine how cessationism jives with a “Word only” theology that has many words about spiritual gifts and how to use them appropriately as well as such verses as 1 Thessalonians 5:19, right in the middle of a favorite passage, where it teaches us to “quench not the Spirit.”
I also wondered about how words from the Word such as the following fit in to a Word only theory of living:
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Jude 1:17-22
This is written simply to “those who have been called” and in the quote above it differentiates the readers from the original apostles. It rejects following “mere natural instincts” and living without the Spirit. Then, interestingly, it directs us to “pray in the Holy Spirit.” I suppose that we, as Christians, who by being regenerated have the Holy Spirit in us, could be said to pray in the Holy Spirit whenever we pray, but in this context that does not make any sense whatsoever. Why would the author be telling “those who have been called” to pray in the Holy Spirit if it is something that they do automatically, simply by being a Christian and praying?
Any thoughts??