What does it mean to “not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6)?

Many have speculated about this verse. Some have said that it refers to the Old Testament. Of course, that would mean we must throw out the New Testament including the words that say “not to go beyond what is written.” That means that such a teaching is self-refuting. And not only that but that teaching itself goes beyond what is written.

Some have claimed that it refers to the entire Bible. However, if that is the case, Paul is violating his own warning as he writes since much of what he writes after this sentence is not written previously. Many modern writers have tried to say that God never reveals anything that isn’t already plainly spelled out in the Bible, and they don’t realize that they are adding to Scripture when they make that claim. Scripture doesn’t even plainly spell out which of the many ancient writings should be included in the Bible. And not all followers of Christ agree that the current cannon of Scripture is the correct cannon of Scripture.

It is possible that this warning refers to what is written by the prophets and apostles, including both Old and New Testament writings. That would be in line with the warning, “If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching.” In context, this looks like the specific doctrine is in the sentence just before this, but it also extends to a more general statement of “the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching.” What is godly teaching?

There is one reference to “the apostles’ doctrine,” and it appears in the Book of Acts before Pentecost. From Acts 15, we can see how apostles’ doctrine is established. We see Paul exercising discipline over Peter when Peter violates apostles’ doctrine in Galatians 2:11-13. This indicates that each of the apostles was under the government of all the others and that there was no chief apostle other than Jesus Christ. We also see that revelation was given to the apostles and prophets in Ephesians 3:5. Jesus taught Paul directly as recorded in Galatians 1:11-12. However, even after this tremendous experience with Christ, Paul went up to Jerusalem to make sure His doctrine was in line with what Jesus had shown the other apostles. And it was. From this, we can say that there is no such thing as an independent apostle. It is also clear from Paul’s writings that false apostles were teaching doctrines that weren’t in agreement with the doctrines agreed upon by the apostles of that day. We can also see that the apostles’ doctrine was based on what had been written up to that point as interpreted by the Holy Spirit through the apostles that were alive at that time.

Here’s the problem. No one can get outside himself or herself to objectively read Scripture. Either the Holy Spirit will interpret and explain Scripture or human preconceptions will interpret and explain Scripture. For each person, his or her preconceptions don’t seem like preconceptions. They seem to be obvious reality. Challenging them seems like insanity.

Jesus is real and you can know Him personally. If you seek Him, you will find Him. When you find Him, He will teach you. He will lead you to a place where you can grow in Him. God restored the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1948. And He restored the orders of apostles who continue work together to establish the apostles’ doctrine to this day. And that doctrine is established in the Acts 15 way, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand how the current Scripture should be understood. This is different from the theological approach that tries to discern the meaning of Scripture without the benefit of the Holy Spirit’s leading or the apostolic covering and protection.

It seems that this verse of Scripture is saying not to teach any doctrine that isn’t in agreement with what the apostles of the day have been able to receive from the Holy Spirit and write down. There’s no need to go beyond that doctrine. You will need the Holy Spirit to receive that doctrine from the apostles, but the apostles will be here until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (totally complete) man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. There will be counterfeits of course, but those counterfeits won’t follow the orders of Scripture. They will disregard those who have been established by God before them, and they won’t follow Paul’s example of submitting themselves to those who were established first.