Churchy Words: Revelation
We begin today a new series I have dubbed “Churchy Words.” Christians notoriously use a particular vocabulary that many have called “Christianese.” Over the course of many decades, biblical literacy has fallen even in the Church. We now use many words to describe parts of our faith, but sometimes I wonder if we actually understand them. So, this summer I would like us to review some of these words together. Whether these words and ideas are new to you or old hat, I believe we can all benefit by going through them together.
The first word is “Revelation.”
How does God reveal Himself?
I have chosen to use Psalm 19 as a template for today because when we take a closer look at the psalm, we can see a pattern develop. Verses 1-6 extol the handiwork of God’s Creation and how its design points us to a rational, intentional creation that declares the reality and power of a Creator. Verses 7-11 point us to the goodness and efficacy of God’s Law. Just as Creation is orderly and perfect able to bring about fruitful fields, sky, and waters, so too is God’s Law orderly and able to produce fruit in His people. God’s goodness and character is revealed. In the last verses, David turns his, and God’s, attention on his own heart. Does David’s heart reflect the same goodness and order that he finds in Creation and the Law?
This same pattern, from outward to inward, helps us understand how God has revealed Himself and how He continues to reveal Himself.
Creation reveals the Creator
Look again at Psalm 19:1-6. The heavens declare the glory of the Lord. How do they declare his glory? The voices of Creation sing his praise. When we look to the heavens and see the marvelous things. Today, we have telescopes to look even further, and the further we look, the more we see the majesties of God. The intricacies of the cosmos, the balance of the earth’s distance from the sun, the privileged place we have in the galaxy that we are even able to see such things are all the more reason to see that God has done great things.
Returning to verse 6, after describing the orderly path of the sun, David makes note how nothing is hidden from the heat of the sun. It is able to light up the whole earth and provide warmth. The sun’s effect on the earth is all-encompassing. Make note of this because it will be important later.
Creation’s complexity and rational order point to a Creator.
We call this type of revelation “general revelation” because it is a fact that all people can ascertain generally. Even while many atheists will point to Science as able to explain away the world using materialistic arguments or explain why certain phenomena occur without the supernatural, the fact is the more we learn about the Universe and its origins, the more we keep coming back to the same old answer. There are things in this Creation that are only explained by the reality of a Creator.
In Genesis 1, we read the Lord made the heavens and the earth by speaking it all into existence. There was nothing, and then there was something. The atheist says, “No, nothing existed, but then because of quantum mechanics and probability the beginnings of the universe exploded into existence.” So, something came from nothing? That sounds an awful lot like Genesis 1. More so, though we should not read Genesis 1 like we would read a Science textbook, we can read it and see very clearly that God exists outside of Creation and spoke it into existence. Nothing exists that He did not make, and in everything He made, we can find traces of his artistic signature.
Turn with me to Romans 1.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
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, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:16-23
Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. Creation reveals the Creator, but it also reveals our rebellion against God. We can look to Creation and see God exists, and yet, instead of seeking the God who made us, we seek everything else. Human nature is to enjoy the fruits of God’s labor without seeking the One who provides those fruits.
In the past, humans claimed to be wise by seeking understanding of spirits, nature, and all manner of knowledge, but they failed to give honor to the One who made all these things. They would chase after idols and images made in the likeness of created creatures.
Today, humans still do the same. It just looks a little different. They seek the visible and invisible limits of the universe failing to give honor to the One who made it all. They long for the hunt or the fish without giving thanks to the God who makes it possible. We have a tendency to worship created things rather than the Creator.
When we recognize Creation demands a Creator and our inability to connect with the Creator, we discover the problem of sin.
But God does not leave us in our ignorance.
The Creator speaks through His Word
God did not leave His people ignorant of Himself. He raised up prophets who would speak on His behalf and remind the people of their past and His presence. Even more so, 2000 years ago, He went one step further.
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,
Hebrews 1:1-3
When God speaks directly to humans, whether through a prophet or His Son, we call this “special revelation.” God does something special in order to make Himself and His will known. The most special thing God has done is send His Son to teach us and die for our sin.
God has appointed prophets in the past to reveal deeper truths than what Creation can reveal.
When we look at Genesis 1 again, how does God create everything? He speaks His Word.
