SPECIAL REVELATION

Transcript:

0:00 Intro

What a human author says under the inspiration of the Spirit is also at the same time what God says. 

Today's video is on Special Revelation. Looking for some answers, Kyle and I went to Trinity Reformed Church to get Pastor van Eyk's thoughts on the subject. This is Faith to Film. 

Special revelation is God's address to a special class of people to whom He wished to show his salvation. 

0:29 Is the bible the only form of special revelation? 

So the bible is now, the only form of special revelation. Throughout the process of creating the bible, God spoke in various ways and at many times. He spoke sometimes through His actions think of the great exodus, think of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But then before and after those actions, He would speak. So take the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The whole old testament predicts the coming of Christ and his mediatorial work for sinners. Then, the gospels record that work, and then the epistles interpret that work and give God's revelation of Himself in His actions in history. And so it's only when we come to the closure of the canon, so, after the coming of Christ and the closing of the apostolic period that we can say that the special revelation of God is now encapsulated in the bible so that the bible is God's revelation to us. 

1:38 Why is it said that the bible is the word of God? 

We say that the bible is the word of God but that might not be immediately obvious to us. As you read through the bible you learn that the first five books of the bible were written by Moses. As you read the letter of Paul to the Romans it starts out with Paul as the author of Romans. So then, how can we say that the bible which is written by human authors is simultaneously the word of God. That takes us into the whole question of inspiration and what we believe is and what the bible teaches is that the bible is written by humans, but written by humans in such a way as they were carried along by the Spirit of God, so it wasn't their own opinions and written in such a way that the scriptures are also God breathed. So that what a human author says under the inspiration of the Spirit is also at the same time what God says. There's a very interesting passage in Acts 4 where the early church speaks of how the sovereign creator who made heaven and earth in all things "spoke through the mouth of his servant David by the Spirit" and then it goes on to quote some verses from Psalm 2. So David spoke, but it was God speaking through David and it was God speaking through David by the Spirit of God. 

3:09 What about those who don't have access to the bible? 

So, the bible is God's special revelation, which is not His universal or general revelation. God's general revelations seen in nature, in human consciousness, and in his providential governing of the world, that's accessible to all humanity. So those who do not have access to the bible still have access to the revelation of God in nature, in their own consciousness, and in His providential governing of the universe. But that revelation of God is insufficient to lead men to repentance into faith in Jesus Christ. That's why it is so important for the church to go with the truths of the word of God to the nations. In bible translation to give people the word of God in their own language and in preaching, and teaching, and evangelizing. So that men and women, boys and girls, the world over might hear of the wonderful works of God in Jesus Christ as they have been revealed in the scriptures and put their faith in the Savior for God's glory, Christ's honor, and their salvation.