"The Doctrine of Revelation"
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The age old question, but for some of us a question that we kind of take for granted - “Is God knowable?” And, “If so, how?” Francis Schaeffer “God is Not Silent.” Now, let me say this, we don’t have enough time tonight to get into how the canon of scripture was decided upon or many of the specifics of Scripture and its validity. I might try and do a small group or class on that in the future. So, I guess what I’m saying is there are things I can’t touch on and you may have some questions that I won’t be able to address tonight.
General Revelation
General Revelation
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Special Revelation
Special Revelation
All knowledge of God comes by way of revelation.
All knowledge of God comes by way of revelation.
The knowledge of God is revealed knowledge since it is God who gives it. God is the source of knowledge about himself, his ways, and his truth. By God alone can God be known.
The knowledge of God is revealed by his self-disclosure.
The knowledge of God is revealed by his self-disclosure.
What does revelation mean? An uncovering, a removal of the veil, a disclosure of what was previously unknown. For our discussion, it means God’s manifestation of himself to humankind in such a way that men and women can know and have fellowship with him.
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Special revelation is progressive.
Special revelation is progressive.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
The story of the Bible is progressive…God’s will, his revelation of himself and his truth unfolds throughout both the Old & New Testaments. We shouldn’t think of it as progress from untruth to truth but from a lesser to a fuller revelation. In other words, the revelation of the law in the OT is not superseded by the gospel but is fulfilled in it. The latter fulfills the former. Creation - miracles - exodus - ultimately in history, God reveals himself through history.
Special revelation is primarily redemptive and personal.
Special revelation is primarily redemptive and personal.
God reveals himself personally as “YHWH”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
The ultimate point of God’s personal revelation is found in Jesus Christ.
The ultimate point of God’s personal revelation is found in Jesus Christ.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
The purpose of special revelation is knowing God.
The purpose of special revelation is knowing God.
Not merely knowing “about God.”
The content of special revelation is primarily God himself.
The content of special revelation is primarily God himself.
In revelation the veil is removed, the gap is bridged so that God makes himself known in his self-manifestation. God’s revelation of Scripture is simply the best window have into the fullness of the majesty and glory of God.
“It is not enough to say that God has revealed himself only in words or only in acts. We must say that this revelation has come to us in both words and acts and has been divinely interpreted through the writings of Holy Scripture for us.
The main focus of Scripture is Jesus.
The main focus of Scripture is Jesus.
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Luke 24:44-
The Bible is a written revelation of God’s nature and his will for fallen humankind.
The Bible is a written revelation of God’s nature and his will for fallen humankind.
So, as we have seen, God’s special mode of revelation is two-fold…
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Jesus & the Scriptures
The Bible is of both Divine and Human authorship.
The Bible is of both Divine and Human authorship.
The Bible is a book written by numerous authors over a period of hundreds of years, and yet at the same time it is the Word of God. One of the things that we must understand is that the bible has “dual-sided” authorship. We need to think of the Bible in much of the same way that we think about Jesus. The Bible is 100% the word of God and is, at the same time, 100% written by man.
who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
Jesus is the living Word of God-man, and the Bible is the written Word of God, the divine-human Scripture.
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
God spoke, by His Holy Spirit, through men who recorded HIS words. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit overrode human personality. You can see Paul’s personality, for example, all throughout his epistles. You can see Dr. Luke’s attention to detail, specifically in the miracles concerning physicality.
Again, though, what sets the Bible apart is the claim - of Scripture itself and its authors - that the Word of God is breathed out by God himself.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
IF God is the primary author of Scripture, then we can conclude the following 2 truths:
All Scripture is Inerrant.
All Scripture is Inerrant.
Why can we trust the Bible? Why can we believe that there is no error in Scripture/no falsehood?
The Bible clearly teaches that God cannot lie or speak falsely.
And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
So, therefore, all the words of Scripture can be believed to be without error.
Hebrews
God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
Forever, O Lord, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Now, I want to be clear - “The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.”
The Scriptures are sufficient.
The Scriptures are sufficient.
“The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.”
We don’t have to search for “more.” We don’t need a “new word” from God. The canon is closed. The scriptures are complete and sufficient.
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
The Bible speaks to all areas of life. We can go to God’s word for anything we are facing.