DIVINE REVELATION by R.C. Sproul
Everything we know about Christianity has been revealed to us by God. To reveal means “to unveil.” It involves removing a cover from something that is concealed.
When my son was growing up, we developed an annual tradition for the celebration of his birthday. Instead of the normal pattern of distributing presents, we did it by way of our homemade version of the television game show “Let’s Make a Deal.” I hid his presents in secret places such as in a drawer, under the sofa, or behind a chair. Then I gave him options: “You can have what’s in the desk drawer or what’s in my pocket.” The climax of the game focused on the “big deal of the day.” I arranged three chairs that were covered with blankets. Each blanket concealed a gift. One chair had a small gift, a second chair had his big present, and a third chair had a crutch he had used after breaking his leg at age seven.
For three years in a row my son selected the chair containing the crutch! [I always ended up letting him exchange the crutch for his real gift.] The fourth year he was determined not to choose the chair with the crutch under the blanket. This time I concealed his big present alongside the crutch and allowed the top of the crutch to peek out beneath the blanket. Spying the crutch tip he studiously avoided choosing that chair. I got him again!
The fun part of the game was in trying to guess where the treasure was
hidden. But it was sheer guesswork, pure speculation. Discovery of the real treasure could not be made until the blanket was removed and the gift lay unveiled.
So it is with our knowledge of God. Idle speculation about God is a fool’s errand. If we wish to know Him in truth, we must rely on what He tells us about Himself.
The Bible indicates that God reveals Himself in various ways. He displays His glory in and through nature. He revealed Himself in ancient times via dreams and visions. The mark of His providence is shown in the pages of history. He reveals Himself in the inspired Scripture. The zenith of His revelation is seen in Jesus Christ becoming a human being—what theologians call “the incarnation.”
The author of Hebrews writes:
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. [Hebrews 1:1-2]
Although the Bible speaks of the “various ways” that God reveals Himself, we distinguish between two chief types of revelation—general and special.
General revelation is called “general” for two reasons: [1] it is general in content, and [2] it is revealed to a general audience.
General Content
General revelation provides us with the knowledge that God exists. “The heavens declare the glory of God,” says the psalmist. God’s glory is displayed in the works of His hands. This display is so clear and manifest that no creature can possibly miss it. It unveils God’s eternal power and deity [Romans 1:18-23]. Revelation in nature does not give a full revelation of God. It does not give us the information about God the Redeemer that we find in the Bible. But the God who is revealed in nature is the same God who is revealed in Scripture.
General Audience
Not everyone in the
world has read the Bible or heard the gospel proclaimed. But the light of nature shines upon everyone in every place, in every time. God’s general revelation takes place every day. He is never
without a witness to Himself. The visible world is like a mirror that reflects the glory of its maker.
The world is a stage for God. He is the chief actor who appears front and center. No curtain can fall and obscure His presence. We know from one glimpse of creation that nature is not its own
mother. There is no such “mother” as Mother Nature. Nature itself is powerless to produce life of any kind. In itself, nature is barren. The power to produce life resides in the Author of nature—God. To substitute nature as the source of life is to confuse the creature with the Creator. All forms of nature worship are acts of idolatry that are detestable to God.
Because of the force of general revelation, every human being knows that God exists. Atheism involves the utter denial of something that is known to be true. This is why the Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” [Psalm 14:1]. When the Scripture so chastens the atheist by calling him a “fool,” it is making a moral judgment upon him. To be a fool in biblical terms is not to be dim-witted or lacking in intelligence; it is to be immoral. As the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, so the denial of God is the height of foolishness.
The agnostic, likewise, denies the force of general
revelation. The agnostic is less strident than the atheist; he does not flatly deny the existence of God. Rather, the agnostic declares that there is insufficient evidence to decide one way or the other about God’s existence. He prefers to suspend his judgment, to leave the issue of God’s existence as an open question. However, in light of the clarity of general revelation, the stance of agnosticism is no less detestable to God than that of the militant atheist.
But for anyone whose mind and
heart are open, the glory of God is wonderful to see—from the billions of universes in the heavens to the subatomic particles that make up the tiniest of molecules. What an incredible God we serve!
Summary
1. Christianity is a revealed religion.
2. God’s revelation is a self-disclosure. He removes the veil that keeps us from knowing Him.
3. We do not come to know God through speculation.
4. God revealed Himself in various ways throughout history.
5.
General revelation is given to all human beings.
6. Atheism and agnosticism are based on a denial of what people know to be true.
7. Foolishness is founded on the denial of God.
8. Wisdom is founded on the fear of God.
Biblical passages for reflection:
Psalm 19:1-14
Ephesians 3:1-13
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Hebrews 1:1-4
SPECIAL REVELATION AND THE BIBLE
When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He rebuked the devil with the words, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” [Matthew 4:4]. Historically, the church has echoed the teaching of Jesus by affirming that the Bible is the vox Dei, the “voice of God” or the verbum Dei, the “Word of God.” To call the Bible the Word of God is not to suggest that it was written by God’s own divine hand or that it fell from heaven in a parachute. The Bible itself clearly calls attention to its many human authors. In a careful study of Scripture we notice that each human author has his own peculiar literary style, vocabulary, special emphasis, perspective, and the like. Since the production of the Bible involved human effort, how can it be regarded as the Word of God?
The Bible is called the Word of God because of its claim, believed by the church, that the human writers did not merely write their own opinions, but that their words were inspired by God. The apostle Paul writes: “All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God” [2 Timothy 3:16]. The word inspiration is a translation from the Greek word meaning “God-breathed.” God breathed out the Bible. Just as we must expel breath from our mouths when we speak, so ultimately Scripture is God speaking.
Although Scripture came to us from the pens of human authors, the ultimate source of Scripture is God. That is why the prophets could preface their words by saying, “Thus says the Lord.” This is also why Jesus could say, “Your word is
truth” [John 17:17], and “Scripture cannot be broken” [John 10:35].
The word inspiration also calls attention to the process by which the Holy Spirit superintended the production of Scripture. The Holy Spirit guided
the human authors so that their words would be nothing less than the word of God. How God superintended the original writings of the Bible is not known. But inspiration does not mean that God dictated his messages to those who wrote the Bible. Rather, the Holy Spirit communicated through the human writers the very words of God.
Christians affirm the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible because God is ultimately the author of the Bible. And because God is incapable of inspiring falsehood, His word is altogether true and trustworthy. Any normally prepared human literary product is liable to error. But the Bible is not a normal human project. If the Bible is inspired and superintended by God, then it cannot err.
This does not mean that the Bible translations we have today are without error, but that the original manuscripts were absolutely correct. Nor does it mean that every statement in the Bible is true. The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes, for instance, declares that “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” [Ecclesiastes 9:10]. The writer was speaking from the standpoint of human despair, and we know his statement to be untrue from other parts of Scripture. Even in revealing the false reasonings of a despairing man, the Bible speaks truth.
Summary
1. Inspiration is the process whereby God breathed out His word.
2. God is the ultimate source of the Bible.
3. God is the ultimate superintendent of the Bible.
4. Only the original manuscripts of the Bible were without error.
Biblical passages for reflection:
Psalm 119
John 17:17
1 Thessalonians 2:13
2 Timothy 3:15-17
2 Peter 1:20-21
This is an excerpt from Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: 100 Key Doctrines in Plain Language by R.C. Sproul