What Is Divine Revelation And Why Is It Important
Divine revelation is in essence not about things or religious ideas or even commandments of God: divine revelation is Gods disclosure of himself. Jesus Christ is the fullness of the message of the revelation from God. Once God sent his own divine Son, there was nothing more or better that He could say.
Jesus Is The Spokesman For The Last Days
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world .
The Hebrew writer began by showing a contrast between the time long ago and the last days. The Son of God Jesus Christ is the One through whom God has spoken to us in the last days. Jesus is the Word became flesh . He came to testify to the truth .
The book of Hebrews spoke of several things that have been perfected in Christ the priesthood , law , covenant , sacrifices , and so on. But the first one mentioned in the book is revelation . This has been perfected in Christ.
If Christ is the spokesman for the last days, how can we know His will today? Let us continue.
Dei Verbum: What Is Divine Revelation
In my years as a Protestant, a topic of great passion was just how God reveals Himself to mankind. Sola scriptura, or the Bible alone, was my battle cry for many years. However once I started reading the early church fathers something hit me. These sound a lot like Catholic teachings. After further research I found that there was a piece of revelation that I had ignored, but it was one that answers many questions. The purpose of the article is to go over how God reveals himself and to answer some of the very questions that I had in my faith journey. This will be done with the aid of Dei Verbum which was written at Vatican II.
What is divine revelation? Through the mercy of God he has decided to make His will known by various means. This was necessary so that we can draw near to the Father, through the Son, and with assistance of the Holy Spirit to participate in the divine nature . The pattern of revelation is contained in the deeds and works of God that match His words. God backed up his words and put into motion His plan for salvation history. Evidence of God is everywhere and evident in all areas of creation, and preserves all things. As a result when Adam and Eve fell He set forth a plan for redemption instead of destroying them and starting over. What great love God has for us.
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Christ Being Subjective To Us
The Bible shows us not an objective Christ but a Christ who is firstly all-inclusive and all-extensive. Also, He is subjectively related to us Christ is not just a historical figure but He wants to be revealed in us , live in us , and be formed in us .
Even more, according to Philippians, we can experience this Christ in every aspect of our daily living. God wants to save us not out of our circumstances but through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, God wants to save us out of anything that is not Christ Himself so that we might live Christ!
The Christ revealed in the entire Bible is a Christ that can be applied to our daily living, and our enjoyment and experience of Christ issues in a corporate living, the church life! The church life is not a large number of people coming together, but it is composed of those who experience this living, all-inclusive, all-extensive Christ in every detail in their daily life! For this, we forsake all things!
Is Divine Revelation Ongoing Today
For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentilesif indeed you have heard of the stewardship of Gods grace which was given to me for you that , as I wrote before in brief .
Paul told the Ephesians about the mystery he received . He was referring to divine revelation a message that came from God. As an apostle , the Holy Spirit guided him into all the truth so that he could say, The things which I write to you are the Lords commandment .
Does this type of divine revelation still occur today? Many people claim to receive messages directly from heaven. But does God reveal His will directly to people today like He did with Paul and others? It is important that we know the answer to that question. So let us consider it here.
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The Inspiration And Inerrancy Of The Bible
We believe that the Bible is God’s word. The doctrinal statement of Moody Bible Institute affirms, “The Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments, is a divine revelation, the original autographs of which were verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit.”1
Revelation is God’s self-disclosure. It is God making Himself known to men.2 God has revealed himself in a limited way in creation.3 But the Bible is a form of special revelation. The Bible is “special” revelation in the sense that it goes beyond what may be known about God through nature.4 It is divine in origin, since in the Bible God makes known things which otherwise could never be known.
The Bible is unique because it is God’s revelation recorded in human language.5 According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the words of Scripture are “God breathed” or inspired. This implies that God is the source or origin of what is recorded in Scripture. God, through the Holy Spirit, used human authors to write what He revealed in the Bible. They were not mere copyists or transcribers. The Holy Spirit guided and controlled the writers of Scripture, who used their own vocabularies and styles but wrote only what the Holy Spirit intended.6 This is true only of the original manuscripts, not the copies or translations. Although the original manuscripts have been lost to us, God has preserved the biblical text to a remarkable degree.
1 2 Timothy 3:16 2 Peter 1:212 1 Corinthians 2:11163 Psalm 19:1
Defense Of The Bible As Gods Divine Revelation
And thats it.
There are other arguments for the Bible as Divine revelation, such as fulfilled prophecy, and the Bible being written over thousands of years by dozens of authors, and not containing contradictions, and numerous other arguments.
I am just not sure any of these arguments are persuasive for anybody but Christians. Frankly, I am not too sure that anybody really cares except for Christians.
What do you think? Would the arguments above persuade you that the Bible is Divine Revelation? Do you think that such arguments are helpful?
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Why Is The Book Of Revelation So Important
The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, has fascinated and puzzled Christians for centuries. With its vivid imagery of disaster and suffering the Battle of Armageddon, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the hideous Beast whose number is 666 many have seen it as a map to the end of the world.
Assurance Of Inspiration: The Gospel
While Paul may say this much explicitly , Jesus and the Gospel writers indicate the same but by his constant refrain that the Scriptures have been fulfilled in his person and work . The covenant promises of God in the Scriptures have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that is the greatest testimony to their divine origin. Should one seek assurance that the Scripture is nothing less than divine revelation one need look no further than the gospel itself. God has come through on his word.
