Jesus didn’t say that: Should we really believe the epistles?

People today try to discount the epistles because they do not contain the direct words of Jesus. The idea is that you cannot rely on them because they are not the actual words of the Lord. For this reason, they recommend we get our doctrine from the gospels alone.

But is this a valid line of thinking? Is there nothing Jesus said that justifies the existence of the epistles and elevates them to the level of the gospels?

Actually, there is. In the book of John, Jesus told his disciples he had not taught them all he had to teach them, that they would learn more from him in the future through the Holy Spirit, and that people would believe in him because of the words they would speak and write.

Let’s look at this in more detail now.

Jesus Foretells the Epistles

Jesus addresses this issue in John 14, 16, and 17. Here are the relevant passages:

1) John 14:23-26

23, Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

24, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

25, “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.

26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

2) John 16:12-13

12, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

3) John 17:14 and 20

14, “I have given them Your word.

20, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.”

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Lessons from Jesus' words in John

Let’s draw five lessons about the epistles from these verses.

1) Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach the disciples the meaning of his words.

In 14:26b, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would “teach [them] all things.” What are the “all things”? The words he spoke to them (23-24). This means the disciples would later be able to understand Jesus’ teachings in a way they did not understand them during his ministry.

Jesus hinted at this earlier in John. When he was washing the disciples’ feet, he said to them, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this” (John 13:7).

This helps explain how the disciples became so much wiser after the ascension. Sometimes the disciples seemed like utter spiritual fools when Jesus was on the earth. But once the Day of Pentecost came, they changed forever. Why? Because the Spirit had “taught them all things.”

2) Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would cause the disciples to remember everything Jesus said. 

John 14:26c says, “The Holy Spirit…will bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” This means the disciples did not have to rely on frail human memory to document Jesus’ life and teachings in the gospels. God the Spirit assisted their memory so their recollections would be accurate.

3) Jesus did not teach the disciples everything they needed to learn during his ministry on earth. 

In John 16:12, Jesus specifically says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” He could have taught them more during his ministry, but they were not capable of learning it at the time.

This means the gospels alone are not enough to understand the full teaching of Jesus. This is not due to some weakness in Jesus, or even the books themselves. It is because he did not teach all he had to teach them during his life on earth.

On the flip side, this makes the epistles absolutely necessary for a complete understanding of the will of God in Christ. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus without studying and obeying the epistles.

4) Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach the disciples the remainder of truth he had for them. 

In 16:13a, Jesus says, “The Spirit of truth…will guide you into all truth.” Whatever was left for Jesus to teach them would be proctored by the Spirit. This included prophecies related to the future. The Lord goes on to say the Spirit will “tell you things to come” (13b). This legitimizes the prophetic sections of the epistles, as well as the book of Revelation.

5) Many people would believe because of the spoken and written words of the disciples.

In John 17, Jesus prays for those who will believe in him in the future through the words of the disciples (14), the words Jesus gave them (20). This shows that Jesus intended for his disciples to repeat what he and the Spirit had taught them, not only through preaching but also through writing.

Why writing, you ask? Because we know the Spirit of God also inspired men to write the words of God. Speaking of prophecy, Peter said, "Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

The Old Testament prophets, who both spoke and wrote the words of God, were given those words and directed in the process of writing by the Holy Spirit.

Paul said something similar in 2 Timothy 3:16. There, he wrote, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." Per Paul, all Scripture—not just the writings of the prophets—are "inspired" by God, a phrase meaning they are "breathed out by God." And, as Peter has already taught us, that breath comes from the Spirit.

The gospels and epistles, then, are the living words of the disciples to us today. They represent the ongoing instruments of communication and conversion Christ designed them to be from the beginning.

What can we learn from this?

While many doubt the epistles today, the words of Christ establish their legitimacy and demonstrate their authority. Furthermore, Jesus’ teachings on this subject give confidence that the gospels are accurate accounts of his life and ministry.

A person can put complete trust in not only the gospels, but also the epistles, as they both contain the inspired teachings of Jesus Christ.