Hopefully all this gets you thinking, like it did for me, that if this is about the Bible being the basis for life, the authoritative final word on everything, what then is actually sufficient for life? We need the Word; we need each other—the Body; we need God, so therefore we need prayer, and repentant humility—and so on. So what is sufficient for life as a Christian?

And this is crucial because I fear that some people are too quick to say that all we need for life is a theology of the Word, and they don't know what it means to live in community, to need others and serve others. On the other hand, others are too quick to leave the Word and rely on the Spirit, and slowly move further and further away from the Word.

The wrong question?

If you stop and think about it, though, this question sounds awfully like: "what's the minimum that we need to survive as a Christian". And that is a particularly bad question. It would involve a process of removing Scripture that we don't think are that relevant:

• Well if we were stranded on a desert island and didn't have anyone else, we wouldn't need the church, so that's not 'sufficient'

• If we just need the Bible and the Spirit, then we can do away with all religious structure

• If one were stuck in jail, without a Bible, then perhaps actually all we really need is the Spirit

Yet, starting with the Bible necessarily means we cannot add or remove parts of it that we don't like. Just because some of it may not be relevant to us right now, doesn't mean we are allowed to ignore that. We may be wrong in our very limited wisdom and perception—we can't know what we won't need. All Scripture is God-breathed and one unit. It's indivisible.

And yet, if we need all of Scripture, then all of what it says is needed: the church, elders, structure, listening to the Spirit, and so much more. Now, the early church didn't need the deacons until they had a lot of needy people they were helping. But then again, even monks in the desert found it helpful to structure their days strictly—so we can't easily say that we don't need structure just because we find ourselves on our own.

The Reformers pushed back against the idea that we needed the church for interpretation of Scripture. The church—the Roman Catholic church—decided it was infallible in its interpretation. Now that is clearly wrong: there's no Scriptural backing for that, and it is only hubris that can have that position. Yet, what Protestant created their theology in a vacuum? What Protestant created their doctrines without other members of the church helping in various degrees—bouncing off ideas, proof reading, pushing back on some thoughts? Who worked without reference to other scholars' work? Do we despise all of the great theological doctrines that were agreed in council?

So in fact, even Protestants cannot ignore that we need other Christians—the church—for interpretation. We wouldn't say the church is infallible, but our actions say very loudly that we need them, in many and various ways.

So if 'what is minimally sufficient' is wrong as a question, what is a better question? Perhaps what we are really getting at is what is the will of God for us?

What is the will of God for us?

The first disciples, after Jesus rose from the dead, and showed them he was the final sacrifice once for all, stopped being Jews and following the old sacrificial system. It was time to remove the entire system and start afresh with the reality that they themselves would be the church, that the Spirit would live inside of each of them (1 Corinthians 3:16). Remove all religion! We're all priests now (1 Peter 2:9)!

But for the early church, facing a crisis of administration in the distribution of daily goods for the widows and needy, they needed more structure: a deaconry (Acts 6:1-7). That was the will of God for them: they needed, effectively, another layer of management!

So, while some may say we don't need any structure or religion, but just the Spirit, we can easily see these quick reductions are inadequate. The Spirit, of course, points to the Word (see the series The Spirit AND the Word for more on that).

But what the disciples most needed before the Spirit was poured out, was to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit. And what was most needed at another time was more administration. And at another, it was to hold council and work out what rules Gentiles needed to follow in a world that was previously only Jewish. And at another time, it was to go out and preach the Gospel to a new people. And it's much more varied than this tiny sampling.

What was truly sufficient for each of these people and groups at their various times and situations was that they followed the will of God for them at that time. If it's God will, it's God's bill—seek first the kingdom of God and the rest (your needs—as distinct from your greeds) will be given to you (Matthew 6:33). Thus, God's provision is found when we do God's will. And if we're being provided for by God, because we're doing what God wants: isn't that sufficiency?

Let's have a closer look at God's will.

• God's will can be found from Scripture—hence 2 Timothy 3:16

• God's will can be found from the Spirit—hence we see Paul change direction based on what the Spirit is saying, and Peter trusting in the Spirit going to the Gentiles, and Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

• We can also help each other discern God's will—and Ephesians 4 talks about the importance of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for that: the church.

• We can help discern the spirits: whether they are from God or not—see 1 John (e.g. 1 John 4:1) or 1 Corinthians 12:10 as one of the nine so-called "spiritual gifts".

Already from this cursory look, we can see that God has provided for us much more than just the written Word and our intellect. There's the Spirit, acting in a number of ways, and the multifaceted church, that help us ito find God's will.

Circling back to the question

So the question we are seeking should not be about reducing the Bible, as if we can do better than it. Nor should we, rather cultishly, deny access to other books or other people, as if we can understand the Bible perfectly without them (which person ever did?).

It may help to pause for a bit and think about another question. Consider for a moment how a non-Christian might find God. Certainly many people have come to know God without the Bible. But we wouldn't say these people, like the thief on the cross, have been thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16). So as to the question of what is essential or sufficient for coming to Christ, we have not been answering. One thing we can say on that topic is that we don't have to get correct answers on an intellectual quiz when we give an answer for our lives to God in heaven. Nevertheless, we don't discard God's good gifts—which include our intellect. We must use them for his glory.

But if it's also not about the minimal sufficiency of things or people or aspect of God, then what is the question? Ultimately, the question behind the question is what is the will of God for us—which is perhaps more easily understand as: how do we please God?

• If we please God, then we're doing a good work (2 Timothy 3:16)

• If we please God, then he'll give us our needs (Matthew 6:33)

• If we please God, we will be mature in him (Ephesians 4:13)

• If we please God, we will live a life of sacrifice to him (Romans 12:1)

What's sufficient, then, to please God? Do everything? Be an evangelist, a pastor, a teacher, a missionary, a giver to the poor, and do all of Scripture all the time? That's slightly impossible (understatement of the year)! No, we just need to do that which God wants us to do at the present time. In other words, we need to do God's will.

So rather than a reductive "the Scripture is all we need for life", what we're actually saying here is an expansive "the Scripture is the foundation for understanding how to please God for all of life", and the Spirit and the church will help us understand that in specific moments, resting as they both do, on the final authority of the Word.