Foundations of Faith
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Revelation
Revelation
Types of Revelation
Types of Revelation
General Revelation & Special Revelation
General Revelation & Special Revelation
General Revelation
General Revelation
In Creation and In Conscience
In Creation and In Conscience
General Revelation - Creation
General Revelation - Creation
Psalm 19:1–6 (ESV)
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. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Guilt: The Effect of General Revelation)
Scripture assumes, and experience confirms, that human beings are naturally inclined to some form of religion, yet they fail to worship their Creator, whose general revelation of himself makes him universally known. Both theoretical atheism and moral monotheism are natural to no one: atheism is always a reaction against a pre-existing belief in God or gods, and moral monotheism has only ever appeared in the wake of special revelation.
General Revelation - Conscience
General Revelation - Conscience
Conscience is affected by the fall. hardened sinners have a seared conscience:
through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
Conscience accuses and excuses unbelievers
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
The believer’s conscience is renewed
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
The believer takes action to maintain a clear conscience:
So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
General Revelation - in Creation and through Conscience
General Revelation - in Creation and through Conscience
Special Revelation
Special Revelation
Non-Written Special Revelation
The Bible
Non-Written Revelation
Non-Written Revelation
Tradition
Dreams
Prophecy
Theophanies
Visions
Tradition
Things passed down. Traditions in scripture sometimes had positive connotations and sometimes negative.
Lexham Survey of Theology Special Revelation and Tradition
Negatively, it refers to practices and ideas received from human authorities that conflict with God’s revelation. Accepting such tradition constitutes rebellion against the Lord. In such traditions, people substitute mere human ideas for God’s word (Matt 15:2–6).
Positively, tradition can refer to the teaching of God himself, passed down through his written word, true prophets, Jesus, and the apostles (1 Cor 11:2; 2 Thess 2:15; 3:6).
There is a danger when Tradition supersedes scripture, and this is the case in some churches. But tradition is not necessarily bad either. Jesus warned about allowing tradition to determine life and practice over scripture:
Matt15.2-6
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
Paul said he was zealous for the traditions of the fathers:
And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
He warns the Colossian church about being swayed by tradition:
col2.8
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
But tradition can be good if it is in alignment with God’s revealed word and if it helps us to follow and practice our faith well
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
2 th 2.15
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.
Dreams
Dreams
God has communicated at times through dreams
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
Dan7.1
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
acts2.17
“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
Prophecy (Verbal)
Prophecy (Verbal)
Lexham Survey of Theology Special Revelation through Prophecy
Prophecy is a divine gift by which a human being is enabled to speak divinely authoritative words.
Noah
Jacob
Moses
Samuel
Elijah
Elisha
Jeremiah
David
Many others
“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;
his word is on my tongue.
Lexham Survey of Theology Special Revelation through Prophecy
After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, there were prophets in the early church. There is some difference of opinion among scholars as to whether these New Testament prophets had the same level of authority as prophets in the Old Testament: did they, like the Old Testament prophets, utter the very word of God, or was their speech a supernaturally assisted human reflection? In any case, it is clear that the apostles, the group directly appointed by Jesus to lead the church, spoke with plenary divine authority, the same authority given to Moses and the other prophets of the Old Testament. The apostle Paul claimed the right to judge among prophets, and he insisted that his own writings should be the standard by which prophecy is judged. There were false prophets among God’s people, individuals who claimed to be speaking God’s word, but in fact spoke only their own words.
Lexham Survey of Theology Special Revelation through Prophecy
Many words of the prophets were eventually written down, and some of these form part of written special revelation. But the words of true prophets and apostles are authoritative even before they are written down.
Theophanies
Theophanies
Lexham Survey of Theology Special Revelation through Theophanies
God is always and everywhere present, but a theophany is an exceptional visible display of that presence.
The word “theophany” does not appear in the biblical text; it is a label invented to name a particular kind of special revelation—visible encounters with the divine. In each of these appearances, occurring particularly in the Old Testament, God gave a foretaste of the glory divine that believers will enjoy when “they will see his face” (Rev 22:4). This is the goal toward which the whole story of the Bible points: God is forming a people for himself who will enjoy eternal, face-to-face communion. Therefore theophanies—temporary experiences of that same communion—can teach us about what it means to be in the presence of God.
