Origen
(185-254) is a witness against the
formal sufficiency of the Bible being an early Christian belief. Consider the
following from his On First Principles:
The faith is
transmitted and preserved through orderly succession from the apostles and
exists, not in inscripturated revelation merely:
Since many, however, of those who profess to
believe in Christ differs from each other, not only in small and trifling
matters, but also on subjects of the highest importance, as, e.g., regarding
God, or the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit; and not only regarding
these, but also regarding others which are created existences, viz., the powers
and holy virtues; it seems on that account necessary first of all to fix a
definite limit and to lay down an unmistakable rule regarding each one of
these, and then to pass to the investigation of other points. For as we ceased
to seek for truth (notwithstanding the professions of many among Greek and
Barbarians to make it known) among all who claimed it for erroneous opinions,
after we had come to believe that Christ was the Son of God, and were persuaded
that we must learn it from Himself; so, seeing there are many who think they
hold the opinions of Christ, and yet some of these think differently from their
predecessors, yet as the teaching of the Church, transmitted in orderly
succession from the apostles, and remaining in the Churches to the present day,
is still preserved that alone is to be accepted as truth which differs in no
respect from the ecclesiastical and apostolical tradition. (De Principiis, Preface: 2 [ANF 4:239])
The Church
is necessary to correctly interpret the Bible and (non-inscripturated)
revelation forms a basis in such interpretation:
Now the cause, in all the points previously
enumerated, of the false opinions, and of the impious statements or ignorant
assertions about God, appears to be nothing else than the not understanding the
Scripture according to its spiritual meaning, but the interpretation of it
agreeably to the mere letter. And therefore to those who believe that the
sacred books are not the compositions of men, but that they were composed by
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, agreeably to the will of the Father of all
things through Jesus Christ, and that they have come down to us, we must point
out the ways (of interpreting them which appear (correct) to us, who cling to
the standard of the heavenly Church of Jesus Christ according to the succession
of the apostles. (De Principiis,
4.1.19 [ANF 4:357])
For more, see:
Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura
