The purpose, goal and benefits of the Bible – Part 5

The Nature and Character of God cont’
In Him the Word became flesh (John 1: 1,14; 14:9). The OT promise of salvation as a divine gift to people, who cannot save themselves, has been fulfilled in the gift of His Son. The redemptive revelation of God is that Jesus Christ has borne the sins of fallen humanity, has died in their place, and has been raised to assure justification. This is the fixed centre of special revelation. Special revelation is also propositional. It includes not only those personal, redemptive acts in history, but also the prophetic-apostolic interpretation of those events. God’s self-disclosure is propositional, in that it made known truths about Him to His people. Knowledge about someone precedes intimate knowledge of someone: The primary purpose of revelation is not necessarily to enlarge the scope of one’s knowledge. Yet, propositional knowledge is for the purpose of personal knowledge.

We can thus affirm that special revelation has three stages: (1) redemption in history, ultimately centering in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) the Bible, written revelation interpreting what He has done for the redemption of men and women; (3) the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of individuals and the church’s corporate life, applying God’s revelation to the minds and hearts of His people. Consequently, men and women receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and are enabled to follow Him faithfully in a believing, covenant community until life’s end.

The content of special revelation is primarily God Himself. Mystery remains even in God’s self-revelation. God does not fully reveal Himself to any person. God does, however, reveal Himself to persons to the degree they can receive it. Special revelation is the declaration of truth about God, His character, and His action and relationship with His creation to bring all creation under Christ, the one head (Eph. 1:9-10).

The proper setting of special revelation is Christian faith. God makes Himself known to those who receive His revelation in faith (Heb. 11:1,6). Faith is the glad recognition of truth, the reception of God’s revelation without reservation or hesitation (Rom. 10:17).
For today, the Bible is of crucial importance. Through the Bible, the Spirit witnesses to individuals of God’s grace and the need of faith response. In the Bible, we learn of God’s redemption of sinners in Christ Jesus. Our faith response to God’s Word and acts, recorded and interpreted by the prophets and apostles, calls for us to embrace with humility and traceableness, without finding fault, whatever is taught in Holy Scripture.

In summary, we can say God has initiated the revelation of Himself to men and women. This revelation is understandable to mankind and makes it possible to know God and grow in relationship with Him. God’s self-manifestation provides information about Himself for the purpose of leading men and women into God’s presence. For believers today, the Bible is the source of God’s revelation. In the written words, we can identify God, know and understand something about Him, His will, and His work, and point others to Him. Special revelation is not generally speculative. The Bible primarily speaks on matters of cosmology and history, where these issues touch the nature of faith. God has manifested Himself incarnately through human language, human thought, and human action, as ultimately demonstrated in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (Jn 1:18)

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