新約聖經與使徒

最近在讀 Herman N. Ridderbos 所寫的 Redemptive History and the New Testament Scripture，一本只有 76 頁的小書，但是我直到第 13 頁起才看懂他要討論什麼。

Ridderbos 主要在論述新約聖經的正典性與權威性。他不僅駁斥新約聖經的正典性是出自教會的確定（因為教會不是權威），他也不支持新約聖經僅是出於聖靈感動的論述。他強調使徒的重要，使徒是耶穌基督福音的延申工作（不僅是傳遞者而以），在救恩歷史（Redemptive History）上，他們也擔任完成者的角色。換句話說，使徒們的宣告並不是主觀的（subjective）陳述，而是絶對真理的宣告（objective proclamation）。

或許由以下的文字可以略見一二：

The apostolic witness is identical with the witness of the Spirit, not in the first place because the Spirit convicts others that the apostolic witness is true but because the Spirit has disclosed  this witness to the apostles by leading them into the truth as they bore witness, by reminding them of the words of Christ, and by taking what is Christ's and making it known to them

- Herman N. Ridderbos
Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures, p. 29