"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1).
John the Baptist came preaching the kingdom of God. When Jesus appeared, He also proclaimed God’s good news. Both were “revealing” the truth from God. While God preserved this truth in Scripture, we often wonder about the accuracy or necessity of passages such as genealogies. For the rest of this month, we will concentrate on the authority and inspiration of Scripture.
There are many different ways that God reveals Himself, according to the Bible. For instance, the universe reveals God, in the same way, an artist’s personality is revealed in his art. God made the universe, and thus it shows forth His person and character.
God also reveals Himself in personal appearances: theophanies. Theophany comes from the Greek theos, meaning “God,” and phaneia, meaning “manifest.” A theophany occurs when God reveals Himself through some created means. Examples are the burning bush and the pillar of cloud. The Bible also shows us God revealing Himself to men in dreams and in visions. We remember Joseph’s dreams or the night visions of Zechariah 1–6.
God reveals Himself in events, and also in words. The crucifixion of our Lord is the greatest revelation of God’s love. But, the event by itself is silent. Apart from word-revelation, we only see a man nailed on a cross. Without word-revelation to inform us of the “meaning” of this event, the event is silent.
Word-revelation often comes in the form of God speaking directly to men, as when He spoke to Moses at the burning bush. God also wrote some things down, such as the Ten Commandments and the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5. God also inspired the prophets and apostles to write the books of the Bible.
Finally, God reveals Himself in Jesus Christ: “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2).
God is most clearly revealed in Scripture. Since it is to the Christian’s benefit to read all of God’s revelation, reconsider how diligently you have pursued this goal. If you are not reading the Bible through each year, begin today.