Theophanies were veiled:
Exod33.20
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
A male visitor appears to Abraham. Genesis eighteen. He appears as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.
The Angel of the Lord: Gen16.10
The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”
He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
2sam24.16
And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
zech1.11-13
And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
Theophanies produce instinctive worship and fear
Christ is the everlasting theophany.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
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.
Visions
Visions
Lexham Survey of Theology Special Revelation through Visions
Visions are revelatory experiences that manifest before the visionary God’s will, plans, and/or perspective.
Lexham Survey of Theology (The Bible)
Christian theology recognizes a number of subdomains of the doctrine of bibliology:• Inspiration is the divine action that creates an identity between a human word and a divine word.• The Bible’s authority comes from its divine source; it governs all areas of human life.• Because the Bible is the word of an absolutely truthful God, all of its teaching is truthful.• The canon is the divinely authorized collection of books that God has given to govern his people.• The doctrine of Scripture’s clarity teaches that the Bible is sufficiently clear to leave people no excuse for disobedience to their present duties.• The doctrine of Scripture’s sufficiency teaches that the Bible contains all the divine words necessary for human decisions.• The doctrine of Scripture’s necessity teaches that God’s written word in Scripture is an indispensable element of the believer’s covenant relation to Christ.• Christians throughout the history of the church have seen the translation of Scripture as a necessary part of the work of interpreting and communicating it.• Interpretation, in turn, is the attempt to help readers and hearers of Scripture to understand and apply the biblical text.• The rule of faith is is an outline of Christian beliefs, based in Scripture, that summarizes the apostolic proclamation about who God is and what God has done in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
From the Christian & Missionary Alliance Statement of Faith: The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.
From the Calvary Chapel Statement of Faith: We believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. We believe the Bible is the final authority in every area it addresses for every individual Christian, as well as for the church collectively. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21, John 10:35)
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (Chapter I. Of the Holy Scripture)
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH,Agreed upon by the ASSEMBLY of DIVINES at Westminster: Examined and approved, Anno 1647, by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the CHURCH of SCOTLAND; and ratified by Acts of Parliament, 1649 and 1690.CHAPTER I. Of the Holy Scripture
ALTHOUGH the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation:b therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the holy scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
II. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the word of God written, are now contained all the Books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:Of the OLDTESTAMENT.
Genesis.Exodus.Leviticus.Numbers.Deuteronomy.Joshua.Judges.Ruth.I Samuel.II Samuel.I Kings.II Kings.I Chronicles.II Chronicles.Ezra.Nehemiah.Esther.Job.Psalms.Proverbs.Ecclesiastes.The Song of Songs.Isaiah.Jeremiah.Lamentations.Ezekiel.Daniel.Hosea.Joel.Amos.Obadiah.Jonah.Micah.Nahum.Habakkuk.Zephaniah.Haggai.Zechariah.Malachi.
Of the NEW TESTAMENT.The Gospels according toMatthew.Mark.Luke.John.The Acts of the Apostles.Paul’s Epistles to the Romans.Corinthians I.Corinthians II.Galatians.Ephesians.Philippians.Colossians.Thessalonians I.Thessalonians II.To Timothy ITo Timothy IITo Titus.To Philemon.The Epistle to the Hebrews.The Epistle of James.The first and second Epistles of Peter.The first, second, and third Epistles of John.The Epistle of Jude.The Revelation.
All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
III. The Books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the scripture; and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings.
IV. The authority of the holy scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God, (who is truth itself,) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the word of God.
V. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to a high and reverend esteem of the holy scripture, and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole, (which is to give all glory to God,) the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the word of God; yet, notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the word in our hearts.
VI. The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.m Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed.
VII. All things in scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.
VIII. The Old Testament in Hebrew, (which was the native language of the people of God of old,) and the New Testament in Greek, (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations,) being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as in all controversies of religion, the Church is finally to appeal unto them.s But because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have right unto and interest in the scriptures, and are commanded, in the fear of God, to read and search them, therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation unto which they come, that the word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner and, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, may have hope.
IX. The infallible rule of interpretation of scripture is the scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture, (which is not manifold, but one,) it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.
X. The supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.z