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Revelation For The Purpose Of Salvation
We have little to say about the role of God in the writing of Scripture and selection of the books of the Bible . We are most often reticent to talk about the work of the Holy Spirit in guiding our readings. Put differently, we dont have much to say about the Bible theologically. I was once part of a process of interviewing candidates for a professorial position in teaching the Bible. One of the other interviewers, a professor of theology, asked each candidate one simple question: What is the Bible? It surprised me that, despite the great learning and intelligence of each of these candidates, every one of them struggled to answer this question.
My guess is that many Christians in North America and Western Europeincluding the best educated among themwould struggle with this question as well. They would have a hard time saying not only what the Bible is, but what it is supposed to do. Yes, they could probably muster some formula such as, The Bible is the Word of God, or, The Bible teaches us how to live a Christian life. Yet these common ways of describing the Bible dont tell us much about it at all.
Here I want to argue a singular point: the Bible is a form of divine communication meant to lead us more fully into the life of God. Put in theological terms, we might say that through the Bible we receive divine revelation, the purpose of which is soteriological.
A Definition And Kinds Of Divine Revelation
In the study of biblical doctrine, it is essential to begin with the doctrine of the Bible , which consists of commentary on the Bible derived from the Bible itself. Since all other biblical doctrines are derived from the Bible, the doctrine of the Bible itself is the foundation upon which all the other doctrines are based. If the Bible presents error concerning itself, then all the rest of biblical doctrine rests upon a faulty foundation and is thereby subject to question.
The Bible professes to be the written record of truths revealed by God to mankind. In light of this claim, the study of the doctrine of the Bible is introduced with an examination of the subject of divine revelation, starting with its definition.
A Definition of Divine Revelation
To establish a definition of divine revelation, we must observe several things.
The Biblical Words for Revelation
The major Hebrew Old Testament verb related to revelation, galah, had the basic meaning to uncover and such derivative meanings as to show, to reveal, to make known.1
The most significant Greek New Testament verb associated with revelation, apocalupto,2 meant to uncover, reveal, disclose, bring to light.3
The meanings of both of these words indicate that revelation involves the uncovering of knowledge.
The Difference Between Revelation and Discovery
The Object of Revelation
mystery
Paul made this assertion clear by giving four additional descriptions of Gods wisdom. First, it was the hidden wisdom.
ENDNOTES
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Gods Will Has Been Fully Revealed
Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence .
Through Jesus and His inspired apostles and prophets, we have everything that we need to know in order to please the Lord. Jude said, The faithwas once for all handed down to the saints . This means that Gods word the source of faith has been revealed to us in its entirety. There is no need for modern day revelations .
Those who claim to receive modern day revelations are liars . They may be intentionally deceiving others or they may be deceived themselves. Paul told Timothy, But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, and being deceived . But either way, the result is the same. Teaching a modern day revelation causes one to be accursed . Following a modern day revelation causes one to desert the Lord .
Rather than seeking Gods will through alleged modern day revelations, we need to seek Gods will in His written word. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work . We do not need to turn anywhere but to the Scriptures.
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Is The Bible The Only Source Of Divine Revelation
The Bible as the written word of God, is the main source of divine revelation but not the only one. God does reveal Himself in and through the various ways you mentioned, and also through the fellowship of other believers. In the bible, What is the difference between the Holy Spirit and the anointing?
Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are the two sources of divine revelation. The written, inspired word of God and the living transmission of the word of God communicate effectively the whole of Divine Revelation.
Beside this, What makes up divine revelation?
Paradigmatically, it refers to alleged instances of divine speaking or special divine acts in history, although in a more general sense revelation can denote any means of divine self-disclosure, for example through nature.
Likewise, What is divine revelation in the Catholic Church?
The concept of revelation Roman Catholic theologians distinguish between revelation in a broad sense, which means knowledge of God deduced from facts about the natural world and human existence, and revelation in the strict formal sense, which means the utterances of God.
Also, What is natural and divine revelation?
In Supernatural/Divine Revelation, God reveals himself to us directly by speaking to all mankind through chose individuals and interventions into human history. In Natural Revelation, God makes himself known to humanity through works or creation.
What are the 3 sources of divine revelation?
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Divine Inspiration: Humans Recording Gods Truth
Divine inspiration, on the other hand, refers to the recording of Gods truth. It means that God preserved the writers from recording error when they wrote the various parts of Scripture. All of the things they recorded are accurate. The words were actually said and the events actually happened. Revelation, therefore, is concerned with the giving of truth, while divine inspiration refers to the recording of truth. It is important that we understand the difference.
This brings us to an important point. The Bible is divinely inspired, but not every word was divinely revealed. Divine inspiration does not always imply revelation. To put it another way, we should not necessarily assume that everything in Scripture has been divinely revealed by God.
For example, Moses was divinely inspired by God to record events that he himself witnessed. These events were the actual source of his knowledge on the subject. The subject matter was not beyond human knowledge, but was there for any observer to record. However, the interpretation of the meaning of the event could only come from God. He alone explained the significance of what occurred.
You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your fathers desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The Contemporary English Version reads:
God Reveals Himself As The Lord
Gods personal name is Lord, which translates the mysterious name I AM which God revealed to Moses in Ex. 3:1416. His lordship connotes particularly his control, authority, and presence in relation to the world he has made . Everything he does reflects his lordship in these ways, including his revelation. Scripture describes Gods word-revelation in terms of his control as a powerful force:
Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
It also makes clear that Gods word of revelation has supreme :
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
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.
And Gods word, his revelation, is also his presence, the place where he meets with his people. Gods nearness to Israel is the nearness of his word . And God comes to be with us, Immanuel, in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, his living word to us .
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.
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