Grace Institute: Bible Study Methods: Revelation

Revelation Bible Study Methods Winter 2009

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Janauary 11, 2009: Revelation

Homework due January 18

The Revelation of God

By definition, God is beyond human understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9). However, to the extent that God has revealed things about himself, we can indeed describe the nature of God affirmatively. Therefore all we can know about God is what He has revealed to us. There are two primary categories of God's revelation: general revelation and special revelation.

General Revelation

General Revelation is what God has revealed about himself generally to all humanity. It is found in three primary areas:

• Nature . God reveals his character through creation.
• History . God is involved in human history. He has preserved Israel. He has entered history himself as human in the person of Jesus.
• Human constitution . All humanity has an understanding of morality and an understanding of the supernatural.

However, to what extent has God revealed himself generally? Is God's general revelation and humanity's pursuit of logic are sufficient to reach a saving faith outside of specific revelation from the church or scripture?

In Psalm 19, the Psalmist explains that the heavens tell of God's glory and God's creativity. In Romans 1:19-20, Paul explains that the truth has been made evident and has been revealed in creation to the point where there is no excuse (1:19b, 20b). Through this natural revelation, God's power and nature have been revealed. His invisible attributes, his eternal power, his divine nature have all been evident to the nations (1:20).

These two passages indicate that God has indeed shown himself through his creation. While Romans 1 seems to indicate that even a fallen humanity can see God in creation, and as such they are without excuse. However Romans also states that humanity rejects this general revelation and instead worships the creation rather than the creator. It is therefore unclear from scripture whether or not a saving faith is possible outside of specific revelation. In fact, Romans 10 seems to indicate that without specific revelation, one can not be saved (“how will they believe if they have not heard.”)

What we can state affirmatively is that the truth about God is actually present within creation and that even a fallen humanity can recognize God through creation.

Special Revelation

The Word of God

God does not limit his self-revelation to nature. He has also provided special revelation. God has revealed himself through the Word of God. The term word in the Greek is logos , and it carries with it an expansive idea of not just language, but rationality and reason. God's self-revelation, His Word, was with God at the beginning and was indeed God from the very beginning (John 1:1).

Characteristics of the Word of God

The special revelation through God's word has unique characteristics (Erickson 177ff) :

• Special Revelation is Personal . God's revelation is not a set of theological truths, but a personal God presenting himself to persons.
• Special Revelation is Athropic . God's revelation comes in forms that are part of the ordinary, everyday human experience. Humans do not need to learn the language of God, for God has revealed himself in the language of humans.
• Special Revelation is Analogical . God's revelation uses language which is qualitatively the same as the underlying truth, but is limited by finite human understanding. God's revelation uses analogies, symbols and metaphors in order for us to understand his nature.

Manifestations of the Word of God

God has revealed his Word in three ways:

• God reveals himself by History . It is not that God is revealed in history or through history, but that historical events actually are His revelation (John 14:9).
• God reveals himself through divine speech . God has communicated directly with prophets and apostles through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
• God reveals himself through the incarnation . Jesus Christ's birth, life, words, death and resurrection are the most complete revelation of God (Hebrews 1:1-2)

At a point in time and space, the Word was revealed in flesh and dwelt among us. As a result, humanity was able to see the glory, the grace and the truth of God himself (John 1:14 ). The ultimate revelation of God is found in the person of Jesus.

The Scriptures as the Word of God

According to the 20 th century theologian, Karl Barth, Jesus Christ was not only the fullness of God's Word, but Jesus is himself the only reliable source of God's Word. Barth believed that the scriptures were only valuable in so far as much as they told us about Jesus. That is, the bible itself was not God's Word, but it only pointed us to and told us about God's Word, namely Christ.

However, while indeed Jesus is the ultimate Word of God, if the scriptures are flawed, then our understanding of God's Word is also flawed. Furthermore, the Jesus himself seems to have a higher view of scripture than Barth. In Matthew 5:17-19, he states that He has come as a fulfillment of the scriptures, and that the scriptures will endure. In fact, Jesus uses the term “word of God” synonymously with the Scriptures throughout the Bible (John 10:35 ).

The Nature of Biblical Revelation

The Bible is indeed the very word of God. However, God chose to reveal His Word through human authors who wrote to specific audiences in specific times and places. The Scriptures are not written as a series of timeless principles and commandments that can be read and understood simply. If God has chosen to reveal His Word to us this way, it might have made our bible study easier.

Because God chose to communicate His Word through His interactions and relationships with humans, it gives us comfort and an understanding that God still desires to be involved personally with us and is not merely impersonally dropping commandments on us from on high (Stuart 22).

Necessity of Bible Study

This is what also makes bible study necessary. The bible is written in a number of different literary genres, to a number of different cultures, in 3 different languages, through dozens of different human authors to people throughout a 1,500 year span of time.

The primary reason why we need to study the bible, rather than just read it, is that we must read and hear God's Word as the original recipients would have heard and read the scripture. Bible study requires that we have a solid understanding of biblical cultures, languages, history, and geography. Bible study is essential so we can hear the message in the context originally given.

One has to hear the Word they heard; you must try to understand what was said to them back then and there (Stuart 23).

Danger of Bible Study

While bible study is necessary, we must be careful that our bible study not try to enhance or augment the scripture. The scripture already is God's Word, and there is nothing we can do to the text to make it anymore than it already is. The purpose of bible study is not to make the bible relevant. The scriptures already are relevant. We cannot make them more or less relevant. The purpose of bible study is not to make the scriptures “come alive.” The scriptures already are alive. The purpose of bible study is not to defend the bible. The bible is its own apologetic, because it convicts and penetrates the heart.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

If the bible does not seem relevant or alive to us, it is not God's fault nor is it the bible's fault. It is our fault for not understanding how to study the bible properly. The purpose of this term is to provide you with a simple, proven process to study God's word so that you can see for yourself the relevance of the living word of God in your life.

The Process of Revelation

The process of Bible Study will mirror the process of God's revelation. The chart below illustrates how God's thoughts are transferred to our thoughts through the process of revelation (Ryrie 117).