God's Revelation To Us

The wonder of CREATION in beauty and detail is one way in which God reveals Himself to mankind. This is known as General revelation and is sufficient to leave all men without excuse on the Day of Judgement. In this way Light is brought, in some measure, to all and as a result all incur guilt for their ignorance of God.

As I write on a sunny autumnal day, the astounding sight of the changing colour of the leaves on the trees is a reminder that God created a beautiful world, with the outworking of that creation in the times and seasons. Everything happens in its season: sowing in spring, growth in summer and reaping in the autumnal harvest season. Even winter, with its particular beauty, is a time of quiet preparation for the coming again of spring.

In the SCRIPTURES God has revealed Himself through Special revelation…God making Himself known in a way that surpasses even General revelation. He has communicated to us through words that now make up the inspired, inerrant Word of God that we have today as our Bible. We. therefore, cannot over-emphasize the importance and reliability of scripture. No wonder Luther said, “My conscience has been taken captive by the Word of God.” That enabled him to stand firm when his life was on the line.

The Christian CALENDAR conveys, through Special revelation, the unfolding events of history. We have recently celebrated the birth of the Lord Jesus …the coming of the Lord Jesus from eternity into time, to live amongst us. He revealed to the world what God was like. The God Who is invisible was made visible. “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” Col 1:15. He revealed God’s love and holiness walking in human flesh. This is the heart and summit of all Divine revelation. God has revealed Himself in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Soon we will be celebrating another great event in the Christian calendar - Easter, which reminds us of another aspect of God’s Special revelation, namely Redemptive revelation. The suffering and death of our Lord Jesus on the cross declares for all time that a holy God has manifested His love for a lost world. in providing salvation as a divine gift to all who believe. Jesus took upon Himself the sin of the world, becoming our substitute and satisfying the demands of divine justice, bearing the punishment that we deserved. Included in God’s Redemptive revelation is the resurrection that confirms the satisfaction and acceptance by God of all that Christ did on the cross. He rose for our justification so that we could be declared righteous before God. The cross of Christ was not defeat, but victory over sin, death and hell. His resurrection ensures our resurrection, so our hope for the future is not a vain hope but a sure one. Because He lives we will live also.

It is right that the Christian church should keep reminding itself of the great events in the Christian calendar, as they bring us back to the facts of God’s revelation to the world and that these events - the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ - are the historical foundation for all missionary work … to the ends of the earth.

Let us not be surprised that these truths are strongly contested, as we seek to make assaults on the kingdom of darkness. When that happens may we not deviate from that which is sure and unchanging… the historical and living Gospel.

William Smylie

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