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a first primer-part 2

A First Primer on the Doctrine of Divine Revelation-Part 2

By Fred Zaspel

In my previous post I discussed (1) the Knowability of God, (2) the Knowledge of God, (3) how God makes himself known everywhere, and (4) the incredible reality that “God speaks.” Today I would like to pick up where I left off by examining exactly how God speaks to his people.

5. God Speaks Through His Spokesmen.

Many times in the Bible we read that God spoke to his prophets and that they, in turn, speak to us for him, giving us his word. This is the meaning of the word “prophet.” A prophet is not simply one who tells the future, although that was often involved. A prophet is, simply, a spokesman. He is one who speaks for God, delivering the message God had given him.

And so we often read in the Old Testament that recurring announcement of the prophets, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying . . . .” And then the prophet would often cap off his message with the phrase, “says the Lord,” reminding us again of the ultimate source of his words. In the New Testament the apostles frequently said the same, that their message was one that was God-given (1Thes. 2:13; 1Pet.1;12, etc.).

Perhaps the clearest example of this is in Exodus 4:11-12 where God says to Moses that he will supply Moses with the words he must speak. Again in Deuteronomy 18:18-19 we read that the words of the prophet are, in fact, God’s words in his mouth. And at the end of his life David was able to say, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me, and his word was on my tongue” (2Sam. 23:2). Jeremiah says the same (Jer.1:9). And all through the Biblical narrative we read of those who spoke for God. Their word was God’s word. We call this the doctrine of inspiration — God’s word given through his spokesmen. When they spoke, God spoke. And so to obey their word was to obey God, or to disobey their word was to disobey God.

All this is to say that God himself speaks. And one of the ways in which he speaks is through his appointed spokesmen.

6. God Speaks Through the Written Words of Scripture.

God’s “special” or spoken revelation of himself does not culminate merely in the words that were spoken by the prophets and apostles. God took steps to preserve his spoken word for all generations, guiding men to write his word also.

We find this emphasized frequently in Scripture. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this’” (Ex. 17:14). “And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord” (Ex. 24:4; cf. 34:27; Dt.21:24). Similarly God says to the prophet Jeremiah, “Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you” (Jer. 30:2). And to the prophet Habakkuk God says again, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets” (Hab. 2:2). (See also Is. 34:16-17; Jer. 25:13; 36:27-32; 51:60-61; Dan. 9:1-2; Acts 2:30

One way the Biblical writers emphasize this point is particularly interesting. The New Testament writers will sometimes quote words spoken by God in the Old Testament, prefacing the quote with the words, “Scripture says” (e.g., Gal.3:8 / Gen.12:1-3; Rom.9:7 / Ex.9:16). But the New Testament writers work the other way also. They will quote the human writers of the Old Testament (Moses, Isaiah, etc.), prefacing the quote with the words, “God says” or “God said” (e.g., Mt.19:4-5 / Gen.2:24; Heb.3:7 / Ps.95:7; Acts 4:24-25 / Ps.1; Acts 13:34-35 / Is.55:3 and Ps.16:10; etc.). The point is obvious: the New Testament writers make an absolute identification of the words of Scripture with the words of God himself. That is, what the Bible says, God says. Again, this is the doctrine of inspiration (cf. 2Tim.3:16; 2Pet.1:21).

And so it is not surprising that Scripture is referred to with such terminology as “the word of God,” “the oracles of God,” “the law of God,” and so on. Even the term “Scripture” and “holy Scripture” reflect this conviction on the part of the Biblical writers that the Bible is God’s revelation written. What Scripture says, God says.

7. Saving Revelation

All these steps God has taken in grace to make himself known. But we, his rebellious creatures, continue to rebel and “suppress” the knowledge of God. He has made himself known in the created order, recognized as such by the human heart made in God’s image. He has spoken to men. He has spoken to us by men. And he has spoken to us in Scripture, his word. And in his word is offered the inestimable gift of knowing him, fellowship with God. This is the gospel promise. But due to our fallenness his offer is considered “foolish” and spurned (1Cor. 1:18ff; 2:14; 2Cor.4:3-4; etc.). As “enemies” of God we refuse his overtures of grace.

In the face of this universal rebellion God would have been very just in allowing us all to perish in our chosen rebellion. But his purpose, promised to Abraham, was to bring blessing to all the families of the earth. To accomplish this great end, more was required than general and spoken and written revelation. For the willing reception of the gospel on our part it was required that God somehow bring us to see the attractiveness of his offer and thereby convince us to come to him trusting his promise. And this precisely is what God does. He gives us an “inward revelation” of himself, enabling us to see his glory and respond to his offers of grace. And so the apostle Paul tells us that his conversion was due to the fact that God “was pleased to reveal his son in me” (Gal. 1:15-16). Jesus says that those who know God know him only as a result of his gracious disclosure of him (Mt. 11:27). The “natural man” cannot understand, but those to whom God has revealed himself enjoy the high privilege of knowing him (1Cor. 2:6-16). Simply put, embracing the gospel is the result of God’s self-disclosure in our hearts (1Cor.1:18-31; 2Cor.4:3-6). Our response to God’s offer of grace stems from his inward revelation of himself in our hearts (Mt.16:13-17).

To recap: First, the knowledge we have of God is given, not acquired. It comes from his side. It is not a mere religious experience or discovery of truth but of divine self-disclosure. Second, the knowledge we have of God is incomplete. It is even skewed by our ignorance and natural distaste for it. We need “special” revelation. Third, whatever is plain about God in general and special revelation, it is also plain that we still need something more. And this God gives by the powerful work of God’s Spirit. We who know God know him only because he has made himself known to us.

8. The Climax of Revelation

This gift of the knowledge of God is provided for us in the New Covenant (Jer.31:31-34). But Scripture holds out the prospect that the knowledge of God we possess now is only a foretaste of a fuller and more intimate knowledge of God we will be given in the age to come. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt.5:8). Theologians have sometimes referred to this as “the beatific vision,” when at last we are brought into God’s immediate presence (cf. Is.11:9; 1Jn.3:2; Rev.21:23; 22:4). In this respect the Holy Spirit who indwells us today is referred to as “the firstfruits” (Rom.8:23) — by his presence we know God! But this is just the foretaste. In the age to come we will dwell with him and he with us, and for the ages of eternity we will doubtless grow in our knowledge of him, to his glory and our ever-increasing joy.



Fred Zaspel holds a Ph.D. in historical theology from the Free University of Amsterdam. He is currently a pastor at the Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia, PA. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, PA. He is also the author of The Continuing Relevance of Divine Law (1991); The Theology of Fulfillment (1994); Jews, Gentiles, & the Goal of Redemptive History (1996); New Covenant Theology with Tom Wells (New Covenant Media); The Theology of B.B. Warfield: A Systematic Summary (Crossway, 2010). Fred is married to Kimberly and they have two grown children, Gina and Jim.

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