And what does John 1 say about the Word of God? “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
From the very beginning, God has been speaking. And this Word became flesh. Now, scholars debate the origin of how John uses “Word” or “Logos” in the Greek. Some see its Greek origins in regards to it being a type of emanation of God, whereas some note the Old Testament’s use of “Wisdom,” especially in Proverbs 8. Regardless, John’s use of Logos reveals more about the nature of God and Jesus. We cannot disconnect God from His Word—they are one in the same. Though the Father, Son, and Spirit exist as Three Persons, they are One Being—God. That is how the Word can be with God and be God.
Paul says it succinctly with:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:15-16
Jesus reveals the invisible God fully because He is Immanuel, God with us.
Thus, God is revealed as Trinity, from Genesis 1 to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and even further in the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was above the chaotic waters in Genesis 1, He enabled the prophets to speak for God in the Old Testament, and He empowered the human nature of Jesus to work with his divine nature. When Jesus went to the grave for our sins, it was the Holy Spirit who raised the physical body back to life.
Now, within that time frame of Old and New Testament, the Holy Spirit also sent forth God’s message and prompted the authors of the Bible to write. Paul says it this way:
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.
2 Timothy 3:16
And so, when we think of ‘special revelation,’ or “what God has done to make Himself known,” we can look to those God has spoken through. Thankfully, these prophets, and witnesses of these prophets, have recorded the Bible. The reason we celebrate and honor the Bible is because these are the very words of God given to us. These words have been proven true time and time again.
God’s Word is recorded in the Bible, and the Bible continues to speak to us today.
It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training. When we find ourselves in times of trouble, of doubt, or just need a reminder of what God has done for us, we can open its pages and read. Whenever someone asks why God hasn’t made Himself known or why He won’t speak up, I always answer the same way, “He has! It’s all written down in the Bible.”
And God continues to communicate to us in one more way.
The Creator speaks through His People
The Holy Spirit was active during Creation. He was active in raising prophets. He was active in Jesus’ ministry and resurrection. And the Holy Spirit is active today in the Church. He continues to speak His People teaching them the things of God, pointing us to Jesus, and empowering us to serve the Lord. He does this because we are made in God’s Image.
There is an interesting parallel between Genesis 1 and how ancient pagans viewed their idols. In the ancient cults, after an idol was made, the priests (or shaman or whatever) would then invoke the deity to inhabit the idol. Many modern people wonder how ancient people could worship a statue, and it is because they really thought the deity inhabited the sculpture. Now, when we look at Genesis 1:26, what does God say about His image? Humans are His Image. We are commanded to not make an image of God because one already exists—humanity.
Now, don’t get confused. We are not God, nor will we ever be God, but if you are in Christ, then the Spirit of God rests in you! You are made in the Image of God, and you are called to reveal God to this world through your life—words and deeds.
When we live out the Christian faith, surrendered to Jesus and leaning on the Holy Spirit, we reveal to the world the Truth of God.
The problem, of course, is that humanity is wrecked with sin. Even Christians still have to daily crucify their sin nature in order to reveal the Truth of God properly. But God’s grace has made it possible for us to defeat sin through Jesus who died and was raised, and His Holy Spirit who indwells and empowers us.
In Joel 2, God made a promise that was fulfilled at Pentecost in Acts 2.
“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.Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.Joel 2:28-29
God’s Spirit is available to all people. If you look at the categories of people Joel lists, we see God’s Spirit on old and young, male and female, and rich or poor. Joel a couple of verses down says,
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Joel 2:32
Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. Peter cites this very Scripture at Pentecost telling the people it has been fulfilled that day. Paul would tell the Romans the very same message—for whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Now, perhaps, as a child of God, you still do not feel qualified to speak for God. Now, I would agree we should use extreme caution in saying “God told me…” frivolously. But at the same time, if we can confirm what we heard with Scripture, and we are not contradicting Scripture, then we can speak that Word boldly. And no matter who you are, if you know God has spoken, then you can share that with others. Throughout Scripture, we find the Spirit of God filling a person and that person speaking.
If God has called you to speak for Him, His Holy Spirit will empower you to speak.
When Jesus sent his disciples, he told them the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say.
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Luke 12:11-12
Christian, do not be anxious about speaking God’s Word. We can stand boldly when the time comes, because we have His Word in our Bible and His Spirit in our hearts.
God has made Himself known through His Creation.
God made Himself visible through His Son.
God makes Himself known through His People.