Where do we look for God’s wisdom? How do we decide what the mind of God is? How do we determine our faith, our conduct and our practice? The challenge that confronts the church in 2023 is the same as in 1922, when Crosslinks was founded, and the same as in the first century AD, when Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.
The answer to those opening questions is vitally important, because there is an increasing number of people who are confused. Some say that God speaks through the still small voice in their heart, or through the shared experience of their community, or through the mind of a Synod or House of Bishops.
But in 1 Corinthians 2 we are reminded that we cannot truly know the mind of God, and therefore the way of holiness for his people, apart from the Bible. We need God’s word written. This conviction – that the Bible is God’s word written – is the first of the six core foundational beliefs that Crosslinks was founded upon, 101 years ago.
So, before you delve into the excellent articles in these pages, I want to briefly look at three truths from 1 Corinthians 2, to encourage us to keep the Bible at the heart of our lives and Crosslinks as we battle the challenges of our culturally confused world and our dangerously compromised denomination.
Firstly, the Sprit reveals the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:12). Paul’s bold claim here is that God revealed his message to Paul as an apostle. Paul is no religious genius or inventive con man or self-help scholar, but a recipient of divine revelation. What the church needed in the first century, in 1922 and in 2023 has not changed: the wisdom of God that comes only from the Spirit of God contained in the words of his apostles contained in the Bible, God’s word written. This might sound complex, but discovering God’s wisdom is wonderfully simple when we follow the chain of revelation that God gives us in his word.
Secondly, the Spirit inspires the word of God (1 Corinthians 2:13). Paul did not keep God’s revelation to himself; he passed it on. The unique, Spirit-inspired, dual authorship of the Bible means we can trust that the human authors wrote exactly what God intended them to say (e.g. 1 Peter 1:21). A church, or indeed a missionary society, who wants to live God’s way must have both a deep affection for and utter commitment to the words of the Spirit. Consequently, there is no place for ‘I know the Bible says this, but I believe the Spirit is telling us this.’ The Spirit of truth who inspired the word of God will not contradict himself. If we want to know the mind of God for his church, it will be found in the clear teaching of Scripture, no matter how hard that will be to receive and live out in a hostile culture.
Thirdly, the Spirit illuminates the people of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Today, a ‘spirituality’ that is generated by concentrated attention on the inner workings of the soul is much in vogue. But true spirituality is something taken from outside of us and given to us. The Spirit’s work is not merely historic; he is active today. While the apostles were uniquely inspired to write God’s word, the Spirit illuminates our hearts and minds to spiritually discern the spiritual truth of God’s word that we would otherwise be blind to. We need the Spirit to illuminate God’s word like we need a torch to light up the darkness. And having been illuminated, we are called to illuminate others with God’s word – which is why word-ministry is at the heart of Crosslinks.
The church in the UK and across the world is facing huge challenges. But the church in Corinth faced those challenges too. And Paul was clear: we are not free to produce our own individual, contemporary versions of Christianity. The means of salvation has not changed. We must remain committed to taking God’s word to God’s world because faith, and therefore life, only come by hearing the word of Christ.